|
|
Ill. M. Douglas Adkins, 33°, Appointed Deputy in Texas
 SGC Ronald A. Seale, 33°, appointed Ill. M. Douglas Adkins, 33°, as Deputy in Texas, succeeding Ill. Jack Hightower, 33°, SGIG, who has retired. Ill. Adkins was born December 23, 1936, in Shreveport, Louisiana, and became a Master Mason in 1959 in Shongaloo Lodge No. 352, Shongaloo, Louisiana. He is Past Master of Claude L. Austin Lodge No. 1450 and a member of John L. DeGrazier Lodges, both of Dallas, Texas. In 1973 he became a 32° Master of the Royal Secret in the Valley of Dallas, in 1999 he received the rank decoration of a Knight Commander of the Court of Honour, and in 2005 he was coroneted a 33° Inspector General Honorary. He has served the Valley of Dallas as Venerable Master, as a member of the Financial Committee, as a trustee of the Dallas Scottish Rite Library and Museum, Inc., and as Personal Representative. He is a trustee of the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. Bro. Adkins is also a member of Dallas Chapter No. 47, RAM, Dallas Commandery No. 6, KT, St. Mark Conclave, Red Cross of Constantine, Lyle L. Cross York Rite College, No. 147, Hella Shriners, Royal Order of Scotland, and Holy Grail Council No. 287, Allied Masonic Degrees.
Ill. Adkins earned a BS in 1955 from the University of Louisiana in Lafayette and was a member of the varsity basketball team and president of the Blue Key Honor Society. He received his LLD cum laude from Tulane University Law School in 1963 and was managing editor of the Tulane Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif. He is Co-Managing Partner of the Dallas law firm of Gardere, Synne, Sewell, and a member of the Louisiana, Texas, and Dallas Bar Associations. His professional accomplishments include being chairman of the Lawyers Council; co-founder, general counsel, and secretary of Dallas Mavericks basketball team; a member of the Board of Directors of the Major Indoor Soccer League; secretary and a member of the Board of Directors of the Dallas Sidekicks indoor soccer team.
Bro. Adkins’ interests and civic involvements extend beyond his legal and sports activities. He is former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Dallas Baptist University; former Trustee and Secretary of Dallas Baptist University Foundation; Chairman of the Board of the Greater Dallas Fellowship of Christian Athletes; co-founder and former Secretary and Board of Directors of the Paul Anderson Youth Home; co-founder and former Director and Secretary of Los Hermanos de la Frontera, co-founder; Executive Vice President, and Secretary of the Mary Crowley Medical Research Center; former member Dallas Crime Commission; member Advisory Board of Trustees of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; former Secretary of Board of Deacons, member 2001 Vision Committee, and chairman, Building Steering Committee of the First Baptist Church of Dallas; trustee of Criswell College; Chairman.
Douglas is married to the former Carole Baker and they have two children: Mindy and her husband David Piehler have four children; Gregory and his wife Shannon have two children. He has discontinued playing basketball except for horse with his grandsons.
Unique Rock & Roll Gift Benefits Charlotte’s RiteCare Center
 Photo: Eight-year old Mia Azhame McManus, a patient at the Charlotte RiteCare Center, holds one of the Fender guitars autographed by Tommy James.
This year marks the 40th anniversary for Tommy James in the music industry. He has sold over 100 million records, including classics such as “Crimson and Clover” and “Mony, Mony.” In a remarkable gesture of generosity, this artist donated two personally autographed Fender guitars to the Valley of Charlotte’s RiteCare Children’s Language Center. The guitars were raffled off to raise money for the operation of the Center located at the Charlotte Scottish Rite Temple. Only 250 tickets were available for each guitar, and a total of $5,000 was raised for the center. Tommy James & The Shondells have had 23 gold singles and 9 gold and platinum albums. They currently have a new album “Hold the Fire” (www.TommyJames.com).
