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| Created by Gene Russell -Thank you U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs |
Monday, October 30, 2023
Veterans Day 2023-Thank You for Your Service
Monday, October 23, 2023
Red Wing Lodge #8 Helps United Way Packing for the Weekend
Charity has always been one of the
fundamental principles of Freemasonry, and at Red Wing Lodge #8 we are proud of
our 167 years of helping those in need. Our members make an important
contribution every year by giving both their time and money to make a real difference
to the community of Red Wing and the surrounding area.
On Sunday October 22, 2023, members of Red Wing Lodge #8 volunteered their services to assist the United Way of Goodhue and Wabasha County with a fundraiser for “Packing for The Weekend” held at the Southeastern Minnesota Technical College.
Packing For the Weekend” began at the Sunnyside School in Red Wing in January 2011. Today the program covers seven schools in Goodhue, and Wabasha counties. The program provides a backpack containing meals of approx. four to five pounds of nutritious nonperishable meals for school age children who are experiencing food insecurity at home. It is a program to make sure that no kids go hungry. To date the program has provided 8477 backpacks of food. Currently 200 back packs a week are distributed.
For this year’s fundraiser, the participants could donate
$30.00 and enjoy gourmet soups and breads made from local restaurants and chose
an artesian handmade bowl to take home with them.
The 109 handmade bowls were made by three local
artists applying their own creative skills. The bowls were created at the Red
Wing Arts Clay and Creative Center. Of note, the making of a bowl is a three-day
process by the artists.
The empty bowl that was purchased now sits in my
cupboard. Seeing reminds of my time overseas
when I saw many people extend their hand holding an empty bowl which expressed
their need and hunger. Hunger exists everywhere today, in every community and
every city. Helping this charity was a very worthwhile thing for Red Wing
Lodge, in my opinion.
The members of Red Wing Lodge along with friends or family assisted with the serving of the soup, bussed tables, and general clean up. It was a lot of fun, and laughs. Most importantly it was wonderful again to see Red Wing Lodge come together with other members of the community to help their neighbors.
Brother Ben Manning and his wife Kat provided
wonderful music for the event.
I would also like to thank Nicolle Mechelke the
Executive Director of the United Way of Goodhue, Wabasha and Pierce County for
the delightful and informative conversation which provided the facts for this
article.
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| Red Wing Lodge helps to Fight Child Hunger |
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
Minnesota Masonic Charities 18th Annual Gala
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The MMC Gala is my favorite Masonic event every year.
When I receive my invitation, I am always excited to attend. It is a chance to see old friends as well as
learn about the organizations that MMC supports. The
word gala originates from old French word gale, meaning to rejoice as in a
festive celebration.
For the past 17 years the MMC gala had followed a
standard format, that I thought was a very pleasing, of a social gathering of attendees
from across Minnesota, some that I had not seen in some time, a delicious
dinner in the beautifully decorated Dan Patch Hall, updates on charities
supported and concluding with an inspirational message from the CEO.
This year the invitation letter promised there would
be some exciting changes for the gala this year. I realize that the word change can cause
anxiety for most of us older Freemasons, so I took a big breath and read on.
This year’s gala dinner focus was fundraising for our
scholarship programs, specifically the new “Kindness Scholarship, The
Selfless Scholar.”
For those of you who are not familiar with Minnesota
Masonic Charities, one of the many programs it supports is a scholarship
program. They are one of the largest providers of scholarships in the state of
Minnesota. MMC has given fifteen million dollars has already been given to recipients
with an average of $1,500,000 a year awarded.
Education is a very powerful tool for transforming a person’s
life. With MMC’s support and contributions, the Freemasons make a direct impact
for deserving students to enable them to pursue their dreams, and make a
positive impact on their community, state, and the world.
The promised changes to the evenings program, were a silent
auction, a live action and other activities to enhance the fundraising efforts
while providing a more enjoyable and engaging time.
Upon arrival, on a rainy Minnesota evening, the Heritage
Center was filled with many of my old Masonic friends, plus I had the
opportunity to make some new ones as well. In exploring the Heritage Center, I
found a photo booth that had been set up just outside of the Museum-library.
There was a wine pull plus in the hall the silent auction items were on
display. There were also descriptions of
the live auction items to prepare everyone for the bidding.
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| Most Worshipful Grand Master Dayton Berg |
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| Markus Muller-MMC-Duluth |
It was fun to watch people dressed up enjoying themselves having their photos taken and my wife and I decided to join in and have our photo taken as well. Afterwards we were presented with a print of the photos that provided a memorable keepsake of the evening. You may see by the photos that not everyone was as serious in their photos.
There was ample opportunity to wander the halls and a chance to mingle with the many guests. Music was provided by Past Grand Master Don Severson and his trio.
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| Reed Endersbe-Director of Membership Engagement |
Just outside of Dan Patch Hall, where the dinner is
served, a table of glasses of champagne or sparkling juice were available to
take with you for dinner. Dan Patch Hall was lavishly decorated which created a
very warm and welcoming atmosphere for the sell out crowd of 210 guests. The
dinner and desserts were the normal excellent fare. The dessert, three mini
bundt cakes in 3 different flavors, were on the table when we were seated, and
I must admit I started with a couple tastes, and can vouch, they were
excellent.
There were two other notable firsts that occurred this
year, the first being that for the first time ever, rain dampened the arrival
of the guests. The second being that the program did not start on time, promptly
at 7:00 pm but did start at 7:01 pm.
Any of you familiar with MMC know that it runs a very tight schedule, so
yes, this is certainly notable.
After dinner, John Schwietz, described the new scholarship
program, the Selfless Scholar. Then COL.
Kurt Johnson took the stage to begin the Fund a Need and then the live auction.
By the end of the evening $102,000 was raised for the Scholarship Program, with
an additional $32,000 raised for the Masonic Children’s Hospital.
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| President & CEO Eric J. Neetenbeek |
My favorite part of the evening is always when the
President and CEO Eric J. Neetenbeek makes the closing comments for the
evening. He reminded us of the noble and worthwhile on-going efforts supported
by Minnesota Masonic Charities which include:
Masonic Cancer Center-University of Minnesota; and
Masonic Children’s Hospital-University of Minnesota;
and
Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain; and
Minnesota Masonic Home; and
Minnesota Masonic Scholarships; and
many other community services that directly impact the
lives of Minnesotans.
For me, and I know many feel the same, that the
Minnesota Masonic Charities Gala is a wonderful time to celebrate and rejoice in
the great work that is done throughout the year to help others in our
communities. It is also a time to renew our commitment as Freemasons to our
tenets of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth by continuing our support to
Minnesota Masonic Charities.
We were promised a few changes at this year’s MMC Gala,
and I certainly enjoyed them, and I believe the other attendees did as well.
Monday, October 9, 2023
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