MWSA District #108 News - Issue #3

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EXCELLENCE BY VIRTUE: Lead with our HEARTS; Think with our HEADS; Work with our HANDS

Through education and in consequence of our streamlined focus in pursuit of Masonic excellence, Masonic District #108 will work in harmony as a common mass to reinforce our District Lodges in support of the Grand Lodge of Texas.

• President's Message
• Upcoming Degrees
• MWSA Strategic Plan
• Sugar Land Lodge Past Masters Evening - April 8, 2019
• MWSA Upcoming Educational Meetings
• Lodge Google Calendars
• MWSA April Business Meeting - April 23, 2019
• District Deputy Grand Master's Traveling Schedule
• Hempstead Lodge Raffle Sale
• Morton Lodge Raffle Sale
• Morton Lodge Master Golf Tournament - Postponed Until October
• Brookshire Lodge Fish Fry - April 13, 2019
• Upcoming Events
• Food for Thought
• Newsletter Material Submission
• Suggestion Box

Honorable Brethren of MWSA 108:

Greetings. The month of February was busy and positive for our District. Following is a list of District brags: Sugar Land Brisket Sale (3 February), Morton FC Degree (4 February), significant participation and attendance at the Houston GM’s Conference and Bellaire Lodge’s Dinosaur Degree (9 February and 13 February, respectively), Pleasant Hill’s 8th Annual Chili Cookoff and Car Show (16 February) and Morton’s conferral of 3 EA degrees on 23 February. Also noteworthy were the number of Called meetings at Katy and Morton Lodges for the purposes of degree proficiency “turn-ins”. My brothers, we should all be proud of this non-inclusive list!

During the month of February, I was actively engaged in 25 masonic events on behalf of our glorious District (and as a part of work travels). These events included, but not necessarily limited to: various Stated Meetings within the District, visits to Tarrant Lodge 942 in Ft Worth, Crowley Lodge No. 1437 in Crowley, Yorkrite Festival at Melrose Lodge, 27th MWSA GM Banquet at Tarkington Prairie, San Jacinto Observance, 31st MWSA GM Fish Fry in Pearland, GM Conference in Nacogdoches and 107th MWSA GM Banquet in Liberty. A particularly special event was delivering a 50-year pin to a Brother Master Mason on behalf of the Grand Lodge of Florida at his home in Richmond, Texas.

Within this newsletter, you will find an update to the Strategic Plan Action Items and a listing of the Called Educational Meetings and Programs schedules for our District. We (YOUR LODGES) desperately need our membership to get involved in these strategic actions and make attendance to these meetings. I am convinced that we, as a District and as individual Lodges, should be the primary responsible entities for providing the training, education and mentoring of our members. IT IS NOT THE GLOT’s RESPONSIBILITY. As a reminder, one of our Guiding Principles is: “We Provide for Educational Opportunities”. The 2019 Spring Workshop and Education Program will be conducted on March 11 at Brookshire Lodge. The program will include a DEO program and a forum on Balloting, Purging, and Lodge Etiquette, Protocol and Decorum.

March will be another busy month for our District. My official visits begin in March and are as follows: Morton - March 12; Hempstead - March 14; Pleasant Hill - March 16; Sugar Land - March 18; Rosenberg - March 19. Note that a few of us will travel to Edna Lodge on March 22 to celebrate with the GM and Edna Lodge its 125th anniversary.

I encourage all of you to take a look at the MWSA 108 website. Brother Sharbrough has performed spectacularly with it. However, the site is only as good as the information we ask Brother Sharbrough to populate it with, e.g., keep your Lodge’s Calendar up to date, send in photos, marketing brochures, etc.

I look forward to seeing all of you in the month of March!

• Monday, March 4, 2019 - Morton Lodge #72 EA Degree
• Thursday, March 7, 2019 - Morton Lodge #72 Graded EA Degree - Meal @ 6:00 PM, Degree @ 7:00 PM

Brothers, please see below for our current progress on our Strategic Plan. You may click on the picture below to enlarge it.

Past Masters of District #108,

We would love to see you at Sugar Land Lodge's Past Masters Evening on April 8, 2019. For information and to RSVP, please use the Google Form below. We look forward to seeing you there!

Below are the dates of the various Business and Called Meetings and their educational components. Times and locations of these meetings will be added as soon as they are confirmed.

