Hotel Accommodations For The 193rd Grand Communication

Brethren, We've been informed by staff at Grand Lodge in Jacksonville that the Rosen Plaza Orlando our host hotel for the 193rd Grand Communication (May 30th thru June 1st) is SOLD OUT and that the alternate hotel(s) Rosen Centre Hotel, 9840 International Drive, $135 per night plus $12.50 per day for parking, with a three night minimum if arriving or staying on 5/27/22 the Grand Lodge Group Number is 112759 and the Rosen Inn Pointe, 9000 International Drive, $85 per night, the Grand Lodge Group Number is 71708. For reservations at either of the hotels please call 1-407-996-9700. Book your room ASAP because they will also sell out quickly, meaning you could get shut out from staying close by.

Important Notice regarding parking for the 193rd Grand Communication: Because the Rosen Plaza is now fully booked, the free parking will primarily be prioritized to hotel guests, there will be limited parking available for day visitors so please plan to arrive early enough to snag a space.

Alternative parking will be available at adjacent facilities including The Pointe Shopping Center, the Hyatt Regency Orlando and the Orange County Convention Center, However these parking facilities are NOT FREE and they do charge a hourly, daily or nightly rate. Brethren should contact these parking facilities for the current rates and if required reserve a space for the days you will need to park.

There is NO STREET PARKING ANYWHERE ON THE I-DRIVE, if you attempt to illegally park on the I-Drive your vehicle will be ticketed and towed by the Orange County Sheriff or the Orlando Police.

If you have any further questions please speak to your Lodge Secretary, alternatively you can also email me through the 21st Masonic District at office@21stmasonicdistrict.com.

Fraternally,
Bro. Rick Schwarz, IT Administrator and Social Media Manager, 21st Masonic District.

District Deputy Grand Master 2nd Official Visit To Lake Wales Lodge No. 242

On Monday, R:.W:. Peace Dreadin, District Deputy Grand Master made his second official visit to Lake Wales Lodge No. 242, also in attendance was R:.W:. Don Cowart, Grand Junior Warden of the Grand Lodge of Florida. R:.W:. Dreadin presented two certificates of recognition to W:. Christopher Clifton, Past Master of Lake Wales No. 242, the Committeemen made their presentations and then R:.W:. Dreadin finished the evening by reading the M:.W:. Jeffrey Foster, Grand Master's message.

Image courtesy of Bro. Rick Schwarz

Image courtesy of Bro. Rick Schwarz

Image courtesy of Bro. Rick Schwarz

Image courtesy of Bro. Rick Schwarz

Image courtesy of Bro. Rick Schwarz

Fellowcraft Degree at Tuscan Lodge No. 6

On Thursday, March 31st, Tuscan Lodge No. 6 is hosting a Fellowcraft Degree for Corinthian Lodge No. 191. Dinner at 6:30 pm, degree at 7:30 pm. All Fellowcrafts and Master Masons are welcome to attend. Courtesy candidates welcome.

Haines City Lodge No. 219 Monthly Steak Dinner

Brethren, I am happy to announce that our monthly steak dinner is back. We will have our first dinner of the year Friday April 1st. The meal starts at 6 PM. Please RSVP to our Junior Warden Buddy Staton (email here) on our Facebook page (click here) or W: Paul Wilson the Lodge Secretary (email here).

Please include the number in your party so we can make sure that we don't run out of food.

Fraternally,
W:. John Zimmerman, Worshipful Master, Haines City Lodge No. 219

Important Message Regarding Scottish Rite

The Tampa Bay Scottish Rite will be meeting at the John Darling Lodge No. 154, 4601 North Habana Avenue in Tampa for the next two months due to the sale of the Scottish Rite building in Tampa.

Uh, Sorry about that...

Oh man, I have to give everyone my sincerest apologizes, including our District Deputy Grand Master Peace Dreadin, all of the Worshipful Masters, Officers and Brothers of the 21st Masonic District and the visitors to our website for my idiocy which caused our website to be offline for a long period of time.

