Page 6 - Montana Freemason Feb 13

Montana Freemason February 2013
will not go into the details of the Tribunal as they are
already available and have been for some time. There
is a point that I would like to shed some more light
on and that is the decision regarding RW Duffy’s title.
This question was posed to Jurisprudence, and after
careful review of the code, it was recommended that
a Grand Lodge Officer’s position was equitable with
that of a regular lodge of Masons. To this end, Duffy’s
title is Right Worshipful Past Deputy Grand Master
because he is not entitled to the title of Past Grand
Master as he did not complete the term and pass on
the leadership to a successor. I support this decision,
and as Grand Master, issued the decision to the craft.
At this juncture, I would like to move forward
in the chronology of events and present some facts
that came to light during the later portion of autumn.
Two important items are fiduciary in nature. The first
is that there has been a great deal of rumors about
the current year’s budget. It has been commented
that the Grand Lodge budget is somehow overly
inflated and that I may be to blame. To this end, it
is important to note that the current budget is that
which was presented by RW Duffy for his term. It is
a fact that the Grand Master’s travel budget for this
year is the highest to have been presented to date. It is
also a fact, that RW Duffy stated in his initial officer’s
meeting that he would do little traveling out of the
state. I cannot find a logical correlation between
these two facts. That is to say, why would there be so
much funding allocated to travel, when less travel was
anticipated. It is also very important to note that the
budget was not proposed and approved in the time
that is clearly prescribed by the code, even though
the Grand Treasurer provided numerous notices to
help remedy this oversight. Members of the Finance
Committee were obviously upset at this action by
RW Duffy, yet they agreed to approve the budget to
allow the operations of Grand Lodge. I want to be
perfectly clear to the craft and express that a budget
for the upcoming 2013-2014 year was drafted with the
assistance of the Grand Lodge Executive Committee
well before the code deadline, and at the time of this
writing is awaiting approval of the finance committee.
The proposed budget was compared to a five year
average and great care was taken to lower expenses
especially those I feel were inflated. It was my directive
to the committee to provide a budget that can allow
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for a reduction in per capita. If membership holds
its average there should be no per capita increase and
possibly a reduction from last year.
The second fiduciary item involves a check that
was written to an appendant body for the amount of
$500. The check was authorized by RW Duffy and
presented to a Shrine Temple as a donation. This
action was not approved by the Montana Masonic
Foundation Executive Committee as such items should
be authorized. Although I am a strong supporter of
charity, I do not agree with allocating funds without
the approval of those entrusted with the oversight of
said funds. This information came to light in the late
fall along with a proposed invoice from RW Duffy for
reimbursement that was presented to the Executive
Committee. However, it was established this request
was in fact a submittal for reimbursement for a bill
that had previously been paid.
The Autumn months also bore witness to actions
that are outside the scope of expected Masonic
behavior. I am referring to RW Duffy’s actions
during a District Meeting and a meeting held in
Three Forks in late November. I will never disagree
with Masonic meetings to promote brotherly love
and friendship. However, I do not agree that such
venues are for the improper criticism of a trial that
has been conducted, adjudicated, and decided
according to a duly created Code and Constitution.
Nor do I agree that such meetings are for the
purpose of maligning other brother Masons. RW
Duffy’s action in which he revealed his choice for an
elected position, with remarks about who his choice is
and who has been willing to become Grand Secretary,
and thereby posing a blank ballot to another Mason
is not acceptable Masonic behavior. After consulting
with Jurisprudence, it is in fact easily construed as
electioneering - another clear violation of our code.
A closely related action is the circularization of
information about the Three Forks meeting to others
in the form of minutes. This action was conducted
by Brother Prewett, and likewise can be construed as
unapproved circularization. Again, Jurisprudence
has indicated this is an action which violates our code.
As one can easily understand, it has been a
challenge to provide positive guidance and leadership