Members and guests of Marshalltown High Twelve Club No. 617 met on the fifth floor of the Masonic Temple for its Monday social meeting. President Greg Andersen called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. and asked all to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Chaplain Norman Rank offered the invocation. The meeting recessed for dinner prepared and served by members of Madon Shrine No. 38, Order of the White Shrine of Jerusalem.

February program chairman Carlon Flowers introduced Arthur Crandon, 2015-16 Grand Master of Masons in Iowa who spoke about what his plans were for the year and how they’ve been progressing. He has been gratified and encouraged at how well the Grand Lodge officers from across the state have come together in their efforts, even calling themselves Team Crandon.

With Lodges operating on a calendar year, January and February have been largely administrative in nature. Noting that Freemasonry loses members due to death, unpaid dues and lack of interest, Crandon is focusing much of his efforts on membership growth and retention to making it gratifying and fun.

A 2016 Masonic Education Conference will be held on Feb. 27, at the Scottish Rite Temple in Des Moines, sponsored by the Grand Lodge of Iowa, Masonic Education Corporation and the Iowa Scottish Rite Masonic Foundation. Masons from Kansas, Louisiana and California will be among the speakers offering substantive information and insights on what Freemasonry has been in the past, is in the present and can be in the future.

Marshalltown’s American Legion Golf Course will host the Grand Lodge’s first All Iowa Masonic Golf Outing on July 29. James Hunt Jr. is organizing the event with the course staff. Crandon hopes the event will welcome 144 Masonic men and women golfers with a shot gun start at 11:30 a.m. The proceeds will benefit the Quakerdale Wolfe Ranch Life Enrichment Center and Camp Courageous.

Crandon has selected Washington, D.C. as the destination for the Grand Master’s Trip April 17-20, and will include visits to the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Va., and Washington’s plantation home Mount Vernon. President Washington joined the Masonic Lodge in Fredricksburg, Va., at the age of 20. According to information on the memorial’s website, Washington is “Freemasonry’s ‘perfect ashlar’ upon which countless Master Masons gauge their labors in their own Lodges and in their own communities.”

The Grand Master also talked about the three philanthropic endeavors of Iowa Masons, starting with the youth organizations of DeMolay International, Rainbow for Girls and Job’s Daughters. Open to all students, the Grand Lodge also provides scholarships for both two-year community colleges and technical schools and four-year educational institutions. Selection is based on academic record, communication skills and financial need, but the most important is service to school and community with an emphasis on leadership roles. Finalists are asked to appear before the committee for personal interviews.

A third focus is on the Grand Lodge of Iowa’s Library and Museum in Cedar Rapids. This premier entity is world renowned for the materials it owns and maintains. With over 150,000 volumes, the library is in the top five and reputed to be the largest in the world and it is used by researchers and the public as well Freemasons. In order to provide the resources and facilities necessary, Crandon has developed a three-year plan to raise $500,000 each of those years. Those Lodges or individual Freemasons who contribute a certain amount will receive 3D printer renderings of the three columns corresponding with the three orders of architecture revered by Masons: Doric (Wisdom to contrive), Ionic (Strength to support) and Corinthian (Beauty to adorn). The Iowa Masonic Library and Museums is a 501(c)3 corporation and donations are tax-deductible. It can be found online at www.grandlodgeofiowa.org and the Grand Lodge of Iowa, A.F. & A.M. is on Facebook.

Crandon appreciates and is humbled by the support given him by his home lodge of Marshall Lodge No. 108 and its members, saying the focus is on the Craft and not about any one person. “We are all Brothers who ‘Meet on the Level, Act by the Plumb and Part upon the Square’.”

Club President Andersen adjourned the meeting and Rank offered the benediction. Next month’s High Twelve Club social meeting will be 6:30 p.m. on March 7. Ron Benge is the program chairman.

For more information about High Twelve or other Marshalltown Masonic Organizations, visit the website www.marshalltownmasonic.org or “Like” the Marshalltown Masonic Temple on Facebook.