A NEW DAWN FOR FREEMASONRY IN THE NATION’S CAPITAL By Akram R. Elias Past Grand Master, Installing Master
Most Worshipful Brother Richard J. Bautista, Past Grand Master (2018), as Installing Marshal Most Worshipful Brother Charbel T. Fahed, Past Grand Master (2019), as Installing Marshal WHENCE CAME THE GRAND MASTER?
Apart from the historical connection between Freemasonry and the nation of Ecuador, Daniel’s Masonic DNA was uniquely shaped by having two Master Masons as his parents.
Prior to commencing the ceremony of installation, the Installing Master delivered the following remarks introducing to the audience present the Man and the Mason about to be installed as Grand Master.
His mother, Silvia, who received the degrees of Master Mason over 35 years ago, played a major role in laying the ground for Women Freemasonry in his home country.
Brethren, visiting dignitaries, ladies and friends, MWB Akram R. Elias
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n December 11, 2021, the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Washington, D.C. installed Most Worshipful Brother Daniel A. Huertas as its new Grand Master marking the start of its 211th year of continuous existence. After a tumultuous period of two years filled with uncertainty and confusion in the midst of a pandemic, this installation marked a time of renewal; the renewal of our commitment to the teachings of Freemasonry and its admonition to practice outside the Lodge what we are taught in it. It is through the applications of Freemasonry, that we not only improve ourselves, but also the world around us. The installation ceremony of the Grand Master and Grand Lodge Officers for the Masonic Year of 2022 was conducted by the following team: Most Worshipful Brother Akram R. Elias, Past Grand Master (2008), as Installing Master Most Worshipful Brother Teko A. Foly, Past Grand Master (2013), as Installing Marshal
José de Sucre came to the aid of Ecuadoran rebels, and on May 24, 1822, Sucre won the decisive Battle of Pichincha on a mountain slope near Quito, thus assuring Ecuadoran independence.
It is my distinct honor and with great pleasure that I present to you Brother Daniel A. Huertas who is about to be installed as the Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Free and Accepted Masons of Washington, D.C. for the ensuing Masonic Year. Most Worshipful Brother Daniel A. Huertas was born and raised in Quito, Ecuador. Ecuador, located in northwestern South America, is one of the most environmentally diverse countries in the world, and it has contributed notably to the environmental sciences. The first scientific expedition to measure the circumference of the Earth, led by Charles-Marie de La Condamine of France, was based in Ecuador. Moreover, research in Ecuador by the renowned naturalists Alexander von Humboldt of Prussia and Charles Darwin of England helped establish basic theories of modern geography, ecology, and evolutionary biology. Much of what is now Ecuador was part of the Inca empire thus having a rich cultural heritage. The people of Quito, the Ecuadoran capital, claim that it was the scene of the first Ecuadoran patriot uprising against Spanish rule (1809). Invading from Colombia in 1822, the armies of Freemason leaders and liberators Simón Bolívar and Antonio
Patricio, his father and Master Mason would take his toddler Daniel to his days of Masonic education or fellowship and teach him in his youth about the significance of Masonic tools and symbols using gamification techniques. Daniel was initiated into the Society of Free and Accepted Masons of Washington, D.C. at Alianza Fraternal Americana Lodge No. 92 and was elevated to the degree of Master Mason in July 2000 at the age of 20 and received the degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite in 2001. He affiliated with Albert Pike Lodge No. 33 and William R. Singleton-Hope-Lebanon Lodge No. 7. He also became a founding member of Compass Lodge No. 1811 along with his father and Masonic Brother Patricio. In 2013, he served as President of the Masters and Wardens Association and was appointed as Grand Sword Bearer by the Grand Master at the time, Most Worshipful Brother Teko A. Foly. In 2014, Most Worshipful Brother Huertas served as Grand Marshal and was installed in December of the same year to the Office of Junior Grand Steward. Over the several years, as he journeyed towards the Grand East, he served this Grand Lodge on various committees and in different capacities. On November 20, 2021, Daniel A. Huertas, was elected as the Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Free and Accepted Masons of Washington, D.C. ISSUE 1, 2022 THE VOICE OF FREEMASONRY | 13
