R..·. W.·. District Deputy Grand Master, R.·..W..·.s, V.·.W.·.s, W.’.s, Brethren All,
This is an exiting night for me. I dreamed of arriving at the East and now here I am. First, I want to thank the installing team for a job well done. Without them the lodge would be without a Master! R.·.W.·. James Holden, W.·. Matt Palazola and V.·.W.·. Raphael Wong. As always, they have done an impeccable job. Second, I want to thank you all for attending this evening, giving me and the other lodge officers your support with your presence. This is an exciting night for me. My road to the East started in Nov 2005 In Eureka California and took me to Scotland literally, joining the Antient Grand Lodge Scotland at one of its outposts in the Far East for 5 years. In 2011, upon my return to the US, I joined our beloved White Plains Lodge #473, which brings us to tonight, and my arrival to the EAST. Arriving in the East is a momentous occasion. Very soon, as a traveler, I will have to decide if this is a pit stop, or the conclusion of the upward journey. Third, I want to thank Past Master Raphael Wong for his two years of service to our lodge. V.·.W.·. Raphael has achieved many firsts as the master of the lodge including visits to district sister lodges and has consolidated our officer line-up to mention just a few. V.·.W.·. Raphael has joined the Grand Lodge of New York district lineup starting this year as Assistant Grand Lecturer. Brother Wong, I thank you for your service to our lodge and your personal support and care in preparing me for the coming year. I want us to be the first to honor you with GRAND Honors. This is a wonderful event full of emotions and reminiscence. Those of you who have been in the East understand the mixture of feelings and emotions present tonight. The rest of you and especially the newly minted brothers, I hope and wish that this evening becomes an inspiration for you for your own road to the East, a fulfillment of your masonic journey, and more importantly as a stepping stone to more grand adventures and roles in our brotherhood. Tonight, is the last communication of our masonic year. The lodge will go dark for the summer until our next regular communication the third Wednesday of September. The only events scheduled is our Parking lot BBQ for June 6th at 6:30 pm, and our Summer Picnic scheduled for August 19, in one of the Marinas in Stamford CT. Hopefully the picnic will include a boat tour of the Stamford Harbor. Stay tuned as we are working out the details Our theme for the coming year is to ensure the viability of our lodge. Our mission is to keep the lodge going to eternity and as such our objectives are to keep the lodge financially solvent, endure a healthy level of the membership by bringing in new brothers, and ensure that we have a vibrant community where our members are engaged, participate and contribute to the well-being of our community. During the summer I will work with the wardens and deacons, the past masters and district representatives to detail out the full calendar for next year as well as detail the various initiatives and support activities for the year. I aspire to have a well thought out calendar and Trestle board ready for publication by our first communication of the year in September. In the spirit making our meetings interesting and engaging, I would like us to introduce the 10-minute talk at each of our communications. There is a plethora of talks available for us to choose from and I will be asking one of you brothers to deliver it. The talks will have historical, philosophical, ethical and inspirational themes, and will come from many masonic sources. In closing, I would like to challenge all of you to think of ways to make our communications meetings more interesting and better attended. Bring your ideas and suggestions to me or the wardens for consideration. My Brothers on behalf of myself and the rest of the lodge officers, thank you for your support. I look forward with confidence and enthusiasm to a bright future for our lodge. W.·. Andy Papademetriou Master, White Plains Lodge No. 473 F. & A. M. Comments are closed.
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W∴M∴ Andrew C. Haight
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December 2023
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