Page 2 - 2021 SPRING Sojourner Newsletter

2 THE SOJOURNER
National President’s Message

In June of 2016 National So- There are about thirty resolutions under consideration
journers changed course, mor- at this year’s ANC. Not all are focused on the future
ally and Masonically. We of the Order. Read them, consider them, and know
opened our Active Membership that so much is at stake this year. Talk to your Chapter
to all ranks and grades of Ma- Secretary about being a delegate. If you can be a dele-
sonic Veterans for the first gate from your Chapter, you need to go and vote while
time. We became the Masonic the convention assembles and does its business on the
th
th
Military Veterans Order in 17 and 18 of June.
America. That was the vision,
and though we make progress, we are not there yet. Our future as a Veterans’ Order is bright and thor-
We will not be there until every Master Mason Veter- oughly Masonic. The Grand Jurisdictions and the Ap-
an who has served honorably in the Uniformed Ser- pendant Bodies need us teaching and delivering pro-
vices is a member of National Sojourners. grams that keep the American Flag in the Lodges and
elsewhere in Freemasonry. That is a serious work and
All of us in the Order have a duty to both grow our a much-needed mission within Freemasonry right
Order from the seriously low number of about 8000 now. We have the programs and we have the tools.
living members that it is today. We need to fill it with We need you to help us out. Doing this work will also
Freemasons who have served their country, regardless grow the Order.
of number of years in service. That is the job. The
second duty is to radically change our age de- I hope you will see the wisdom of being an active par-
mographics from a Masonic Appendant Body where ticipant in the future of National Sojourners, especially
more than 60% of its members are over 70 years of this year and into the near future. We do not need to
age. This has to happen fast. The age brackets need to age-out in place and go extinct. Let us not hold onto
be in line with the age demographics in the United to ideas and programs that do no more than cause us to
States. That is also the job. We call it effective gener- age-out and go extinct. Help my officers and me
ational turnover of authority and responsibility. move this wonderful Masonic body into the future it
deserves.
This is a year like no other. A pandemic has made it
necessary to hold our Annual National Convention in I’ll see you in Milwaukee, in person or virtually, in
Milwaukee both in person and virtually, from 14-19 June. Thank you for the humble and special oppor-
June 2021. Since you can be present at the ANC in tunity to be your National President this year. Guiding
person on site, or virtually in person, any delegate may all of us through shut down, and all else, has had its
come to the convention either way, and vote. This is a moments, but we have gotten through. And I know
unique opportunity for the voices of all members, your next National President is duty bound to keep us
young and old, to be heard from the first time on the going in the direction we have to go to have the future
floor of the convention and through the ballot. This we deserve to have as the Masonic Military Veterans’
rare opportunity should not be ignored by any of us. Order in America.

In all prior years the only way you could vote as a del- Sincerely and Fraternally,
egate at an ANC was to appear in person at the time Bob Roth
and place of the convention. Save for some local “Freemasonry First, Sojourners Always”
members, that meant travel from home to the conven-
tion, the cost of rooms at the convention, and spending
money on meals, entertainment and the like. Under
those standards, young men working a job need not
apply for delegate status, no matter the quality of their
work for Order or the contribution they could make.
That is not the case this year. All our voices from all
age demographics need to be heard. Please do not let
this opportunity go by. Come and vote on what you
think the future of the Order should be.