Thunderbird Lodge No. 15
Free and Accepted Masons
Volume 14, Issue 10 www.thunderbird15.org October 2007
From the
East:
I am once again hoping this trestle board finds my
brethren and their families in good health. We had the pleasure of raising our
newest Master Mason, John T. Logan, this past
Thursday. I extend my congratulations to Brother John and my thanks to all who
participated in his degree. We look forward to John doing his proficiency in
lodge soon. We also did some courtesy work for Mojave Valley Lodge # 68 in
Bullhead so two candidates, Brothers Mike Martinez and Jeff Odeski,
from Mojave 68 were also raised in our Master Mason Degree on September 27, and
I extend congratulations to them as well.
It was a pleasure to welcome Worshipful Brother Stan
Woods back in lodge after being absent for many months due to his hip surgeries
and it was pleasing to see him getting around so much better, like a young man
again – next month he’ll be doing flips and cartwheels for us if he gets any
healthier. It has also been good to see Worshipful Brother Jeff Grayson back in
lodge again, who is still recovering from foot surgery and has to go to some
therapy treatments, but is on the mend.
Brothers, I am at the end of my cable tow and fear this
lodge is at the end of its’ cable tow as well.
November 8 will be our elections and per the by-laws we will be balloting on
our five elected officers as well as two positions on the Board of Trustees. At
this writing we do not have a candidate for Master, Senior and Junior Wardens
and only a possible candidate for Secretary. Aside from the three elected
officers presently in the line, we have less than a handful in this lodge who have their credentials to hold these offices.
Additionally, most of our appointed officers’ chairs will again be vacant, as
has been the case for a few years now, for want of men willing to serve and
learn the work. If a lodge can not fill its’ elected officer positions it is
danger of forfeiting its’ charter. The same holds true if a
lodge can not do the degree work necessary to advance candidates through the
degrees.
While I am not inclined to serve as Master for a third
term, I will if it is necessary for the good of Masonry and for this Lodge.
While we have had some unfortunate circumstances occur with the men who have
been willing to advance into the Junior Warden position over the past three
years, I am left wondering at this point how many more years I will have to
fill the Master’s chair until another brother advances
through the line to fill it. And if the best report I can give my brothers
after two years is that we do not have any candidates to fill officer’s
positions, I do not know if the lodge needs me back as Master. Also, what good
is it for any organization to repeatedly re-elect someone as its’
head because he is the only member willing or able to take the position. Our
Senior Warden has served as an elected officer for the past six years and is
also ready to move on. If necessary, I will serve as Master for one more term,
but if I do, the only business before the lodge will be to consolidate with
another lodge. I have spoken with the Senior Warden about this in length and he
is of like mind. If I am not Master next year, I will be a proper Junior Past
Master and remain active with the lodge, as I have promised in the past.
This is a decision I take seriously and I have been
reflecting on our situation for some months now. My conclusion is the best
direction for our lodge is to either move the lodge to a new geographic
location that would increase participation in Masonry or to consolidate with
another lodge. I would prefer the former but will not be able to devote the
time needed to relocate the lodge in the coming year, so I see the latter as
our only option. For some time now, most of our effort has been spent
fulfilling the necessary requirements to keep the doors open. New brothers and
visitors looking for a perspective lodge to join see this and either move on to
a more active lodge, or a bigger lodge where it is easier to blend into the
wood work, or just do not come back and are lost entirely to all of Masonry.
For the brothers who are active in the lodge, I think it would be beneficial
for them, as well as Masonry in general, to have an opportunity to become
members of an active lodge and support that lodge before they, too, become
entirely lost from our ranks.
I
will be asking the Board of Trustee’s at their meeting on October 25 to discuss this matter and make their
recommendation to the lodge on consolidation, which will be presented at the
November 8 Stated Meeting. If we act on this now, we will be able to have some
control of our future. If we do not, we face forfeiture of our charter and will
not have control over the disposition of our lodge.
Jim Drake PM, Worshipful Master
From the Secretary
It
is with sadness that I announce Wayne E Criswell passed to the celestial lodge
above
It
is also with sadness that I announce that Debbie and I are moving to
Bill Beatty, Secretary
Masonic Birthdays for October:
Elbert W Brown Jr,
Wilbert M Reed,
Calendar:
October 2007:
Thursday 4-Oct-
Thursday 11-Oct-
Thursday 18-Oct-
Thursday 25-Oct-
Monday 29-Oct-
November 2007:
Thursday 1-Nov-
Thursday 8-Nov-
Dinner Red
Thursday 15-Nov-
Thursday 22-Nov-07 Thanksgiving Day,
no meeting
Thursday 29-Nov-
December 2007:
Thursday 6-Dec-
Thursday 13-Dec-
Thursday 20-Dec-07 7:00pm Fellowship,
Dinner Red Fez 6pm
Thursday 27-Dec-
Submit
information for the next publication by the 15th of each month to:
William
D. Beatty, Editor
or by E-Mail to:
beattyw@msn.com
Direct questions or comments to me at 480-759-0253
Contact List
Master: Jim Drake PM: 480-756-1105 Home, jandvdrake@aol.com
Secretary: Bill Beatty PM: 480-759-0253
Home, beattyw@msn.com
El
Website: www.thunderbird15.org
Thunderbird
Lodge No. 15, F.&A.M.
W.M. * Jim Drake PM Trustee 2007 Stan
Wood PM
S.W. * Chuck Bent PM Trustee 2008 Clint Molodow
J.W. * Stan Wood PM Trustee 2009 Bill
Beatty PM #
Treasurer Bob Bell PM $ Trustee
2010 Reza Farrokh
PM
Secretary Bill Beatty PM
Chaplain David Beacco * Also Trustees
Ex-Officio
Marshal Available $ Also Treasurer of Trustees
S.D. Gustavo Rodriguez #
Also Secretary of Trustees
J.D. Michael Gattorna
S.S. Available
J.S. Don Wilcox
Thunderbird Lodge No. 15 F&AM