By Rich Rygh
Over 60 Brethren enjoyed a great day of fellowship and good food at the District 7 and 9 combined Spring Meeting at CamRock Park between Rockdale and Cambridge on May 17.
District 7 Education Officer Chris Kolakowski gave a very interesting talk on Masonry and the military. He presented some military stories from over the last 150 years that illustrate the tenets of Freemasonry, brotherly love, relief and truth. It being Armed Forces Day he recognized the Veterans present.
District 9 Lecturer Brad Behlke spoke on brotherly love. He stated we set the example and show society what it can be if we follow the Masonic principles. He explored the meaning of brotherly love and how it relates to charity and truth.
DD7 Ryan A. Mayrand presented the District 7 Rookie Mason of the Year to Brother Michael Thumm of Middleton-Ionic Lodge.
Deputy Grand Master Jeff Schoenfeldt brought the Brothers up to date on the Masonic Passport Program, the new electronic petitions now being beta tested and the new electronic dues cards.
DGM Schoenfeldt reviewed the resolutions coming before the Annual Communication on June 6 and 7.
Resolution 6-2025 which allows the Worshipful Master to have the final say on whether a lodge wants to have alcoholic beverages at lodge functions. He stated the feeling was that these decisions are best made at the lodge level rather than by the Grand Lodge Leadership Team.
Resolution No. 7-2025 allowing one cipher open during degree work would also be at the discretion of the Worshipful Master and the lodge.
The Deputy Grand Master promoted the 100th Celebration of the Wisconsin Masonic Foundation on Friday Night during the Annual Communication. There are some incredible prizes. This is a tremendous value for the $100 cost of the tickets featuring fine food, premium cocktails and live entertainment. The goal is to raise $100K for the foundation, $65K has already been raised.
Sgt. Mueller of the Wisconsin State Patrol arrived to receive five go-bags purchased through the District 9 initiative.
DGM Schoenfeldt specified the Leadership Team is going to be a cohesive team moving forward. It is all about membership, retention and Brotherly Love.
He touched on the upcoming degree 3.5 which is onboarding for our new Masons.
The Deputy Grand Master stated Brother Ryan A. Mayrand has been appointed Junior Grand Steward for this year. Brother Paul A. Larson will be the incoming Junior Grand Steward for next year. District Deputy Kevin K. Gruber will be moving from District 6 to District 7. Brother Patrick J. Garvin will be the new District 9 Deputy.
Grand Treasurer Paul T. Tourville, PGM, stated he is proud to be a Freemason. He stated the importance of the relevancy of Freemasonry in Wisconsin. He said the outside world is definitely seeing the relevancy of Freemasonry today. Due to our FST and AED donations and the good they have done, we have received tremendous donations from non-Masonic connections. The outside world is truly seeing the relevancy of Wisconsin Freemasonry. As you travel nationally in the United States of America there is one jurisdiction that sticks out as the leader and you are sitting in it right now.
PGM Tourville stated, “There is no question every jurisdiction in the United States of America looks at Wisconsin as the number one leadership organization in the country for Freemasonry.”
PGM Tourville believes the message we adopted a few years ago centered around brotherly love made the difference. We had the right guy at the time, PGM Gary Stang’s “I love you Brother”, brought Wisconsin out of COVID and the shutdown we endured faster than any jurisdiction on the planet. Some jurisdictions lost two-thirds of their members. We led the nation in coming out of COVID. For three years in a row we have brought more men into Freemasonry than we lost due to death.