So, here's what happened... while I was working on another unrelated blog which is also hosted on the same service (Blogger) and in the same physical account, I decided that it just didn't look right and was not working out the way I hoped, so I decided to just delete it and start over, unfortunately I was not paying attention and as a result instead of deleting that blog I completely deleted the 21st Masonic District website, this includes 579 posts, 33 static pages and over a thousand media files, I was literally kicking myself in the ass for my utter stupidity.I know better and should have been paying attention, it took three to four hours a day for two weeks to fix everything and get the site back online.

I've been monitoring the Facebook pages of the Master Mason Association and the lodges in the 21st Masonic District as well as their website and did a repost based on those Facebook and website postings. So there was no loss of news and information as a result of what happened.

Once again, I am really sorry and will make sure that something like this won't happen again.

Fraternally,
Bro. Rick Schwarz, IT Administrator and Social Media Manager, 21st Masonic District.

Good Ole American Baseball and some Pizza! Pizza!

On Friday March 18th the following Masonic Brothers from the 21st Masonic District were on hand at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium for the opening day of Detroit Tigers Spring Training Baseball against the Philadelphia Phillies. These brothers were volunteering to work the concessions pumping out Little Caesars pizza, beer, soda and water like professionals to help earn some cash that will benefit the 14 lodges in the district, our Master Mason Association and our appendant district bodies.

Thank you brothers for all you do.

W:. Joe Rogers, Worshipful Master of Lakeland Lodge No. 91
W:. Dennis Wind, Worshipful Master of Winter Haven Lodge No. 186
R:.W:. Bill Doolin, PDDGM and Bro. Glen Van Benschoten of Kathleen Lodge No. 338

W:. Jimmy Carter, Past Master of Lake Wales Lodge No. 242

Image courtesy of the Winter Haven Lodge No. 186 Facebook page

Image courtesy of the Winter Haven Lodge No. 186 Facebook page

Image courtesy of the Winter Haven Lodge No. 186 Facebook page

Image courtesy of the Winter Haven Lodge No. 186 Facebook page

Image courtesy of the Winter Haven Lodge No. 186 Facebook page

Wauchula Lodge No. 17 Public Education and Citizenship Award

My Brethren, I was not aware that there was a smaller version of the Public Education and Citizenship aware but apparently there is. Our lodge earned this aware in 2019 under the leadership of R:.W:. Rick Knight Past District Deputy Grand Master, it will hang proudly in our lodge's trophy/sitting room for all to see. Hopefully we can add more to this one so it isn't lonely. District Deputy Grand Master Pearce Dreadin made the presentation during his second official visit to our lodge.

Fraternally,
W:. Danny Lackey, Worshipful Master, Wauchula Lodge No. 17 F. & A. M.

Image courtesy of Wauchula Lodge No. 17 Facebook page.

Wauchula Lodge No. 17 Silver Tower Award

During a Fellowcraft degree, while we were waiting on the candidates to return, the members of Wauchula Lodge No. 17 took the opportunity to recognize the outstanding contributions a fellow brother who has made it to our lodge for the last three years. Pictured below is Bro. Thomas Boardman (center) of LaBelle Lodge and flanked by W:. Dan Lackey (left) and S:.W:. Paul Allen Crothers (right and the nights degree master) of Wauchula Lodge No. 17, was honored with a first ever “Silver Tower” award. Whenever we have asked him, this Brother hops in his car and drives two hours to us and has delivered almost all of our degree lectures for the last three years in a superb fashion. He is dedication to the Craft at its finest! I’d also like to acknowledge another Brother who had a hand in this award. Bro. Patrick Tessier of Orange Park Lodge made the sculpted water tower and shipped it to me on his own dime. This is another Brother who selflessly serves the Craft by helping others, even a whole lodge, to help honor another deserving Brother. Well done to them both.

Image courtesy of the Wauchula Lodge No. 17 Facebook page.

