Milton J. Hull, Grand Master
June 18, 1887 – June 17, 1888
Reported at the 31th Annual Communication

To fight high summer temperatures at Annual Communication, the Grand Tyler was instructed to purchase one gross of fans.

A commission appointed at the previous Annual Communication to study creation of a home for orphans, the indigent and aged related to Masons suggested the creation of a corporation for a Nebraska Masonic Home. It was approved.

With the incorporation of The Nebraska Masonic Home, shares were sold at $100 each. A maximum of 5,000 shares was authorized to raise $500,000. The corporation wasn’t to be “perfected” until at least 500 shares of capital stock were subscribed. The incoming Grand Master appointed a committee of seven members to prepare a plan to establish The Nebraska Masonic Home. Past Grand Master George Lininger became its chairman.

The Grand Master authorized the move of Nebraska Lodge No. 1 in Bellevue to Omaha “with bright prospects of future prosperity and usefulness.”

The Grand Lodge laid the cornerstone for the “great bridge across the Missouri River at Nebraska City” in 1887. A procession was composed of civic and military societies.

Fortitude Lodge No. 69 was closed by the Grand Master when observing that the lodge, which hadn’t met in over a year due to disagreements among the members, “had become as a stench in the nostril to all respectable citizens of Ulysses.” The Jurisprudence Committee and delegates disagreed, but the lodge became extinct.

Planning Your Masonic Year

It is that time of year where you as the Worshipful Master-Elect need to start making decisions for your upcoming year in the East. The quicker you get your agenda and budget completed, the better off your lodge is going to be in the long run. The reasoning for this is that the lodge will now have a tentative plan that they can work with that can be adjusted accordingly throughout the remainder of the year. Remember the “6 P rule,” which is “Prior Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance.” The best way to accomplish this task is to have a strategic planning meeting with your lodge’s leadership members and to have it as soon as possible after installation.

Strategic Planning Meeting – This meeting is where you as the Master of the lodge sit down with your lodge officers, Past Masters, and any other “go-getter” in your lodge and discuss what you would like to accomplish during your year in the East. Your list should include a tentative list of lodge events and goals (recruiting, building maintenance, etc.) that you hope to accomplish throughout the year. Keep in mind that this is not the time to figure out the specifics of each event though, but to decide on what you and your leadership want to accomplish throughout the year.

Plan Your Budget – While all your leadership is together, this is a great time to plan your annual budget as well. Ask your lodge secretary to bring last year’s financial statements and budgets to the meeting and use them as a base for planning. Include all sources of revenue and expenses for the lodge and then adjust for anticipated changes. By accomplishing this task early, you and your lodge members can make sound decisions on which events and tasks you’ll be able to finance throughout the year.

Begin the Planning – Once your calendar, goals, and tentative budget have been determined, start the planning procedure, and assign your lodge leadership members individual events or tasks and give them a follow-up date to get back with you on how well they’re progressing on their assigned tasks. Remember too that you are dealing with volunteers, so please be respectful and thankful of their services. Also make sure you assign yourself several tasks for each event as well. Lead from the front!

Execution and Adjustment – Once you have determined your agenda and your budget, go forth and accomplish those tasks and adjust where needed. Disseminate your agenda as soon as possible to your lodge members too. This gives them an idea of what to expect for the year and allows them to plan their calendars around the lodge’s events as well. Lastly, remember that it’s not a failure on your part to have to readjust your strategic plan. What is a failure though is when you fail to plan and accomplish nothing during your year in the East, so plan to succeed.

Christmas at the Home

According to www.history.com, Germany is credited as starting the Christmas tree tradition in the 16th Century. Over the years, the tradition moved to America and finally, to the Masonic-Eastern Star Home for Children where it is still practiced.

Not long after Thanksgiving, the children decorate their cottage with Christmas trees and decorations. It’s a festive evening with Christmas cookies, hot apple cider and Christmas music.

It’s now a waiting game for the children. The pinnacle of a Christmas tree. Presents under the tree. A few presents have already arrived. The rest of the presents will be here soon.

New Year's Resolutions

At this time of year, it is important for the officers of your lodge to set goals and resolutions for the upcoming year. This could be as simple as increasing ritual proficiency, doing more fund raising, or finding ways to increase membership

I know the thought of creating new year’s resolutions for a Masonic lodge at first might seem to be an overwhelming task. I’m sure each one of us can think of some issues in our lodge that we could resolve to change in the upcoming year. Lodges, just like people, develop bad habits over their life. There could be practices in the lodge that need to change to prolong the lodge’s life. It is truly worth a discussion about what changes need to be made to your lodge during the upcoming year.

It won’t be easy, and we all know there might be pushback among some members but it’s worth a try. If you make even one positive change, you will be on your way to improving your lodge. Stay positive and don’t give up! We are in this for the long haul. It may take a person several attempts to quit smoking, but when they finally do drop the habit, it changes their life. The same thing applies to your lodge. Just keep trying.

It may sound silly, but I believe that if each lodge resolves to improve, there would be fewer issues in Freemasonry. We all look to the grand lodge to resolve our issues like they are some kind of lifestyle guru, when we are the ones that hold the keys to our future. Individually, we are the ones that affect change for ourselves, and I feel it is the same for our lodges.

You might be asking what this has to do with membership? If we improve our lodge, we will improve reasons for men to want to join Freemasonry. If your lodge does not provide these men with a path to self-improvement and community involvement, there is no reason for them to join. Most brothers want to be a part of something bigger than themselves, and masonry can be the perfect avenue for that desire. Take advantage of the new year and make things happen!

I wish you and your lodge members nothing but success and prosperity in the upcoming year.