News

Dictionaries for Kids Project

Each year, Florence Masonic Lodge No. 107 gives 140 dictionaries to elementary students from Triangle Lake, Mapleton and Siuslaw Elementary Schools. Florence Lodge Secretary Hunt Ramsey and Junior Deacon Butch Goodman recently visited Siuslaw Elementary School where they gave dictionaries to students ath that school. Junior Warden Jon Reeves took dictionaries to the students at the school at Triangle Lake and to the school in Mapleton.

Dictionaries are always welcomed by the teachers at the schools and by the students who receive them. The use of these dictionaries means that students will have a greater opportunity to complete their work correctly plus learning to use a valuable tool for future studies.

The following letter was was received from the The Dictionary Project on September 23, 2019.

The Dictionary Project

Florence Masonic Lodge # 107

P.O. Box 34

84910 Highway 101

Florence, OR 97439-0002

Thank you for your generous donation of $420.00 to The Dictionary Project which we received on September 20, 2019.

Your support makes it possible for students in Lane County to receive a dictionary for their own personal use that they will be able to use for a lifetime. For some children, this may be the very first book that they have owned. You are truly making a difference in their lives by giving them such an important reference tool.

Our goal is to reach every third grade student in the United States and you are helping to make this possible. So far this school year, we have reached an estimated 679,572 students. Cumulatively, we have been able to reach an estimated 32,373,373 students.

Of these, 1464 were sponsored by the Florence Masonic Lodge # 107.

With Gratitude,

The Dictionary Project

September 23, 2019

The beautiful floor in the Lodge room created by PM Richard Tooley.

Masonic Model Student Assistance Training (MMSAP)

at Siuslaw Middle School in Florence

Florence Masonic Lodge No. 107, The Grand Lodge of Oregon and the National Masonic Foundation for Children (NMFC) sponsored a two-day MMSAP training session for teachers and administrators of the Siuslaw Schools and a teacher from one of the schools in Eugene on October 11th and 12th. This was the third two-day session conducted at the Middle School since October 2018.

Sixteen teachers and administrators attended the workshop in which they learned how to work as a team to identify and intervene in the lives of students who are determined to be in danger of falling into the trap of drug and alcohol abuse, bullying, sexual abuse and other distractions that would change the student's focus from learning to unacceptable behavior.

The members of Florence Lodge No. 107 provided support for the training session with fresh coffee and soft drinks, pastries and sandwiches. The trainer was Mr. Larry Newman of Newman Stecher International who has conducted all of the workshop sessions held in Florence. Coordination was provided by Mr. Thomas Velvin, Executive Director of the National Masonic Foundation for Children who worked closely with Mr. Andy Grzeskowiak, Superintendent of Schools for the Siuslaw School District. The Grand Lodge of Oregon, through the Oregon Masonic Charities Foundation, provided funding for the training.

Florence Lodge, in conjunction with the NMFC are planning another training session for April 10 and 11 2020.