The Scottish Rite Experience: The Valley of Steubenville

Valley Excellence and Innovation The Scottish Rite Experience Valley of Steubenville

What do you do when your Valley is forced to cancel a reunion due to a lack of candidates? Or when you see attendance at stated meetings dwindling?

If you’re Edsel Emery, 33°, Deputy’s Representative for the Valley of Steubenville, you create something entirely new—“The Scottish Rite Experience.” It is a program designed to not only attract new members, but to rekindle fraternalism between Scottish Rite Brothers in the Valley.

Now in its fourth year, the program has not only resulted in increased membership, it also reinvigorated participation in the Valley overall. One of the best things about “The Scottish Rite Experience” is that it is entirely replicable in Valleys large and small. With customization to meet the needs of members in your area, an “Experience” type program could offer you the same outstanding results as experienced in Steubenville.

So how did Brother Emery do it?

Outlined here are the motivations and the steps taken to make “The Scottish Rite Experience” a reality. If you prefer visual learning, an interview with Brother Emery about his efforts can be found at scottishritenmj.org/videos and on YouTube and Vimeo.

What Prompted the Creation of “The Scottish Rite Experience”?

Four years ago as of this writing, there were many challenges identified in the Valley of Steubenville that needed attention and action. One issue was membership. For the first time in the Valley’s long history, it was forced to cancel a reunion for lack of candidates. Energy and participation of existing members was noticeably on the decline.

After Identifying the challenges were the first action items?

The first week in office as Deputy’s Representative, Brother Emery undertook an analysis Northern Masonic Jurisdiction

of the last 10 years of Scottish Rite membership classes by lodges. The information was charted in a spreadsheet providing accurate data on three central issues: 1. Knowing where new members are coming from 2. Knowing where existing Scottish Rite Members are most active 3. Determine which areas need more attention and outreach, and which lodges service these areas

Replace Ineffective Ambassadors In addition to the immediate appointment of a new Membership Chairman for the Valley, all ineffective lodge ambassadors were replaced. With a polite “thank you for your continued service, Brother,” the Valley moved on to finding ambassadors who would be effective in spreading our message and reaching out to potential candidates.

Moving the Valley Out of the Temple The major decision was made to move the Valley OUT of the Scottish Rite Temple and to bring it to the membership and candidates. Previously, Steubenville had never any Scottish Rite candidate or member events outside the Temple. “The Scottish Rite Experience” opened up myriads of new possibilities for connection and outreach. Brother Emery recognized that Supreme Council has provided a rich resource in our degrees on video and he wanted to exploit that resource.

How is The Scottish Rite Experience organized and how does it work?

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Blue lodges in identified strategic locations throughout the Valley are contacted.

Scottish Rite asks for use of the facility on a non-meeting night, and take care of all the details. There is no expense to the host lodge other than opening their facility. The Valley of Steubenville is over 65 miles long, with the temple in the middle. Lodges in the northern and southern areas of Steubenville were identified to make the candidate and member experience more convenient and bring it closer to home.

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This past year, The Scottish Rite Experience was presented in four lodges across the Valley of Steubenville.

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Event announcement notices are sent to all blue lodge secretaries to invite local Masons to the evening event.

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Scottish Rite members in the area are contacted and invited to the event. This is done

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The Scottish Rite banner, altar jewels, and refreshments are brought to the event.

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The Valley Scottish Rite secretary signs everyone in, stamps passports, etc. All members are encouraged to wear name badges, jewels and hats. The experience of a Reunion is replicated.

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The event is opened with the declaration, Pledge, and prayer as always.

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The host lodge is always presented with a gift of appreciation.

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The 4th degree is shown if needed, and at least two other video degrees are presented.

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via announcements in stated meetings, newsletter, Facebook, and email.

• After the close, refreshments provided by the Valley are served.

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Follow up entails a letter to the Master of the lodge and the Secretary thanking them for their hospitality.

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Pictures and information are soon posted on social media, and in the quarterly newsletter.

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The 32nd degree is presented live at the Scottish Rite Temple in the spring.

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The Scottish Rite Experience is on the road in the fall and winter at least once a year.

Ancillary Support of The Scottish Rite Experience and the Valley Outreach Welcome Cards and Pins Cards with Square and Compass pins attached are printed for our Scottish Rite ambassadors to distribute to EVERY new member of their home Blue Lodge. The cards welcome the new Masons to the craft, and congratulate them on their membership. On the back of the card is an informal invitation to join the AASR. Initially, 200 square-and-compasses pins and

Example of welcome card and pin

cards were purchased to make a nice gift. Each ambassador was given 10 cards to start.

