Emporia Masonic Lodge No. 12 held its annual awards dinner and ceremony on Friday at the Masonic Lodge in Emporia. Members gathered to celebrate the group’s 25, 50, 60, 65 and 70-year members and awarded more than $25,000 in scholarships to area students.
Following a celebratory banquet, the Masons, students and their families gathered in the Lodge for the awards ceremony. Lyn E. Beyer, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Kansas, A.F. & A.M., led the proceedings along with Dale Rohling, Master of Emporia Lodge No. 12.
The Emporia Lodge sponsored 11 area students for the KMF Band Camp, which will perform at the Shrine Bowl in August. Two students, Katie Laws of Hartford and Ian Myers of Emporia, were present and honored by the group.
“Our band camp is an opportunity for high school students to spend one week in preparation for the East-West Shrine Bowl,” Beyer said. “These two students excel at what they do. They’re special to this Lodge and they’re special in their communities. They serve their schools with pride.”
This year the Emporia Lodge presented more than $25,000 in academic scholarships to 23 area high school and college students. These students will attend nine different schools, including Emporia State University, Flint Hills Technical College, Kansas State University and Ottawa University. Areas of study range from English literature to welding to social work to biological systems engineering.
“If you were wondering what the Masons do, this is it,” Beyer told the audience, noting that in the United States, Masons give approximately $2 million per day to charitable causes. “These are students who have excelled, who made their schools, parents and communities proud. Now we are impacting the community by helping them continue to excel.”
Gladys Newkirk McAlister was recognized as a Masonic Widow in honor of her husband, Don W. McAlister, who died in March. Per tradition, she was presented with a Widow’s Emblem and a framed copy of the poem “A Salute to the Widows of the Masons.”
Several members reached milestones with the Emporia Masons, including William “Bill” Sellers, who was recognized for 70 years of service. Sellers held many positions of leadership within the Emporia Masons, including serving as Master during the mid-70s when more than 1,000 area men were members.
“Masons are men of character,” Beyer said. “They live a life with morals and values and ethics that others try to emulate. As you can tell from Bill’s record, he was not a Mason in name only. He worked in the Lodge, he served in the Lodge and we honor him for the many years he labored in the quarries of Masonry.”
For more information about the Masons, visit kansasmason.org.