R.W. Matthew A. Niedermeier Appointed Deputy Grand Master for 2024
Matthew Adam Niedermeier of Caleb Butler Lodge, Ayer, was installed as the 2024 Deputy Grand Master by M.W. George F. Hamilton, Grand Master of Masons in Massachusetts, in a ceremony performed at the fraternity’s Boston headquarters. The Deputy Grand Master is the second-highest ranking officer of the Grand Lodge of Masons of Massachusetts, comprised of 20,000 members belonging to 200 lodges throughout the state.
Brother Hamilton, the presiding officer in the state, handpicked Niedermeier to serve as Deputy Grand Master. For the next year Brother Niedermeier will assist the Grand Master and preside over Grand Lodge if Brother Hamilton is absent. He is also Grand Master ex officio should the Grand Master not be able to complete his term. During the same ceremony, Brother Hamilton, of Westborough was installed for the second of his three one-year terms as the 91st Grand Master of Masons in Massachusetts.
The Deputy Grand Master began his Masonic career in June 2010 when he joined Caleb Butler Lodge. In October of that year he affiliated with The Scouters Lodge in Holden; the Scouters Lodge is an affinity Lodge with membership limited to those that have attained the rank of Eagle Scout, or to an individual who has been presented the Daniel Carter Beard Masonic Scouter Award. He concurrently held several junior officer positions in both Lodges, eventually serving as the Worshipful Master, or presiding officer, of Caleb Butler Lodge in 2016, and The Scouters Lodge in 2017 and 2018. Freemasons use the original definition of “Worshipful,” meaning honorable; British mayors and judges are still addressed as Worshipful. As Deputy Grand Master, Niedermeier will be called “Right Worshipful”.
In 2019 Brother Niedermeier held his first Grand Lodge office, as one of two Grand Pursuivants. A Grand Pursuivant assists the Grand Marshal in processions and other ceremonies. In 2021 and 2022 he was District Deputy Grand Master of the Twenty-fifth Masonic District, comprised of the following Lodges: Mount Zion Lodge, Barre (chartered in 1800), Quaboag Lodge, Warren (1858), Eden Lodge, Ware (1863), Hayden Lodge, North Brookfield (1863), Rufus Putnam Lodge, Rutland (1912), Bay Path Lodge, West Brookfield (1923), and The Scouters Lodge (2010). There are 37 districts in the jurisdiction, each led by a District Deputy Grand Master, who is the personal representative of the Grand Master to the lodges in his district. This past year, Brother Niedermeier served as Grand Sword Bearer; the Grand Sword Bearer assists the Grand Marshal and stands in for him if he is absent.
In 2019, Brother Niedermeier received the Joseph Warren Medal for Distinguished Service. Named for the Patriot killed during the Battle of Bunker Hill, Warren was the presiding Grand Master at the time of his death. The medal recognizes exceptional service at the lodge level. The Grand Master confers the award on the recommendation of the lodge Master.
Active in several Masonic organizations, the Deputy Grand Master is a member of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite for the Valley of Boston. He has been Captain of the Consistory Guard since 2019. He belongs to the York Rite‘s Saint Paul’s Royal Arch Chapter, Boston, Boston Council of Royal and Select Master Masons, and Boston Commandery #2 of Knights Templar. He is an Aleppo Shriner, Wilmington, and a Charter Member of Omar Grotto, Danvers.
A native of Janesville, WI, Niedermeier is a Supervisory Intelligence Analyst with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He graduated from George S. Parker High School, Janesville and Excelsior University, Albany, NY. In 1990, Niedermeier began serving in the U.S. Army; he is now a member of the U.S. Army Reserves and holds the rank of Chief Warrant Officer Five.
Matt lives in Shirley with his wife, Elaine and their three daughters: Madison, Courtney, and Autumn. In addition to his Masonic activities, he is a member of Trinity Chapel, Shirley, and American Legion Post #183, Shirley.
