Monument receives Outstanding Lodge Award

At a special convocation of the Grand Lodge of Maine Masons held at Monument Lodge in Houlton this past Friday, the local lodge was honored as the Outstanding Masonic Lodge for 2009 in Maine. A plaque was presented by Raymond Locke, Grand Lecturer, on behalf of Robert R. Landry, Grand Master of Masons in Maine. It was presented “on the occasion of their exemplifying the Master Mason Degree as a Special Communication of the Grand Lodge of Maine held at Houlton, Maine on April 23, 2010.”
Only two weeks ago Locke announced Monument Lodge as the winner at a special business meeting of the Grand Lodge in Gardner.
Monument Lodge was one of four lodges from the 24 districts around the state to be nominated for this honor which is based on some 10 criteria. There are 187 lodges in the state.
The nomination was made by Kenneth White of Mapleton, Deputy Grand Master of the First Masonic District which covers eight lodges from Houlton to Fort Kent. White had given Monument Lodge an “excellent” rating on his annual inspection the past two years. The nomination was endorsed by James May of Mapleton, the Assistant Grand Lecturer for the First District.
Locke observed that the quality of the lodge’s work comes from its very good attendance at schools of instructions, its accurate presentation of the ritual, the very good team work of its officers and the very orderly manner in which its floor work is presented.
Locke said “This lodge is very active in the local community, (having) held numerous semi-public programs and invite the public to attend.”
He concluded by saying that Monument Lodge “has become well respected in the community and is known as belonging to a great organization.”
Clarence Jones, Master of Monument Lodge, said: “The officers of the Lodge are very honored to receive this statewide recognition. It shows that dedication, practice and team work does payoff.” He also thanked the members of the lodge who have helped make the public programs so successful. Jones said “Brother Locke said ‘This Lodge should be very proud’ and we are!”
This is the second time in the 151-year history of Monument Lodge that it has received this honor. The previous time was in 1921. A large black and white picture of those officers was prominently displayed in the lodge hall this past Friday.