• Monday, March 11, 2019 - Called Meeting - District Education Workshop & Forum - Brookshire Masonic Lodge #1066 - Meal @ 6:00 PM, Meeting @ 6:30 PM
• Tuesday, April 23, 2019 - Business Meeting - Officer Duty Manuals
• Friday, May 24, 2019 - Called Meeting - Future Officer Opening & Closing Forum
• Wednesday, June 29, 2019 - Called Meeting - Mock Committee on Work Esoteric Forum
• Tuesday, July 23, 2019 - Business Meeting - Duties of the Investigation Committee
• Saturday, September 14, 2019 - Called Meeting - Mock Committee on Work Esoteric Exam
• Saturday, October 5, 2019 - Committee on Work Forum & Exam - Brookshire Masonic Lodge #1066 - 10:00 AM
• Tuesday, October 22, 2019 - Business Meeting - Education TBD
• Date TBD - Called Meeting - Master Mason Degree Competition

Brothers,

Please work to keep your Lodge's Google Calendar that is linked to the District #108 Google Calendar up-to-date. With everyone's calendar up-to-date, Brothers from other Lodges will be able to plan to attend more events and meetings around our District. This will take some work on the part of whoever controls the individual Lodge's Google Calendar, but it will be well worth the time investment.

Thank you!

At the January MWSA meeting, we voted to go to a quarterly business meeting schedule with educational meetings scheduled between the business meetings.

The next business meeting of the District 108 MWSA will be held on Tuesday, April 23, 2019, at Pleasent Hill Lodge #380 located at Schneider Road & FM 1488 in Field's Store, TX. We are working to put together a beneficial and educational agenda.

This section will be used to communicate Right Worshipful Cockroft's traveling schedule. Please note that this will not include various area and District Lodge degrees/events.

• Friday, March 22, 2019 - Edna Lodge #767 125th Anniversary Celebration - 6:00 PM - 113 West Ash Street, Edna, TX 77957
• Wednesday, March 27, 2019 - 30th MWSA Official Visit - 6:00 PM - Reagan Lodge #1037 - 1606 Heights Blvd., Houston, TX 77008

Hempstead Lodge is selling raffle tickets for a chance to win one of several firearms or a Louis Vuitton gift card. To purchase a raffle ticket for $10, see any member of Hempstead Lodge, or call WM Rodney Crosby at 281-831-4523.

Morton Lodge is holding a raffle benefiting their Scholarship Fund. The drawing will be held on April 9th. Ticket are only $1.00!

The Morton Masters Golf Tournament will be postponed until October. Due to this, Morton Lodge #72 is asking for donations to help support their scholarship fund and allow them to still give out scholarships this school year.

If you are able to help with a donation, please visit the Lodge website at http://www.mortonmasons.com and navigate to the Golf Tournament page. There is a PayPal button that will allow you to make a donation to the scholarship fund.

Brookshire Lodge will be holding their Fish Fry fundraiser on Saturday, April 13, 2019, from 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM at the Pattison Fire Station. They are currently seeking donated items for their silent auction. If any Lodges or Brothers wish to donate items to the auction, you may contact Brother Larry Rankin at lrankin5@comcast.net or the phone number listed at the bottom of the flyer below.

Below you will find dates for upcoming events around Masonic District #108, along with other Masonic events in our area. Full calendars for events around District #108 may be found at the District #108 website by clicking the button below this list.

Tuesday, March 5, 2019 - Katy Lodge Stated Meeting

Thursday, March 7, 2019 - Brookshire Lodge Stated Meeting

Tuesday, March 12, 2019 - Morton Lodge Stated Meeting - Official Visit by R:.W:. Cody M. Cockroft

Thursday, March 14, 2019 - Hempstead Lodge Stated Meeting - Official Visit by R:.W:. Cody M. Cockroft

Saturday, March 16, 2019 - Pleasant Hill Lodge Stated Meeting - Official Visit by R:.W:. Cody M. Cockroft

Monday, March 18, 2019 - Sugar Land Lodge Stated Meeting - Official Visit by R:.W:. Cody M. Cockroft

Tuesday, March 19, 2019 - Rosenberg Lodge Stated Meeting - Official Visit by R:.W:. Cody M. Cockroft

Saturday, March 23, 2019 - Morton Lodge, Rosenberg Lodge, & Sugar Land Lodge Special Ladies Event

Friday, March 29, 2019 - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - Sugar Land Lodge Creative Coastal Fundraiser - Galveston, TX

Monday, April 8, 2019 - Sugar Land Lodge Past Masters Evening

Saturday, April 13, 2019 - Brookshire Lodge Fish Fry - Pattison Fire Station - 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Full calendars for events around District #108 may be found at the District #108 website by clicking the button below.

Brothers,

If you or any Brother of your Lodge wishes to submit an announcement, event, or other blurbs for our monthly newsletter, please submit those materials below.