PROCEEDINGS GRAND LODGE - Freemasons of Wisconsin

Respectfully submitted,Nancy Storrs, ChairmanWisconsin Masonic Soccer Foundation, Inc.WISCONIN MASONIC JOURNAL BOARD REPORTTo the Grand Lodge Free and Accepted Masons of Wisconsin;The past year has been one of continuing progress as well as challenge for yourWisconsin Masonic Journal and its board of directors. The present board consists ofBrothers Truman E. Farris, Jr., Keith H. Harmon, John K. ‘Jack’ Shannon, JamesE. Walsh, Keith D. Chamberlain, PGM, President, and William L. Stonecipher, exofficio – a board which has worked diligently on behalf of the Fraternity to providea high quality publication at the most reasonable cost possible.Before continuing, the board would like to recognize the contributions of time andtalent of all its members, but particularly those of Brother Jack Shannon, whoreluctantly tendered his resignation from the board in February. Brother Shannonhas been a valued contributor to the editorial and fiscal oversight of this publicationsince 1990. Thank you, Brother Jack. Your insight and support has been anirreplaceable addition to the success of the publication during the 16 years you haveso faithfully served. Your contribution will be missed.On the technological front, the Journal is now benefiting fully from the economiesmade possible by the new computer equipment and program updates added lastyear. Coupled with our new hi-speed DSL Internet connection, these improvementshave made it possible to go printer-direct with each issue. After a period oftransition, we are now transmitting the entire publication electronically to ourprinter’s dedicated FTP server located in Platteville via PDF format. This advancein our technological capability further ensures that we are utilizing every meanspossible on our end to keep production costs as low as they can be without lesseningthe publication’s quality.These improvements have also made it easier and faster for more lodges to submitpictures and news for publication electronically, resulting in a greater variety ofnews and features from more lodges than ever before. Presently, submissions fromMasonic News Hawks and others via E-mail are now surpassing those submitted byconventional mail. In May, for example, 40 E-mails were received relating tosubmissions, while approximately 20 were delivered by non-electronic means.Another benefit of these improvements is that your Wisconsin Masonic Journalis now available in its entirety on the Internet. Previously only selected articles andimages were posted to the Grand Lodge web site. Now, the complete WisconsinMasonic Journal is available on the Internet at in.PDF file (Portable Document Format), making it available for download by readersaround the world via Adobe Acrobat Reader. This development is especiallysignificant because now Masonic news from Wisconsin is available to readers farbeyond the borders of the Badger State.Also available via the Masonic Journal page on the Grand Lodge web site is ourMasonic News Hawk Media Kit, a major feature of the Masonic News HawkProgram, your key to gaining the publicity your lodge needs and deserves in the116