March 2003

 Charles Ross, Jr., Loretta Longfellow, Nancy Wojtanowski, Lesa Dillon

 

 This project involved collecting aluminum cans under the very capable leadership of Junior Deacon Ross, with lodge members and members of the Parkside Elementary community providing cans.  One only needs to reflect on the number of cans required for this project to understand the perseverance our Junior Deacon needed to complete this phase of the project.  Our next phase is to submit an application to the Coins for Children Program, sponsored by the Grand Lodge, for matching funds of $500 to purchase additional classroom materials for this Special Education Program.  Among others, two lodge brothers who provided extra special assistance to this project were Right Worshipful Ron Blue and Senior Deacon John Dorner.  Brother Ross is already targeting next year’s Coins for Children project.

 

 We are pursing the Grand Master’s Award of Excellence Program for the 2002-2003 year.  To achieve this distinction, the lodge must meet seven primary requirements and at least eight secondary requirements.  These requirements include many related to the Grand Lodge—Grand Lodge attendance, its membership program, lodge officer competition, lodge officers schools of instruction, leadership workshops, and demonstration and grand lectures schools.  Other requirements focus on such activities as dinner meetings, membership retention, unfinished work, widows’ communications, visitation at other lodges, community blood drive, support of a Masonic youth group, participation in the Coins for Children Program, and sponsoring a high school for the Academic Bowl.  Normal Lodge sponsored Normal Community High School and Normal Community West High School.  Senior Deacon John Dorner is coordinating this effort. 

 

 

A Note from the East

 

  Exciting activities are happening in your lodge.  First, the lodge is enacting the noble tenet of charity.  Under the compassionate leadership of Past Master Don Mayol, the lodge continues to provide food baskets to distressed families at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.  Our Senior Stewart Michael Jackson organized the distribution of bottled water to Constitutional Trail users during the July statewide Masonic Days.

 

  At the dinner meeting of March 10, Junior Deacon Charles Ross, Jr. presented a $564 check to representatives of Parkside Elementary School to purchase special classroom educational materials for Unit 5’s Special Education program.  Those representing Parkside Elementary were Nancy Wojtanowski, Special Education teacher, Loretta Longfellow, Special Education classroom assistant, and Lesa Dillon, classroom nurse.   The accompanying picture shows the happiness of this momentous occasion.

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