Page 2 - Sojourner Newsletter-Summer 2023 Final

2 THE SOJOURNER

NATIONAL PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

It is my great privilege to address all of my Brother Sojourners, and their
Ladies, as well. I am pleased and honored to be selected to serve all of you
during the 2023-2024 term. I will do my best to fulfill my obligations to each
of you.

I consider this office to be one of leadership based upon teamwork. I learned
from my younger years playing sports that teamwork is essential to the
successful accomplishment of an objective. My years in the U. S. Air Force
reinforced that belief. And, I learned from my many years as a government
contractor that the business world is no exception. Therefore, it is my intent
to include as many of you as possible in the management of our beloved
organization this next year. I consider you all to be equal shareholders and I sincerely believe you
have the same concerns and objectives as me. If called upon, I request that you willingly, perhaps
even eagerly step forward to assist in the very important work of National Sojourners – Veterans and
Masons Promoting Patriotism and Americanism.

All of us have been impacted negatively by the recent COVID issues. However, I believe there have
been a few positive results from this experience. Most of us have been forced to become more literate
in the virtual world. In order to continue participating in our fraternal organizations, we have become
more knowledgeable in utilizing some of the virtual tools available to us. Our experiment in the June
2021 Annual National Convention comes to mind. Although our efforts met with mixed results, I
believe it was definitely a step in the right direction and I intend to push for a continuation of this
effort. I believe we may have been too optimistic and attempted too many new innovations at that
ANC. Baby Steps might have resulted in more success and fewer criticisms. The Virtual Voting
process reaped the majority of the criticism. That endeavor may need to go on the back burner while
we focus on the pursuit of additional and better ways to get our members involved and participating.
Stay tuned and get involved!

I wish to address one other item regarding our membership. I know we all have been inundated with
the New Member drives inherent in all organizations within the Masonic Family. My personal
viewpoint is that we should NEVER fail to properly cherish and honor our current members while
searching for potential new members. Our current members are the foundation of our Order and I
have seen far too many losses from within. Let’s exert some energy to maintain and even reinstate
some of those we have lost.

I will share with you from the very beginning of my term that you should not expect any radical
policy or practice changes from the year previous. Past National President Denny Norris and I have
worked together for many years and we are in lockstep in our beliefs and share many ideals and goals.
I intend to continue to consult with him and others to ensure we all continue in our work to achieve
the same goals and objectives I believe to be in the best interests of our beloved Order.

Charles E. “Chuck” Warren, Sr.
National President
National Sojourners, Inc.