A special meeting of the Aroostook Valley Scottish Rite Lodge of Perfection was held in Houlton at Monument Lodge this past week when $1,000.00 scholarships were awarded to two young men from northern Maine.
Contributed photo/Dick Rhoda
PROUDLY DISPLAYING their $1,000 scholarship check from the Aroostook Valley Scottish Right Lodge of Perfection are Bryan Morneault of Millinocket, second from left and Paul Vaness of Medway, third from left. Presenters include N. James Coolong of Houlton, left, and Steven Sherman of Masardis.
Bryan Morneault of Millinocket and Paul Vaness of Medway were presented the scholarships by Steven Sherman of Oxbow who is the Thrice Potent Master of the newly formed Scottish Rite body located in Presque Isle.
Morneault will be a sophomore at the University of Maine in Orono where he is majoring in economics. He was accompanied by his mother, Cindy, and his grandmother, Joyce Given, also of Millinocket.
Vaness will be a sophomore at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Dayton Beach, Fla. where he is studying to be a commercial airline pilot. Attending with him were his mother, Selina, and his grandfather, Alton Stanley, of East Millinocket. Stanley is a Scottish Rite Mason in the Valley of Bangor and a member of the Nollesemic Lodge of Masons in Millinocket.
The meeting was preceded by a supper catered by Lorrain Cullins of Monticello.
Thirty-third degree Scottish Rite Masons attending included W. Louis Greenier, II of Caribou, present Deputy Grand Master of Masons in Maine; Robert Sawyer IV of Ashland; R. Dwynal Grass of Oxbow; and N. James Coolong and Richard L. Rhoda, both of Houlton.
Coolong served as master of ceremonies and gave a short explanation about Scottish Rite Masonry and its Abbott and Veague scholarship programs. These programs have been responsible for $93,000 in scholarship aid to Maine students this year.
Further information about the Scottish Rite Masonry and its scholarship programs may be obtained from the above listed members via the Internet at scottishrite@mainemason.org.
