February 2000 Newsletter

Lodge Position	Name	Telephone #	Lodge Position	Name	Telephone #
Worshipful Master	Gordon Bane	(612)447-2585	Trustee	Don Case	(612)445-8325
Senior Warden	Steve Scheffert	(612)707-0135	Trustee	Tom Hone	(612)448-2074
Junior Warden	Don Rieck	(612)492-2558	Trustee	Charles Marston	(612)492-6148
Treasurer	Robert Davis Jr	(612)466-2461	Trustee	Marc Peterson	(507)364-5539
Secretary	Randy Maluchnik	(612)368-4460	Trustee	Ned Pilling	(507)248-3544

FROM THE EAST
For all who missed our Saturday meeting we were visited by The Most Worshipful Grand Master of Minnesota, Jeff Lewis. Along with great fellowship we had sausage and eggs, toast and coffee. Followed by a very productive meeting with many reports and a presentation by our L.E.O., Dick
Friend. To all of the 88 who attended the Sweethearts Day, what a great day we had! We have a lot of work to attend to in support of the flower sale coming up, and other lodge committees. If your not on one, call me and volunteer [we need you]. Remember the best way to be a mason is to get involved.

District/Area News
The School of Instruction is now history. Our Senior Warden Steve did his usual fine job of organizing the school. Our custodian, Gary Bill also did a nice job. The turnout wasn’t big, but those attending got some useful information.

If anyone would like to see a Second Degree, one of our neighboring lodges, Hope Lodge at Glencoe, will be conferring one on March 13 at 7 p.m. Glencoe will also be having an outdoor lodge when the weather gets warmer. I’ll keep you posted on that one.

The only other thing on the horizon at this time is Grand Lodge in Saint Cloud on April 7and 8.

Steering Committee Report
Discussed table lodge, flower sale, July picnic, Scottish Rite dinner on March 2, Grand lodge in April, Hiram award, fund raising, calling committee, and establish New Secretaries Committee. For full details, COME TO LODGE.

Membership Committee Report

Met prior to the regular lodge meeting on Tuesday Feb 2nd

Priorities of this committee:

To refine the calling system. A plan of dividing the lodge up into core groups of 4-5 members was thought to be the way to go. The calling committee
would contact one member of each group. That group member would contact the other brothers in his group. The hope is that these groups would become very close knit and eventually evolve into a support group for each other.

To establish an activity or program for each of our regularly stated meetings during the coming year. John Luetzenhauser had received a number of excellent activity reference books from the Grand Lodge. Members of the committee are going through these books trying isolating some specific ideas. The upcoming Table Lodge was one of these ideas.

Any brother having a particular area of expertise or interest (Job, hobby, or?) is encouraged to make it known to the membership committee as a possible meeting program. Also if anyone has a particular idea of something they would like to see done or presented, please let a member of the committee know.

Financial committee shall meet at 6:30 P. M. on the regular lodge meeting night of March 7, at our lodge hall. Bring your note pads and calculators, we must review all C. D. investments.

THE LODGE WHERE I BELONG

Though my lodge may lack the splendor
Of a Temple or a Shrine,
Or possess the gaudy fixtures
That are classed as superfine,
Yet the fellowship it offers
Is in a price beyond compare.
And I wouldn't trade it ever
For life's treasurers, rich or bare !

The hand-clasp firm, the word of cheer,
Oh, such meanings they impart,
The mystic ties of brotherhood
That links us heart to heart !
You'd really have to travel far,

For the friendship's quite so strong
As those one always find right here
In the Lodge where I belong.

When all my earthly travels end,
And at last I'm borne to rest
Where mortals hands no longer toil
And I cease life's endless quest
Why there's nothing I'd like better
Should I join the heavenly throng
Than to meet with all the Brother's
Of the Lodge Where I Belong.

Secretaries Corner

The annual dues are still coming in....thanks to all for the good response.
The birthdays for February include: Donald Dols & Wilford Krause Jr. 10th, James Boisvert & Randy Maluchnik 11th, Dale Huber 13th, Bradley Smith 15th, Ed Hopps & Ned Pilling 16^th, Charles Heckenlaible 20th, Edsel Anderson 21st, Eugene Allen 27th.

Property Committee Report
The Property Committee met with Brother Gary Nagel, a licensed real estate agent on January 17th. We outlined some guidelines to evaluate properties available in the Jordan area for a new Lodge building.

The committee will meet again February 28th at 7:00 PM in Jordan at Clancy's Pizza. Committee members encourage members of the Eastern Star Chapters and Job Daughters to attend this meeting. Also, Brother Gary Goodwin, a general contractor is assisting in determining the size of the building needed. All in the Masonic family are invited to attend the meeting on February 28th.

I would like to thank everyone for submitting your reports in time. The newsletter is going very well. I would encourage anyone who wants to include items into the newsletter too please send them to me. The deadline for all articles is the Tuesday after the 3^rd Saturday’s meeting.

We will also be preparing the newsletter in March a little later than usual. The deadline date will remain the same, March 21. We will meet on March 27^th to prepare them. This will give me some time to prepare a new lodge directory for the members of MN River Valley Lodge. As some may not know our area code is changing for many of us. If you are free this evening, please join us. We will be meeting around 7:00 pm at the Lodge.

What a busy month it has been. I had the honor of setting up the "Sweethearts Day" event this year at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres. It gave me a great chance to meet many people and put names with faces. People tell me that I had a hard job putting this altogether. For those of us that were there, I figured that I had the easy job. The actors/dancers had the hard job. I hope everyone is practicing there leg kicks. It was a wonderful show.

We had over 88 people attend this event. The grand total of the event was $2,666.00 and the lodge paid for $1,457.00 of it.

Secondly, we just hosted a School of Instructions for the Entered Apprentice degree. I would like to thank our Custodian, Gary Bill for his great help that evening. I think we all learn something new when we attend one of these events. I would also like to thank those that filled in the chairs were we needed help.

At our March meeting we will be voting on increasing our dues from $10.00 to $15.00 per year, plus per capita which goes to Grand Chapter. Starting in 2001 dues will be $20.00 per year. Please plan on attending our March meeting so your vote may be counted.

Grand Chapter this year is in St. Cloud from May 11 to May 13. It is with pleasure that I inform you that our sister Jane Ward has filed an application for the position of Associate Grand Conductress of the Minnesota Grand Chapter. It is important, especially that Saturday morning session, that as many of us as possible attend this session of Grand Chapter so we may cast our votes for Jane and show Shakopee Chapter Number 90’s support for her. Remember, starting this year all members are entitled to vote as long as they pay $10.00 registration fee to attend Grand Chapter and have a 1999-2000 signed dues card.

At out March meeting we will have election of officers. Providing all goes as planned, our Associate Matron and Patron, Robbin and Mike Kottwitz would like to invite you and your family to an open installation of officers on Saturday April 15, 2000 at 2:00 pm. The event will be held at the Minnesota River Valley Lodge #6 building in Shakopee.

Finally, at our March meeting we will have a special presentation by the Snow Trekkers from Excelsior Chapter #20 and a night of fun and games. Hope to see you there.

"When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves."