By Andrew Hawes —Master—Elect
…and just like that, December is upon us, and I have been elected as the new Master of the lodge for 2024.
Shortly after I was raised to Master Mason in 2018, just a year after I was initiated, Robert Eckstein reached out to me, and asked if we could meet up for a meal and a chat. “Sure!” I said. We met at “Bangkok 580” – where Pad Thai is today, on Castro Valley boulevard, and enjoyed some Thai food together. “I wanted to talk to you about possibly becoming an officer of the lodge,” said Robert. “We have two positions that you could fill – one is a Steward, which would be a minor role that you could stay in for a few years if you wanted, and which doesn’t involve any further commitment… and the other is the Junior Deacon position. If you want to take that one on, you’ll need to commit to moving up through the officer’s line, and move into a new role each year.” “I think I could do that one,” I said. That December, I was installed as Junior Deacon, and with the “slight hiccough” of Covid causing a repeated year as Junior Warden, here I am, five years later, preparing to step into the East and govern the lodge as best I can for the upcoming year. My candidate coach, Ron Katz, has moved across the country. The Master who raised me and encouraged me to join the line, Robert, has moved half way across the country. Our officer’s coach for many years, Kurt Allen, has retired and also moved half way across the country. I don’t think there’s any correlation between my moving up the line and these events, but maybe they know something I don’t… 😉
I am hopeful for 2024, that it will be a good year for all of us as well as for the lodge. I look forward to doing my best to rule and govern the lodge over which I have been called to preside, and will hopefully be able to call on even a shred of the wisdom of Solomon to help me along the way!
I am very open to suggestions for activity planning from our membership, so please reach out to me directly if you have any thoughts or suggestions that you think would be helpful, interesting, or fun to try out in 2024!
My email is awphawes@yahoo.com, and that’s my preferred method of communication for non-immediate inquiries – but you can also text me if you have an urgent question, and I will endeavor to answer you in as timely a fashion as possible.
Comments