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Retiring
Ill. William L. McCarrier, 33°, retired as the Deputy for Pennsylvania, and Ill. Norman L. Christensen, 33°, retired as the Deputy for Wisconsin; both remain Active Members. Ill. James R. Spencer Jr., 33°, retired as the Deputy for Connecticut, and Ill. Lee B. Lockwood, 33°, retired as the Deputy for Illinois; both became Active Emeritus Members. Active Emeritus status was given to Ill. Gardner C. Sconyers Jr., 33°, of Rhode Island; Ill. Ralph I. Sewall, 33°, of Massachusetts, and Ill. James R. Filliez, 33°, of Ohio.

Class of 2011
There were 164 candidates who received the 33° on Tuesday, August 30, in the Merle Reskin Theater at DePaul University. The exemplar was Ill. John Brian McNaughton, 33°, from the Valley of Fort Wayne. The charge to the class was given by Ill. James R. Filliez, 33°.

Kern Award
The winner of this year’s Kern award is the ­Valley of The Hudson, NY.
The award is presented each year to the Valley that attains the highest percentage of participation of members contributing to the blue envelope ­appeal. It is named in honor of the late Dr. Richard A. Kern, 33°, former Scottish Rite Deputy for Pennsylvania.

Ritualistic Changes
Changes were made to the rituals of the 12°, 24°, and 25°.  A proposed change to the ritual of the 32° was authorized for test purposes only by a limited number of Valleys.  Additionally, the degree requirement for becoming a 32° Mason was set at the conferral of the 4° and 32°, plus a minimum of three additional degrees which exemplify one or more of the core values of the Rite selected by the Valley.

Brother Franklin Awards
The 2011 Brother Franklin awards for ­outstanding Valley publications were announced. They are awarded on the basis of Valley size. The entries ­submitted were ­divided into five categories based on membership.

Category I (under 800 members) Best Publication      Valley of Bridgeport, CT; Leo H. Lohrman, 33°, editor Honorable Mention      Valley of Nashua, NH; Robert M. Porter, 32°, editor      Valley of Schenectady, NY; T. A. Riedinger, 32°, editor Category II (Valleys with 801 - 1,500 members) Best Publication      Valley of Akron, OH; Raymond B. Strickland, 33°, editor Honorable Mention      Valley of Eau Claire, WI; Paul Lenz, 33°, editor Category III (Valleys with 1,501 - 2,500 members) Best Publication      Valley of Freeport, IL; John A. Reining, 33°, editor

Honorable Mention      Valley of Central Jersey; Dennis R. Bator, 33°, editor      Valley of Philadelphia, PA; Steven A. Morrison, 33°, editor Category IV (Valleys with 2,501 - 5,000 members) Best Publication      Valley of Detroit, MI; David R. Bedwell, 33°, editor Honorable Mention      Valley of Allentown, PA; Larry G. Newhard, 33°, editor      Valley of Canton, OH; William A. Rodgers, 32°, editor Category V (Valleys with more than 5,000 members) Best Publication      Valley of Pittsburgh, PA; D. William Roberts, 33°, editor Honorable Mention      Valley of Cincinnati, OH; Ben Rosenfield, 32°, editor      Valley of Columbus, OH; Tim C. Adams, 32°, editor

Class of 2012
There were 169 candidates elected to receive the 33°, next year in Cleveland, plus nine carry-over from 2011.

Honorary SGC
For only the second time in the nearly two-century history of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction an Honorary Sovereign Grand Commander was named. Ill. Lawrence D. Inglis, 33°, of Illinois, was awarded that rare title by Sovereign Grand Commander John Wm. McNaughton. At the Annual Meeting general session, Grand Commander McNaughton stated that Inglis was being so named “in testimony of his dedication to the preservation of the continuity of this Supreme Council during a difficult period of transition.” Bro. Inglis was Grand Lieutenant Commander at a time when our past Sovereign Grand Commander, Walter E. Webber, was gravely ill. Later Bro. Inglis was Deputy for the state of Illinois.
The only previous Honorary Sovereign Grand Commander was Ill. Richard A. Kern, 33°, of Pennsylvania who received the title in 1972.

Medals of Honor
At the Annual Meeting, held in Chicago, the Sovereign Grand Commander announced the selection of Ill. Harold L. Aldrich, 33°, to receive the Medal of Honor. During his presentation Grand Commander McNaughton stated, “Note card after note card in the Supreme Council files, show our Brother to be a remarkable leader, organizer, and spokesman for our Scottish Rite. Seemingly, he is everywhere all the time never saying no to a request or to an assignment.” Our Illustrious Brother served for many years as a member of the Masonic Education and Program Development Committee, the Special Committee on Membership Development as well as a key member of the Strategic Planning Committee. He also is to be commended for his work on the Dispensations and Charters, Finance, Nominating Committees and is a board member of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library. He currently is an Active Member and also Grand Minister of State.
Earlier in the year Ill. Robert L. Steadman, 33°, was also honored with the medal. Bro. Steadman accomplished much in both his personal and Masonic life. He is a former chief justice of the Superior Court of Massachusetts and was recognized by his peers with the Judicial Merit Award and the Judicial Excellence Award. Suffolk Law School presented him with the Outstanding Achievement Award and the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws. Upon his retirement in 1993, Massachusetts Governor William F. Weld issued a proclamation commending our Brother for his “outstanding dedication and service to the Commonwealth,” and proclaimed March 29, 1996 named in his honor.
The Northern Masonic Jurisdiction’s Medal of Honor Award, according to Article 901 of our Constitutions, “may be conferred by the Supreme Council or the Sovereign Grand Commander upon any person, whether or not a member of our jurisdiction or a member of any Body of the Rite, in recognition of distinguished service to Freemasonry, country or humanity.”

Future Meetings
The 200th Annual Meeting of the Supreme Council will take place in Cleveland, OH, Aug 26-28, 2011.
Valley Secretaries, Councils of Deliberation, candidates, and Active and Active Emeritus Members will receive information regarding hotel assignments, hospitality suites, and banquet menus in early January.
In late March, Honorary Members will receive their invitations to attend the Annual Meeting; a program outlining the session’s agenda; meeting, and hotel registration information.
In 2013, the Annual Meeting will be held in Washington, DC, from August 18-20.

Two Grand Masters
With the election of Ill. Richard L. Swaney, 33˚, as an Active Member, the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction has two sitting Grand Masters on its governing board.  Bro. Swaney is Grand Master of the state of Illinois.  The other is Ill. Thomas K. Sturgeon, 33˚, an Active Member and Grand Master of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  Bro. Sturgeon was elected as an Active Member in 1999.

Membership Handbook
The November issue of The Northern Light will include a Membership Handbook, containing health, financial, lifestyle, travel, and merchandise offerings as well as a Valley Directory.  Packaging the booklet with the magazine resulted in a considerable postal savings.

Odd Years Only
A decision has been made to hold the general session and conferral of the 33° every other year.  The current format (hosting annual meetings) will be in place through 2013, with next year’s event scheduled for Cleveland and the 200th anniversary year in 2013 in Washington DC.  The meeting following the anniversary is being planned for 2015.