December 2017 Grand Lodge Quarterly Meeting

Massachusetts Freemasons from Great Barrington to Provincetown travelled to downtown Boston for the final business meeting of the year. The December 2017 Quarterly communication of the Grand Lodge began promptly at 1:30pm on Wednesday, December 13^th. M.W. Paul F. Gleason was escorted to the East by his Grand Marshal, R.W. Richard Maggio, and began the work of the afternoon.

Before opening Grand Lodge, members of The Scouter’s Lodge (Holden) presented the colors. They were represented by:

Wor. Matthew Niedermeier
Wor. Adam Jolicoeur
R.W. Geoffrey Kromer
Bro. Michael Daniell

Following the color guard, the Grand Master instructed the Grand Marshal to present Patricia Latham and Lisa Hastings to the East for the purpose of announcing the Secretary of the Year winners for 2017. Patricia and Lisa are the Grand Secretary’s office staff members who work with the lodge Secretaries on a daily basis. The winning brethren have performed their duties as lodge Secretary at the highest standard over the last calendar year. This year’s winners were:

Wor. Charles P. Morton, King Hiram’s Lodge (Provincetown)
Wor. David J. Goodrich, Paul Revere Lodge (Brockton)

Wor. Goodrich was unable to attend the meeting, so his District Deputy Grand Master, R.W. Daniel West, accepted the award on his behalf.

Following the presentation, the Grand Master opened the meeting in ample form. After the introduction of distinguished guests, the Grand Master called on M.W. Albert T. Ames, Grand Secretary, for the report on the recognition of proxies and voting powers of Lodges. M.W. Ames clarified who would be eligible to vote in the day’s elections in this report.

The Deputy Grand Master, R.W. Kevin J. Willis then delivered the necrology report, which regrettably included the names of six Massachusetts Freemasons who entered the Celestial Lodge above since the last business meeting of the Grand Lodge.

The business of the day continued with opening the floor for the election of the 2018 Grand Master of Masons of Massachusetts. M.W. Gleason turned the East over to his Deputy Grand Master, R.W. Willis, so he could preside over the ballot. During balloting, R.W. Robert V. Jolly, Jr. delivered the report of the Committee on Charter & By-Laws.  M.W. Gleason was elected by unanimous vote to return for a second year as Grand Master in 2018. Humbled by the continued support of his brethren, he announced he would accept the results of the election.

The Grand Master then opened the floor for balloting on the office of Senior Grand Warden. The Grand Marshal presented the two candidates, R.W. Fred A. Dobson, Jr. and R.W. David J. Raymond to the East, wished them good luck, and had them escorted outside of the room for the ballot. A committee of Past Senior Grand Wardens was appointed to oversee the counting of the ballots in the anteroom of the Lodge, and then return with the results as soon as possible. During the count, R.W. Robert C. Corr presented a report on behalf of the Committee on Records.

The Past Senior Grand Warden election committee then returned to the lodge room, and announced that R.W. Fred A. Dobson, Jr. had earned a plurality of the votes. At this point, R.W. David J. Raymond graciously conceded his votes to R.W. Dobson so that he may enjoy a unanimous ballot on the record. The Grand Master asked R.W. Dobson if he would accept the position of Senior Grand Warden, and R.W. Dobson humbly said he would.

The Grand Master then continued with the business of electing a new Junior Grand Warden. The Grand Marshal presented R.W. Michael J. Jarzabek and R.W. Nicholas J. Mantello to the East, where he also wished them well, and had them escorted outside of the room for the ballot. A committee of Past Junior Grand Wardens was appointed for the same task the Past Senior Grand Wardens had completed, and were asked to return with the results as soon as they had them.

When they returned, they announced that R.W. Jarzabek had earned more votes by their count. Brotherhood again trumped competition, as R.W. Mantello conceded his votes to R.W. Jarzabek so the record would show he was unanimously elected by the Freemasons in attendance. R.W. Bro. Jarzabek humbly accepted the position when the Grand Master asked him if he would.

The Grand Master then entertained a motion for the Grand Secretary to cast one ballot for the remaining slate of officers. The motion passed, and the following brethren were elected:

Grand Secretary: M.W. Albert T. Ames
Grand Treasurer: R.W. Mason W. Russell

Board of Directors:
R.W. Scott T. Jareo
R.W. Geoffrey Kromer
R.W. Richard B. Taylor

Masonic Education & Charity Trust Trustees:
R.W. John C. Harris, III – Term Ending 2018
R.W. Thomas A. Rorrie – Term Ending 2025

The Grand Master accepted a presentation from R.W. Michael Jarzabek of his work that was published in the December 2017 issue of Fraternal Review, Southern California Research Lodge’s official publication. He wrote an article called “The Primeval Conflict” that explores the connections between Freemasonry and Star Wars mythology. A copy of the magazine was also presented to our Grand Historian R.W. Walter Hunt to be made available in the Samuel Crocker Lawrence Library.

Several donations were presented to the Grand Master for various causes, they are summarized below:

Following the donations, the Grand Master delivered his Quarterly address for all attending Massachusetts Freemasons. When he finished, he then closed the business meeting in ample form.