THE NEW DISTRICT DEPUTY GRAND MASTER. Brethren, it is my distinct privilege to inform you that Lawrence D. Petty was appointed the Right Worshipful District Deputy Grand Master for the 3rd Northern District at Grand Lodge on October 4th & 5th, 2002. Larry has been an active member and respected brother of our lodge for many years. Star in the East will be hosting a reception in Larry's honor on Sunday, November 24th, 2002 at 1:00 p.m. at the Hoffman House. The meal will be a prime rib buffet. I would like to invite every member of our lodge to attend. It is always an honor to have a member of our lodge appointed to such an important position in the fraternity. If you would like to attend, please note the attached RSVP. It will help us tremendously if you can get your reservations in as early as possible.
BUDDY A. FRAZIER MASONIC SERVICE SCHOLARHIP PROGRAM. Our lodge has voted to award academic scholarships to students who have demonstrated their willingness to serve others. Consequently, there will be a service related criterion for those who wish to apply. The idea is to promote students who have demonstrated a value for service to others, which is consistent with the values of our fraternity for charity and brotherly love. Hopefully recipients of our scholarship program will return to their communities and continue to serve those around them. The lodge voted unanimously at the September stated meeting to name the scholarship the Buddy A. Frazier Masonic Service Scholarship. The lodge voted to do this in honor of Buddy who passed away on August 19th, 2002. Buddy was a Past Master of Star in the East and honorary member of every lodge but one in the 3rd Northern District. The lodge voted at the October stated meeting to make the scholarship available to students at local high schools. This will allow our lodge to get credit under the Grand Lodge's Award of Excellence program. Also, it should enable our lodge to interact to a greater extent with the local community. Hopefully this will create a greater awareness of our fraternity in the Rockford area and perhaps generate some interest from non-members. A draft of the scholarship application will be reviewed at our November stated meeting on Tuesday, November 19th, 2002 at 7:30 p.m. We hope to have the application finalized in time to make it available to applicants for the Fall 2003 school semester.
NEW MEMBERS. I am also proud to announce the addition of several new members to our lodge. At the August 10th, 2002 Blue Lightning in Freeport, Illinois, James Cooper, Keith Damon, Erwin Emery, and Tim McWilliams were raised as Master Masons. I am proud to say that Brother McWilliams is not only my nephew; he is now my brother in the fraternity. Brother Emery was installed as our Junior Steward at our September stated meeting and has since been in regular attendance at the district's schools of instruction. We are proud to have him as the newest member of our officer line.
FRIENDS & FAMILY NIGHT. I would like to remind you that Star in the East will be having a Friends & Family Night on Saturday, November 16th, 2002. We will be serving lasagna at 5:00 p.m. and the Valley of Moline, A.A.S.R., will be presenting December's Rose at 6:00 p.m. Please come and bring someone with you. It is my desire to have a huge turnout for this event. Our brothers from the Valley of Moline will be coming from some distance, and I would like for them to feel that the drive was worthwhile by seeing a large crowd.
MEMBERSHIP ACTIVITIES. WB Martin Dinges, Senior Warden, will be coordinating several membership issues for the lodge at my request. As a result of his activities, do not be surprised if you get a call inviting you to attend a lodge meeting if you have not attended one for some time. We would like to see more of our members and have fellowship with them.
Fraternally, Darrin L. Salzman Worshipful Master