A Senior
Warden’s Planning Guide
by Bro Wayne T. Adams
This is a great tool for upcoming Master to lay out their
year and communicate it to the brethren
My name is Hiram Drummond. I’m Senior Warden of Boaz Lodge,
No. 59 in Centerville, Maine. I’ve been in line six years now. Next year, if
all goes well, I’ll be Master of Boaz Lodge.
As I went through the chairs, I was fairly punctual in my
attendance, tried to do what was expected of me and paid attention to the advice
given me. I also tried to learn from the not entirely complimentary observations
made by a few of the older members about the performance of some of the Masters
in line ahead of me.
I want to do a good job as Master of Boaz Lodge. I have put
too much time into it just to slide through and pick up my past master’s jewel
at the end. Sliding through, of course, is the easy way. Don’t stick your neck
out. Don’t rock the boat. Don’t ruffle any feathers. Do everything just the
way it has always has been done in the past. Well, I’m not that kind of
person. Even if I were, that way of doing things has not brought Boaz Lodge very
much success in recent years. No, my name isn’t Hiram for nothing. I’m going
to do the job as best I see it, and as best I can. It is going to be square,
level and plumb.
One thing I know for sure. I won’t get anything done unless
I set some goals and have a plan. Everyone needs a personal trestleboard. This
is mine.
The
first thing I need to get a handle on is the lodge budget. I haven’t paid much
attention to that in the past. I’ve noticed that no one else has either. Dues
notices go out, money comes in, and everyone hopes there will be enough to pay
the bills. I don’t want to hope. I don’t want to be surprised. I want to
know. This is what I’m doing: I have put together an income statement showing
how much I expect the lodge will take in during the coming year in dues, fees
and other sources of income. Then I will itemize the projected expenses for the
year. If the income doesn’t equal the expenses, I’ve got a problem. If so, I
want to know about it before my installation and not after. Then, if I or
someone else comes up with an idea that costs money, I'll know if we have the
money to do it. The outline of my budget is Item
A attached to this trestleboard.
My
main goal is to leave Boaz Lodge better than I found it. A few
years ago the Grand Lodge Education Committee prepared a short paper called
“The Lodge Leadership Program”. It wasn’t really a program. It was a
planning tool. The most useful part is the five pages at the end that gives
indicators of lodge activity in the areas of ritual, masonic education,
fellowship activities, building maintenance and care and share activities. The
Lodge Leadership Program is Item B attached to this trestle board. I am going to
check off the things that Boaz Lodge does already, and then write down here the
things I would like to do next year in each of the five areas. I know that the
District Deputy and the District Education Representative will want to go over
them with me. I want to be able to show them that I understand the areas which
need work in order to keep Boaz Lodge a living Lodge.
RITUAL
_________________
_________________
_________________
BUILDING MAINTENANCE
_________________
_________________
_________________
FELLOWSHIP ACTIVITIES
_________________
CANDIDATE EDUCATION
_________________
Many Masters have used a document called the Hallmarks of a
Living Lodge which offers some standards for measuring the of success of a
Lodge. These standards are found in Item C attached to this Trestleboard. I plan
to review these standards carefully because I know that several Masters in my
District found them useful in planning their year.
In addition to leaving Boaz Lodge better
than I found it, I want to make sure it has a good reputation in the community.
One of the things I will be able to do is apply for a matching grant to the
Masonic Charitable Foundation. The application form and directions are attached
as Item D. I need to think about a community betterment project which would
involve members of the Lodge and which we could accomplish. Last year the
Foundation matched Lodge funds dollar for dollar up to $500. This year they plan
to do at least that much and maybe more. These are a few of the community
betterment ideas I will discuss with my officers.
I’m going to start early to setup my line officers. I have seen others wait
until the last minute. Then they twist arms and tell each prospect
there’s nothing much to the job, no major commitment. Well, those are the guys
that drop out of line when they find out there is a commitment. I am going to
try to leave behind me a strong line of committed officers. I’m going to start
my list of officers right now.