Wauchula No 17 / Winter Haven No. 186 and Poinciana No. 227 Fellowcraft Degree

On March 14th, three lodges (Wauchula No. 17, Winter Haven No. 186 and Poinciana No. 227) came together in an awesome display for fellowship to pass seven Brother Masons to the Degree of Fellowcraft. Bros. Leo Rubio, Keland Burtz, Jonathan Johnson and Barbaro Calves from Wauchula, Ryan Gaffney and Brad Staton from Winter Haven and Ernie Chalfant from Poinciana. The Degree Master was Wauchula's Senior Warden Bro. Paul Allen Crothers (His first time as a Degree Master), Senior Deacon was Wauchula's Worship Master W:. Danny Lackey. The lecture was given by W:. Bro. Thomas Boardman of Labelle Lodge No.379 and the Charge was delivered by R:.H:. Dick Miller of Sebring Lodge. So, in all, five lodges had a hand in the nights festivities. I would also like to acknowledge W:. Berman Pritt of Sebring Lodge and W:. Chris Clifton of Lake Wales lodge for assisting us in this labor by filling in the Junior Deacon and Senior Steward spots respectively and a BIG thank you to all the conductors who stepped up and stepped in to make this a successful night. Well Done Brothers!! In about a month and a half, GATU willing, we will be having a Masters Degree in early or mid-May with the same crowd and crew and maybe more candidates and more Brothers to fill the various roles. Let’s gear up and get ready for a fun Saturday (date and time TBA).

Fraternally,
W:. Danny Lackey, Worshipful Master, Wauchula Lodge No. 17

Image courtesy of Wauchula Lodge No. 17 Facebook page.

Lake Wales Lodge No. 242 Fish Fry

Lake Wales Lodge No. 242 will be holding its monthly Fish Fry on Saturday March 26th starting at 4:30pm to 7:00pm. The menu will include Fresh Cat Fish filets, Swai (Mild White Fish), Cheese Grits, Baked Beans (With or without Jalapenos), Coleslaw, French Fries, Hushpuppies (With or without Jalapenos), desert, coffee or ice tea. Fried Chicken Strips (Available by advance request only).

Eat in or take out, Call ahead if you are in a hurry for a takeout order.

COST IS $12.00 PER PERSON (CASH ONLY)

If you have any further questions please contact R:.W:. Wendell Farrow at (863) 287-0493.

Florida Registration, CH65886. A copy of our official charity registration may be obtained by calling the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services at 1-800-435-7362 or visit Florida Charity Registration site at FDAC.gov. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by the State of Florida nor the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

It Isn't Over Until Its Over! (Oh Wait, It's Over!)

On Thursday March 10th Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association reached an agreement that ended the lockout which had been ongoing since December 2021. The first Spring Training game for the Detroit Tigers will be on Friday March 18th against the Philadelphia Phillies at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. (See below for address and map).

Brothers interested in working at the concessions at Publix Field during the Detroit Tigers Spring Training games, which will earn money for your lodge please contact R:.W:. Bill Doolin, Secretary of the Master Mason Association as soon as possible at mmasecretary@21stmasonicdistrict.com.

Please note that Delaware North the concessionaire at Publix Field requires all volunteers to attend a concession and food safety training before you can work at the concessions. Please DO NOT just show at up the stadium, if you have not received the required training you will be turned away.

Fraternally,
Bro. Rick Schwarz, IT Administrator and Social Media Manager, 21st Masonic District

Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium is located at 2301 Lakeland Hills Boulevard in Lakeland.

Directory of Lodges Update

I have to apologize to all of the Brethren and visitors to this website, recently while I was updating the directory of lodges, I made a mistake which caused those pages to be completely messed up, so to remedy this error I cleared each page and then copied and pasted an archived version with all of the corresponding graphics, maps and lodge contact information. Unfortunately I did not proof read the pages before they were fully published and as a result all of the information including the officer names and contact information was from the previous year. Using the Grand Lodge's Lodge Locator I was able to change and post the correct information for each of the lodges in the 21st Masonic District.