The Black Hat Challenge In Ohio, caps are worn at all Scottish Rite stated Northern Masonic Jurisdiction

meetings and other events. The black cap denotes a 32° Mason. The cap is of high quality and not inexpensive. To keep motivation high, Steubenville incentivizes attendance at future Scottish Rite events through The Black Hat Program. If a 32° Mason attends seven Scottish Rite events in the course of a year, they are given a black cap by the Valley. Events that qualify run the gamut from stated meetings, reunions, to social Example of Black Hat Challenge event card

events like family picnics. This has been quite successful in bringing our new members to the Valley events.

Results?

Membership Recruitment It’s working! Yes, getting started can feel like an uphill climb, but perseverance is paying off.

Year One — The first year, results were modest and the work was hard. When this idea was brand new, Steubenville added three members as a result of the Experience.

Year Two — The second year six members were added through the Experience.

Year Three — Things really took off! Steubenville had the its largest class in 20 years welcoming welcomed 24 new members. A majority of those members came from lodges visited

by The Scottish Rite Experience.

Existing Members — Retention and Satisfaction Steubenville is experiencing increasing interest from the young members with a number asking to be serve planning committee for The Scottish Rite Experience. Meeting attendance is up and new members are volunteering for Valley activities. Reawakening the connection between the Scottish Rite and long-term members is also resulting in much higher attendance from those older members at stated meetings and reunions.

A great deal of focus has been paid to improving “The Scottish Rite Experience” at meetings.

A shorter format is used, with printed minutes available when signing in, an enhanced and meaningful opening, and an emphasis on food quality have all been implemented. We want to make coming to a Scottish Rite meeting a special event.

“The Scottish Rite Experience is working! We have found that moving outside of our Temple was one of the best things we have done in a long time. Bringing the Valley to our Brothers allows them to reconnect with our great fraternity and encourages them to stay involved. There is a new energy flowing in the Valley of Steubenville, and it’s due to The Scottish Rite Experience.”

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Final words from Brother Emery:

What to Bring, What to Do In order to make the evening a success, you have to be prepared. It’s not uncommon to find lodges lacking projection equipment, screens, or even extension cords. Take the lessons learned by Brother Emery and the Steubenville team, and be sure to bring the following materials with you when on the road:

Scottish Rite Banner This is a Scottish Rite event, and placing the banner in the room brings a special feeling to the event. Yours may need a new “travel pole” and base, but it’s important to have it at the event.

Altar Jewels We bring our Valley’s Bible and jewels and open them after the declaration, Pledge and prayer. It brings home the feeling that THIS event is the Scottish Rite.

Laptop computer Bring the “Big Stick” provided by Supreme to your Secretary or DVD’s.

Projector Use the projector and sound system you have. If you need a new option, consider the portable, easy-to-use Vivitek Qumi Q3 Plus 500 Lumen Ultra HD 720p Pocket DLP Projector with Wi-Fi Red. Connects easily to your laptop or thumb drive.

Audio Speaker The Bose®—SoundLink® Revolve Bluetooth® speaker is small and powerful. It pairs easily with the Vivitek Qumi. The tiny speaker on your laptop just doesn’t do a good job in a large lodge room.

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Projection Screen Walls are fine for projection, but often a screen creates a better viewing experience.

Practice Be sure you are comfortable with setting up and operating your equipment.

It’s embarrassing to not be prepared.

Extension cords of varying lengths Power strip or squid Small card table for setting up You don’t want to put anything on the altar!

Gift for the lodge you are visiting Steubenville creates a nice plaque for presentation to the Worshipful Master thanking them for participating, and for their hospitality. A nice framed certificate of appreciation is another thought. It should be impressive and already framed.

If anyone is in need, Brother Emery will provide sample computer files.

Candidate petitions We keep track of all new candidates, and chart their progress through the events. Never ignore or take a new member for granted. Last year, we actually had a special pin commissioned that says “The Scottish Rite Experience.” You ONLY get that

Example of scottish rite experience pin

pin if you attend the Experience.

Food Sandwich platters and cookies have worked well, but be creative. Be generous and make the refreshment time memorable also.

Mingle!

DO NOT sit together as a group, but mingle with the men who came to see this event. It is essential that the members of the Valley “work the room.” Meet every man group in bunches by themselves.

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there and make them feel excited and important. Members of the Valley shouldn’t

For more information: For more information on The Scottish Rite Experience and how you might start a similar program in your Valley,

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contact Edsel Emery, 33°, Deputy’s Representative, Valley of Steubenville at efemery@yahoo.com.

Supreme Council, 33°, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, 33 Marrett Road, Lexington, MA 02421

www.scottishritenmj.org