In my initial President’s Message, I provided a list of objectives that I hoped to accomplish during my term in office. One of those objectives was to communicate with the membership to determine how we might be of better service to you. As previously noted, we want to be more than just a magazine. We believe we took a big step in that direction by co-sponsoring The Quarry Project. We have held mid-year meetings in Indianapolis, New Orleans, Salt Lake City, and Philadelphia. All of those meetings featured several speakers and a banquet. We have been contributing sponsors to a few different Masonic workshops and symposiums.
I would like to hear ideas from you, our members, on how we might improve on or expand our mission to promote Masonic research. I would also be interested in any comments you have about The Journal of The Masonic Society. We considered including a questionnaire in a forthcoming issue of the journal. It occurred to me that I have been a recipient of a number of these types of surveys and I have yet to fill out and return the first one. I also get a steady stream of online requests asking me to fill out one kind of survey or another and I always decline. I doubt if most of you are more inclined to fill out and mail a survey than I am. As such, I think the best way to accomplish this is to simply ask those of you who have suggestions or thoughts about the job we’re doing to send them directly to me. Please send them to president@themasonicsociety.com . You may also send them via U.S. Mail to The Masonic Society, 1427 W. 86th Street, Ste. 248, Indianapolis, IN 46260-2103. Make sure that you address them to my attention. I pledge to read and respond to every one in as timely a manner as my schedule allows.
Since we last published, the Editor of The Journal of The Masonic Society, Michael Halleran, has assumed the title of Most Worshipful Brother, owing to his election as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Kansas back in March. We congratulate MW Bro. Michael and send along our best wishes to him as he leads the brethren of Kansas for the next year. They could not have chosen a more dedicated, capable, or worthy brother.
M.W. Bro. Michael has also marked his one-year anniversary as Editor of The Journal. He has done a stellar job with the magazine and has been a true pleasure to work with. This will be a challenging year for him as he fulfills his other duties as a husband and father, practicing attorney, and Grand Master of Kansas. Please remember Michael in your devotions and ask the Grand Architect to grant him good health, safe travel, and the strength necessary to keep up with his busy schedule.
W. Bro. John Bridegroom has likewise celebrated his one-year anniversary as Art Director of The Journal. John is responsible for the layout and photography and is a most talented graphic artist. He has done artwork for many different Masonic organizations all over the country. I think you’ll agree that The Journal is as aesthetically pleasing as any periodical published anywhere. John is also a very busy freemason. He was just elected to serve as Grand Conductor of Council for the Grand Council of Cryptic Masons of Indiana. He has also been appointed as the new Public Relations Director for the Grand Lodge of Indiana and chairs the committee that oversees The Indiana Freemason, the official publication of the Grand Lodge of Indiana.
This is a bit personal, but also something that I know will be of great interest to all of you. W. Bro. Chris Hodapp, Editor Emeritus of The Journal of The Masonic Society, continues to fight health issues. Most of you know that Chris underwent successful surgery for cancer a few years ago. He remains cancer free, but is plagued with chronic back pain as a result of the very invasive surgery he underwent. His doctors have had no success at alleviating his pain. Chris takes heavy doses of painkillers, which do little more than take the edge off. The side effects from the medication along with the constant pain affect his ability to concentrate, to travel, to sleep, or do just about any of the things that we take for granted. Ask him how he is doing and he’ll say he is fine. But he’s not. Everything Chris does is a struggle.
The Masonic Society owes a tremendous debt to Chris. It was largely Chris’s name on the magazine that gave immediate credibility to TMS. It was shortly after TMS was founded that his health problems first began. Throughout his diagnosis, treatment, and surgery for a life threatening disease, Chris continued to edit, write, and lay out the magazine with little or no help. He also handled all of the advertising. He did it all for a pittance of a salary. I have no idea how he did it, but he did and I’m eternally grateful to him, as all of you should be. I’m asking all of you to please keep Chris and his wife Alice in your thoughts and prayers as Chris struggles with this chronic pain and the debilitating side effects of the medication.
James R. Dillman, FMS
President, The Masonic Society