Good Morning everyone and welcome to the first day of Summer!

Now just because it’s Summer and most of our Masonic activity has gone, ‘dark’ doesn’t mean that we’re totally quiet. Far from it!

We have the Annual Convocation of the Pennsylvania Council of Deliberation coming up on 9 July at the Valley Forge Casino Resort. Now, for those of you who’ve never attended the Annual Convocation before or are not a member of the Council; you are of course welcome and encouraged to attend. The 8 June deadline has past for reservations for the luncheon and banquet, if you didn’t get yours in on time, yes it is too late for that now, but it is not too late for you to attend the meeting itself on Saturday afternoon on the 9^th. The meeting begins at 1:30 PM and will last until approximately 4:30 PM. The dress code for the meeting is business suit or sport coat and tie. We sit in groups by Valley.

Now in past years the Valley of Philadelphia has had a row or maybe two rows of Brethren attending. In recent years, we’ve seen that grow to two and half to three rows of Brethren attending the Annual Convocation at Hershey (formerly) and at Seven Springs (next year by the way). It’s great to see that many Valley Brethren supporting not only our Valley, but Scottish Rite in Pennsylvania.

With this year’s Convocation being held in Valley Forge, I expect that we might have one of the largest delegations present. Personally, I would love to see us have as many attending as Allentown, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Reading some day. I think this year might our best chance yet. Will we do it? We’ll find out on the 9^th of July.

For those that did pay to attend the Banquet and Luncheon, you will want to arrive at the hotel in the morning on July 9^th. When you get there you will go to the ‘Ask Me’ table, which this year will be staffed by our very own, Ill. James C. Rae, 33° MSA and Bro. Thomas H. Wible, 32° MSA. They will have your tickets for both events. If you get to the hotel between 9:30 AM and 11:30 AM, be sure to stop by the Council’s Hospitality Room. Bro. Norman R. Greene III, 32° MSA and myself are your gracious hosts during that time period and based on recent years, we could sure use the company. A lot of folks have just had breakfast at that time of the morning and they’re usually not interested in cookies, potato chips, pretzels, sodas and the like. But stop by any way, Norm and I will have some good conversation for you.

On the 30^th of July, we will again gather in the picnic grove at the Cannstatter Volkfest Verein, 9130 Academy Road in NE Philadelphia for the Valley’s Annual Family Summer Picnic. Cannstatter is located right off the Academy Road exit of I-95. Our picnic is on from 12 to 5PM and lunch and dinner are served. The cost per person of for tickets is $15 for those ages 13 and up and $10 for those 12 and under. Master Masons, WHO ARE NOT SCOTTISH RITE MASONS AND MEMBERS OF THE VALLEY OF PHILADELPHIA, are welcome to attend for free. They are welcome to bring their families along for the admission fee. Talk to the Lodge Brother and invite him to come along. We’ll have games and activities for everyone, or you can just enjoy the day anyway you’d like. Tickets must be purchased in advance! Get yours by sending in your check to the Scottish Rite Office, Masonic Temple, One North Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107-2520. Don’t miss out on the picnic, it’s always a fun day. Our Sovereign Prince, Ill. Harry Rutter, 33° and the other Officers of DeJoinville Council, Princes of Jerusalem, 16°, hope to see YOU and your family there!

So that’s what’s happening this Summer. Hopefully we’ll see you at both events.

Don’t forget the Double Eagle Car Show on Saturday, October 1^st at the Cannstatter. The event runs 10 AM to 2 PM. If it rains, we’ll see you on Saturday, October 8^th. If you have a custom or classic car, and you want to enter in the show, it will cost you $20, if you want to come and see the cars, the cost to get in is only $5. There will be music, food, games, and trophies for the cars.

Special thanks goes out to Bro. Timothy J. Curran Jr., 32° for putting this thing together. This is a fund raising event for YOUR Valley Brethren. Your support of it is appreciated and vital to its success. Spread the word and please plan to attend. Tim’s calling it the Double Eagle Car Show this year, I told him if we have one next year, we’ll have to change the name to the Double Eagle Classic. Imagine that on a trophy; ‘Double Eagle Classic – Best in Show.’ Cool huh? Please support our show and thanks again to Bro. Tim for his vision.

Sometime later this week, I will have a SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT regarding another fund raising event for the Valley that will take place this September. I promise you, you will not want to miss it!

Our Fall Reunion will begin as part of the Grand Lodge’s One Day Masonic Journey on Saturday, 29 October at LuLu Shriners. We will present our work that day via DVD. All Master Masons are welcome to join our Valley that day for the price of our annual dues, $99. Spread the word!

The Fall Class will be named in honor of our Right Worshipful Grand Master, