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Star of the East comes out in force

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Last night at Riverhead Lodge’s DDGM visit, 11 brothers from Start of the East Lodge in Amagansett came out and decisively took the Suffolk District Traveling Gavel.

By all reports the evening was well attended and all had a great time.

It’s always great to see the brothers out and about the district and supporting other brothers at their respective Lodges.

The following day, W:. Lombardo took the gavel on a tour of the east end and jumped right into the “talking smack”
that typically follows a successful Gavel capture.

Now inquiring minds are wondering when it’s time for another lodge to come and take the gavel from Start of the East, will they require any customs forms to be able to take it across the border???

Suffolk District Fundraiser in memory of Joanne Kessler

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Please donate what you can to this worthy cause.

 

If there was one thing on every Masons bucket list..

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If there were one thing that should be on every Masons bucket list, in my own opinion this would be in the top 5, maybe even top 3. I’ve been hearing about this degree team since I first became a Freemasons, many moons ago.

In some instances small stadiums had to be secured as son many wanted to see this unique degree.

Maybe we can get a bus rented to take a bunch down and back.

I’ll place this event also on the event calendar with the ticket link to see how many we can get and if a joint effort travel together.

If one were interested in attending to see this very unique degree team preform, you can follow the link:

https://facebook.com/events/s/third-degree-by-the-oklahoma-m/667528053903181/

Unfortunately I could only find info on FB, so if you don’t have FB the info from the FB link is below:

Event by Freemasons in Delaware
Delaware State Fair
Tickets · $35
www.eventbrite.com/e/third-degree-by-the-oklahoma-masonic-indian-degree-team-tickets-78247565575
THIS EVENT IS OPEN ONLY TO MASTER MASONS THAT ARE MEMBERS OF GRAND LODGES IN HARMONY WITH THE GRAND LODGE OF DELAWARE.
The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of A.F. & A.M. of Delaware will be proud to host the Oklahoma Masonic Indian Degree Team.
The Oklahoma Masonic Indian Degree team is made up of Native American Freemasons from the state of Oklahoma and is the only Master Mason degree team made up entirely of Native Americans! The team travels around the state, country and world to perform the Master Mason degree according to the Oklahoma Grand Lodge ritual. For the second section the M.W. Grand Lodge of the State of Oklahoma has allowed them to deviate slightly in the ritual work. For example, they wear full Native American regalia for the second section. In addition to degree work the team also puts on educational programs which include Native American singing, dance, and a Q & A session. The degree work is for the enjoyment of master masons everywhere.
The Team will visit Delaware on Saturday, June 4, 2022. The degree will be held beginning at 4:00 PM and following the first section will break for a dinner catered by Haass Family Butcher Shop. The second section will follow dinner.
The event will be held at the Delaware State Fairgrounds (18500 South Dupont Highway, Harrington, DE 19952).
Tickets are $38.77 (including fees) per Brother, which includes admission to the degree and the dinner. We encourage you to purchase your tickets as soon as possible, as they are going fast and we don’t want you to miss this once in a lifetime experience.
For more information on the event or the raffle, please contact PM Chad Robinson at (302) 270-4391.

The wild game dinner is back for 2022!

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After a hiatus of a year due to COVID the Wild Game, AKA “Road Kill Dinner” is back. This year the dinner will be held a Riverhead Lodge #645 on Saturday, Feb. 26th at 6PM.

The Suffolk District Youth Committee hosts the event and will be serving us some favorites of the last 16 years the event has been held.

The proceeds of the event will go the Camp Turk Wishlist. The committee is requesting a $40.00 donation per person to attend the event. Don’t procrastinate as this event is very popular so tickets will go fast.

I hope to see many there for this event to support Camp Turk.

Call or text the numbers above for reservation/tickets.

Happy Masonic New Year!

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It’s 2022 (A.L. 6022) and we hope all have a happy and prosperous New Year! There is lots happening in the coming months and the quarries have certainly been busy the last few.

“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.”
―MWBro.  Benjamin Franklin

We Mourn the loss of the First Lady of NY Freemasonry Joanne Kessler

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Brethren and Friends,

It is with a deeply troubled heart that we learned today that our First Lady of New York Masonry, Mrs. Joanne Kessler, has been called to the Celestial Home above. She passed from this life at 1:42 PM on Monday, December 27th.

Almighty God, Heavenly Father, grant Your consoling grace to all who mourn the passing of loved ones. Hear our prayers for those we love dearly who have gone before us into the life to come. Look kindly upon our departed family members, brothers and sisters, and especially Joanne Kessler whom we now entrust to Your eternal mercy and goodness. Welcome our beloved into Heaven where tears are no more and suffering and pain are ended, where there is great joy, abundant life and peaceful rest in Your gracious presence. Amen.

