My Brothers,

Thank you again for your electing me to serve the lodge as Master this year – and to my officers who make it all possible.

We have had a good start – we have already passed our lodge inspection, and we have brought seven brothers up through the 2^nd degree. We did something different to handle the overflow of candidates – we performed the degree twice in one night. The feedback has been good – and hopefully the officers feel less burned out than they did when we had to run a degree on 2, or even 3, separate nights in the same month. Of course, we can’t do a two-for-one night with the 3^rd degree. Fortunately, I have found a lodge who can help us by raising a couple of our candidates.

It’s a good problem to have – this abundance of candidates. And all indications are that it will continue. We already have 4 applications in the pipeline for initiation in our next degree cycle starting in March.

So why the recent upswing in candidates? There are several factors. Some of the candidates are relatives or friends of our members. Others have the fortune of being a coworker of one of our members, such as a certain academic administrator south of the capitol. But we also get applications with no connection to the lodge whatsoever. What brings them in? Recently, there is a boost from the recent Dan Brown book The Lost Symbol. But there has to be more.

I think that a bigger factor is that they see us serving the community, living the ideas we profess, and having fun doing it. They see a group where they can have a sense of belonging and having worth.

So ask yourself, is that sense what keeps you coming to lodge? It is for me (that, and my obligations of office, of course.) Let’s strive to keep presenting that image to the public.

Fraternally,

Bro Paul Hendricks, WM 2010