Master Hiram Drummond
Senior Warden ______________________ tel:________
Junior Warden ______________________ tel:_________
Secretary __________________________ tel:_________
Treasurer __________________________ tel:_________
Senior Deacon ______________________ tel:_________
Junior Deacon ______________________
tel:_________
Senior Steward _____________________
tel:_________
Junior Steward ______________________ tel:_________
Marshall ___________________________ tel:_________
Tyler ______________________________ tel:_________
Organist ___________________________ tel:___________
While I’m about it, I need to line up some other
people. Our rehearsals can get a little irregular and disorganized. During our
Degrees two or three sideliners will often speak out every time someone
hesitates. I want to smooth that operation out. I need a man who knows the
ritual, who is willing to help out at rehearsals and who is willing to act as
prompter. My choice for Ritual Instructor
is:_____________________________telephone:_______________
I have seen too many candidates go through
the three degrees learning little or nothing about Masonry. I suppose they
end up thinking this is fun night with a little hocus-pocus thrown in. They
don’t learn any of the valuable lessons of Masonry. They never learn what
it’s all about. It’s no surprise that many of them don’t come back.
I need three Brothers on my Candidate Education Committee who
can
help the candidates with their lessons and who are willing to meet with them and
explain their degrees using the materials provided in the candidate Instructors
Manual. I would the five members to divide up the responsibilities so that each
one covers one segment: Accepted Candidate, Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft,
Master Mason and Fourth Night. These are my choices for members of my Education
Committee.
Chairman _______________________ tel:___________
Member ________________________ tel:___________
Member ________________________ tel:___________
Member ________________________ tel:__________
Member ________________________ tel:___________
The truth of the matter is that our building looks
a little seedy. Nothing major. A good cleaning, some fresh paint and a little
routine maintenance would help. Some of the guys think these jobs just get done
by themselves. I don’t know whether they think their mother’s are going to
do it or what. I do know things don’t get done unless you tend to them. I need
three men who are handy and have some time - perhaps some retired brethren - who
are willing to make the building a personal project so the place will be more
presentable to the public and especially to prospective candidates. I don’t
expect them to do all the work, just to organize it. These are my choices:
Chairman ____________________________
Member ____________________________
Member ____________________________
There always seems to be some confusion at the
beginning of each year about who is doing what lecture. Our Master almost never
assigns lectures. Some men drift into one lecture and hold on to it for five
years. That’s not the way to do it. Each officer should progress through the
chairs learning a little more at each step. There are basically six lectures:
three in the EA degree, on in the FC degree and the two parts of the Master
Mason lecture. This is the plan of lectures that I would like to set up:
Master __________________________________
Senior Warden ____________________________
Junior Warden ____________________________
Senior Deacon ____________________________
Junior Deacon ____________________________
Senior Steward ___________________________
Junior Steward ____________________________
The custom in
my lodge has been to appoint the same members to the Committee on Inquiry year after year. That’s not
necessarily bad if they are doing their job. I want to make sure my committee
does its job and checks out each petitioner before recommending him. If
there’s any doubt in my mind, I will ask someone else to serve on this
committee. These are my choices:
Chairman: _____________________
Member: _______________________
Member. ________________________
I’m going to tell my Committee of Inquiry that I don’t
want them to just rubber stamp applications. I want them to meet with prospective
candidates. We try to improve ourselves in Masonry. There are several ways we do
this: We do it through the lessons of our degrees, for sure. But the most
important way we learn Masonry is from each other. A Mason should be able to sit
in his lodge and look to the man on his right hand or to the man on his left and feel
confident he can learn something from the way those men live their lives. The
Committee of Inquiry has the job of making the initial determination about the
applicant. I need to make it clear that I want this committee to do its job. The
fact that they may be older or have more credentials than I will not keep me
from making this clear.
