Newsletter from the Grand Secretary
Hollis G. Dixon, Grand Secretary
November 2007
GRAND LODGE MASTER INSURANCE POLICY:
The Grand Lodge Master Insurance Policy through the Hartford Agency offers an opportunity for lodges to participate in a group insurance program for obtaining premises liability and property insurance at a potential cost savings. This option is in addition to the mandatory general membership liability paid for with the submittal of the annual Lodge Returns. Many lodges have already transferred their premises liability and property insurance to the master policy and several are enjoying savings from $400 to $800 and with increased coverage where needed. The questionnaire sent to each lodge last May must be completed to verify eligibility and obtain a quote from Hartford Agency. Copies of the Questionnaire may be downloaded from the Grand Lodge Web Page. Copies are also available from the Grand Lodge office in Portland. A list of questions typically asked with answers provided has been attached to this newsletter to help Lodges evaluate participating in the optional insurance.
SECRETARIES SCHOOLS: We will be holding another Secretaries School at Euclid Lodge No. 194 in Madison on Saturday, November 17th at 9:00 a. m. Coffee and donuts will be available from 8:00 a. m. to 9:00 a. m. Invitations have gone out to several Districts in that area of the state. A second Secretaries School will be held at Pioneer Lodge No. 72 at Ashland on Saturday, December 1, 2007. Coffee and donuts will be available at 8:00 a. m. The school will start at 9:00 a. m. and should be over at approximately 12:00 noon. Wor. Brother Tom Heath has made additional improvements to the membership database and the program is being well received. Secretaries attending these schools will be certified to access the Grand Lodge server via the Internet to maintain their lodge records.
CAUTION: A word of warning. Many lodges and Websites are being contacted by Pakistani manufacturers of Masonic Aprons and Regalia via email offering very cheap prices for their products. Many lodges in England and Canada have sent money and have not received their orders or have received inferior products. These companies keep changing their names but they all come from Sialkot, Pakistan. I would suggest that you do not buy from an internet solicitation unless you know who you are dealing with.
AFFILIATIONS: When a lodge in Maine receives an application for affiliation from a Mason whose primary lodge is in another state, the secretary must forward a copy of the application to the Grand Secretary in Portland and request that a certificate of good standing and a copy of his Masonic Record be requested from his primary lodge. The Grand Secretary will contact the Grand Secretary in that state and request the necessary documents.
Once he has been elected as an affiliated member of the lodge and signed the By-laws, the Secretary should enter his Masonic Record in the membership database. Presently we have a number of Dual members listed in our database with only the date of their raising and the name of the state from which they affiliated. Secretaries that have been certified to access the Grand Lodge server will be able to enter the complete Masonic Record of each affiliated member in the database. By so doing, the records will be complete and this information will be available in the future.
Fraternally,
Hollis G. Dixon
Grand Secretary
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