Grand Secretary “Stuff” Information for Lodge Secretaries – March 2014

Brethren,

Several of you have Annual Returns due which have not been received by this Office. In order to reduce the size of the fine the Lodge will be assessed, please submit the Return as soon as possible. If you or your Lodge has an issue preventing timely filing, please contact me. I sure we can find resolution to the problem.

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 take advantage of this time saving tool?

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 Star in the East Lodge in Old Town at 6:30 PM on March 12th. All who wish to travel 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 Annual Communication is May 6th and 7th at KORA Temple in Lewiston. Elections will be held for the following positions and offices: Grand Master, Deputy Grand Master, Grand Senior Warden, Grand Junior Warden, Grand Treasurer, Grand Secretary, two members of the Finance Committee, and one member of the Maine Masonic Charitable Foundation Board of Trustees. If you, or a member of your Lodge wish to offer yourself as a candidate, you must notify this Office of your intent no later than March 15th. Please encourage your Lodge to plan now to participate in May. Representation at the Annual Communication is required by the Constitution.

Make sure your Lodge Historian is preparing the history for your Lodge. They must be received in this Office no later than March 1st to avoid a late penalty.

Maine Masonic College

The Fourth Annual Celebration of the Arts and Sciences is a major Masonic event in our jurisdiction as it should be. The Arts and Sciences are foundational to Freemasonry. This year the focus is on Music and the part it has and does play in the human experience. This subject is huge, and we are extremely fortunate to have the phenomenal artist and musicologist Suzanne Nance as our leader.
Until recently Miss Nance has been the Music Director for the MPBN system in Maine. She was a professor of voice on the faculty of the Cappelli Institute of Music in Chicago where she regularly taught master classes. She came to Maine from Colorado and the Aspen Music Festival and School. As a singer, Miss Nance has sung in concert halls across Europe and the United States. During her six years in Maine she exemplified extraordinary personality, knowledge and talent that won a legion of thankful friends. She will return from her new position in Chicago to be with us for our celebration of music. Come and bring a guest and enjoy the day.

The program runs from 9AM until 2PM at the Bangor Masonic Center. The cost is $5.00 per person including lunch. Call 207-843-1086 to make your reservation – they are required for this event.

FROM THE “IT” GUY:

Recently we heard that one Mason was having problems with the new Pollard videos stopping/stuttering part way through. Most commonly this is due to the computer not being able to read from an external device fast enough. Before the mass production of the USB sticks, we’d tested samples on several older computers without problems.

If you’ve experienced this, one step which may resolve the problem is to simply copy the files from the USB stick to your computer. Then run them from there. Assuming your computer was made within the past 10 years and is virus-free, it should work fine.

If this doesn’t work, though, we can send you a new stick or if you wish, you can call and we can talk you through whatever problem you may be experiencing.
These programs were designed for your lodge to USE with candidate instruction/mentoring so don’t let a perceived technical issue stand in your way: we’ll help you ‘make it happen’!

Anyone interested in submitting an article for the next edition of the Maine Mason, please do so on or before the March 10th deadline. Send submissions to MW George Pulkkinen, editor, at boatpiper@maine.rr.com.

From the Insurance Corner:

I am announcing today that the Maine Agent of Record for the Grand Lodge of Maine Insurance Program is now Sargent Tyler and West. The point of contact with this agency is Mr. Alan Darrah a long time Maine Insurance Agent and a member of Lynde Lodge #174 of Hermon, Maine.  His office is located in Bangor, Maine at 60 Summer St. The mailing address is PO Box 1240, Bangor, Maine 04402-1240. Alan can be reached at (207) 992-5200 or by email at adarrah@stwinsurance.com. Alan is now busy acquainting himself with our policy and the coverage’s. There is much work to be done before the renewal of June 1 so I am sure you will be hearing from Alan or me. I am aware you will be receiving a mailing regarding from the finance committee regarding the insurance coverage. Fred Lunt, Jr., Chair Grand Lodge Insurance Committee

Thanks for all you do,

Fraternally,
Mark E. Rustin
Mark E. Rustin
Grand Secretary