I
will have ten stated communications during my year. One of those will be the annual meeting. That leaves nine to plan for. Degree
work is hard to anticipate because I don’t know how many candidates I will
have or when I will get them or how fast they will progress. In any event, I
would like to do degree work on specials. For my stated meetings I would
like to have programs. I would like three or four Masonic programs and
three or four non-Masonic programs.
For my Masonic programs I will
talk to the District Deputy and the District Rep for suggestions. Here are some
subjects that would interest members of Boaz Lodge.
1. Prince Hall Masonry today
2. Masonry in the thirteen colonies
3. Masonic charities today
4. Blue Lodge Masonry and the appendant bodies
5. Masonry in the Civil War
6. How Grand Lodge works
7. Duties of the District Deputy and the District Rep
8. ___________________________
9. ___________________________
10. ___________________________
For non-Masonic
programs I am going to look first to our own
members. If we have a fire chief or a police chief or the chairman of a
budget board, he will have something he knows about and would like to talk
about. Any of our members who are involved in businesses or professions or
community activities will have interesting topics. Here are the three Brothers
I am going to ask to present short programs:
1. __________________________
2. __________________________
3. ___________________________
I want to have some non-Masons
as well. The head of our local rescue squad is not a Mason but could give an interesting talk. A local stock broker is
not a Mason but would be very willing to describe what he does in hopes of
getting some new customers. Here are three non-Masons that I would like to
invite to speak.
1. _________________________
2. __________________________
3. __________________________
It is always a little awkward having non-Masons as speakers
because they cannot come into our meeting. One way that I can handle this is to open the
lodge early, recess, have the speaker, break for refreshments, and then have a
short business meeting after he or she has left. I’ll have to check my by-laws
to be sure they’ll let me do this.
I need to set up my pocket calendar for next year
showing my stated meetings and enter as soon as I can the programs I have for
those meetings. I need to note regularly scheduled suppers, Special Ladies Night
and any other special events, such as Past Masters nights or District Meeting. I
need to keep this calendar up to date so that I can make plans and keep track of
inspections, district meetings and schools of instruction. The first date I have
to plan is my installation, and that brings up my next subject. Installation. I need to start planning now. This is
the date I have selected _____________________.This is the time
______________________. There are some people I need to line up early:
Installing Master ______________________________
Installing Chaplain ______________________________
Installing Marshal ______________________________
Installing Organist _______________________________
In addition, I would like to involve the following Brothers
in the installation because of their close relationship with one or more of the
officers being installed:
1. _________________________________
2. _________________________________
The person helping me with the refreshments is:____________
The person helping me put the program together is:__________
The person helping me set up is:_______________
I plan to give little mementos to my installing suite. This is what I plan to get:_________________________________
Frankly I get bored with business meetings. Most people get bored with them.
Ours seem to last forever. That is going to change. I am going to use the
recommended agenda attached as Item D to this trestleboard to keep me on track.
I’m not getting bogged down in meetings. I’m going to
avoid getting bogged down by doing two things: First, when I want to present something
at the meeting, I’m going to make sure that my officers know about it and that
one of them makes a motion to get it on the floor for discussion. Second,
whenever it looks like we’re not going to make a decision easily, I am going
to appoint a committee and ask them to report back with a recommendation at our
next stated meeting. I want a reputation for short, crisp, business meetings.
This is a tradition in Boaz Lodge and probably in
most lodges. I plan to do what many presiding Masters do: I will ask my
predecessor, the most junior Past Master, to organize the evening. The way most
people go about this is to start with the oldest Past Master and come forward
asking each in turn his choice of Chair for Past Masters Night. If noone takes
the Masters Chair, the junior Past Master does it. It he is clever he can fill
all the chairs before it gets to him. I don’t know exactly what I will have
for candidates, but I would like to have Past Master’s night on
_________________________________
My District Deputy will pick the date for the Annual Inspection. I have the
procedure for receiving the District Deputy in
HIRAM’S
HANDBOOK. Some District Deputies like to come around a week early or on
rehearsal night to check the secretary’s records and the treasurer’s books.
