Address given by the Provincial Grand Master, RWBro Norman Eric Heaviside to the
The Provincial Annual Meeting - 17th June 2017 Can I give you all a very sincere welcome to this our Annual Meeting. I always feel that this is the highlight of the year and one where we can meet up with some of our long-standing friends and to encounter new friendships and acquaintances. I hope you all enjoy the day. Can I firstly extend my sincere congratulations to all of those Brethren whom I have had the privilege of Investing with their new Provincial Collar. Believe me Brethren my Executive and I take an enormous amount of time in deciding the appropriate rank to be given to each and every one of you, and I hope that you will enjoy your new position for many years to come. Not only is it a recognition of what you have done for your Lodge and your Masonic Centre, but it also brings with it an expectation, that you will make an ongoing contribution to many of our Provincial Activities.
Grand Honours Brethren, at the Annual Investiture of United Grand Lodge in April, the following Brethren were recognised for their outstanding commitment to our Organisation, in their several ways. I would ask each of them to stand as I mention their name, and remain standing until I have completed the list and then we can give them an outstanding ovation on their preferment. As PAGDC: WBro Peter Birtwisle of Sportsman’s Lodge WBro Brian Footitt of Haven of Rest Lodge WBro Adam Lamb of Manor Lodge WBro Ian Wright of Peace & Unity Lodge
Promoted to PJGD WBro Keith Liddell of Crowley Lodge WBro Alan Farrar of Strathmore Lodge
Masonic Halls We held the first of a series of Seminars on 2nd June, to which we invited the Officials of every Masonic Hall in our Province. The purpose of that seminar was to introduce them to a very comprehensive document that has been produced as part of the Masonic Focus Group, now referred to as the Improvement Development Group. Our newly appointed Provincial Grand Superintendent of Works, WBro Gordon Brewis, is to lead a small team who will be available to assist Hall Management Committees in the coming months and years, regarding the challenges that each Hall will be facing. They were also given a presentation by WBro David Hay, giving some reality checks on where we are, in terms of membership numbers, and where we might be in five to ten years’ time. Both items created a very positive debate at the seminar and clearly addressed the issues that we must face together. As WBro Gawin Holmes is today retiring as our Grand Superintendent of Works, after carrying out the duties of that position for the last five years, may I thank Gawin for the excellent contribution he has made, in advising and assisting many of our Masonic Halls. Over those 5 years he has carried out full Building Surveys to most of our Halls, totally free of charge, and we are indebted to him for his kind advice and expertise.
Masonic Fishing Charity Recently we were approached by the central Masonic Fishing Charity who wanted to encourage us to form a Provincial Fishing Charity to organise Fishing days for handicapped children. This is an excellent Charity which can give enormous enjoyment to children who are physically challenged and generally are unable to enjoy a days Fishing. I have invited W Bro David Grey to chair this new Initiative and he has already had 3 Meetings with Brethren who are keen Fishermen and it is planned to have the first Event in September. If any of you are Fishermen, and would like to become involved in this new activity, please get in touch with either David Grey or Maurice Errington our Provincial Tyler.