The Charlotte RiteCare Center was founded in 1988 and, like all RiteCare Childhood Language Programs, is committed to helping children who are exhibiting problems with language development or whose academic progress is being affected by delays in spoken or written language. These children exhibit normal intelligence and demonstrate the potential to achieve. Their delays are not caused by such other primary disabilities as severe as emotional problems, deafness, blindness, or mental retardation. There are no fees at the Charlotte RiteCare Center, and all services are available to families regardless of race, creed, color, or handicapping conditions.
Scottish Rite Goes a Little Country: Brad Paisley Joins the Scottish Rite
 Photo: Standing outside of the House of the Temple (from left to right) are Bro. Kendall Marcy, 32°, “Little Jimmie” Dickens, 32°, KCCH, Bro. Brad Paisley, 32°, Grand Commander Ronald A. Seale, 33°, and Doug Paisley, 32°.
Nashville recording artist and Country Music Association award winner Brad Paisley received the 32° on Saturday, October 28, 2006, at a special ceremony at the House of the. Bro. Paisley was in the Washington-Baltimore area as part of his “Time Well Wasted” concert tour. Brad and his keyboardist, Bro. Kendall Marcy, both joined the Scottish Rite under the direction of Grand Commander Ronald Seale, 33°.
Joining Brad for this ceremony was his dad Doug Paisley, 32°, who works with Brad on his tours as manager and bus driver. Grand Commander Seale, with help from Inspectors General Hoyt Samples, 33°, of Tennessee, C.B. Hall, 33°, of West Virginia, and Hans Wilhelmsen, 33°, of Maryland, presided over the event. Scottish Rite members of Paisley’s and Marcy’s Blue Lodge in Tennessee and Scottish Rite childhood friends from West Virginia participated in the ceremonies. In addition to Paisley and Marcy joining the Scottish Rite, country music legend “Little Jimmie” Dickens, known for his work on the TV show Hee Haw and on stage at the Grand Ole Opry, received the KCCH.
Paisley, a rising star in country music, was nominated for six awards by the Country Music Association, including Single of the Year, Album of the Year, and Entertainer of the Year. Brad won two awards from the CMA on November 6th: Vocal Event of the Year for his performance with Dolly Parton on “When I get Where I’m Going” and the prestigious Album of the Year for “Time Well Wasted.”
Paisley and Marcy were grateful that the Scottish Rite worked with them and their busy schedules. Paisley said, “I am very appreciative of everyone working with us, and I will do whatever I can to help this organization.” The Southern Jurisdiction is pleased that someone as young and energetic as Brad and Kendall see the benefit of the Scottish Rite and want to support our fraternity. Here’s wishing them both great success in the future!
Scottish Rite Sponsors Presentation at the Kansas Speech-Language-Hearing Association
 Photo: Left to Right: Ill. Hugh W. Gill III, 33°, Deputy in Kansas; Mindy Sittner Bridges, University of Kansas doctoral student; Ill. Don A. Mahrle, 33°, Personal Representative in Topeka, Kansas.
The Valley of Topeka, Kansas, along with the Kansas Speech-Language-Hearing Association (KSHA) Program Committee, invited Mindy Sittner Bridges, a University of Kansas doctoral student in Speech-Language Pathology, to present at the Fall 2006 Annual Conference. The title of her presentation was: “Reading Disabilities: Early Identification, Classification, and Intervention.”
Ill. Don A. Mahrle, 33°, Personal Representative in Topeka, and Hugh W. Gill III, 33°, Deputy in Kansas, were on hand to introduce Ms. Sittner Bridges and to take part in the presentation. The KSHA thanked the Valley of Topeka for sponsoring this most important continuing education opportunity for their members. Because of their generosity, many speech-language pathologists will be better able to help young children in Kansas learn to read.
Early identification of reading disabilities is a critical component of academic success. If children at risk for reading disabilities can be identified early, appropriate intervention can be provided, and the consequences associated with reading disabilities, can be reduced or eliminated. Children begin to learn language very early in life. As they grow and develop, their language skills become increasingly more complex. Research has shown that children with good language skills will go on to be competent and confident readers. The Scottish Rite RiteCare Childhood Language Program helps identify and treat language and learning disorders.