I will offer to do that. I will remember to tell the ticket taker that our
custom is to give supper tickets to the District Deputy and his Marshal. I would
like to schedule my inspection for ____________________
This has become a tradition at Boaz Lodge and most other lodges in Maine. Some lodges schedule this event in the evening and
some prefer luncheon meetings, on a Saturday in May for example. Luncheons are
popular because some widows don’t like to go out after dark or when it is icy.
We always invite the widow and a guest. This is important because a few of them
like to have someone bring them, a friend or a daughter. Musical programs are
good. Sing-a-longs are especially popular. This is my plan for the special
ladies:
Date: __________________________
Time: __________________
Person in Charge of Invitations: __________________________
Person in Charge of the Meal: __________________________
Program:__________________________
I have seen many Masters work very hard at the Special Ladies
event -
but they spend all their time in the kitchen. I know that it is important for
me to speak to each one of the ladies individually. They are guests of my
lodge, and this year I am the host.
We need to give better recognition to our Brothers who mark Masonic milestones.
My grandfather received his 50 year medal several years ago. My grandmother
found it in his drawer after he died. It was the first time she had ever seen
it. I plan to invite family members to be present when we recognize Brothers for
long years of service to our lodge and to the fraternity. Also, I want pictures
for the local papers.
Every Lodge needs new members. Boaz Lodge is no exception. I have attended a
couple of Fellowship Nights and notice that over half of the guests submitted
applications. Fellowship nights have proven themselves to be a good way to
introduce Masonry to a prospective member and his wife. The steps for setting up
a Fellowship night is found in
Section 17 of HIRAM’S
HANDBOOK. I am going to
talk to the District Deputy about holding a District-wide Fellowship Night.
If others are not interested, I will hold one right here for Boaz Lodge.
My goal is to have a number of candidates equal to five percent of my total membership. That is what the figures say we must have each
year to maintain our membership. I am not going to wait and see if any petitions
come in. I am going to speak to two or three of my own friends about Masonry. I
am going to give them information about Masonry and point out that our tradition
is that a man must ask for an application. There are several reasons for this:
First, if we stick to this rule it prevents, or should prevent, arm twisting. A
man should not submit an application under pressure. Second, it puts the
pressure on us where it should be. If we are good Masons, do what Masons should
do, and have a reputation for being good men, then non-Masons will be eager to
submit applications.
I need to talk to my District Deputy about a Fellowship
Night. This is a tried and true formula. Men and their families learn a great
deal about Masonry at Fellowship Nights. A significant percentage of them submit
applications. The yield is good, and I’ll want to take advantage of this way
of introducing some prospective candidates to Masonry.
Just to get it straight, I am going to write this whole process down. After I
have read a petition, the proper motion is “to receive the petition and refer
it to the Committee of Inquiry.” I am going to make sure that someone makes
this motion correctly.
When it is time to ballot on a petition, I am going to read
it and say, “We are now going to ballot on the petition of John Doe to receive
the degrees of Masonry. Brother Senior Deacon, you will prepare the ballot.” I
will then take it to the Junior Warden, the Senior Warden and back to me.
Each of us will take the drawer out of the box, turn it upside down and put it
back in. I will then say, “We are now going to ballot on the petition of John
Doe to receive the degrees of Masonry. Remember, white balls elect, black cubes
reject. Vote wisely and vote for the good of the Order.” I will then vote.
The Senior Deacon will take the ballot box to the Senior
Warden, the Junior Warden, the Chaplain and then clockwise around the lodge. The
Senior Deacon will vote last and then appear before me. I will say, “Have
all voted who are entitled to do so?” If there is no objection, I will
say, “I now declare the ballot closed. Brother Senior Deacon you will
present the ballot South, West and East for EXAMINATION.” That being
done, I will ask,” Brother Junior Warden, how find you the ballot in the
South?” and then ask the same question to the Senior Warden in the West.
