Lodge Leadership Retreat - 2023

Senior and Junior Wardens, Senior Deacon and select others working in the light of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Washington, travel to Wenatchee to attend the annual Lodge Leadership Retreat.

Photo by Joshua Hibbert on Unsplash

As is common at this time of the year, the Senior and Junior Wardens, Senior Deacon and select others working in light of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Washington, travel to Wenatchee from around the state of Washington to attend the annual Lodge Leadership Retreat. This year’s event was a success on many levels.  The expense, effort, and time spent were certainly worth it as the weekend was full of excellent instruction, discussion, and fellowship. 

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It is obvious the Grand Lodge team poured all they had into making this one the best event possible. Something unique this year was the fact that each of the delegates from Kennewick #153, made the trip with their spouses. These ladies also participated in the retreat.  I was very blessed to be able to represent both of my Lodges at this retreat.  Aside from Kennewick #153, I was there on behalf of Richland #283 as well. Not only were there more than 100 hundred Masons in attendance, also many of our spouses were laboring right alongside us as we sharpened our knowledge and skills related to the leadership of our Lodges.
Shannon takes a very active role at bettering our fraternity, for this and a myriad other reasons, I am blessed and extremely fortunate to be married to such a wonderful person.  I am ever amazed by her zeal for our work, her boundless support for me, and for the never-ending, well-grounded ideas she has for us, along with her organizational expertise and energy. 
On this weekend, established relationships were strengthened, and new relationships were forged. 

I am a long-time student of leadership principles and human behavior, so there were numerous opportunities to hear how others view leadership in Masonry.  Along with a 2-part instruction specifically focused on Leadership led by an admirable Mason, who learned his skills leading men into combat, I also spent time learning more about conflict management along with the application of investigation strategies to name only a few of the classes I participated in.

There are some differences between corporate leadership and how we lead our benevolent craft. I am grateful for Masonic role models; through them I can bring all the good of Masonry into my corporate leadership role. I am equally grateful for my professional mentors as well. Through their instruction, I can bring the best parts of the corporate management process to our Lodge.  The more I can exemplify the Masonic principles in my corporate role, the narrower that gap to Masonic leadership becomes, and the more successful my teams can be. 
As Masonic leaders, I believe we have the weight of our tradition on our shoulders, and the responsibility of innovation in our hands.  The better I can balance our rich, historical convention with gentle transformation, the more harmony we will all enjoy.  Harmony being the strength and support of all institutions, more especially, this of ours.
I feel that I have been charged with a great responsibility of moving us forward while never forsaking where we have come from and who we are.  The success by which I do this will be evident by how well we can best work and best agree.   
Challenge accepted.  Be assured, your confidence is well placed.
Most importantly, thank you all for the opportunities you afford me to do my best work and to provide the most benefit to the institution of Freemasonry. This foundation, I hold in the highest esteem.