Provincial Grand Master’s Address to Promotions Meeting November 2016
Welcome Good evening Brethren and my grateful thanks to all of you for attending this evening. I do hope that you have found it interesting and that you can all go home rejuvenated and satisfied that you are making a significant contribution to our Organisation. Promotions My hearty congratulations, to all of those who I have had the privilege of Investing with their well-deserved Promotion. It is always difficult for my Executive Members to satisfy everyone but we do take the nominations very seriously indeed and we do spend a lot of time making sure that we get it right. All of you who have been Promoted this evening are doing an outstanding job, not only in your Lodge but also in your Masonic Hall and in other areas such as The Benevolent Committee and the Festival. May you have many years to enjoy your new position in our Province. Cathedral This year we have seen the completion of our Cathedral Floor Project and what a wonderful exhibit it is and will remain there for many, many years. I do hope, that those of you who have sponsored a Stone are able to take up the opportunity of using the facility that we have negotiated with The Cathedral, of being able to take a Guest free, to view the entire Open Treasures Exhibition. It is another way of cementing our relationship with the Cathedral. Can I also encourage all of you to attend our Carol Service on Monday 19th December. The Service will be led by the New Dean Very Revd Andrew Tremlett.
He is very keen to further the relationship that we built with his predecessor, Michael Sadgrove, and I had a very warm meeting with Andrew in September, when I took our Provincial Chaplain along with me. 2017 I am sure that most of you are aware that we are in for an extremely exciting year as we celebrate our Tercentenary, next year. I am not going to list the variety of Events that we will be organising, because in the next issue of our Gazette, you will find all of the information you require. The Gazette will land on your doormat in the first few days of December, and I encourage you to read it carefully. It includes details of how to apply for Tickets to attend the Special Meeting in The Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday 31st October and also the Celebration Dinner which follows in Battersea Park.
2021 Festival May I say how delighted we are with the progress of our 2021 RMTGB Festival. Since our launch in January, it has been very encouraging to see the funds continuing to pour in, and I can advise you that we have now achieved ÂŁ1.1m, which after only 10 months is absolutely brilliant. I can also advise you that we now have 1300 Brethren who have signed up as Stewards of the Festival, and you are aware that we have introduced Bronze, Silver and Gold awards. Bronze for achieving 33% of Target, Silver for achieving 66%, and Gold for achieving 100% of the Target. You will be pleased to know that 144 of our Lodges have achieved Bronze, 15 Silver, and already three of our Lodges have achieved and surpassed their Target.
Our Festival team, led by W Bro John Thompson are doing a fantastic job and if anyone, or any Lodge, requires further information, please get in touch with them.
Raby Gala Another tremendous success was the Raby Gala, which was held in July of this year. Thanks to W Bro Andrew Foster and his Team, it once again proved to be a Financial success, despite the rather inclement weather of that weekend.
Despite the ever increasing costs we face to put on this event, which amounted to £35k, we still managed to end up with a profit of £72,387. To Andrew and his team we say a very big thank you. Fortunately we knew 3 weeks before the Gala that at least we had covered our Expenses. That was because you had raised over £20k on Raffle Tickets, £20k on the Brochures, plus various other donations and Sponsorships. This proves the value of advance sales.
Thanks Can I, on your behalf, express our sincere and grateful thanks to all who have worked so hard in making all of the preparations for this evenings Meeting. Those involved include, the Provincial Secretary and his staff, the Provincial DC and his team and by no means least, the great efforts of the Provincial Stewards Lodge.
May I wish you and your families a very joyous Christmas and may 2017 be a very Happy and Memorable Year for you all. Brethren, may I thank you for the kind attention you have given to my Address and as always, continue to enjoy your Masonry.