Notes from the PGM's Speech
Brother Mess President, thank you for those kind words and to you, Brethren, for the kind way in which you received them. I am, as ever, very grateful for your warm greetings.
I should like to begin by giving my sincere thanks, on your behalf, to Tony Goater for the administration of this event as well as to those who I know have assisted behind the scenes. Also to those who “got lumbered” – sorry, I mean “volunteered” to assist as wine stewards this evening. Your efforts at these events do not go unnoticed and it is always appreciated and, in addition, I should like to thank all those involved in the management of this Chingford Masonic Centre for accommodating us here at short notice and for making this such as success.
To those Active provincial Officers who have supported me throughout the year with their attendance at my official visits I also extend my warmest thanks. Again, your efforts do not go unnoticed and, if I forget to thank you at the various meetings we attend throughout the year, I want to publicly reiterate my sincere thanks.
Last, but not least, I thank Richard Goodwin, Bill Fraser and those that “encouraged” you to purchase a bonus ball in support of our Welfare Fund, all the monies raised go to supporting local causes.
Moving on, when I asked for your views and opinions on the venue and style of this mess event, the overwhelming majority of responses received were in favour of moving the venue around our Province rather than having a permanent venue at Southend. This was supported by an agreement that it was better to ensure that everyone had the opportunity to attend a meeting nearer to their home rather than particularly worry about the total numbers. This is one of those locations and, I’m sure you will agree, we not only have new attendees amongst us but also we have a splendid total attendance as well. So, thank you for your feedback and attendance this evening and, if you hear some moaning about venue and parking, please remember that this is a big Province, bigger than many Craft Provinces, and I want to be fair to all members and share our social activities in the best way I can.
One of the other suggestions was to use this meeting to formally identify and award good works or efforts throughout the year that fall short of “official” business. So, taking this on board, I am going to make a future award to the brother who proposes the greatest number of new members into our Degree a “Recruiter of the Year” if you will. Brethren, you will all know that Grand Lodge have made a change to the formula calculating the number of Grand Ranks each Province may nominate per year. That calculation is based on the number of members in any Province, rather than the number of memberships. This has meant, inevitably, to a drop in the total number of appointments. I do know that Grand Rank is not going to be attained by everyone and not everyone sees Grand Rank be all and end all but, as a part of my role must be to increase the number of members in the Province, a consequence of any increase will also see an increase in the number of Grand Ranks we may be offered. So, to bring this all together, the concept of formally acknowledging a “recruiter of the year” would be of saying “thank you” and I shall, therefore, be asking my secretariat to monitor application forms for membership and the “winner” will be invited here so that he can be congratulated. I trust you can all see the merit in this and, as ever, your views in feedback are welcome.
So, moving on to the regular announcements for this Mess; firstly, my nomination for Provincial Grand Senior Warden.
Brethren, this brother is a relatively recent member of our Degrees, having been Advanced in 2006 and Elevated into RAM later that year. He is an active member of four Mark and four Royal Ark Mariner Lodges. He was appointed PPGJD in 2014 and promoted to Active Provincial Grand Junior Overseer in 2017 and also appointed to ProvRAMGR in the same year.
This brother is a very keen supported of Essex Mark Masonry; in his Active year he accompanied me on most, if not all of my visits. He always attends our Annual Meeting of PGL at Felsted and, since his first appointment to Provincial Rank, has attended all these Mess events. He supports our social events, is always ready to volunteer to assist at any functions in any way he can. He learns our ritual and can be relied upon to perform ceremony without the aid of books. He is at present both Secretary and Scribe of both his mother Mark and RAM.
I am confident that this particular Mark Mason will be an excellent ambassador for our Order and I know I can trust him to represent me at the meetings which he attends. I am, therefore, only too pleased to announce that next year’s appointment to Provincial Grand Senior Warden is
W.Bro. Bill Fraser, BEM, of Crowstone Mark Lodge.
Moving on, my appointment to Provincial Grand Junior Warden is another fairly new member to our Order. He was Advanced in 2008 and is, currently, a member of two Mark and two RAM Lodges.
His first Provincial Appointment was to Active Provincial Grand Sword Bearer in 2015 and he was appointed to ProvRAMGR in 2016. He is a more than active member of his mother Lodge as well as the Installed Master’s Lodge.
