Grand Master

Grand Master James H. Gibson was born in Jellico, Tennessee on July 16, 1963, to Franklin Delano Gibson and Lucille Carolyn Gibson. His father and grandfather worked in the coal mines in Stearns, Kentucky for most of their lives. Brother Gibson has seven siblings, all of whom reside in Kentucky. On September 11, 2004, he married his true love, Sarita (Sam), and they share 3 children, Cassandra, Christian, Mallory, and a daughter in law, Kyleigh. Brother Gibson and his wife are Christians and credit the Lord Jesus Christ for all the good things in their lives. They worship at the Creek Church in London, Kentucky. Brother Gibson's recreational interests include reading and golfing. A published artist, he is also interested in historical cartography and ancient history.

Grand Master Gibson attended school in Jeffersonville, Indiana before moving back to Kentucky to finish school in Somerset and McCreary County, graduating with honors. Responding to his love for our country, Brother Gibson enlisted in the Army Reserves after finishing high school, in March of 1982. He excelled in military police work at Fort McClellan, Alabama, but after deciding to pursue other areas of expertise, he left the Army in 1988 with an honorable discharge.

Brother Gibson has always had a strong desire to help others, and this led him to become a firefighter with the Somerset Fire Department in 1989. He rapidly moved up the ranks and became an Emergency Medical Technician, a Level 3 Fire Instructor and a state certified Fire Prevention Inspector. With additional schooling and rigorous training, Brother James became a Hazardous Material Technician, an MSA Breathing Apparatus Technician, and he performed numerous fire investigations. He went on to be certified in Disaster and Emergency Preparedness.

Grand Master Gibson was instrumental in the placement of automated external defibrillators in schools in Pulaski County, as well as numerous businesses throughout the state of Kentucky. He became the spokesperson for the Somerset Fire Department's Public Relations Department. He was then elected President of the Kentucky Association of Fire and Life Safety Educators. His education continued when he became an instructor to teach first aid, CPR, and bloodborne pathogens for the American Heart Association.

Brother James retired from the Somerset Fire Department in 2007 with the rank of Battalion Chief. He went on to start his own industrial safety consulting business, EDU-Tech Services, traveling throughout the state, providing instruction to medical facilities, large factories, and schools, as well as offering instruction in EMT courses, and OSHA consulting. He has also worked with FEMA / Emergency Management, and WSP USA Disaster Services, inspecting homes and businesses after natural disasters throughout the United States.

Brother Gibson was initiated as an Entered Apprentice on August 4, 1997. Passed to the degree of Fellowcraft on January 19, 1998, he was raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason on April 6, 1998. He is Past Master of Woodstock Lodge No. 639, having served in 2005, 2010, and 2013. A member of Mt. Gilead Lodge No. 255, he also served as Master of Sievers Lodge No. 491 in 2021. A Master Ritualist, Brother Gibson performs numerous installations each year, and he is a member of the Society of Past Masters of East Central Kentucky. He is also a founding member of the Marlin White Lodge of Research.

His service to the Grand Lodge of Kentucky includes:

> District Deputy Grand Master District #22 2011-2012 (under MWPGM Terry Bowman)

> Chairman of Committee on Masonic Education 2012-2013 (under MWPGM Chris Stout)

> Committeman on Committee of Masonic Education 2014-2015 (under MWPGM Wilson Wilder)

> Ad-Hoc Committee for Constitutional Revision (under PGM Richard T. Nation)

He entered the elected Grand Lodge line in 2019 with his selection as Grand Junior Warden.

His other Masonic affiliations include:

Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction, Valley of Lexington, 32nd Degree, Knight Commander of the Court of Honor.

York Rite-Past Commander, Division VIII, Grand Commandery of Kentucky, Knights Templar. Knight Commander of the Temple. Instructor, Grand Encampment Knights Templar Leadership Program. Former Grand Sentinel, Grand Commandery of Kentucky. Illustrious Master, Somerset Council No. 68, R. & S. M. High Priest, Somerset Chapter No. 25, R. A. M.

Other: Royal Order of Scotland, Allied Masonic Degrees, Order of DeMolay (Honorary Legion of Honor-2021), Bluegrass York Rite College No. 104, Highland York Rite College No. 134, Highland Council Knight Masons, Kosair Shrine Temple (Louisville, Kentucky).

Brother Gibson proudly wears the Grand Master's jewel formerly worn by Past Grand Master Richard T. Nation, who served the Grand Lodge of Kentucky in 2014-2015. It was formerly worn by Past Grand Master Fred B. Layman in 1955-56, and by Most Worshipful Harold Downard in 1984-1985.

As Grand Master, Brother Gibson wants to develop the Grand Lodge of Kentucky Leadership Academy, a quality program designed to improve management skills and to prepare lodge members for higher Masonic aspirations.

He wants to raise public awareness about the importance of Freemasonry by launching a first-of-its-kind-in-Kentucky campaign, using social media, as well as television and print. This initiative is titled, "Not Just A Man, A Mason".

He seeks to stress quality ritual and meaningful lodge meetings with an emphasis on candidate-based instruction, presentations, and competitions. A secondary objective of this goal is to encourage fraternal visitation throughout the state.

His aims include expanding the Grand Lodge Scholarship Programs throughout the entire state of Kentucky.

Brother Gibson also wants to improve lodge aesthetics and appearance through a Masonic Lodge Improvement Grant Program.

His philosophy is shaped by the key concepts of character, conduct, and commitment, perhaps best typified by the familiar Masonic emblems of the Ark and the Anchor, symbols of a "well-grounded hope and a well-spent life," avoiding complacency in our lives and our labors, and working toward the future.