Page 2 - Sojourner Newsletter-Summer 2024 Final1

2 THE SOJOURNER

NATIONAL PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

WHY?

We need to ask this question every day. Why am I a Sojourner? Why do I attend the
meetings? Why do I go or not go to the National Conventions? Why does our organization
do things the way we do? In the coming months, YOU and the National line will begin to
answer these questions together.

By the time you read this, the wheels are starting to move. A committee has been formed
to look at every aspect of National Sojourners. From this, taskers will be going out to
appropriate committees for immediate action. Committees and individuals will be tasked on a wide range of
topics to address ways of becoming more vibrant, relevant and efficient, as individuals, committees and as an
Order. I want your feedback as to the expectations and needs of the Chapters and as individuals. The role of
the National Officers is to help meet these expectations and needs for our membership.

The tides of change are moving and opportunities await. We are attempting to relocate our Headquarters to a
more cost-efficient area than the Washington, D.C. area. As you can surmise this will be costly. The New
Horizons Campaign will help to fund this and other operations of the Order. It is imperative to the Order that
each individual and chapter step up and contribute to this fundraiser as much as they are able over the next
5 years. We are looking to the FUTURE, many changes are coming, as we are modernizing and attempting to
relocate. Your support will enable us to move forward and seize this OPPORTUNITY we have.

Carl Diamond
National President
National Sojourners, Inc.

NATIONAL PRESIDENT’S MASONIC BIOGRAPHY

National Commander #88, 2016-17, Memphis Cup, 2013,
Van Deventer, 2022, Horton-Tourtillot 2023, Americanism Secretary of the Year

Personal: Carl J. Diamond was born in Weatherford, Texas, on 21 Sep 1956 to Billy R. and Therese Ann
(Harris) Diamond. Carl attended Bishop Heelan Catholic High School, Sioux City, Iowa, graduating in 1974.
While in high school, Carl was a member of the Naval JROTC for four years. Following high school, Carl
attended Briar Cliff College in Sioux City, Iowa, for two years before joining the Navy. While Carl was on
active duty, he earned his Associate in Science from the University of the State of New York, 1981; met and
married Carolyn Sue Riley on 29 May 1982; earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from National
University in San Diego, California, in 1988; and earned a Diploma of Nursing from Riverside School of
Nursing in Newport News, Virginia in 1995. Carl and Carolyn Diamond have two daughters, Jessica and
Rebecca, and had a son, Andrew, who passed in 2023. They are also the proud grandparents of three
granddaughters, Sarah, Abigail, and Heather.