Brethren,
The Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Maine is May 5th and 6th at the Gracie Theater on the campus of Husson University in Bangor. Please encourage your Lodge to be properly represented. Each Lodge is required to elect a Proxy to represent the Lodge in the event the Lodge Officers are unable to attend. Be sure the Proxy has the signed form with him when he comes to the Annual Communication.
The following have offered themselves in service as Grand Lodge Officers in the coming Masonic Year:
Grand Master – David A. Walker
Deputy Grand Master – Thomas E. Pulkkinen
Senior Grand Warden – Richard N. Bergeron
Junior Grand Warden
- Frank T. Palmer
- Donald W. Pratt
Grand Treasurer – Scott E. Whytock
Grand Secretary – Mark E. Rustin
Finance Committee – (Elect 2)
- Wayne A. Cadman, Sr.
- Michael G. Lambert
- Glenn E. Mower
- George L. Schatz
Foundation Trustees – (Elect 3)
- Wayne T. Adams
- Christopher M. DiSotto
- Ronald W. Fowle II
- W. Louis Greenier II
- Brian S. Messing
- Michael P. Tremblay
Electing our leaders is a gift of freedom and a solemn obligation. I encourage you to discuss these choices in your Lodge and, if necessary invite these Brothers to your Lodge for further inquiry.
Several of you have yet to file the Annual Return for your Lodge. Filing is mandated in the Constitution and is date specific. It is not optional. Please file these Returns post haste. The late filing fee is growing each day you put it off. If you need assistance call this office.
You or an Assistant Secretary from your Lodge should be signed up for and using the MORI database. Your Lodge is being short-changed by your avoidance and, you are causing more work for yourself. It should be obvious to all that centralized, electronic data management in Maine is here to stay. Call this office to sign onto the system and for questions as to its use.
As your Lodges have their Annual Installations, be sure to file a Certificate of Election as soon as the installation takes place. The Constitution requires you to submit this information as soon as possible after officer installation. This information is used to compile lists for the Credentials Committee at Annual Communication. If not promptly and properly filed, your Officers may not be able to vote at the annual session. Once filed, MORI will automatically make the necessary changes across the whole database eliminating the need for you to make many other entries.
HERE’S A TIP: If you use MORI as the primary e-mail tool in your Lodge communications, you eliminate the possibility of all your Brothers’ accounts being hacked if one is hacked. MORI based e-mail is individualized and therefore contains the address of only one Brother.
The “List of Lodges – Masonic” (The Tyler’s Book) for 2015 is available through this Office. There is a requirement that each Lodge have a current copy available. It is also part of the DDGM’s inspection checklist. You may order either by telephone or e-mail.
When you are entering a new member into the database you will encounter the question as to whether or not he is a permanent member. The word “Permanent” in this context refers to his voting status in Grand Lodge not the fact that he is going to remain a member of your Lodge. Permanent Members as defined by the Constitution are past elected Officers of the Grand Lodge who are allowed to vote at Grand Lodge after leaving office. For the most part, you should not check “yes” to the Permanent Member question.
I am pleased to report that the fund raising campaign to expand the Grand Lodge Library has been a success. The one year duration of this campaign is a credit to the many of you who responded to make this initiative a reality. Thank you, Brethren and Lodges, who saw the vision and made it real. I will keep you updated on the progress of the project as we move ahead. Again, thank you.
Thanks for all you do,
Fraternally,
Mark E. Rustin
Grand Secretary
Maine Masonic Charitable Foundation
The Charitable Foundation Website, www.masoniccharitablefoundation.org allows the visitor to become familiar with the work we do to benefit others. As you work your way through the site, you begin to sense the “length of our cable tow.”
The site also allows for you to apply for matching grants online. Fill out the electronic form and submit it. It immediately enters the pipeline that ends with the Lodge’s receipt of a check for the program match.
2015 “Building Our Community” Charitable Grants
District Winner
- Ark Animal Sanctuary-Houlton
- Whiting Community Food Pantry
- Maine Veterans’ Home-Machias
- Blue Hill Society for Aid to Children
- Pine Tree Hospice-Dover Foxcroft
- Bangor Humane Society-Bangor
- Hidden Valley Nature Center-Jefferson / Alna
- Waldo County General Hospital Oncology Assistance Fund-Belfast
- Life Flight Foundation-Camden
- Eldercare Network of Lincoln County-Damariscotta
- Children’s Center Early Intervention and Family Support-Augusta
- Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter-Waterville
- Somerset Humane Society-Skowhegan
- Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program-Brunswick
- Neighbors Helping Neighbors-Farmington
- Bridgton Community Center-Bridgton
- Center for Grieving Children-Portland
- House in the Woods-Lee
- York County Shelter Programs-Alfred
- Buckfield Food Pantry-Buckfield
- Forgotten Felines of Maine-Gouldsboro
- Community Christmas Project Food Pantry-Pittsfield
- Tedford Housing-Brunswick
- Katahdin Friends, Inc.-Millinocket
Congratulations to all the winners and a well done to all the Lodges in all the Districts for their time and energy that made this program a great success!