December 2019 Quarterly Communication

The December Quarterly Communication of the Grand Lodge took place on Wednesday, December 11th at the Masonic building in downtown Boston.

At 1:30pm, R.W. Richard Maggio escorted M.W. Paul F. Gleason to the East of Ionic Hall.

Before opening the meeting, a Grand Commandery Honor Guard from the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of Massachusetts and Rhode Island presented the colors.

Representing Grand Commandery were:

• Sir Knight James Stone
• Sir Knight Stephen Whitmore
• Sir Knight Gary Clifford
• Sir Knight Robert Simoneau
• Sir Knight Brian Richard
• Sir Knight Keith Zibolis
• Sir Knight Russell Dumas, Commander of the Grand Commandery Honor Guard

The Grand Master then instructed his Grand Marshal to escort the staff from the Grand Secretary’s office to the East of Ionic Hall. Patricia Latham and Lisa Hastings then presented R.W. Robert Johnson, Jr. of Morning Star Lodge with the Secretary of the Year Award!

Opening & Necrology

After this presentation, the Grand Master then proceeded with the opening of Grand Lodge. After introducing all the distinguished guests in attendance, he called on M.W. Albert T. Ames, Grand Secretary, for the report on the recognition of proxies and voting powers of Lodges.

Following the report, the Deputy Grand Master was called upon to read the necrology for six (6) past Grand Lodge officers who entered the Celestial Lodge above since our last meeting. R.W. Walter H. Hunt, Grand Historian, then read Remembrances for two of our permanent members from that group – R.W. Robert F. Doherty and R.W. Robert C. Corr.

Elections of Officers

Then the big business everyone was prepared to conduct began. The Grand Master opened the floor for nominations for the office of Grand Master. Just one brother – Grand Marshal R.W. Richard Maggio – was nominated for the position. After accepting his nomination, Bro. Maggio was escorted outside of Ionic Hall.

After all the ballots were collected, the Grand Master appointed a committee of Past Grand Masters to count the ballots. The senior Past Grand Master, M.W. Albert T. Ames, chaired the committee.

While the ballot counting took place, R.W. Robert V. Jolly, Jr. delivered the report of the committee on charter & by-laws, and R.W. W. Warren Richardson read the report of the committee on records.

When M.W. Ames and the other past Grand Masters returned to Ionic Hall, they announced that R.W. Richard Maggio was unanimously elected to serve as the 90th Grand Master of Masons. Bro. Maggio was then escorted to the East of Ionic Hall, where the Grand Master asked him if he would accept his position. Bro. Maggio did accept and was then escorted back to his station to resume duties as Grand Marshal.

Ill∴ David A Glattly, 33°, the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, was then presented to the East. The Grand Master presented him with the Henry Price Medal, the highest honor Grand Lodge can award a brother. This was for his efforts spearheading the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction’s outstanding awareness efforts, promoting the principles of Freemasonry as widely as men will hear them.

The Grand Master then opened the floor for balloting on the office of Senior Grand Warden. Candidates R.W. George F. Hamilton and R.W. Heath L. VerBurg were presented to the East one final time before the vote was taken. After they were escorted out of the room, the Grand Master appointed a committee of past Senior Grand Wardens to count the ballots. M.W. Albert T. Ames chaired the committee.

While the ballots were being counted, R.W. David Harte (Milton Lodge) proudly presented Grand Lodge a Proclamation from the Massachusetts State Senate that was issued on Monday, December 9th. State Senator Walter Timilty offered the proclamation, which was approved for the Grand Lodge’s efforts with the myCHIP program – which has assisted local police departments identify over 314,000 children since its inception.

When the committee of Past Senior Grand Wardens returned, they announced that R.W. George F. Hamilton was elected to the position of Senior Grand Warden. Bro VerBurg then conceded all of his votes, so that the record would show a unanimous election for Bro. Hamilton. The Grand Master had Bro. Hamilton presented to the East of Ionic Hall, where he humbly accepted the results of the election.

The floor was then opened for balloting on the office of Junior Grand Warden. The Grand Master asked for R.W. Marc C Abbe and R.W. Christopher St. Cyr to be presented to the East one final time before the vote was taken. Once again, after the candidates were escorted out of the room, the Grand Master appointed a committee of past Junior Grand Wardens to count the ballots. R.W. Michael J. Jarzabek chaired the committee.

Once the votes were counted, Bro. Jarzabek returned to report that R.W. Christopher St. Cyr was elected to the position of Junior Grand Warden. Bro. Abbe conceded all of his votes so the record would reflect a unanimous election for Bro. St. Cyr. Bro. St. Cyr was then presented to the East, where he said it would be an honor to accept the results of his election.

The Grand Master then asked the Grand Secretary to entertain a motion for one unanimous ballot for the remaining slate of unopposed candidates. This motion was seconded, and approved unanimously by the voting members of Grand Lodge.

The brethren elected were:

• R.W. Mason W. Russell, Grand Treasurer
• M.W. Albert T. Ames, Grand Secretary
• R.W. Kevin J. Willis, Board of Directors, Term Expiring 2021
• R.W. Thomas A. Rorrie, Board of Directors, Term Expiring 2022
• R.W. Kenneth W. Pfeiffer, Board of Directors, Term Expiring 2022
• R.W. William E. Yanakakis, Board of Directors, Term Expiring 2022
• Bro. John R. Halsey, Sr., Trustee of ME&CT, Term Expiring 2027

Presentations

After all this business, the Grand Master began the work of issuing several important presentations to brethren assembled. First up, three Lodges were awarded certificates for reaching the 200th Anniversary of their Lodges being chartered. They were:

• Bethesda Lodge
• Brigham Lodge
• Saint Alban’s Lodge

R.W. Kenneth R. Blake was then called to the East, where he was recognized for his important work helping The Overlook as chairman of the board.

Several District Deputy Grand Masters had the unusual responsibility of serving three terms alongside M.W. Paul F. Gleason (DDGMs typically serve two years). They, alongside their 2019 colleagues, made an extremely generous presentation to the Grand Master – a replica statue of M.W. Joseph Warren’s memorial at Forest Hills Cemetery, which Grand Lodge dedicated back in 2016.

The Grand Master then received several donations from brethren and Lodges. Following the presentation of those donations to Grand Lodge, the Grand Master delivered his final Quarterly address to the brethren assembled.

The Grand Master then closed the meeting in ample form at approximately 4:15pm.