Greetings from the Grand Secretary

• Distressed Worthy Master Masons, Widows and Orphans,
• A Youth Program to keep children in school and not on the streets
• Honor flight program, thank you MWB Jim Mendoza for getting this latter program started

From the Desk of Clinton M. Brown, Jr.
Grand Secretary

Brethren,
 
The 162^nd Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Washington is complete and was a success.  You should have already received a copy of the Resolution Recap and Voting Results.  If you did not, please check below to see a record of how the voting turned out.
 
We are now coming up on election season for many of our Lodges.  As you will recall, last year was the first year that the Lodge Secretary did not have to fill out the election form and send it in to the Grand Lodge Office.  With Grand View, Lodge Secretaries now have the ability to track lodge elections and manage the selection and installation of Lodge officers.  Since you generally only do this once a year, I thought it might be time for a short refresher on how to enter your election results.
 
To record a lodge election simply open the “Elections” option from your Lodge dashboard.  Select the "add" button next to elections.  Set the date and type of election and click "add".  Types are “Annual Election” or “Special Election”.  Special Elections are normally used to record an election that occur to replace an officer who has passed or is no longer serving the remainder of his term.  (Elections of Lodge Officers is covered in Chapter 15 of the Washington Masonic Code).

 
Upon creating the election you are presented with the election worksheet where officers are divided into two different groups,  Elected and Appointed.  Select the “Add” button next to the office you are selecting and there you can search for the member who was elected, select that member and click submit.
 
 
The Washington Masonic Code requires that officers must be proficient in the Third Degree.  This information must be in the member’s history before they can be installed into an office.  If you cannot find a member, please verify they satisfy the requirements for holding that office.
 
Once all of your officers have been assigned you have completed the election process.  If you are holding installations the same night at elections you can begin installing your officers from this form.  To install an officer simply click the “Install” button next to their office where you will be prompted for their term dates.  It is recommended that you leave the end date blank because if you put an end date in and the new officer has not been installed, then the record will show that no officer is in that position..
 
Note concerning open-ended office terms (no end date).  By design Grand View does not require an end date for an installed officer and perceives an office record with no term end as the currently installed officer for that position.  When new officers are installed through this interface the system will set the term end of the current officer to the term start date of the newly installed officer.
 
If some officers are not installed during your installation ceremony do not install those officers.  Simply go back to this election record when they are duly installed.  This will allow more accurate records of who manned an office on any given date.
 
 

 
If you select the wrong member when adding a new officer you can remove that record by selecting the red X next to the member’s name.  If you do not recognize an error until after you install the officer you will need to contact the Grand Lodge office to have this record corrected.
 
Again Brethren, I am humbled by the confidence that you have shown in me by re-electing me as your Grand Secretary.  I will continue to work hard for the Lodges and Brethren within this Jurisdiction.  My door is always open, so feel free to stop by and say hello.  You can also call me at (253)625-7891 or email me at grandsecretary@freemason-wa.org.

Fraternally,
Clinton M. Brown, Jr.
Grand Secretary

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 25 days since our Annual Communication! MWB Charles Wood’s term has gotten off to quite a hectic start, and a lot of things have been accomplished in less than a month. Also, as of last week, it’s been a year since I joined the Grand Lodge Staff. This last year has been a steep learning curve, and I have learned many new skills in performing the duties of this position.  I truly appreciate all the support from everyone involved, and I hope I have been able to best assist the Brethren in their respective duties.

One of the duties I have been working with here is correspondence with foreign Jurisdictions. As you might know, this not only includes Grand Lodges in foreign countries, such as England, Germany, and the Philippines, but also the other states in the United States. However, we obviously do not recognize all Grand Lodges in the World; there is a book called the “List of Lodges – Masonic” that covers the Jurisdictions that we recognize. Every Lodge should have an updated copy of this book, as Jurisdictions extend or withdraw recognition of other Jurisdictions throughout the world for various reasons.  It is important that if a visitor comes to your Lodge that nobody can vouch for, you check his dues card against this book to assure that his Lodge is Regular, and that he is not clandestine.  You can purchase one through the Grand Lodge office.

In addition to this kind of correspondence, it is also important to know that Correspondence between Jurisdictions regarding membership, including degree work, affiliations, and the like, must be carried out through their respective Grand Lodges. This is very clearly spelled out in the Washington Masonic Code. Some might question why we would need to do so, since we have the “List of Lodges – Masonic” book available and can know which Lodges are regular and which are not, but it is not that easy. While each Jurisdiction gains new members through degree work or affiliation, not all use the same methods of logging their membership or allow certain kinds of membership. For example, the Grand Lodge of California charges dues to their Entered Apprentices and Fellowcrafts as well as their Master Masons, and the Grand Lodge of West Virginia does not permit dual or plural memberships. In addition, each Grand Lodge has different types of forms concerning membership, and while many directly correspond to ours, many do not. And all interjurisdictional correspondence regarding membership must be attested by the respective Grand Secretaries. The good news is that not only our Secretaries have been very good about communicating with other Jurisdictions through our Grand Lodge, they have been catching secretaries of other Jurisdictions who have not been following the proper protocol. I truly appreciate all the assistance the Secretaries have given this Grand Lodge office.  

I will be still visiting Lodges and degrees throughout the summer, including both outdoor degrees at the Masonic Park this coming August. I look forward to seeing you in the future in my travels!
 
VWB Clayton M. M. La Vigne
Assistant Grand Secretary