During his time in active rank, he accompanied me on most of my visits not only in Essex but to other Provinces both in the UK and abroad; he also attends our Annual Meeting of PGL, Felsted.
This brother also supports all the social functions around the Province whenever he can, he would be here today if his family had not arranged a surprise holiday for him in the West Indies—which, when he found out about the holiday he contacted me to ask if he should cancel it so he could attend today!
This brother is an unassuming gentleman whose hard work in his Mark Lodge has given them hope and direction and has helped them reinvent themselves after a prolonged state of darkness.
I know he will also represent me to the best of his abilities around the Province and, as such, my appointment for next year’s Provincial Grand Junior Warden is
W.Bro. Ranjit Bhogal of the Khalsa Royal Oak Tree Lodge.
Now, last but, by no means least, I move to my nomination for Grand Steward. This brother joined the Mark fifteen years ago and is currently a member of three Mark and three RAM Lodges. He had a first Provincial Appointment to Active Grand Standard Bearer; he was appointed to ProvRAMGR in 2017 and promoted to PProvGSO this year.
He, too, is a great supporter of our Province. He attends the Annual Meeting of PGL at Felsted, is a member and regular attender of the Installed Lodges; he attends this officers mess and, during his year as an Active Officer, accompanied me on nearly all my visits. Additionally, he has accompanied me on my visits to other Provinces both at home and abroad.
He supports our social functions and never fails to contribute prizes to them as well as contributing a significant of money in his own right in his hard work and efforts of fund raising in his own right.
His commitment to his Lodges is exemplary and he always delivers his ritual without the use of books. Brethren, most of you will know this Brother and, also, know that when I say “without books” it is because he has significant problems reading and writing, he learns his ritual via Dictaphone recordings made for him and his effort in learning it is magnificent. If I was to mention that he also sells masonic coasters, I’m sure you will all know that I am talking about W.Bro. Glenn Remblance of Wyven Mark Lodge and Grays Thurrock RAM.
Brethren, you may have noticed a theme here. This next year will be remembered as the year of the minority; we have a Scotsman, a Sikh and a Showman! I am proud to say that we in The Mark make no distinction on race, age, ethnicity or social standing; this makes us special and rightly proud to be Mark Men.
Brethren, I thank you for your attention, and I wish you all well.
I should like to begin by giving my sincere thanks, on your behalf, to Tony Goater for the administration of this event as well as to those who I know have assisted behind the scenes. Also to those who “got lumbered” – sorry, I mean “volunteered” to assist as wine stewards this evening. Your efforts at these events do not go unnoticed and it is always appreciated and, in addition, I should like to thank all those involved in the management of this Chingford Masonic Centre for accommodating us here at short notice and for making this such as success.
To those Active provincial Officers who have supported me throughout the year with their attendance at my official visits I also extend my warmest thanks. Again, your efforts do not go unnoticed and, if I forget to thank you at the various meetings we attend throughout the year, I want to publicly reiterate my sincere thanks.
Last, but not least, I thank Richard Goodwin, Bill Fraser and those that “encouraged” you to purchase a bonus ball in support of our Welfare Fund, all the monies raised go to supporting local causes.
Moving on, when I asked for your views and opinions on the venue and style of this mess event, the overwhelming majority of responses received were in favour of moving the venue around our Province rather than having a permanent venue at Southend. This was supported by an agreement that it was better to ensure that everyone had the opportunity to attend a meeting nearer to their home rather than particularly worry about the total numbers. This is one of those locations and, I’m sure you will agree, we not only have new attendees amongst us but also we have a splendid total attendance as well. So, thank you for your feedback and attendance this evening and, if you hear some moaning about venue and parking, please remember that this is a big Province, bigger than many Craft Provinces, and I want to be fair to all members and share our social activities in the best way I can.
One of the other suggestions was to use this meeting to formally identify and award good works or efforts throughout the year that fall short of “official” business. So, taking this on board, I am going to make a future award to the brother who proposes the greatest number of new members into our Degree a “Recruiter of the Year” if you will. Brethren, you will all know that Grand Lodge have made a change to the formula calculating the number of Grand Ranks each Province may nominate per year. That calculation is based on the number of members in any Province, rather than the number of memberships. This has meant, inevitably, to a drop in the total number of appointments. I do know that Grand Rank is not going to be attained by everyone and not everyone sees Grand Rank be all and end all but, as a part of my role must be to increase the number of members in the Province, a consequence of any increase will also see an increase in the number of Grand Ranks we may be offered. So, to bring this all together, the concept of formally acknowledging a “recruiter of the year” would be of saying “thank you” and I shall, therefore, be asking my secretariat to monitor application forms for membership and the “winner” will be invited here so that he can be congratulated. I trust you can all see the merit in this and, as ever, your views in feedback are welcome.
