GL Law and Jurisprudence Committee
Best City Lodge #777 of Best City, Mississippi, is pleased to place into nomination for the high office of Junior Grand Warden our beloved Brother, Rama Lama Dingdong.
Rama Lama is an actual past master, virtual past master, yellow dog, 32.9 degree Scottish Rite Mason, Past Grand Commander, Past Grand High Priest, Past Illustrious Grand Master, Past Potentate, and 7 year reigning chili dog eating champ. He holds a dual membership in 20 Lodges, and he is the husband to the luckiest woman in the world. And, just so you know we’re serious, attached you’ll find 6 front and back pages of signatures you can’t read. Note Bud only had 3 pages of signatures.
What characteristics and experiences make a man a great candidate for Grand Line? We all have our own preferences, and we probably all disagree. However, I think we can all agree that accolades alone tell us very little about the candidates and the metrics we each individually value. While the fictitious candidate above is meant tongue-in-cheek, the exaggerated illustration shows how little the information we usually receive tells us about a person.
In researching this topic, I found the Grand Lodge of New York’s website hosts the curriculum vitas/resumes of the candidates. One candidate is noted to be a “Father of three, grand-father of four, and that’s enough now, thank you.” It goes on to state that he is a contract management specialist and has published six novels, and he is the indentured servant of two cats. https://nymasons.org/site/2020-candidates/
The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts also similarly lists candidate information on its Grand Lodge Website, although it is a little less substantive. But, in 20 seconds, I learned that their candidate for Senior Grand Warden retired from General Dynamics in 2018 after a 34 year career and his most recent position was Senior Director of Engineering for the Security and Cyber Solutions Division. That’s more than I know
about Mr. Dingdong.
We all want a candidate that best represents the principles we value most and the man we believe would be best for masonry. I think with a little more consideration and effort, “Lodges” could present candidates to the craft in a way that provides more meaningful information. Until then, reach out and engage the candidates, find out about them and share what you know!
R. Lane Dossett, PM
GL Law & Jurisprudence Committee
