Minnesota Masonic Charities 18th Annual Gala

On Saturday, September 23, 2023, Minnesota Masonic Charities hosted its 18^th Annual Gala at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center in Bloomington, Minnesota.

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.

Most Worshipful Grand Master Dayton Berg

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.

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.

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.