Address to Annual Meeting – June 2018 Good Morning Brethren and can I extend to each and every one of you, my grateful thanks for attending today. It is always a very special day, when we can all renew old friendships and of course meet new friends during the course of the day and in the future. My heartiest congratulations to those Brethren whom I have had the privilege of Investing them with their First Provincial Collar. I trust that each of you will remember today with great pride and pleasure. Having now received your Provincial Collar it not only rewards you for what you have done in the past, but of course it brings with it an expectation of even greater involvement in your Lodge, your Masonic Centres and also in some of our Provincial activities. May you all have many years ahead to enjoy your new positions. Grand Honours Earlier this year we had 2 opportunities, for some of our Brethren to be recognised by United Grand Lodge. In recognition of the Tercentenary Events the Grand Master was pleased to award every Province with 2 First Appointments plus one Promotion. At the March Quarterly Communication, we had the following Brethren Invested: As PAGDC
WBro Tom Gittins WBro Robin Middleton
Promoted to PJGD
WBro John Parker
At the Annual Investiture in April we also had the following Brethren rewarded as follows: WBro Martin Rankin appointed as Acting AsstGStdB As PAGDC
WBro Nigel Foster WBro Bill Hobson WBro Stephen Willis
As PAGStdB
WBro Clinton Leeks
Promoted to PSGD
WBro John Thompson
Promoted to PJGD
WBro Andrew Bunting
Brethren they all work extremely hard, in their various responsibilities around the Province and I would ask you now to extend your congratulations to them.
Membership At this Meeting last year I introduced our new Membership Officer, W Bro Ian Heaviside and his 4 Area Assistants. Since then they have been very industrious in seeking out new Members, in particular from those men who make enquiries via Grand Lodge Website and our own Provincial Website. They are also trying to investigate why we have so many Resignations from Lodges, and in particular those who resign within 2 years of joining. Brethren it behoves us all to try to reduce the high number of Resignations, by talking to these Brethren BEFORE they send in their resignation. Via the Adelphi Database facility, we can also discover which Lodges are best at recruiting and those who may need some assistance. One of the alarming statistics, which I feel are worth informing you about, is that 70% of our Members are over 60 years of age. Also, that no less than 70 of our Lodges have less than 30 Members. 25 Members in a Lodge is fine if more than 75 % attend, but if the average attendance is 25%, then the Lodge may have difficulty in continuing. North East Corner You will recall that some 4 years ago we introduced a new initiative for younger Members, which operated under the name of North East Corner. We now feel that we should be focussing more on Master Masons and we are now seeking to create a Light Blues
Club for any Master Mason with particular focus on the younger Members. W Bro Matthew Pearce is Chairing this Initiative and he is currently creating a management Team, which will encourage young Masons to become involved. As part of this Initiative we are to have our Annual Provincial Trip to Grand Lodge, at the September Quarterly Communication, on Wednesday 12th September. This gives Master Masons the opportunity not only to visit Grand Lodge but also to see it in operation. At the end of the Meeting we then adjourn to The Freemasons Arms for a 3 course meal and a few drinks. This is an excellent day out and I believe there are only 6 places left, so you need to apply on line as soon as possible, in order to prevent disappointment.
TLC Teddies You will recall that at our Promotions Meeting in November I announced that W Bro Harry Norman was retiring from running the TLC Teddies Appeal and that he would be succeeded by W Bro Duncan Maw. W Bro Duncan is already extremely enthusiastic about this Initiative and is creating new ideas and outlets for helping children in distress. Already this year he has raised £7.5k, in comparison to the £5.5k raised throughout all of last year. Currently we receive these Teddies in Bags of 12 and Duncan is now investigating the possibility of each Teddy arriving individually wrapped with an appropriate Card, indicating that the Teddy is from the Province. I am particularly grateful to the Hall Ambassadors of this scheme who not only publicise its benefits, but now are involved in delivering the new supplies to the Hospitals AND talking to the staff and building up a relationship. I trust that all Lodges will continue to support this venture with their Annual Donation of £50 or more.
2021 RMTGB Festival Brethren the support that you have given to this Project is absolutely astounding. When we Launched the Festival, at The Sage Theatre in January 2016, we considered that it would be an almost impossible challenge to achieve the £2.7m Target. Well Brethren I can now advise you that at the end of May, less than 2 and a half years on, you have raised £2,023k. We are still receiving an average of £10k per week which is fantastic. That is quite unbelievable and some of the activities organised by the Festival Committee have been very different and inspiring. Last year the Coast to Coast Cycle Ride raised £25k and then the Great North Runners raised no less than £40k. This year we have already witnessed the 3 Peaks Challenge where 30 Brethren did those 3 “Mountains” in 24 hours and raised £20k. Brethren a number of those Climbers are here today and I ask them to stand while you congratulate them on a wonderful effort. The following weekend, the Cyclists took to the roads from Edinburgh to Chester-le-Street, over 3 days, termed the Castle to Coast Challenge. They raised £26k and many of them are with us today and again I ask them to stand, in order that you can show your appreciation for their outstanding commitment. I am forever grateful and even mesmerised by the support we receive from Brethren across the Province for this Festival. My particular thanks go to W Bro John Thompson and his Festival Committee for their untiring efforts in coming up with new ideas on how to get money out of our pockets. There is now no doubt that our Festival Target will be surpassed.
Retirement Brethren, they say that Time stops for no man and that all good things come to an end. As you know I will be retiring on 5 th October. I have had the most wonderful experience of being your Provincial Grand Master for the past 10 years. There have been so
many high-spots and privileges and I have enjoyed every minute of this very demanding role. There are so many Brethren who have been of great assistance to me over the past 10 years and I don’t really want to single anyone out by name. I believe that we have one of the finest Provincial Offices in the country, with an excellent Secretariat which is not just very professional but it is also a very happy place to work. In our Office we also have our Library and Museum Team and I am so grateful to the 7 or 8 Volunteers who spend every Thursday working away on improving our Exhibits, researching all manner of Masonic history and also upgrading many of our resources onto electronic and digital records. Our Financial team, who are all Volunteers, do an excellent job in looking after our Finances. I can tell you Brethren that our Finances are in excellent shape and I can assure you that we have no financial worries. To all of the Lodges and their Brethren, who have received all manner of Deputations over the years, I extend my grateful thanks. I have also had the privilege of being supported by some superb colleagues on my Executives, Past and Present, who have all become excellent friends as well. I must also record my grateful thanks to those Provincial Grand Masters, both Past and Present of the Northern Provinces, whose friendships I have greatly valued and appreciated. Brethren I believe that I am leaving a very happy Province which will continue to flourish and which has given me so much pleasure and so many memorable opportunities. I thank you very much indeed for your kind attention to my remarks and as always Brethren, CONTINUE TO ENJOY YOUR MASONRY.