Meeting Minutes 5/21/11

Once again the Young Masons Lodge had quite a meeting! What really strikes me about this Lodge is you can count on alot of great discussion and good laughs. Getting to travel around and meet new Brothers is really something special.

We met in Northfield for our annual meeting which opened in due form at 7:45 pm.

It was immediately moved, seconded and approved that the sitting W.M. and Sec. be put on the Merchant's bank account to eliminate all the hassle we've been having with getting what few bills we have paid and dues deposited. The W.M. elect and Sec. agreed to meet in Barre that week to get their names put on the account.

At 8:00pm the regular meeting was suspended and the annual meeting opened for the nominating committee report. The nominating committee's report was read and a motion was made to accept the nominating committee's report and vote as one ballot. This was done and approved.

The annual meeting then closed and the regular meeting opened at 8:04 pm (might be a record).

The John Barney Award banquet dinner was discussed. It was agreed Brothers Error and Chris will pick a date and location before the next meeting and communicate the details (as in the dinner will occur before the next YML meeting).

The Lodge was put at ease at 8:11 and the Installation of Officers began. The following Officers were installed for the ensuing year:

WM - Chris Allen
SW - Jim Baril
JW - Marion Watkins
Treas. - Mike Reed
Sec. - Tobin Winters
SD - Alex Lehning (appointed but not present)
JD - Pat Perrault

Brother Errol Hinton made a nice comment before installing the new WM Chris Allen. Chris had been with the Lodge from the beginning and worked his way up through the chairs, working very hard for the Young Masons Lodge. His comment recognized this and conveyed that this was really a good part of what the Young Masons Lodge is all about. It gives Young Masons who are interested an opportunity to move through the chairs and gain experience that they might not otherwise have an opportunity to gain.

Our tentative meeting schedule for the rest of the year was discussed. These location and dates need to be confirmed with the respective hosting Lodges and would be followed up on by the newly installed WM Chris Allen.

August 22nd - Bennington
November 28th - St. Johnsbury
February 27th - Williston
May 28th - Northfield (Annual Meeting)

New business was then opened. Items discussed:

Brother Errol Hinton encouraged everyone to attend Grand Lodge as a nationally known speaker Cliff Porter would be there from Colorado to give an exciting talk.

Brother Chris Allen shared that the District 5 Poker tournament would be coming up Aug. 6th and on July 39th there would be a trip to the National Heritage Museum coordinated by the Washington Lodge.

Brother Chris Allen then gave a very motivational speach about leadership, relevance and continued education that can occur beyond the Blue Lodge in appendant bodies like the Scottish and York Rites. It was a very interesting talk that clearly expressed his passion for Masonry and why he is so involved in various Masonic branches and activities.

The Lodge was then closed in ample form at 9:05 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Tobin Winters
Secretary, Young Masons Lodge # 111