The rains are letting up and it’s getting warmer. Summer will soon be here. This is my favorite time of the year. I think it has to do with new beginnings as we see the flowers, trees and vegetable gardens start to flourish and grow.

I have just returned from a Master and Wardens Retreat along with Junior Warden Michael Roberts, PM. Senior Warden Harry Burt attended an earlier Retreat. They are annual conferences conducted by the Grand Lodge, with the Grand Master and most of the Grand Lodge Officers in attendance. Masters and Wardens from approximately 350 California Lodges participate in these conferences each year. We listened to several lectures and participated in breakout sessions that were designed to inform us of opportunities and strategies for improving our Lodges and making them more productive. I especially appreciated the opportunity to talk with the officers of other Lodges and to gain useful ideas.

We have received two applications for degrees and three applications for affiliation into our lodge this year. On May 10th, beginning at 6:30 PM, we will be conferring the first degree of masonry upon Mr. Jonathan Groetsch in our Lodge. We are excited about the opportunity to accept another brother into our Lodge and the officers are presently honing their ceremonial skills for the event. Brother Larry Strohmeyer was also recently elected to affiliate with our Lodge and we are happy to have him back.

At our last Stated Meeting Dinner, we had the privilege to present the Golden Anniversary award to two of our members, Brothers Fred Schachtman and Tommy Thompson. It was stimulating to see several other brothers who have received this prestigious award in attendance at this event. The presence of Worshipful Otis Simonsen was especially inspiring as he served as Master of our Lodge when Brother Tommy Thompson was raised 50 years ago.