The funeral arrangements for Lady Joanne Kessler are as follows:
Calling Hours on:
Sunday, January 2, 2022 between 4:00 pm — 8:00 pm
Location:
The Lester H. Wedekindt Funeral Home
3290 Delaware Ave.
Kenmore, NY 14217

Meet at 9:15 AM on Monday, January 3, 2022 for the Funeral Service.
The Funeral Service will be held on Monday, January 3rd
in the Chapel of Saint John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church,
1085 Englewood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14223

The Internment will follow the Church service at Mt. Olivet Cemetery
4000 Elmwood Avenue, Kenmore, NY 14217

Grand Master Richard J. Kessler thanks each of you for all the love and kindness
you have given and extended to him and his family.

Cards and expressions of sympathy may be sent to our Grand Master, Most Worshipful Richard J. Kessler, and the Kessler Family at 62 Woodcrest Blvd., Buffalo, NY 14223-1317.

Public Re-Presentation for RW Joseph Saglimbene, Grand Treasurer & RW Spiro Triantafilis, Deputy Grand Marshal

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Mark your calendars for Saturday, March 12, 2022 for the Public Re-Presentation for R∴W∴ Joseph Saglimbene, Grand Treasurer & R∴W∴ Spiro Triantafilis, Deputy Grand Marshal at the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple, 28 Lincoln Avenue, Rockville Centre, NY.

REQUIRED:  RSVP – RW Joseph Saglimbene at 347-307-3867 or Grand Treasurer’s Email

Lets get ready to RUMBLE – with Masonic Education

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2021 is coming to a close in a just a few weeks, the holidays will be here before we know it and our busy schedules will be strained to the breaking point. Its a yearly routine and as we all know the last 24 months has been anything but routine. Hopefully things will be rocking and rolling by February as this is the beginning of the Road to the East course, followed by the Masonic Development Course. The Road to the East (RTE) is a required course for all who seek to be installed in the east in the near future. The Masonic Development Course (MDC) is a great course for new Brothers to take to get a deeper dive into Freemasonry. Some older more seasoned Brothers are also welcome to reacquaint yourselves with the basics of Freemasonry and take the MCD as well.

If you plan to take either or both courses, you will need to contact R∴W∴ Robert Licata, GLSO. You can email him here -> GLSO

 

The Suffolk masonic district elects new advisor

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This past week the Suffolk Masonic District has elected a new Suffolk District Advisor, R:..W:. William McCauley.

R:.W:. Wm. McCauley

It is a distinct honor to have been elected as District Advisor for the Suffolk Masonic District. It will be a pleasure to continue my fraternal service for the benefit of each of you in the District. This District is held in High Regard by Grand Lodge because of the Masonic work that is accomplished here. My role, simply put is to advise and assist the District Deputy his Team and any Brother in this District should their need require it. You can always reach out to me regarding any questions involving the Fraternity. I look forward to seeing all of you as I travel around the District with the District Deputy and his Team.

R:.W:. William E. McCauley

R:.W:. McCauley’s Masonic Resume

Master Mason in Dongan Patent Lodge No. 1134, May 1988

Past Master 1994, 2005 and 2015, Secretary 1998 to 2000, Trustee

Long Island Past Master’s Association, Past President

Suffolk Masonic District Finance Chairman

Suffolk District Membership Retention, Past Chairman

Suffolk District Masonic Education Committee

Past District Advisor for Suffolk District

Suffolk District Long Range Planning Committee, Past Chairman

Suffolk District Membership Development Committee, Past Chairman

Past District Deputy Grand Master, Suffolk, 2000 – 2002

Interim District Deputy Grand Master and District 2004

Interim District Advisor 2004

Grand Lodge – Deputy Grand Master’s Advisory Committee 2021

Grand Lodge – Individual Development Course, Site Coordinator and Instructor

Grand Lodge – Past Member of Long Range Planning for Deputy Grand Master, 2004

Grand Lodge – Lodges and Buildings Past Committee Member

Grand Lodge – Finance Committee, Member

Grand Lodge – Committee on Law Enforcement Member

Grand Lodge – Charters Committee Member

Long Island Scottish Rite Bodies, Member

Suwassett Chapter No. 195, Royal Arch Masons, Past High Priest, Past Trustee

Fourth Capitular District Royal Arch Masons, Past President

Patchogue Commandery No. 95, Knights Templar, Past Commander, Trustee

Suffolk Council No. 76, Cryptic Masons, Past Illustrious Master, Past Trustee, Treasurer

Kismet Shrine Temple, A.A.O.N.M.S., member

Medford Square Club, Past President

Deputy Grand Master’s Advisory Committee – Current Member

Several other Masonic Bodies……

Order of the Eastern Star

Old Glory Chapter No. 622, Order of the Eastern Star, Past Worthy Patron

Pyramid Chapter No. 594, Order of the Eastern Star, Worthy Patron

Metlakhatla Chapter No. 439, member

Riverside Sunrise Chapter No. 399, Patron

Order of the Eastern Star, Suffolk District, Past District Grand Lecturer, Past Grand Marshal

The Friendly Folk of Suffolk Association – Past President and current Treasurer

Introducing Suffolk Masonic Events & Tickets Powered by lipma

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The internet is a wonderful thing sometimes. Growing up in the 70s through 90s if we needed information we went to the library or looked it up in your home encyclopedia, etc. Nowadays we hold the sum of human knowledge in the palm of our hands.

