Scholarships Total Nearly $350,000

Our Local Lodges in conjunction with Our Kansas Masonic Foundation, the charitable arm for the Grand Lodge of Kansas, announces the award of 345 scholarships to Kansas students. The awards total nearly $350,000.

The scholarships, which range from $500 to $5,000, are awarded to graduating high school seniors and students already attending four- and two-year universities and colleges, including vocational and technical colleges, throughout the state.

“It is with great pride that we, as Masons, are able to provide this type of financial support to our future leaders,” said Michael J. Tavares, President of the Kansas Masonic Foundation. “Our commitment to the scholarship program – and to the numerous other programs that benefit Kansans and Kansas communities through the Foundation and the Masonic Lodges throughout the state – is at the core of our belief that charity beyond ourselves strengthens our community.”

Over the 50 years of its existence, the Foundation, along with the Grand Lodge of Kansas, its 230 statewide lodges, and almost 18,000 Kansas Masons, have given thousands of scholarships and millions of dollars to deserving students in Kansas.

“Whether it is this scholarship program, the almost $25 million that Kansas Masons have donated to the University of Kansas Cancer Center, the $20 million that was recently committed as part of the Foundation’s 50^th Anniversary, or any of the other worthwhile endeavors to help others that Masons are committed to do, our Fraternity provides significant charitable support to Kansas and throughout the world,” said Lyn E. Beyer, Grand Master of Masons in Kansas. Beyer also noted that more than $360 million has been raised annually by the American Masonic philanthropy alone.

The 345 scholarships will be presented to students by their local Masonic Lodge in April and May.

WIBW television coverage of the events at the State Capitol on March 18th, 2016.

The Kansas Freemason Plates have hit the roads and are quickly becoming the distinctive tag of a Mason.

The Kansas Freemason Plate is an official license plate, the proceeds of which help support our Grand Lodge library and Kansas Masonic charities. The Kansas Freemason Plate is available at your county treasurer’s office. The cost of the plate is $25 plus your standard fees and taxes. The additional $25 is forwarded to the Grand Lodge of Kansas for distribution in our non-profit funds.

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It is with great pleasure that we are able to provide the 2016 revision of the Floor Rules and Instructions. You can find this new revision in the Member Area – References, Manual, and Forms (downloads) page of this site. Thank you to the Ritualistic Committee for all their hard work making these revisions.

Brothers,

I hope you give considerable thought to attending our 160th Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Kansas.

Online registration is not open yet, but will be on January 1st 2016.

There are some very exciting things planned and we hope you will join us for the Rededication of the cornerstone of our State Capitol Building, and to see the St. Johns Bible from New York (very historic), Brother Robert Dole is planning to attend as well.  We are estimating this to be the largest Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Kansas since the mid 70’s.

Grand Lodge Officers, Past Grand Masters, current A/DDGM’s please do not register online.  You should receive a letter from our office about your registration for the Annual Communication. If you have any questions please contact the Grand Lodge Office for clarification at 785-234-5518.

We are excited to finally be able to unveil the updated Grand Lodge website. Key to your improved experience is the new Member’s security and updated content formatting. Previously, we used a generic one-size-fits-some login system to allow access to the secured content. This system has been replaced with an individual user system.

About the new security system:

1. Initially, you will not see any pages available under the Member Area tab.
2. Clicking on the Member Area tab will open the Member Sign-in window.
3. Your username is your Membership Number as it is printed on your dues card.
4. Your default password is the password used to access the Membership Area of the previous site. (If you do not know what it is ask your secretary or find another informed Brother who can assist you.)
5. Once logged in please use edit my profile to set your own personal password.
6. After logging in, you will find that the dropdown menu of the Member Area tab is now populated with the pages to which you have access.
7. There is no longer a need to sign in multiple times when transitioning from one security area to another, e.g. transitioning from the Members’ Downloads page to the Secretary’s Portal of the Grand Lodge site does not require an additional login.
8. Make sure you logout when you are finished, especially if you are using a shared computer. To logout, click on the Member Area tab and click on logout in the window that opens.

If you feel that your access is not correct, please contact the Grand Lodge office for assistance. Anyone at the office can note your request and pass it on to the appropriate people.

About content updates:

1. You will find that many of the areas which contain links or downloadable material are now in a table format. Our hope it that this new format will make finding what you are looking for much quicker and easier. In addition, this format should make it much easier to update content in the future.
2. The Kansas Mason is now available in a flip-book format. Clicking on the cover picture of the edition will open the flip-book of that edition. If you prefer to view or download the edition in the .PDF version, you can do so by clicking on the text link found under the cover photo.

If you have any comments of concerns regarding these changes or if you find a problem with the site, please do not hesitate to contact the Grand Lodge office and they will pass that information to the appropriate people.

Grand Master Kellerman would like to invite you to his Reception and Banquet on April 4th 2015.

The reception will take place at the Topeka Masonic Center located at 2300 SW 30th st (30th and MacVicar) Topeka KS.  The reception will be from 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm.  The banquet will start at 6:00 pm, seating is limited so please make your reservations early.  Please click the invitation on the right to register for the banquet.