Brethren,
The one hundred and ninety-fifth Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Maine will be held May 6th and 7th at Kora Temple in Lewiston. Be sure to make your Lodge representatives or proxy aware of the materials you have received regarding this important meeting. Officers will be elected, a budget approved and several items of business will be discussed and/or voted upon. The Constitution requires each Lodge to be represented at the Annual Communication. Be sure your Lodge is represented and your representatives are ready to express the will of the Lodge.
As a reminder to the Lodges who do not use MORI: you must file Monthly Status Reports with this office by the 5th of EACH month whether there are changes or not. The data is essential to the orderly work of the Grand Lodge. These reports are not optional. They are required of all Lodges not electronically updating their information. As of this writing 93% of the Lodges have at least one authorized user. Isn’t it time that you and your Lodge took advantage of this time saving tool? Call me at the Office to be set up on the system.
Please remember: any Lodge may appoint an Assistant Secretary to augment the Secretary’s ability to serve the Lodge properly. Several Lodges have the Assistant responsible for data entry. This eliminates the need for the Secretary to learn something new and allows the Lodge to be better served.
There will be a District Secretaries’ Meeting at Triangle Lodge at 6:30 PM on April 3rd. All who wish to travel to Portland are welcomed. The Secretaries’ Meetings are a great vehicle for sharing knowledge with one another so we all may become more competent and thereby, more valuable to the Craft we serve. If you would like a session in your District, contact your DDGM or DER.
E-mail has become an essential communications link. As postage rates increase, e-mail becomes even more important. I request of you and encourage you to update and maintain the e-mail addresses for the Lodge for which you are responsible. The savings in time and money can be remarkable.
The incoming Grand Master is holding a training meeting for all his “will be” appointed Officers and candidates for elective Office at 8:30 AM on Saturday, April 26th at the Bangor Masonic Center. This session is designed to remind and inform the attendees of their roles and responsibilities in the ensuing term. Lunch will be provided.
The Maine Masonic College offering a course for Lodge Chaplains on Saturday, April 12th beginning at 9:00 AM at Meridian Splendor Lodge in Newport. The course will offer those who attend information, concepts, and ideas that can help Lodge Chaplains better serve the Craft and its members. Lunch will be available for $5.00. Call Theresa at the Grand Lodge Office to preregister of this course.
Grand Lodge Library
We’ve been adding a bunch of new books to the Grand Library holdings on timely topics. In particular, we have several new books on generational differences. Freemasonry now has FIVE different generations amongst its membership and each group thinks and acts differently. This is a topic that should be of interest to you and your lodge. There are a number of current books on leadership and management which have been selected for their applicability to an organization such as ours. We’ve also got a number of books on genealogy so if that’s your ‘thing’, you may want to check out what we have there, too. All of our holdings can be seen by using our library search engine online. Look in the lower right corner at www.mainemason.org for a link. Please let your lodge members know of this valuable, free resource!
– Ed King, Grand Librarian.
From the Insurance Corner
As renewal time for the Grand Lodge of Maine’s package policy nears, our Maine Agent, Alan Darrah of Sargent Tyler and West Agency located in Brewer, Maine, is working to gather information needed for the renewal. The Grand Lodge of Maine’s coverage is written through Great American Insurance Company. This will be the second year of coverage by this insurance company. The Grand Lodge of Maine’s Standing Regulation #48 states that each Maine Lodge will obtain liability coverage through the Grand Lodge and will be billed for this coverage. The annual premium is based on the square footage of the lodge. At the present time we are contacting many of our Maine Lodges to get the correct measurements. In addition to having liability coverage for the Lodge activities, each member of the Lodge is covered while performing activities sponsored by the Lodge. This insurance company is also providing building and contents to those Maine Lodges desiring coverage. To obtain building and contents coverage additional information is required and of course additional paperwork. We are finding that some the paperwork obtained from the previous insurance carrier did not contain all the information we need for the Great American Insurance Co. If you presently do not have coverage under the Grand Lodge package policy for your building and contents, simply contact the Grand Lodge Office and you will be contacted by an insurance person to help you obtain a quote. The Grand Lodge Agent needs at least 45 days to obtain a quote. Remember each Lodge must have an Association that owns the Building and that Association must be registered with the Secretary of State. The Lodge cannot be the owner of a building. If your Lodge has any question about this, contact the Grand Lodge Office.
By having your insurance coverage through the Grand Lodge, you will be part of a larger group, your coverage will be billed to you from the Grand Lodge Office, and you will not have to be concerned that you missed your renewal date. You will find that the coverage under the Grand Lodge Package provides coverage not usual to a standard policy since, the Great American Insurance Co. has a president that is very active in the Masonic Order and has packaged coverage designed for our activities.
Even if your Lodge elects not to obtain building and contents through the Grand Lodge, and your group would like to discuss insurance, your Insurance Committee would be more than happy to meet with you and review your coverage.
– Fred Lunt, Insurance Comm.
Thanks for all you do,
Fraternally,
Mark E. Rustin
Grand Secretary