My Brothers and Friends of the Scottish Rite:  

I want to start by reporting that we had a successful Spring Reunion this past weekend and consecrated twelve new Masters of The Royal Secret.  Of particular note, this 2019 Spring Reunion was dedicated to the memory of the late Ill:. Ray T. Cox, Jr. 33° who was a Master Mason who was known and respected by all Master Mason with whom he served.  Even today stories are shared about this honorable man and mason, he is missed!  I extend my thanks to all those who participated starting with the kitchen crew who provided breakfast and lunch on both Saturday and Sunday.  Add the many others from Class Conductors to the Wardrobe Committee; the degree teams; and our organist, are to be commended for your time, talent and participation.

As a reminder, this Saturday the 20th of April will be our “Low Boil” event from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.  Tickets are limited to 100 attendees, please contact Keith, our General Secretary at the Valley Office, or Paul Smith and Jay Cebollero who have tickets available.  Proceeds after expenses will be donated to the Scottish Rite Foundation of Florida, USA, Inc. Don’t hesitate buy your tickets today and ensure you have a seat at the table.

Our April meeting will be on Friday the 26th of April with dinner at 6:30 p.m., followed by a special program and is open to family and friends.  Dinner and meetings, which are not tyled, but open, are a good way to introduce potential members to the Scottish Rite.

Recently, I had the pleasure of reading a book titled “The 33 Principles Every Mason Should Live By” written By C. Fred Kleinknecht, Jr. – Past Sovereign Grand Commander of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite Southern Jurisdiction.  It was an easy read, but was filled with information that was thought provoking and which I will ponder.  I recommend this as a good read and it can be obtained both in hard copy, as well as downloaded on your Kindle or other digital reading device.

In that this is a Biennial Year we will be coronating and investing brothers from around the Orient with honors.  This will again take place in at the Valley of Tampa with details to follow after our summer Council of 400 meeting.  However, for now I encourage all who desire to attend to put the weekend of November 9th and 10th on your calendar.  The Ceremony of Coronation for new 33° Inspectors Generals will take place the morning of November 9th and the Ceremony of Investiture of new Knights Commanders of the Court of Honour will take place the afternoon of the 9th.  The evening of the 9th will be the Celebratory Banquet.  As soon as details are final, I will ensure they are published in our eNews so you can lock in your plans for that weekend.  Once the details are final, I will have some interesting and good news concerning the Honors Weekend in Tampa.

As you are aware, the AASR is an organization that confers or communicates twenty-nine additional degrees and is structured to provide additional Masonic Education to assist a Master Mason grow and expand his knowledge and understanding of our great fraternity.  I am confident that there are many of you out there who have a particular subject, topic, thought or experience that could be shared that would be of interest to brothers that receive our eNews.  If you would like to prepare an article (and I strongly encourage you to do so) that would be published in a future edition, please get with me via eMail or text and give me a quick overview of what your topic will be and when you can have it ready.  We will then schedule your article in a future edition.

Until next time, remember the many things for which you are thankful!  Be safe in your travels; “whisper wise counsel in the ear of an erring brother;” and respect the dignity of all, as it makes you and our fraternity stronger one action at a time.  We want to ensure that what we are enjoying today will be strong for those who will follow.  Simply stated – “We lead the way today, so those who follow us can lead the way tomorrow!”  Thanks for your continued support and participation; and may the “Spirit of Fraternity” reign supreme within our “Valley of Orlando!”

Fraternally,

Ill Chester A. “Chet” King, 33°
Personal Representative

“People forget what you say, and forget what you do, but forever remember how you make them feel!”