If you see any incorrect information please let me know at office@21stmasonicdistrict.com.

Fraternally,
Bro. Rick Schwarz, IT Administrator and Social Media Manager

Wauchula Lodge No. 17 Fellowcraft Degree

Wauchula Lodge No. 17 will be holding a Fellowcraft Degree March 14th, currently there are six candidates going through and Fellowcraft and Master Masons in Good Standing are welcome to attend. Dinner will be at 6:30pm and the Fellowcraft Degree to follow. Wauchula Lodge is located at 118 West Main Street in Wauchula.

Fraternally,
W:. Danny Lackey, Worshipful Master Wauchula Lodge No. 17

Winter Haven Lodge No. 186 Stated Communication was HUUUUUGE!

Last night was a HUGE Masonic night at Winter Haven Lodge No. 186, First W:. Dennis Wind and the Brethren of the lodge welcome R:.W:. C. Pearce Dreadin, District Deputy Grand Master who brought inspiring thoughts and words from the Grand Lodge of Florida.

Second, Bro. Patrick Tessoer was made an Honorary Member of Winter Haven Lodge No. 186, the presentation was made by Bro. Tom Wilson and Bro. Justin Butler.

And Finally the opening of the time capsules found when the cornerstone was removed from the former Winter Haven Masonic Temple by W:. Jerry Haynie P:.M:., Bro. Chuck Hicks, Bro. Tom Wilson and W:. Dennis Wind. Pictures of the content can be seen below.

Fraternally,
W:. Dennis Wind, Worshipful Master, Winter Haven Lodge No. 186

Bro Patrick is shown being presented the Certificate from Bro Tom with Bro Justin and W: Dennis looking on.

The time capsules.

The four Masons present when the time capsules were discovered in January "gloved up" to be able to handle the contents.

W:. Jerry Haynie PM, WM at the time the time capsules were found, opening the first one with R:.W:. C. Pearce Dreadin DDGM looking on. Not in the picture are the 25 other Masons watching.

Bro Chuck Hicks uncoiling the first document found in the time capsules. This was a list of the contents of both capsules.

First page of a list of contents in the two capsules.

Second page of a list of content in the two capsules.

Bro, Chuck Hicks carefully examining the papers.

Bro. Tom Wilson opening the second capsule.

Unfortunately, the contents of the second capsule were too fragile to be handled at this time. Great care will be taken over time to reveal their content.

All of the time capsule items shown together.

Even an attempt by W:. Dennis Wind to replace the fragile documents was thwarted by their delicate condition.

Letter From Grand Master of the Ukraine

M:.W:. Jeffrey Foster, the Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Florida has relayed a letter to the craft of Florida sent from the M:.W:. Anatoliy Dymchuk, the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the Ukraine, please take a moment to read the message.

Fraternally,
Bro. Rick Schwarz, IT Administrator and Social Media Manager, 21st Masonic District.

Click on the image for a full view

Secretaries, Treasurers and Lodge Officers Seminars 2022

Click on image for full view

Lake Wales Lodge No. 242 Monthly Fish Fry

Lake Wales Lodge No. 242 will be holding its monthly Fish Fry on Saturday March 12th starting at 4:30pm to 7:00pm. The menu will include Fresh Cat Fish filets, Swai (Mild White Fish), Cheese Grits, Baked Beans (With or without Jalapenos), Coleslaw, French Fries, Hushpuppies (With or without Jalapenos), desert, coffee or ice tea. Fried Chicken Strips (Available by advance request only).

Eat in or take out, Call ahead if you are in a hurry for a takeout order.

COST IS $12.00 PER PERSON (CASH ONLY)

If you have any further questions please contact R:.W:. Wendell Farrow at (863) 287-0493.

Florida Registration, CH65886. A copy of our official charity registration may be obtained by calling the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services at 1-800-435-7362 or visit Florida Charity Registration site at FDAC.gov. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by the State of Florida nor the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.