So, moving on to the regular announcements for this Mess; firstly, my nomination for Provincial Grand Senior Warden.
Brethren, this brother is a relatively recent member of our Degrees, having been Advanced in 2006 and Elevated into RAM later that year. He is an active member of four Mark and four Royal Ark Mariner Lodges. He was appointed PPGJD in 2014 and promoted to Active Provincial Grand Junior Overseer in 2017 and also appointed to ProvRAMGR in the same year.
This brother is a very keen supported of Essex Mark Masonry; in his Active year he accompanied me on most, if not all of my visits. He always attends our Annual Meeting of PGL at Felsted and, since his first appointment to Provincial Rank, has attended all these Mess events. He supports our social events, is always ready to volunteer to assist at any functions in any way he can. He learns our ritual and can be relied upon to perform ceremony without the aid of books. He is at present both Secretary and Scribe of both his mother Mark and RAM.
I am confident that this particular Mark Mason will be an excellent ambassador for our Order and I know I can trust him to represent me at the meetings which he attends. I am, therefore, only too pleased to announce that next year’s appointment to Provincial Grand Senior Warden is
W.Bro. Bill Fraser, BEM, of Crowstone Mark Lodge.
Moving on, my appointment to Provincial Grand Junior Warden is another fairly new member to our Order. He was Advanced in 2008 and is, currently, a member of two Mark and two RAM Lodges.
His first Provincial Appointment was to Active Provincial Grand Sword Bearer in 2015 and he was appointed to ProvRAMGR in 2016. He is a more than active member of his mother Lodge as well as the Installed Master’s Lodge.
During his time in active rank, he accompanied me on most of my visits not only in Essex but to other Provinces both in the UK and abroad; he also attends our Annual Meeting of PGL, Felsted.
This brother also supports all the social functions around the Province whenever he can, he would be here today if his family had not arranged a surprise holiday for him in the West Indies—which, when he found out about the holiday he contacted me to ask if he should cancel it so he could attend today!
This brother is an unassuming gentleman whose hard work in his Mark Lodge has given them hope and direction and has helped them reinvent themselves after a prolonged state of darkness.
I know he will also represent me to the best of his abilities around the Province and, as such, my appointment for next year’s Provincial Grand Junior Warden is
W.Bro. Ranjit Bhogal of the Khalsa Royal Oak Tree Lodge.
Now, last but, by no means least, I move to my nomination for Grand Steward. This brother joined the Mark fifteen years ago and is currently a member of three Mark and three RAM Lodges. He had a first Provincial Appointment to Active Grand Standard Bearer; he was appointed to ProvRAMGR in 2017 and promoted to PProvGSO this year.
He, too, is a great supporter of our Province. He attends the Annual Meeting of PGL at Felsted, is a member and regular attender of the Installed Lodges; he attends this officers mess and, during his year as an Active Officer, accompanied me on nearly all my visits. Additionally, he has accompanied me on my visits to other Provinces both at home and abroad.
He supports our social functions and never fails to contribute prizes to them as well as contributing a significant of money in his own right in his hard work and efforts of fund raising in his own right.
His commitment to his Lodges is exemplary and he always delivers his ritual without the use of books. Brethren, most of you will know this Brother and, also, know that when I say “without books” it is because he has significant problems reading and writing, he learns his ritual via Dictaphone recordings made for him and his effort in learning it is magnificent. If I was to mention that he also sells masonic coasters, I’m sure you will all know that I am talking about W.Bro. Glenn Remblance of Wyven Mark Lodge and Grays Thurrock RAM.
Brethren, you may have noticed a theme here. This next year will be remembered as the year of the minority; we have a Scotsman, a Sikh and a Showman! I am proud to say that we in The Mark make no distinction on race, age, ethnicity or social standing; this makes us special and rightly proud to be Mark Men.
Brethren, I thank you for your attention, and I wish you all well.