If both report that the ballot is clear and I, too, find the ballot clear, I
will say, “Finding the ballot clear in the East, you have elected John Doe
to receive the degrees of Masonry”.
If there is one black cube the ballot should be called
“cloudy”. On the basis that there may have been a mistake, I will destroy
the ballot and repeat the procedure. If the cube appears a second time I will
announce, “Finding the ballot again cloudy in the East, you have voted to
deny John Doe the degrees of Masonry.” If there are two black cubes , the
ballot will be called “dark” and I will announce, “Finding the ballot
dark in the East, you have voted to deny John Doe the degrees of Masonry.”
I will not forget to see that my Tyler has an opportunity to
vote. If he wishes to vote, I will have the Junior Deacon step outside the tiled
door while the Tyler comes in to vote.
This is the custom in our Lodge. I understand in some Lodges
the ballot is not sent South and West for examination because a Master has to
declare a ballot dark if an absent Brother has previously made his objection
known to the Master. If that happens to me, I will drop a black cube myself.
First impressions are important. It is important to give the prospective
candidate information about Masonry. It is important for the investigating
committee to speak positively about Masonry. It is important for the man who
proposes him tell him about the ballot. It is important for the Secretary to
send him a letter announcing a favorable vote in the form found in
Section 9 of
the HANDBOOK. It is important for the Chairman of the Education Committee and
his proposer to meet with the prospect prior to his first degree. The
information to be covered in such a meeting is listed in the Instructor’s
Manual. All of these things are designed to make a candidate comfortable in a
new and potentially awkward situation. I need to talk to the proposers, the
Secretary and the Chairman of the Education Committee about these things.
I know that if a candidate is to complete his
three degrees and feel comfortable about it, comfortable enough to come back and
comfortable enough to visit another lodge, he needs to know some of the basics.
These basics are listed on the candidate progress chart, which I am attaching as
Item F.
This chart will be useful to the Chairman of the Education
Committee to mark each candidate’s progress. More directly, it will be useful
to me. My most important job as Master is to make sure that a basic knowledge of
the craft is passed on to each new Mason. I am going to have that chart in front
of me when I ask the Chairman of the Educational Committee if the candidate is
ready to go on to his next degree.
I’ve seen a lot of Masters stumble on the simple matter of changing from one
degree to another. This is my note so that I will do it correctly. To change
from Master Mason to Entered Apprentice, for example, I will say, “Waiving
the usual signs and ceremonies, I declare labor suspended in a Lodge of Master
Masons a Lodge of Entered Apprentices opened for work. Brother Senior Deacon
will arrange the lights, Brother Junior Deacon will inform the Tyler.”
After the work is completed in the lower degree I will say,
“I declare work concluded in a Lodge of Entered Apprentices and labor
resumed in a Lodge of Master Masons. Brother Senior Deacon will rearrange the
lights, Brother Junior Deacon will inform the Tyler”.
After a candidate has been initiated as an Entered Apprentice, I am going to
send a letter to his wife to ease any concerns she may have. The form letter I
will use is in Section 9 of the
HANDBOOK.
Once a candidate takes his first degree, I want to start right in making him
feel a part of Boaz Lodge, involving him in the life of the lodge. There is a
list of simple things I can do as presiding Master to arrange a simple
apprenticeship. That list is in
Section 7 of the
HANDBOOK. If I don’t get him
involved right away I may lose him. I am going to try to involve each candidate
in all 12 of the activities on that list.
I hope I don’t have any memorial services during my year, but the odds are
that I’ll have several. There are some things that I must remember to do:
First, I need to remember to read the text through several
times before each service. Just reading it over will make it go more smoothly.
Second, I need to remember it is important for me, as Master,
to go speak to the widow/or family after the service. This is always a difficult
situation, but it’s not necessary to say a lot: it is only necessary to say
(1) that we appreciate being asked to do the service; (2) that Brother Doe was a
good Mason and will be greatly missed; and (3) if there is anything we can do to
help, please let us know. There is not much more that can be said. If I need to
say more, I will say those same things again in a slightly different way and
leave the family to speak with the others that are present.
