By Most Worshipful Grand Master of Masons in Wisconsin Brother Jeffrey S. Schoenfeldt
Hello, Brothers. I’m Jeff Schoenfeldt and I have the extraordinary honor of serving as your Grand Master. Thank you to all of the Brothers and Lodges who attended Annual Communication. I think we had a very productive session, – but even more importantly, were able to share in the friendship and Brotherly Love that mean so much to us!
I think it’s important for the Brothers to know a little bit about me. I was born in Wauwatosa and spent the first four months of my life in foster care. After being adopted by my parents, Roger and Gerry, I was raised in a small town, Peshtigo, famous for its 1871 fire.
Family, faith, tradition, loyalty, and hard work were instilled in me throughout my childhood. My dad worked in a paper mill; my mom, a local library. After graduating Peshtigo High School, I attended the George Washington University in Washington, DC. While there, I worked for a Wisconsin congressman on Capitol Hill before spending some time at an agricultural trade association.
I moved back to Wisconsin and began a career path that has involved me working in government and politics for the past 25 years. I’ve managed $72 billion state budgets through the legislative process, helped run the referendum campaign that saved Lambeau Field and kept the Green Bay Packers in Green Bay, and even quit my job, sold all of my possessions, and traveled the world for a year – trekking over 88,000 miles across 26 countries on all 7 continents.
I was first introduced to Freemasonry in the fall of 2005 while training for a three-week deployment with the Red Cross following Hurricane Katrina. A fellow trainee was a young Mason and convinced me to fill out a petition. I received my degrees at Barneveld Lodge, a small town Lodge filled with great men. Those guys took a chance on me and voted me into their Lodge – and I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better match.
I’m a proud member of Scottish Rite and served as Sovereign Prince in 2019. I joined the Shrine that same year, as I am drawn to the incredible work they do to help children suffering from health issues and give them a better life. I served four years as an Area Administrator, as District Deputy in District 8 in 2016, District Deputy in District 7 in 2017, and was appointed Junior Grand Steward in 2018.
My wife, Janelle, and I were high school sweethearts – in fact, she was my date to the prom in 1992! Life took us in different directions but also made our paths to merge again at a later point in life. We were married last December in a small ceremony in the living room of our home in the Town of Peshtigo.
We have three incredible children – Ava, who is 24 and lives in Burlington, Vermont, Evan who is 22 and lives in Dallas, Texas, and Ethan, who is a 21-year old junior at Marquette University. We also have a Brittany spaniel, McKinley Roosevelt (named after the two Freemasons on the winning presidential ticket in 1900, the year my grandfather was born), and nine (yes, 9) cats, including a family of seven stray cats I found last year: Mason, Darth, Magic, Simba, Tink, Toe White, and their mother, Hale, as well as our two legacy cats, Leo and Cocoa. Needless to say, it’s a house full of activity and love!
I joined Masonry out of a strong desire to better my community and myself. 15 years ago, there’s no way I could have spoke before 500 people at Annual Communication like I just did, but Masonry taught me how to be calm and properly address my Brethren. I’ve stayed a Mason because I can see the incredible impact we have on this state, helping with scholarships, FSTs, AEDs, food pantries, school lunch programs, science fair projects, and partnering with other community organizations who also want to make a difference. But even above that, I’ve stayed in Masonry for the friendships and incredible Brotherly Love.
Over the course of the next 11 months, your Wisconsin Freemasonry Leadership Team is going to work tirelessly to continue to promote and protect this fraternity that we all love so much. I’m honored to be your Grand Master – but I’m also honored simply just to be your Brother. Thank you for being a Freemason! Keep on being the good in the world!
