Grand Master Message April 2023
My dear brethren,
This time of year is very important to a large number of our brethren across varying faiths and beliefs, who, for different reasons, will pause and reflect on the importance of family & faith.
Easter, Passover and Ramadan all tell a story of deliverance and belief in the Great Architect of the Universe; however, that translates for the individual and reminds us that all power and glory belong to him, who in turn blesses us with life and an opportunity to serve humanity and contribute to our communities, day after day.
In line with making a difference in the community, I am thrilled to announce that the Grand Masters disaster appeal for the victims of the Kimberley floods in late 2022 raised $30,000, which was presented to the Lord Mayor, Cr Basil Zempilas on the 20th of March, 2023 at Council House in the city.
The Lord Mayor commented on how he appreciated the donations made by community groups & organisations like Freemasons WA and would ensure it went to those who needed it most to provide greatly needed help in restoring basic services.
Thank you to all, especially the lodges, for your generosity and helping both our members & the community in general in those affected areas.
We are also approaching the time of year when the Seven Media Young Achievers awards are held. Freemasons WA is again a proud sponsor of the Volunteer and Community Service award. Judging has already taken place in consideration of the many worthy nominees. We await the awards night in late May, which will see another worthy recipient named, as was Jack Anderson from Thrive ED, which the Masonic Foundation has supported in getting his latest textbook publication complete and in the schools, realising the goals & objectives of this inspirational young West Australian.
I look forwards to reporting back on this year’s winner.
Equally, the Masonic year is now in full swing, with several lodges beginning to prepare for their installation meetings, together with a couple who will be celebrating a milestone year. As reported last month, Darling Range Lodge conducted their 100-year re-consecration in February, with the Dangin Lodge about to re-consecrate their lodge after 100 years on the 15th of May in Quairading.
It will be a marquis event for this lodge, and we wish them well for a further 100 years. The Grand Lodge of Western Australia will also be participating in its own key milestone event, with the laying of the foundation stone for the new Dr Bill Babe Health Campus in Middle Swan, on Saturday, the 17th of June.
This will be the first time since the laying of the foundation stone at Terrace Road in 1967 that the Grand Lodge has presided over a stone laying with full ceremonial ritual, pomp & pageantry.
This will be a unique and once-off event, and I encourage all members and their families to diarise the event and come along to witness an ancient and beautiful ceremony to inaugurate a wonderful example of what we, as Freemasons and Masonic Care, do in the community, details to follow shortly online and across all communication channels.
The half-yearly communication will be held this year on Wednesday, the 19th of April, at 6:00 pm, at 61 Thomas Street in Subiaco. The evening provides an opportunity to understand where the Jurisdiction is regarding membership, masonic advancement and initiatives designed to assist and educate our members. I commend the meeting to those who can attend and look forward to seeing as many as possible.
The meeting will also be streamed (one way) and recorded for publication on the website later so that all members can participate.
The board of Grand Lodge have also been engaged in reviewing the strategy developed last year to ensure it is fit for purpose and meeting our set strategic imperatives & objectives. We will provide an update via the website and a Vodcast in the next few weeks to identify what has been achieved to date and where our focus needs to be for the foreseeable future.
In line with the strategy and providing a contemporary and useful Data Base Management system, IMIS, our selected CRM partner, has been working closely with the Project Management team appointed by the boards to ensure we are meeting the needs of our membership now and into the future and will be ready to start testing with some lodges in the very near future.
IMIS is a significant investment of time & resources for Grand Lodge, so we are taking the necessary time & precautions to ensure that when we come out to the lodges in all regions of WA as we did with our town hall meetings last year, we have a stable and useful platform for members to review and be able to finally manage their own information in real-time, online – music to the ears of all Lodge secretaries & treasurers.
I want to thank W Bro Tim McDougall, the Project Manager for IMIS and our Grand Secretary, RW Bro Peter Murdoch, who is spearheading the IMIS project and will communicate with the membership very shortly once all testing has been completed.
Finally, brethren, may I wish you all a happy & safe Easter period. However, you may celebrate it and hope your time with family is a well-earned break from the demands of public & masonic life.
Looking forward to seeing you all in your lodges, as time & circumstance allow.
MWBro Daniel Ganon
Grand Master