Third, after the service I will send a letter to the new
widow in the form found if
Section
9 of the HANDBOOK.
Unfortunately, we have a few members who are chronically late in the payment of
their dues. Our rules call for formal notification by Certified Mail followed by
a vote on suspension. Before all that happens I would like to send a less formal
letter to the delinquent brother to see if we can help the brother out and to
see if we can avoid a
suspension. The form letter found in
Section 9 of the
HANDBOOK.
I will have two tasks at the Annual Meeting. I need to get all the reports
approved and I need to get a new slate of officers elected. First are the
reports: The Secretary and the Treasurer will read their annual reports. After
each report the Motion should be ‘To lay the report on the table pending the
report of the Finance Committee.” After the report of the Finance Committee,
the motion should be “to approve the report of the Finance Committee, report
of the Secretary and the report of the Treasurer.”
Balloting for a new slate of officers is tricky, since
everyone advances one chair with a few newer men being added as Stewards. Simple
enough. But the rule is that each officer is to be voted on individually by
secret ballot, yes or no. There is a good reason for this. If it appears that a
man is deemed to be inappropriate to advance to a new office the members have an
opportunity to prevent it. Some lodges follow this rule scrupulously. In the
past we have taken some short cuts at Boaz Lodge. That works as long as no one
objects. If any one objects I will be in hot water. I will keep my eyes open
prior to the May Annual meeting. If there is even the hint of
dissatisfaction, I will conduct the balloting strictly by the rules and not
follow any past short cuts. Sometimes, the hard way is the best.
There
are two awards that each lodge is eligible for. The first is the Raymond Rideout
Award for Masonic Education. The criteria for that award is attached as Item G.
The second award is the Grand Lecturer’s Award for
excellence in ritual. I owe it to my Lodge to do whatever I can to put Boaz in
competition for these two awards. It’s a year long process to do the things
necessary to qualify. I will start planning now.
Starting now and continuing right through to my successor’s installation as
Worshipful Master, I have to remember that for one year I will be the voice of
Boaz Lodge. One of the most important parts of my job, if not the most
important, is communication. There are several groups that I must reach out to.
I need to communicate to my officers. I need to tell them
what I expect of them, what lectures I would like them to be responsible for and
what committees they will serve on.
I need to communicate with the Brethren. I need to speak
individually with each brother who attends a Lodge meeting to let him know that
I notice him and I appreciate the fact that he is there. I need to remember that
my trestleboard is the only way I have to communicate with 90 per cent of my
members. I need to make it informative, telling the brethren what is going on. I need to mention names and give credit. My trestleboard is a way to let absent
Brethren know there is activity at Boaz Lodge and that they are missing it.
I need to communicate with my Past Masters and make them part
of my team. I know they are the backbone of Boaz Lodge. They have invested a lot
of time over the years and I know they will be willing to help if they see that
others are making an effort.
I need to communicate appreciation on behalf of the lodge to everyone who helps
out on a project, from the chief cook to the bottle washer. They are all
important. I need to thank them in public and give them credit in my
trestleboard. Everyone likes to know that his effort is recognized. One of my
most important tasks is to offer that recognition on behalf of the whole lodge.
I need to communicate with the elder Brethren and the widows.
A visit is important. A telephone call is almost as good. I have to remember
that I communicate not only my personal concern but the concern of the whole
lodge.
I need to recognize and chat with each wife that comes to a
lodge event. I know that today both husband and wife usually work. Their time is
valuable. It is important for wives to feel that their husband’s membership is
important. I want to make sure that any fellowship activities or recognition
evenings include wives so that lodge membership offers an opportunity to
participate.
This is my trestleboard. It is a tall order. It won’t be
easy. It won’t be simple, but it can be done. My name isn’t Hiram for
nothing.
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