Grand Secretary Conference

I went to Des Moines for the Grand Secretary's Conference tonight. I had a good time and learned some things. One of the things I learned was that Brother Les Fleming, PGM has been secretary of his Lodge for 43 (or was it 47) years. That is longer than I have been a Mason.

There were also some Secretary's there who had just been installed. It was fun to listen to the questions.

One of the things we always do is go over a Code Test which Brother Bill Crawford (Grand Secretary) prepares for us to go over. One of the questions was "How much money can the Charity Committee distribute without Lodge Approval?
He asked me to answer that question because I was one of the sponsors of that piece of legislation. In fact, it came about because I was visiting with (then) Grand Master Don about how the previous amount of $50. was really not much for the Charity Committee to authorize. With the needs of people in our society I thought that there should be a larger amount. So I got Jeremy to help sponsor it and it passed. So now if the local Lodge by-laws permit it they can distribute up to $250 without a vote of the Lodge.

The only thing wrong with the evening was the temperature. As I pulled into my garage on the
way home the thermometer on my car said -28 degrees. At one point it said -29 on the way home. That is just too cold.

I have hot water heat in my home and there is a corner where two registers come together. Cassie likes to either sit on my lap and purr at me or sit in the corner between these two registers.

Tomorrow is the first First Degree of Specialis Procer and I am looking forward to it, I practiced my Apron lecture on the way home - 29....
Bailey was outside less than a minute and he had really been holding it in. Not the same problem he had this morning. Poor little guy. Stay warm and thanks for stopping by.(I am having a glass of 14 Hands wine to relax) - I am very envious of my blogfriend Spo who has just made a new shirt for his trip to Key West. Wish I were going. Perhaps I should by a lottery ticket. Hugs, jcs




R. W. Bill Crawford, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Iowa