Brethren of No. 15,

If you missed the meeting on February 6th, that’s okay. We didn’t have room for you anyway. In fact, not only were all seats in the Lodge room packed to capacity, we needed to pull out at least a dozen chairs for all of our guests and non-Masonic visitors.

We had a huge turnout from the Lodge and there were also many guests in the sidelines that night from all across the U.S. and even a few from overseas. Bro. Ron Seale, our newest member, gave a provocative and engaging presentation which received a standing ovation. It is difficult to describe the electricity in the room that evening, so I will not. You had to be there to feel it. However, one of our visitors did drop me a nice note worth sharing:

"…It was really a great pleasure for me to have been able to at long last visit BBF last Wednesday evening; to visit the Lodge of my friends Ted Berry, Ken Gibala, Joe Crociata, and others after so many years! The Work was flawless, the presentation enjoyable and the fellowship extraordinary. I will certainly avail myself of the opportunity to visit again, whenever my insane work schedule permits that. I have always considered BBF a place of friends, and thank you for the warm welcome that I received within its portal.

Warmest Fraternal Regards,

Rashied Sharrieff Al-Bey
Past Master of Cornerstone Lodge No. 37, MWPHGL-New York"

It was not until our next Stated Communication on February 20th did I realize just how young our Lodge has actually become. Many of the Masons visiting us on the 6th were of the more "seasoned" variety and only after they were absent did I also realize how few of our older members actually have it in them anymore to make it to two consecutive meetings!

On that night was when I most appreciated Brother Yens Steensen, who is my Masonic twin but more than twice my age. Bro. Steensen is our faithful chaplain and continues to serve as inspiration for all of us younger members still exploring the mysteries of our Craft. He will say that being around so many of our youthful members keep him young and the Lodge helps him to continue to grow as a human being.

In fact not only is our Lodge still growing, it is thriving. There are so many interested in joining our Lodge that it has become difficult to keep all of them straight. I would ask that all of our members please try their best to get to know each of our prospective members as well as Worshipful Brother Victor Petrossian. He is the very best at conversing with visitors but if Brother Petrossian is the only one taking the time to get to know these potential members, then our Lodge could be in trouble.

For those of you with the short cable-tows, I have posted a copy of the presentation given on February 20th by Bro. Jonathan Grau onto our website. His presentation was personally vetted by MWB Glen Cook, the Grand Master of Utah, who was also in our audience on our meeting February 6th and also happens to be the very first Grand Master of Utah from the LDS Church.

Fraternally,

Your Worshipful Master in 2008