Grand Master’s Message

Brethren:

It is an honor and a personal privilege for me, in my capacity as Grand Master, to greet you and seek your good will and support, as we join hands to meet the challenges of our times. Little did I know when I entered the Craft, only a few years ago, that I would be called upon so soon to serve in this capacity, but I am certain that with your understanding and assistance, offered to me in such abundance, that our fondest aspirations will be fulfilled.

In the years that I have been in Masonry I have been impressed by the zeal which has marked the labors of those who have preceded me in this office. Their labors, in and for the Craft, have established performance norms that I shall endeavor to emulate. It shall be my constant intention, working with my officer colleagues in the Grand Lodge, to use past accomplishments as a springboard to a fraternal future that is harmonious and fruitful.

As I begin my year as your Grand Master I want to recognize the contribution made by so many in shaping my views and concerns. The Past Grand Masters as a whole have been a constant inspiration, and I am grateful for the experiences that they all afforded me. Three of them, Frank A. Kenyon, Dan L Frederick, and Eldon J. Brown, all now deceased, are due recognition for the lasting impressions they made on my Masonic outlook.

I look with pride on the fact that Eldon Brown was a native Washingtonian, as am I. He loved this city, as do I, and on many occasions he shared with me his unbridled pride in the fact that this city, the Nation’s Capital, was planned by Masons, built by Masons, and that through the years, it has been protected and preserved by Masons.

A man’s character, however, is not shaped by Craft contacts alone, and mine, certainly, has been also formulated by friends outside the Craft. I am grateful that my family shares with me my every chore, every accomplishment, and every sorrow. My family is the foundation of my existence. My father, incidentally, although not a Mason, was Mason-like in his attitudes and practices. He took pride, as so should we, in what he did for himself and for others.

On the list of those who have made strong impressions on me as a Mason is Helen Harrison Weik, a nurse at the Veteran’s Hospital here in Washington, D.C., and Brother Thomas E. Weir, a Past Grand Chaplain of this Grand Lodge and a Past Master of my lodge. Both of them left indelible impressions on my appreciation of the necessity for Masons to strive incessantly to provide compassionate care and love to the ill, the distressed, and the lonely.

M.W. Brother Albert McNair Smith

In the months remaining in my administration I shall strive to continue the proven programs established by my predecessors. In so doing it is my hope that we will strengthen our bonds with the community and with our brothers in the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia.

Looking ahead I solicit your support of our annual universal brotherhood celebration. This year we will climax that effort with a program to be presented in the National Museum for Women in the Arts, located in a building originally constructed by our Grand Lodge. There we will display the paintings prepared for what was known as the “Octagon Project” and present a Medal of Freedom to a deserving recipient. Plan now to participate.

I have planned a number of other activities for this Masonic Year. Prominent among those that are included in this admittedly ambitious program are efforts to spearhead the renovation of the chapel at the VA Hospital as well as our intent to sponsor a Special Olympics — DeMolay project as a part of our annual Day of Thanksgiving.

I pray for your favorable reception of the plans for the year as they sequentially appear on the Grand Lodge Trestle board. They are entirely achievable, given our determined resolve to work together, as a team and as a brotherhood. So, my brethren, join me in meeting the challenge of this hour, of this day, of this year. Let us, in 2006, set standards anew, around which Masons, yet unborn, may rally.

Sincerely and fraternally,

Albert McNair Smith Grand Master