Submitted by Marla Staab, KSHA Past President, and Dixie Heinrich, KSHA Executive Director
Grand Chaplain Receives Boy Scouts’ Daniel Carter Beard Award
 Photo: Left to right: Bros. Ron Schwartz, 32°, Dean Clatterbuck, 32°, Ill. W. Kenneth Lyons, Jr., 33°, Grand Cross, Jules S. Tepper, 33°, PGM of D.C., and Albert McNair Smith, 33°, GM of D.C.
On September 6, 2006, Rev. W. Kenneth Lyons, Jr., 33°, Grand Cross, Grand Chaplain of the Supreme Council, received the Boy Scouts of America’s (BSA) prestigious Daniel Carter Bear Award at Odenton Lodge No. 209, Odenton, Maryland. The award was created in 2001 and is administered by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania to honor Masons who are currently registered Scouters and active in a Scout unit, district, council, or national affiliate, and who have displayed outstanding dedication to the Scouting program through: developing of Scouting units; assisting lodges in forming units; exemplifying the Scout Law and Masonic virtues; recruiting Scouting volunteers; and strengthening the relationship between Freemasonry and Scouting. Bro. Lyons is the first District of Columbia Mason to be honored with this award.
Ill. Lyons has been a registered scout since he was eight-years old—fifty-two years of service to the BSA! He is an Eagle Scout with three palms and has been honored by the Boy Scouts of America with the Silver Beaver and God and Service Awards. Bro. Lyons is the Scouting Ministry Coordinator for Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church, a member of Baltimore Area Council BSA Interfaith Committee, and Cub Master for nine years of Pack 768, Millersville, Maryland, where his wife, Donnelle, was committee chair for the pack. Sr. Pastor at Severna Park, Maryland, United Methodist Church, he has been supporting the God and Country Award for years and has often had the largest class of awardees in the nation. There are currently 61 in the program at his church under the supervision of six counselors.
Present for the presentation at Odenton Lodge were the Grand Officers of the Grand Lodge of Maryland, headed by RW John R. Biggs, 33°, Deputy Grand Master; MW Albert McNair Smith, 33°, Grand Master of the District of Columbia; MW Jules S. Tepper, 33°, PGM of D.C.; Bros. Jeffrey D. Russell, 32°, and Dean R. Clatterbuck, 32°, WM and Secretary of Potomac Lodge No. 5, Bro. Lyon’s Mother Lodge; and Bro. Ron Schwartz, 32°, a member of Baltimore Area Council BSA Interfaith Committee. Odenton Lodge has opened its doors to Scouting with a Cub Pack meeting in their building, and they will soon have a Boy Scout Troop.
Bro. Ken has had an exceptional career in Masonry as well as the Boy Scouts. He Joined Potomac Lodge No. 5, Washington, D.C., and received the 32° in 1973, the KCCH in 1985, and the 33° in 1989 while serving as Assistant Grand Chaplain. In 1991 he was appointed Grand Chaplain and was honored with the Supreme Council’s highest award, the Grand Cross in 2001. He said, “Scouting encourages boys and men to do their duty to God and country, just as Masonry does, and Scouting is a great opportunity to bring people to God.”
California Masons Celebrate Masonic Unity
 Photo: Some of the Illustrious, Excellent, Eminent, and Worshipful Brothers at the Unity Reception held at the Valley of Pasadena, California. (Photo: Lori Ringelsen)
Members of the Scottish and York Rites of Freemasonry gathered at the Arthur McCallum Masonic Center, Pasadena, California, for another Unity Reception following a dinner prepared and served by the Helen G. McCallum Rainbow for Girls Assembly No. 207. This year, the annual celebration was hosted by the Inland Empire York Rite Association, with Bro. Marshall F. Parker, 32°, KCCH, KYGCH, serving as Master of Ceremonies, and Bro. Dennis L. Ward, 32,° KCCH, KYCH, and Ill. Rickey O. Ward, 33°, KYCH, serving as escorts during introductions. From the Valley of Pasadena, Ill. Harry R. Sprague, 33°, Past Personal Representative, teamed with Ill. Herbert H.P. Wilkins, 33°, Grand Cross, Personal Representative, to deliver a special history on the use of more than two dozen different caps for both Northern and Southern Scottish Rite Jurisdictions. Bro. Parker followed with an excellent presentation on Freemasonry, emphasizing the importance of spreading the word to all Blue Lodges that “Both Rites are Right.” Certificates of appreciation were then presented to visiting representatives from the Valley of San Bernardino where the Unity Reception will be hosted in 2007.
