Brethren,

I offer you my most sincere gratitude for the trust you have placed in me by electing me to be Worshipful Master of our Lodge for the ensuing Masonic Year. It has been my sincere wish that my tenure as Master be memorable and productive and provides both a legacy of leadership and fellowship that my many predecessors have taught me so well. As I worked my way through the chairs, all the time traveling East, I learned many lessons, both as a Freemason and as a man. One of my favorite precepts of masonry has always been "making good men better" You have all shown me just how true that is and it is my hope for my year in the East to build on those lessons and continue to learn "block by block". Wisdom is earned by degrees and cannot everywhere be found, but we as Freemasons must continue to seek it and I am very excited to further my Masonic career in pursuit of that knowledge.

My agenda for the ensuing Masonic year is to continue to pursue the basic precepts of Masonry, work to continue the legacy of so many good men that have traveled these same roads before us and preserve our traditions and rituals as they have always been done. To that end our Stated Meeting will begin promptly at 7pm whenever possible and my sincere goal is to conclude and close by 9-915pm. I anticipate our dinners will continue to be held in the Temple Dining Room, allowing us to move more quickly to the Lodge rooms and conduct business. As Master I hope to keep that portion of the meeting dedicated to minutes, business and communications as brief as Masonic law and the by laws of our lodge permits, allowing more time for our programs and for fellowship. The programs that I have selected I hope will address a wide variety of interests and bring members out to Lodge. I am especially looking forward to one evening in particular with a program by our Past Masters where every effort possible will be made to reach those brethren that may not have the means to get to Lodge for one very special evening of fraternal fellowship.

Our Extra meetings will also begin promptly at 7pm and although we are growing as a Lodge exponentially, practical limits will be placed on the number of Degrees conferred in a single evening, or we will follow a program of exemplification, as the DDGM permits. The initiation, passing and raising of a man into our proud fraternity should be a significant moment in each candidate’s life, as it was when each of us knocked at the portals of Freemasonry. I feel the degree should be special and meaningful for each man, and to that end we will try and keep those meeting focused and solemn with ample room for levity and good humor of course!

I hope to see as many of you as possible in the coming months and pray your New Year is blessed with peace and happiness. On behalf of all the elected and appointed officers, our thanks for your trust and confidence and best wishes for the coming year.

Fraternally,

Brother John P. Nagele, Worshipful Master 2012