Dear Brother <<LNAME>>,

This message is to update you on several items of importance. Remember, previously sent messages may be found at the MESSAGE ARCHIVES website, which can also be accessed by clicking on the button below:

Click here to access the Message Archives website

Annals and Miscellanea.

The 2016, 2017, and 2018 issues of the Annals are at the printer. We hope to have them shipped in early February. As a local Council Secretary, you will be receiving a shipment of one copy of each of the three issues for each of your members as reported on your last received annual return.

Your shipment will be sent by U.S.P.S. media mail to your postal address on record. Please remember that we are printing and shipping over 27,000 books, so your patience is greatly appreciated.

The last issue of the Miscellanea that was published and distributed was the 2014 issue. The Publication Committee is currently editing a new issue from a backlog of well over one hundred papers that have been submitted for inclusion. No date has yet been determined for the publication and distribution of this issue.

2018 Annual Returns.

Your Annual Return for the year ending December 31st, 2018 was due by January 15th, 2019. So if you have not yet submitted your return, it is past due.

Councils whose 2018 Annual Returns are not received by February 15th, 2019 will be reported as "Delinquent" to the Grand Council and recorded as such in the 2019 issue of the Annals.

There is a new form this year, so please use it and not a modified version of some previous form. The new form is a spreadsheet with two sheets labelled "Front Page" and "Back Page."

You may download the new Annual Return form from the DOWNLOADS page of our website or by clicking on either of the buttons below:

Click here to download the 2018 Annual Return form

If you are having difficulty locating the "Back Page," click on the button below:

Click here to download the 2018 Annual Return form

Masonic Week 2019.

The forthcoming Masonic Week is quickly approaching. This annual event is being held February 21st - 24th, 2019 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. The Grand Council will convene for its annual meeting at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 23rd, 2019. Please pass the word to your members who might be interested in attending. The final schedule, along with information and registration forms regarding meals, hotel rooms, and degree conferrals, is now posted on the MASONIC WEEK website, which can also be accessed by clicking on the button below:

Click here to access the Masonic Week website

Masonic Week Degree Conferrals.

There will be a number of degree conferrals occuring during Masonic Week. Five degrees are open to all A.M.D. members: Royal Ark Mariner, Knight of Constantinople, and the first three Scarlet Cord Grades. Four degrees are open to current and Past Sovereign Masters: Installed Sovereign Master, Installed Supreme Ruler, Worshipful Commander Noah, and the fourth Scarlet Cord Grade. Finally, the Knight Commander of the Red Branch of Eri is open to current and Past Sovereign Masters who have been appropriately nominated by their Councils for that honor. The schedule of these various conferrals, along with qualification and registration information, is now posted on the MASONIC WEEK DEGREES website, which can also be accessed by clicking on the button below:

Click here to access the Masonic Week Degrees website

Fraternally yours,
Clyde H. Schoolfield, Jr.
Grand Secretary