Tercentenary You are all well aware of the various activities that we are organising this year, in order to celebrate our 300 Years as an Organisation. I will mention just 3 if those for your attention. Firstly we are holding a Dedication Service in Durham Cathedral on Thursday 7 th September, when we will be joined by The Lord Lieutenant, The Mayor of Durham and from Grand Lodge we will have the pleasure of welcoming the Assistant Grand Master, Sir David Wootton. The Service will be led by The Dean V Revd Andrew Tremlett. This will be a high quality Service and it will be admission by Ticket only. The details have already been emailed to every Member of this Province, as to how to apply for tickets and I can tell you Brethren that tickets are going fast and so you need to make application sooner rather than later. Secondly I wish to inform you of the outstanding success of our Coast to Coast Cycle Ride held 2 weeks ago. Believe me Brethren this was an outstanding achievement, the success of which was way beyond our expectations. 30 Cyclists from our Province, including one of their wives, had been in some rigorous training for many weeks beforehand. They set off from Whitehaven on the Friday morning and were seen off by my Deputy and his wife Joan, along with the PGM of Cumberland & Westmorland RWBro Norman Thompson and his wife Janet. The group cycled to Keswick, where a superb Lunch was provided by the Brethren of Keswick Masonic Hall. They then continued over many demanding inclines to Penrith, where they had an overnight stay. On the Saturday, they then travelled up the most challenging climb to Hartside where my wife Sue and I welcomed them to the Hartside CafĂŠ for a Lunch Break. That Brethren was a 5 mile climb up something like a 1 in 5 tortuous hill climb. They continued via Alston to further significant hill climbs on the way to Allenheads for the second overnight stay On Sunday they went to Stanhope and up Crawleyside and on to Consett, where they were provided with an excellent Lunch at Consett Masonic Hall and then finished up at Roker seafront. A tremendous amount of planning by the Organisers made this such an outstanding event. Prior to the event they had all been gaining Sponsorship and Brethren, when they arrived at Roker they Presented me with a cheque for ÂŁ25K. A remarkable initiative and I would like all of those cyclists, and the Support Team, to stand and receive a well-earned applause for their efforts. Thirdly Brethren I encourage as many of you as possible to support the Party in the Park Event at Wynyard Hall on Saturday 12th August. Applications can be made online; the
details are all in your latest copy of the Gazette and it is expected to be a superb and memorable occasion. Whilst mentioning the Tercentenary, you will be aware that the MCF is donating £3m to 300 Charities across England & Wales. Each Province has been invited to nominate a number of Charities, relative to the size of the Province. We have been allowed to nominate 8 Charities in our Province, and they will receive a total of £89k. Our Community Grants Committee have selected the 8 Charities that we have nominated, and you and the general public are encouraged to partake in an online Poll, to nominate from those 8 who you wish to select as the most deserving. The Charity which receives the most votes will receive £25k and the others will receive varying amounts from £15k down to £4k.
September QC On Wednesday 13th September we are arranging a Provincial Visit to the Quarterly Communications Meeting of Grand Lodge. This is an excellent opportunity for any Member, particularly Master Masons, to see The Grand Temple in all its glory. We will then adjourn to the Freemasons Arms for Lunch before returning home. Brethren you can have an excellent day for under £100 and you can book on line or by applying to Provincial Office to reserve your place. We will limit the number attending to 60, and I encourage you to take up this special opportunity.
2021 Festival I am sure that you are well aware that our Festival is making great strides towards our Target of £2.7m. Since we Launched the Festival, in January of last year, the Brethren throughout the Province, have responded magnificently. At the end of May we have in the Relief Chest, a total of £1.5m, which represents 55% of the Target, at an average over the 16 month period of £10k per week. That is quite amazing. It is the constant enthusiasm of our Festival Director, John Thompson, and his Festival Committee who are ensuring that every Brother is aware of the variety of ways to support our Festival and we are extremely grateful to them for all their hard work. John is also, in his new slim figure, along with 30 Brethren training hard for the Great North Run in September. There are two vacant places if anyone wishes to take them up and already they have been sponsored for over £15k.
Membership At our Annual Meeting last year, I introduced our newly appointed Membership Officer, Ian Heaviside, and his 4 Assistants. They have been working very positively in addressing issues of new Members. Currently one of their major roles is handling the many On-Line enquiries we receive, particularly from Grand Lodge. Ian and his team make contact with the individual and assist the enquirer as to which Lodge will be the most suitable for him to join. I can also advise you Brethren that since the transmission of the TV Programme Inside Freemasonry, there has been a threefold increase in the number of enquiries they have received. Ian and his team are also looking at the large number of Resignations we have across the Province. That is one area that all Lodges need to give a closer attention, to address some of the causes of the resignations. Can I thanks you all for attending today and my grateful thanks for your kind attention to my Address and always Brethren, Continue to Enjoy your Masonry