To the Brethren of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Valley of Lincoln
From Edward Boone, Venerable Master
As many of you are aware, we had our installation of officers a few weeks ago, and I was sworn in as the Venerable Master of the Lodge of Perfection for the Lincoln Valley of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. I am humbled and proud to have been elected to this office by my brothers, and I hope to serve you all to the best of my ability in the coming year. I hope you will forgive me for taking a couple of weeks to get this email out: many of my recent weekends have been taken by the United States Army Reserve, but I have been able to take time in the evenings and in between work to confer with my fellow masters and do some planning. Those plans are reflected in this letter to you. Please take the time to review it and give me your thoughts.
Along with myself, Micah Evans was elected Wise Master of the Chapter of Rose Croix, Don Albrecht was elected Commander of the Council of Kadosh, and James Batten was elected Master of Kadosh for the Consistory. These men are all Past Masters as well as Past Venerable Masters, and I am grateful to serve alongside them and to have their wise counsel during my year as VM. On top of all this, we have a great line of officers coming up behind us. The future of our Valley is brighter than it has ever been.
We have a lot of exciting things planned this year. I think every new Masonic Master in any lodge or body is obligated to say that, but I really do mean it!! I'm lucky to be following on Don's heels, but he also set a pretty high bar to attempt to reach!
We will be continuing many of the great changes put in place last year, and working constantly to add new programs, events, and features. For those of you who have worked with me in the past, you know that I am obsessed with adding value for my customers in my fitness business. I have that same obsession for the Scottish Rite. There will be a lot of ways that you can take advantage of all that your Scottish Rite has to offer, but you will get no value out of any organization if you stay home.
The best way to be involved in the Valley is by attending the monthly business meeting: Every month on the third Wednesday at 6PM (social hour 5:15). The next meeting is February 19th. We will continue to have the bar open before and after meetings, and we will continue to have dinner available after each meeting. Dinner will still be $6 per person, but there's a way you can save some money and have a say in the menu each month. Beginning in February, you will have the opportunity to sign up for our Dinner Club for only $45! Alright, I hear you say, that'll save me ten or fifteen bucks a year (we do not typically hold a business meeting in December) - big whoop. But wait there's more! In addition to the money you'll save, consider that the dinner choice each month will not be an executive decision: only members of the Dinner Club will be able to nominate and vote for the monthly dinner. The deadline to sign up for 2020 will be Friday, February 14th. Sign ups after that date will receive a pro-rated price to be determined by the existing members of the Club.
Another continuing tradition from last year will be short business meetings! The only way to do this, of course, is to hash a lot of things out in committee (and emails). I can't stress enough how much I, and my fellow masters, want your input on the direction of our Valley. If you are interested in serving on a committee for an event, Reunion, fundraiser, or initiative, please let me know.
In fact, please email me -or text or call me- on anything. If you are reading this letter, I want your ideas. My contact information is at the bottom. Whether it's something the Rite did back-in-the-day, something you thought went well in another organization you were in, or an entirely new idea, I want to hear it! And while I certainly have a lot of energy and passion for serving this body, I don't have boundless time. If you have a great idea that you want to see implemented in this valley, I expect you to take a leadership role in seeing it through, and you will have the full support and resources of the officers of the Valley if our brothers agree it is worthwhile.
Initiatives:
We have several major initiatives we will launch or continue in 2020. They are all geared toward making our appendant body larger, stronger, and better.
-Fraternity to Fraternity: Spearheaded by Senior Warden of the Lodge of Perfection Cody Carlow, this initiative plans to introduce as many college fraternity men in their junior and senior years as possible to freemasonry - in the setting of our beautiful Scottish Rite building. We hope to develop a "pipeline" from college to blue lodge to the Scottish Rite of young men who are passionate about improving themselves, giving back to their community, and working to develop the world around them. If you were a member of a college fraternity, please reach out about how you can help.
-Expansion: The Council of Kadosh, led by Commander Don Albrecht, is taking action this year to bring more Master Masons into everything that the Scottish Rite has to offer. An effort is underway to assign ambassadors to attend a business meeting of every Blue Lodge in or near Lincoln during 2020. These ambassadors will meet and greet, share fellowship, relay upcoming Scottish Rite events, and answer questions with the brothers of that Blue Lodge. Please reach out if you want to help - you can do as little as one trip.
-Engagement: The Consistory, led by Master of Kadosh James Batten, is undertaking to get you to come to the events of the Scottish Rite. If you are interested in being involved in this effort, please let us know.
Staying Up To Date
We are working to make communication to, from, and within the Scottish Rite flow more efficiently, and while some of that will be internal improvements, there are three great ways to make sure that you're aware of everything happening in the Scottish Rite this year:
1) Read these emails!
3) Subscribe to our sharable Google Calendar at https://calendar.google.com/calendar?cid=anVxcmlqYWdoNnBhNjhkOGU3aml0djYwZDRAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ
I want to thank those of you who read this far. It was a lot to read, but there’s a lot we plan to do this year, and I want you to play a big role in that. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on what I've laid out.
And please do get in touch: there's a reason why we always say it's "YOUR Scottish Rite!"
Fraternally Yours,
Edward Boone, 32°
Venerable Master, Lodge of Perfection
Valley of Lincoln
Orient of Nebraska
Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite
(402)617-8855
boone.ed@gmail.com