From the Publications and Promotions Committee

Greetings, I hope everyone that received the first newsletter enjoyed it. It is our desire to bring to you a newsletter each month that will provide the information of what is taking place in the lodge and activities that we are planning, so that you can put them on your calendars and participate.

During the week of October 17, we will be mailing out a directory of the lodge members. In the directory, you find telephone numbers, which we could find, and addresses. If your telephone number is not listed or if your address has changed, please call one of the officers in the lodge and pass along the information.

We have also started a new web site, thanks to Tom Hone, of our new lodge. If you are hooked up to the Internet check out the site listed below. Note: You must type all lower case letters.

http://www.mn-rivervalley.org

The site is still under construction, but will be open soon.

Please pass along any information that you want to have mentioned in the newsletter along to one of the committee members. The dead line for all articles for the newsletter will be the following Tuesday after the 3^rd Saturday meeting. If we don’t have it by the cut-off date, it will be published in the following newsletter. The newsletter will then be printed and prepared for mailing on Friday of that same week.

The committee will also be meeting to discuss the donations to various groups that request them. We will then bring the recommendation to the Brothers of the lodge.

We are still in need of more volunteers to help with this committee. If you are interested in helping, please contact one of the committee members. •

Thank You,
Publications Committee

Secretaries Report

The following Brothers have birthdays in November:

1^st -- Dennis Sigurdson
2^nd – Larry Kraayenbrink
4^th – John Laufers
8^th – Mike Bemis and Wallace Bishop
9^th – Philip Hvidsten
11^th – Robert Vass
12^th – Paul Peterson.

Many thanks to Kermit Bischoff for all the help in this rookie season as Lodge Secretary.

Dues invoices should be out soon. Please send in the payment as soon as possible.

Let me know if someone in our Masonic family is ill so that I can send a get well card from the Lodge. Leave a voice mail message at (612)368-4460 if you cannot reach me. •

Randy Maluchnik – Secretary.

List of Committee’s, Chairs and their members.

Financial Report Committee – The Chairs are the following:

Ned Pilling (Trustee) – (507)248-3544

Don Case (Trustee) - (612)445-8325

Marc Peterson (Trustee) – (507)364-5539

Tom Hone (Trustee) – (612)448-2074

Charles Marston (Trustee) – (612)492-6148

Members - Charles Richter, Bill Boyle, Bob Davis Sr., and Bob Davis Jr.

Properties Committee – Chair is Randy Maluchnik - (612)368-4460

Members – Don Rieck, Larry Wigfield Marvin Jakes Sr., Dick Friend, Steve Sorenson, David Scheffert

Publications and Promotions Committee – Chair is Steven Scheffert – (612)707-0135

Members – Marvin Peterson, Tom Hone, Mike Pierce

History and Heritage Committee – Chair is Dick Friend – (612)496-1910.

Members - Daryl Bren, Ned Pilling, Jim Faber, Steve Sorenson, Gordy Bane

Steering Committee – Chair is Gordy Bane - (612)447-2585

Members – The Trustees and Line Officers

Membership Committee – Chair is Marc Peterson – (507)364-5539

Members – Don Conn, Mike Pierce, Brad Smith, Gary Eagan, Kermit Bischoff, Don West, Arnie Peterson.

Finance Committee Report

The current members of the finance committee are Tom Hone, Charles Richter, Bill Boyle, Charles Marston, Ned Pilling, Bob Davis, Sr., Bob Davis, Jr., Don Case and Marc Peterson. Anyone wishing to join the finance committee or present an item to the committee is invited to attend the next committee meeting on Nov 2^nd , 6:30 PM at the Lodge Hall in Shakopee.

After reviewing the projected income for the coming year, the finance committee has proposed to establish a fixed expense endowment fund. The interest income derived from this fund would cover lodge rent, maintenance, cleaning, telephone, insurance and office supplies. This would allow the income derived from dues and current project income (Montgomery Kolacky Days and Chaska Flower Sales) to be used for committee budgeting.

Each of the functioning committees has been asked to submit a budget proposal for the upcoming year. Each committee is also requested to submit a mission statement and brief description of their activities and goals, so we can start planning. We are asking for a draft proposal by the first meeting in Nov. if possible, but no later than the November breakfast meeting.

The Finance Committee also is looking into more diverse investment possibilities. Charles Richter is head of this sub-committee. Anyone wishing to contribute suggestions should contact Brother Richter.

The actual budget figures will be discussed at the regular stated meeting, Any brother not able to attend the meeting and wishing to get a copy of the figures should contact a member of the finance committee.

Greetings from the West:

Another Month has gone by since the first newsletter has been published and the committees are starting to take shape. I would like to thank everyone who has been helping us get these committees off and running.

I just want to comment on a few things about the committees, the way I see them working, and our membership.

The committees are going to help us keep the majority of the business out of the lodge. I know that something's still need to be discussed within the lodge, but we want the committees to handle as much as possible. The committees need to work within their budget set by themselves and the finance committee.

We need to have the brothers within the committee to make the decisions on what ever their group is working on. Then give a short 5-10 minute report on what they are working on and any items that we as a Lodge would need to vote. Like voting on a new member or the budget. Not items such as "Can I buy stamps for the next newsletter." That comes from within the budget that we already set. It’s the little items that the committees can handle that really slow a meeting down. The last thing that I want to do is to go to another business meeting after spending all day in those types of meetings.

I know that this can work. I was President of the church that I attended a few years back. We went from a council that did the majority of the work to a committee structure just like the one we are trying to get going for the Lodge. It was a success, not that it did go through its learning stages and people needed to change their mentality on the structure of a meeting.

It brings more people to the meetings, because most of the business is taken out and we can focus on what we as Masons are really all about. I once read that one of the definitions for Insanity is "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." This is why lodge is so exciting, we are trying to do things differently so that we can expect different results. This is also why we want everyone to be involved and come to the lodge meetings. What do people want to see different in the lodge? We joined the Masons for a reason. What was your reason? I know we have a large number of elderly people who can’t make the steps, but we also have a large group of people that can make it up the steps that don’t show up.

I want to challenge those of you who can make it to lodge and up the steps to come to lodge and let us know why you haven’t been coming. That way we can try to correct the situations. If we don’t know what the problem is then how can we fix it.

I apologize for rambling, but this is a very important topic to me. We can raise all of the new brothers we want, but if we can’t keep them interested and involved as soon as they start, we will lose them, like I believe we lost so many before. Then we will be in the same problem that the four previous lodges went through and we will be sitting around at the table, because we do not have enough people to open a lodge of Master Masons. I do not want this to happen to Gordy, or to me next year, if the brethren elect me to the East, or for any future Worshipful Master of Minnesota River Valley Lodge #6. •

Fraternally Yours,
Steven Scheffert – Senior Warden.