April 30, 2012
Dear Worshipful Sir and Brothers all: “No great or important undertaking … .” Prayer undergirds all we do in Masonry. Every meeting opens and closes with an address to the Throne of Grace. So it will be on June 20th when Division 8 presents “Operation Raising a Reader,” Grand Master Louie’s project to enhance the reading skills of disadvantaged children. Your Lodge is invited to write an opening and closing prayer for this important event. All the Lodges in the division are encouraged to participate and two will be selected from the submissions. If a prayer is chosen from…
April 26, 2012
On Wednesday April 4, 2012, Blythe/Needles Lodge #473 honored three instructors, for their dedication to education. Rosalie Ann Campa, Gretchen Nelson, and Opal Kemp have worked for the Riverside County office of Education for a combined total of over 65 years teaching Special Needs children. Both Rosalie and Gretchen are graduates of our local Palo Verde High School, who have stayed here to help our local children. Opal transferred to Blythe from Banning in 1992, and has taught here since. The ceremonies were preceded by the awarding of a Scholarship from the Blythe Social Club, to Kathleen Bell, daughter…
April 25, 2012
On Tuesday, April 17, 2012, Fellowship Lodge #668, in Yucaipa, CA had a program honoring several students from the Yucaipa-Calimesa Unified School District. Students and principals from13 schools were represented. Each school chose one student to be recognized for their outstanding scholastic or personal achievements. This year’s program was very successful with over 180 people in attendance.
April 24, 2012
April 16, 2012 Redlands Lodge #300 presented Worshipful Elmer Pfonner with his Golden Veteran Award. His son, Dwight Pfonner, who is also a Past Master of San Dimas lodge 428, is a Marine currently serving in Iraq. He took leave to come home to participate in this special ceremony for his father. Many members, friends, and over 50 family members attended the dinner and ceremony.
April 21, 2012
Grand Master Frank Loui has named April Public schools month. As a part of this month long celebration on Monday, April 17, 2012 Chino Masonic Lodge presented the first annual “Excellent Reader Awards.” To the Students of Edwin Rhodes Elementary School in Chino. In Attendance was AGL for Division 8, Worshipful Frank Lee. From Chino Masonic Lodge: Worshipful Manny Blanco, Worshipful John Cover Spear and Brother Jim Duran. 28 Awards were presented to students from grades Kindergarten through sixth for their efforts in improving their reading skills. In addition, “Most Excellent Reader Awards” where presented to seven students, one from each grade, who over all improved their skills the most. AGL…
April 19, 2012
The Blood Drive held at Evergreen Lodge was a success. Those who came filled out a questionnaire, answered a series of health questions to see if they were eligible to give blood, and endured a small prick for a moment to provide the life-giving fluids that are so desperately needed. Some were able to go through the process of having the platelets filtered from their blood to be used. It was reported that the process made you feel cooler since the blood was not kept, it was sent back to you. Brother Richard Scott organized the event and he…
April 18, 2012
The Inland Empire Public Schools Advisory Council (IEPSAC) in Division 8, presented a program to kickoff Public Schools Month in California, at San Jacinto Elementary School, in San Jacinto, California. The members of the IEPSAC are: Manny Blanco, Chair from Evergreen Lodge #259, Eric Bordner, San Bernardino Lodge #178, Dennis Brandt, Temescal Palms Lodge #314, Randy Freeman, San Diego Lodge #35, Jim Ridley, San Jacinto Lodge #338, Mike Sekera, Temecula Catalina Island Lodge No. 524 and Lee Whelan, Riverside Lodge #635. Many school officials, students, parents and members of our Masonic family were in attendance. Some of those…
April 17, 2012
A partnership between the Masons of California and San Jacinto Unified School District is bringing a family-based reading program to San Jacinto Elementary kindergarteners next school year. It is part of the fraternal organization’s more than $750,000 public education commitment statewide announced on Thursday to targeted programs, like Raise A Reader in San Jacinto, and high school scholarships. The event also celebrated Public Schools Month. On a school level, it shows parents another commitment to helping even the youngest child to learn to read. Jasmin Verduzco, a mother of five who has three children at the school, said the new…
April 13, 2012
The Inland Empire Public Schools Advisory Council presented their Public Schools Month Kickoff on April 12, 2012 at San Jacinto Elementary School (SJE), in San Jacinto, CA. The Masonic visitors were treated to tours around the school by students in the 5th grade. This included the schools new library, that was just dedicated in March of this year and a new computer lab that is used by the 1st to 5th graders on a weekly basis. The program began with the Pledge of Allegiance being led by a Kindergarten student and “America the Beautiful” being sung by a…
April 11, 2012
Operation Literacy Committee At Work Dave Hall, P.M. As the sun lowered in the west on the eve of last weekend, Div VIII committeemen sat at their laptops busily searching for photographs and icons that will convey the important message of our 2012 program Operation Literacy in partnering with the Grand Master’s project “Raising A Reader”. As some searched, others worked on articulative narrations for their various tableaus. Why? What is so important to the Masons of Division VIII that many willingly sacrifice their personal time to prepare a program for the Grand Master’s project? 1% Improvement In Literacy…