Lt. Grand Commander Lancaster Receives Sam Houston Medal
 Photo: Lt. SGC Lancaster, 33°, with M.W. Brian Dodson, 33°, G.M.
The Grand Lodge of Texas, A.F.&A.M., presented its coveted Sam Houston Medal to Ill. Curtis N. Lancaster, 33°, Lt. Grand Commander, at its annual communication held in Waco, November 30–December 2, 2006. The award was established in 1984 “to be awarded to such distinguished Brethren as may be selected periodically by the Grand Lodge and the Board of Trustees as worthy of such special Masonic recognition.” Ill. Lancaster was born in San Angelo, Texas, and graduated from Texas A&M University before moving to Utah, where he served as Grand Master in 1983. The first Sam Houston awards were presented in 1987, and a total of thirty-two have been given to such Masonic notables as Dr. Forrest D. Haggard, 33°, GC, Norman L. Crosby, 33°, GC, Burl Ives, 33°, G.,C., C. Fred Kleinknecht, 33°, SGC, Sam Hilburn, 33°, SGIG, Jack E. Hightower, 33°, SGIG, and Dr. Abner V. McCall, 33°, GC.
FREEMASONRY Q & A
What is Prince Hall Freemasonry?
The term “Prince Hall Masonry” refers to Masonic Lodges descended from African Lodge No. 459 in Boston and whose members are predominantly African-American. On March 6, 1775, Sgt. John Batt, a member of Irish Lodge No. 441, attached to the 38th Regiment of Foot, British Army, initiated fifteen free African-American men, including Prince Hall. (“Prince” was his name, not his title.) The brothers formed a lodge and John Rowe, Provincial Grand Master for North America (Grand Lodge of Moderns), granted them “a Permet.” On June 30, 1784, one year after the Treaty of Paris ended the Revolutionary War, Bro. Hall wrote to the Modern Grand Lodge in London and requested a warrant, which eventually arrived on April 29, 1787, naming him the first Worshipful Master.
At this time the Moderns’ Provincial Grand Lodge held few meetings, the Ancients’ Provincial Grand Lodge had transformed themselves into an independent Grand Lodge, and St. Andrews Lodge, home of John Hancock, Paul Revere, and Joseph Warren, remained loyal to the Grand Lodge of Scotland. By 1813, all lodges in Massachusetts had joined the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts except for African No. 459. When the Ancients’ and Moderns’ Grand Lodges merged that year to form the United Grand Lodge of England, all American lodges were stricken from their rolls on the incorrect assumption that they had affiliated with an American Grand Lodge. African Lodge found itself without a Grand Lodge. In 1827 it declared itself independent of any other Masonic authority and eventually formed the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, named in honor of its first Worshipful Master.
Today there are 42 Prince Hall Affiliated (PHA) grand lodges in the U.S. with their own collateral bodies: Scottish Rite, York Rite, Shriners, Eastern Star, and more. (Some PHA grand lodges cover multiple states, such as Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah.) Prince Hall Masonry has been an important force in African-American communities, and its members include such notables as Richard Allen, Founder of the AME Church, Thurgood Marshall, Justice of the Supreme Court, Booker T. Washington, founder of Tuskegee Institute, and Nathaniel “Nat King” Cole, entertainer. Recognition between mainstream and PHA grand lodges began in 1989 in Connecticut, and today there is mutual recognition in 40 states, the most recent being Texas in December 2006.
|
|
|
