By Paul Rodriguez-Obrien — Master
It’s almost time to say, “Welcome back”.
We have had a very busy month digesting the ‘Reopening Directive’ from Grand Master Arthur Weiss. In it, he set forth guidance in allowing Masons to reopen their Lodges as of April 15th. There were, of course, pre-requisites required. Here are the main ones:
Submit to the Inspector our “Covid-19 Site Prevention Plan” (SPP) and send a copy to all CC551 Lodge members (the SPP is in this Trestle board).
Prepare the Lodge with a Sanitation plan, and post literature from ‘CDC Control and Prevention’.
Request RSVP’s for ALL events within the lodge and create seating charts from that list.
Check everyone coming to the event for a Covid-19 Immunization card or a negative test result for Covid-19 within the last 72 hrs. and wearing a mask. No admittance without this verification.
My Brothers, your Officers and I have an issue with turning our Lodge front door into a policed ‘Security Check-Point’ for our Brothers, family, and guests. That being the case, we have decided to wait till July 1st to hold our ‘Grand Reopening Stated Meeting’. We chose this date due to Gov. Newsom reopening California on June 15th. This plan will remove the colored tier plan and reopen our state’s economy (wearing facemasks will continue). Therefore, we will open our Lodge doors on July 1 following the State and Grand Lodge guideline (hopefully greatly reduced) in place at that time.
We are looking to get ‘back to normal’ as quick as possible on July 1st, which will include Lodge night Dinners, and a return to our calendar of Masonic events. There are a lot of Proficiencies and Degrees to conduct, so we will be quite busy for some time to come. This is a good thing, and we look forward to seeing you again within our Tiled lodge.
The Lodge would like to wish ‘Safe Travels, and a ‘Fond Farewell’ to Kurt Allen (PM 569 - 1985, and current Officers Coach), and Robert Eckstein (PM 564 - 1991, 167 – 1997, 551 - 2018, 2019,
and current Chaplain). Both men have devoted much time within our Lodge and their guidance and proficiency within the craft will be greatly missed. It will be hard to fill Kurt’s shoes, and find another with Robert’s stature and poise. Kurt and Donna will be retiring to Kentucky in June/July, and Robert and Elizabeth will be relocating to Indiana in May/June.
I have only just touched on what is now happening at the Lodge and will have much more progress to report-on in the next Trestleboard. This truly is exciting times for the Lodge, and for you my Masonic Family. In wrapping up, I would like to remind you that your Officers are always just a phone call away should you wish to share something with the Lodge or need anything from the Lodge. Our phone numbers and email addresses are easily found within this periodical, and on the Lodge website.