PROCEEDINGS GRAND LODGE - Freemasons of Wisconsin

J. Patrick Storrs .............. District Deputy Grand Master, District 10James G. Jante ............... District Deputy Grand Master, District 11Donald W. Hensiak ......... District Deputy Grand Master, District 12163rd ANNUAL COMMUNICATIONThe 163rd Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin will be heldin the city of Madison, Wisconsin commencing on the First Friday, being the Firstday of June, 2007 at 8:30 a.m.REPRESENTATIVE BANQUETThe reception and a dinner of beef tenderloin followed the installation of officersand was attended by 365 persons in the Ballroom of the Madison Masonic Centeron the lower level.GRAND LODGE WAS CALLED FROM REFRESHMENTTO LABORThe Saturday morning session began with a short prayer by Grand Chaplain,Rev. Ray Heilborn.Rev. Jan Beaderstadt, KYGCH, OPCGUEST SPEAKER“Good morning brethren. I have a question for you. Anybody here a Green BayPackers fan? Now some of you might be surprised, because I am from Michigan. Whywould a Michigan boy be a Green Bay Packers fan? That’s because I am a ‘Yooper’.I was walking around the town last night here in Madison and I was taking somepictures. I reached into my camera bag and found something written by my 14-yearold daughter who will be Honored Queen next Friday. My girls have grown up inFreemasonry, in fact they have attended more Masonic meetings than most Masons.She wrote down 10 ways to know you’ve been in Masonry too long: (This is a Job’sDaughter perspective) 10. When people know you from your back, 9. When they knowyour name, which is scary from a teenage girl, 8. When they tell stories of you whenyou were a baby, 7. When you say ‘so mote it be’ in church, 6. When you know how topronounce Ad Hoc Signo Vinces, 5. When you vow to never have a salad or green beansagain, 4. When you can spell Masonic, 3. When you spend Saturdays on the go, 2.When the words ‘Eastern Star’ strikes fear in your heart, 1. When you know who wasthe Grand High Priest in 1901.”Well Brothers, today is a great day to be a Mason. You belong to the world’s greatestfraternity. This fraternity stretches around the world. In some places we put emblemson the outside of our towns, proclaiming a Masonic lodge is here. Other places in theworld you don’t dare breathe that you’re a Mason. I have stood in lodges in thosecountries as well. Because of my work as a missionary in the wintertime, I go to Africa,to Bangladesh. There are places that, if it is know that I am a Freemason, it couldmean my life, because we are accused of kinds of things. I had one man in Africaaccuse Masons of running around naked in our meetings and of eating children. Well,first of all, if we ran around naked at our meetings, we might have found the bestfund-raiser for obesity problems. As for eating children, I spent nine days in your81