I remember getting tickets to see Van Halen 1984 at Madison Square Garden and I still remember getting the paper ticket in my hands. Luckily my cousin was an executive assistant to one of the owners of the Garden at that time, so the tickets were relatively easy to get. Convincing my parents I was old enough to join my cousins and older brother at the concert, not so much.

Over the past year or so the executive board has been discussing how to give back to the district and not just host a once a year summer soirée. (Hint we may make the Holiday Gala a yearly event as well).

As the plans for the Holiday Gala were being finalized we decided that the tickets would be sold online and we’d give the ability to pay for them with Credit/Debit Card, Venmo or PayPal. The point was we wanted the members of the LIPMA who run the event to actually be able to enjoy themselves at the event and not spend half the event collecting tickets, checking in guests and counting money or checks. So we opted for a 100% prepaid ticket model. So far it’s exceeded expectations.

With the results of that effort working exceptionally well for the event and LIPMA, we saw and opportunity to offer this same tech and convenience to the Lodges, members and appendant bodies in an around the Suffolk Masonic District.

So we expanded the use of the Events calendar and tickets you saw in action with the LIPMA Holiday Gala to the Suffolkmasons.com website and set it so any registered member can add events and create tickets for their event, whether is be a Lodge fundraiser or a District wide event.

So what do you need to do this? Simple you must register with the website and be approved. Once you create a login on the suffolkmasons.com website you will be able to create events with all the details you will need, who, what, where and when. To create a paid ticket you or your Lodge or organization will need a PayPal registered email address. If you have a PayPal email you would know. The Community events & Tickets will employ some interesting technology. It will include split payments and PayPal payouts. This is why you will need a PayPal related email to collect fund via PayPal, Venmo or Credit/Debit Card. So if you have an PayPal account already your all set. If not it’s a 2 minute setup with PayPal. No merchant (Credit Card Processor) account needed. LIPMA will complete the payments on the ‘day of’ your event, all the funds collected, minus the ticket fee, are then paid to the supplied PayPal email/account. Sorry at this point only PayPal is support by the software.

So what are a few of the pros and cons to this method of selling tickets with Suffolk Masonic Events & Tickets?

Pros

  • Get Paid in advance for events
  • Get better RSVPs/headcounts
  • no need to distribute paper tickets
  • generate online reports for sales and attendees
  • leverage social media and other avenues to promote and sell tickets
  • Check in guests with a smartphone (iPhone/Android) with a app.

Cons

  • Slight added cost to tickets and your event
  • There may be more but I can’t find any.

As you can see there is a definite benefit to selling your event tickets online. So what’s the downside? Well the software that runs the system is not ‘inexpensive’. So we have implemented a ticket fee which we believe was fair to all. So when you create tickets, the fee is subtracted from the total. It will most likely be $1.00 per ticket. Plus the merchant (credit Debit Card) processing fee, which is currently 3.7% + 0.49 per transaction. This must be taken into account when creating tickets for your event. So if you expect to collect $25/per person for your event, you would need to create tickets for about $28.00 to recoup ~$25.00 after fees are collected.

A Zoom or in person instruction will be announced to walk anyone interested in learning how to navigate and add events & tickets and get paid for the tickets. We sincerely hope that the members of the District will use and take advantage of the system and actually enjoy the events that they plan. Or those who have the online knowledge, jump right it and start creating events and tickets.

On the day of your event one or a few members with smartphones scan QR codes at the door to check in your guests and verify attendance and generate reports.

Payouts: Well due to several factors, one being refunds or reversals, LIPMA will hold all funds collected until the day of the event. On the day of the event the orders will be ‘Completed” and the funds processed. within 24 hours PayPal will send payouts to the supplied PayPal email for the event organizer (the person who and set the tickets and supplied the PayPal Email) minus the $1.00/ ticket fee and merchant fees. Since we are adding these fees at checkout the consumer is paying these fees as part of the ticket price. So the event organizer will get their price per ticket and LIPMA generates the funds to make the system self sustaining. Everybody wins.

A detailed step-by-step guide will be posted in the File Manager which is also added to the suffolkmasons.com under “Your Account” which cannot be accessed until after you register and login.

One of the most useful added features of Suffolk Masons Event Tickets is the ability to check-in attendees to your events via QR code. These scannable codes are generated automatically for all ticket purchases or reservations, and each code references a unique URL that can be used to quickly check-in guests without needing to manually access your attendees list.

Event Tickets Plus App

Our Event Tickets Plus App is the easiest and fastest way to check-in your attendees directly from your Android or iOS device without the need to log in to your site. Simply install and connect to your site using an API key and start scanning your tickets.

Download the app from:

Once you have registered, created an event, created a ticket with a PayPal associated email and the event is approved, your off to the races. Each person that purchases a ticket or RSVP’s to your event, you will receive and email notification (the organizer)). You can go onto the system anytime and check attendees and sales, export, print or email your reports.

The day of your event, there is nothing for your to do really but enjoy. The orders will be processed to complete and the batch payout will run and send the payment to the supplied email. Its that simple.