Community Programs

Committee on Masonic Youth Group Support

This committee was established to bring awareness and support to our Masonic youth in Kentucky,Masonic youth have, and continue, to play a valuable supporting role in Freemasonry; all the while,practicing and learning the tenants of our gentle craft. Aiding and guiding these young adults is a rewardingexperience and I urge you to seek out local chapters, assemblies, and bethels where you or your lodges can be of service. In addition, you will assist local lodges in connecting with Masonic youth and encourage them to not only provide financial support, but that of their time.

Traveling Gavel Program

The Grand Master will have a Statewide Grand Master’s Traveling Gavel Program. The Traveling Gavel, location can be tracked using the locator found on the Grand Lodge of Kentucky website and/or the Grand Lodge of Kentucky Statewide Grand Master’s Traveling Gavel, Location Facebook Page (see Appendix D). It is important that you follow the directions contained in the Traveling Gavel case to ensure that its location is kept updated, so all lodges have an opportunity to claim it. One or more Masons may claim the Traveling Gavel at any Masonic meeting. It must be claimed and presented in a tiled or open meeting to count. Make sure to follow the directions and sign the registry contained in the Traveling Gavel case. The Traveling Gavel will be released into circulation at the close of the Grand Lodge Annual Communication on Tuesday, October 22, 2024. Rules for claiming the Gauge will be posted on the Location Facebook page and a copy will be included in the Traveling Gavel Case.

Masonic Homes Kentucky

Established nearly 150 years ago, Masonic Homes of Kentucky, Inc. has created communities that give independent seniors and seniors needing assistance a variety of living options and care. We are dedicated to providing an environment where older adults can enjoy a high quality of life in a loving, home-like atmosphere, while maintaining a high degree of independence and dignity.

Masonic Philanthropy
Kosair Charities has been providing funding for pediatric healthcare in the Louisville and Southern Indiana area for over 75 years. In the last year alone, Kosair Charities provided over $7.4 million to help individual children and numerous agencies that serve the needs of children.

 

First Lady Ada N. May Selects RiteCare for Annual Support Campaign

More than sixty years ago, the Southern Jurisdiction of the Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite initiated a program to aid children with speech and language disorders in Denver, Colorado. The pilot program saw great success and led to the establishment of RiteCare clinics to provide diagnostic evaluation and treatment of speech and language disorders, as well as learning disabilities.

Through the years, the program has grown and today more than 170 RiteCare programs exist across the United States, staffed with therapists eagerly awaiting children in need of their assistance. With the support of the Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite, as well as the generosity of individual lodges and Masons, each of these facilities are staffed by speech-language pathologists and other trained personnel. Thousands of our nation’s youth have bene- fited from the treatment received as a part of this program.

The ability to communicate is integral to the success of students, both in the classroom and while interacting with their peers. With the treatment received in RiteCare Centers, children have achieved levels of success that are remarkable; and while they might have remained otherwise educationally behind for life, they can now speak, read and lead productive lives. In Kentucky we have eight RiteCare locations, including: Louisville, Richmond, Henderson, Cold Spring, Wilder, Ashland, Louisa and Prestonsburg.

Emergency Planning

This committee was established to provide Lodges with information and resources that will help them to be better prepared for emergencies and to ensure their meeting place is safe from hazards.

Preserving History

It shall be the duty of this committee to coordinate with the various subordinate lodges to procure, edit, and proof a historical sketch of each respective lodge. They shall utilize the compilation of historical sketches collected by Past Grand Master James N. Saunders as a basis for their work. The end goal of this committee is to publish a multivolume set of the histories of the subordinate lodges, as well as a compilation of biographies of the Past Grand Masters, in conjunction with the 225th Anniversary of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky, F. & A.M.

Masons Helping Masons

The Masons Helping Masons Program was designed to help brother Masons who are in need. After a lodge has contributed to a brother’s relief, the lodge may then apply to this program for additional help, if needed, for that brother.

This program was first started by M.W.P.G.M. Brother Herman Forrester for lodges, and expanded later to include individual brothers by M.W.P.G.M. Brother Chris Stout.

By the sale of items which fund this program, such as ties, caps, Grand Master Coins and knives, we are able to have funds available to relieve the distressed.

Veterans Program

This committee was established by M.W.P.G.M. and current R.W. Brother Donald H. Yankey, Grand Secretary, and with this program, we honor our veterans in several ways. We annually assist in funding and supporting our active military and veterans with events across our state.

This year we will continue going into the National, State, and local cemeteries to assist with cleanup and placing flags (done on the Saturday before) in preparation of Memorial Day, also known as Deco- ration Day. Flags should be retrieved by the following Tuesday.

If your lodge can’t travel to one of the National or State Veteran Cemeteries, you may choose a local cemetery to adopt. Please inform your District Deputy, Area Officer, or the Grand Master if you choose this option

GRAND LODGE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

The Grand Lodge Scholarship, originated by Past Grand Master Ernest C. Jackson, will be awarded to one lodge in each of the 3 Areas that has claimed the Traveling Gauge and accumulated the most miles, starting in October 18, 2023 until May 1, 2024. The lodges that qualify will receive a $2000 Schol- arship to be awarded to a graduating high school graduate of their choice by the end of May 2024. After May 31, 2024, the Lodges that claim the Traveling Guage with the most miles accumulated in each area will be awarded a plaque of achievement at the 2024 Annual Communication. The last date for claiming the Traveling Gauge is October 1, 2024. The lodge that has claimed it last will bring the 24 inch Gauge to the 225th Annual Grand Lodge Communication in Louisville, Kentucky. Each lodge should be pro- moting visitation. Visiting other lodges can be very rewarding as it increases fraternal fellowship. The purpose of the Grand Lodge Scholarship Program is to aid in a student furthering his/her education.

DISTRICT TRAVELING GAVEL PROGRAM

The District Deputy Grand Master is asked to maintain and promote the traveling gavel program in his district. Each district should have a Traveling Gavel, and the District Deputy Grand Master should always know where it is located. It is his responsibility to keep the gavel traveling from lodge to lodge The guidelines below are only suggestions on how the District Traveling Gavel Program might work. If your district has a program in place, then continue with it instead. The purpose of this program is to encourage Masonic travel within the district.

The Traveling Gavel must be placed in clear view of all visiting Brothers.

Suggestions for claiming the Traveling Gavel

1. The traveling gavel may be claimed from a lodge on any regular or lawfully called meeting, excluding only Masonic Funeral Rites.
2. The traveling gavel may be claimed by:
   1. Whichever lodge has the most visitors present.

2. If there is a tie, the lodge that traveled the farthest will receive the gavel.
3. The Traveling Gavel will be presented before closing the lodge.
4. The lodge receiving the gavel will notify the District Deputy.

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3. If the District Traveling Gavel has not moved in more than month sinse being claimed, the lodge holding it is encouraged to take the gavel to another lodge of their choosing in their district.