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April 2015 DDGM Article for the WORD

Greetings Brethren,
I send each of you warm Fraternal greetings from the Most Worshipful William J. Thomas, Grand Master of Masons in the State of New York.
I apologize for my missed article last month. It was submitted, but apparently too late. I know what you are thinking. I have been running around the District all year encouraging each Lodge to contribute articles to the Word, and the District Deputy Grand Master doesn’t even put one in. At the beginning of the year, myself and RW Clinton Brooks informed each Master that we would take them out to dinner if they did not miss an article for the year. As of this date, the following Lodges are still in the running. DeRuyter #692, Cortland # 470, Otselic-Valley # 659, and Cortland-Madison Masonic War Veterans Post # 44. Congratulations and keep it going.
  Though a little belated, I must inform you of the passing of two Brothers of our District.Brother Daniel Miller of Cortlandville Lodge who was raised on 3/29/2003, and Brother Charles Mosely of DeRuyter Lodge who was raised on 1/23/1964 and a DSA recipient. I ask that you take a moment of silence for these Brothers.
I am very happy to see the degree work taking place in our District. It also refreshing to see newer Brothers taking an active part in these degrees. The following Lodges have degrees coming up. DeRuyter, Homer, Cortland, Otselic Valley, and YES, Tri-Valley. Please offer your assistance when called upon if it is within the length of your cabletow.
It was brought up at a TEAM meeting this summer that many Brothers would like to look in to the possibility of creating a District web site. I am proud to announce the unveiling of our new District Web Site. We are up and running. Please be patient as we work some of the glitches out. www.cortland-madison-masons.org . The web site will enable us to communicate more effectively and efficiently. It will also keep us updated on the happenings of the District. A big thank you to VW Scott Cary for his many hours of time in getting the site organized. More to follow in the upcoming weeks.
Thank you to those who assisted with the Safety ID Event at the Marathon Maple Festival. It is nice to see Brothers coming together as a TEAM for a common cause.
Please mark this date in your calendar. Sunday, April 19th 1:00 PM at Homer Lodge. This a combined venture with the Cayuga Tompkins District. The RW Jeff Williamson, Deputy Grand Master, will be holding a Town Hall Meeting. I encourage all to attend. There is a lot of information being discussed about the near future of our Fraternity and some hard decisions that Grand Lodge must make to begin the process of streamlining our jurisdiction into a more efficient entity. YOUR input and ideas are important to our Deputy Grand Master. He wants to hear from the Districts. He wants to know our concerns. Attend if you can. You will be glad you did.
Grand Lodge is right around the corner. I hope you share my excitement. We have a couple Brothers going this year that have not been to Grand Lodge before. Should be fun. I am still waiting to hear from two Masters whether they are attending or if a proxy is going in their stead. All other Lodges are represented. Awesome!
RW Brooks and I are working on our trestleboards for next year. I hope that Master elects and incoming Wardens are starting the planning process for the new Masonic year that will be fast approaching. By order of the Grand Master, next years Official Visits will be completed by December. This will be a change for our District. I will be contacting the Lodges in the very near future with my Official Visit schedule for next year. I will do my best to accommodate each Lodge with a date that works for them.
Keep our men and women in uniform in your thoughts and prayers!
See you around the District,
Brian Ziegler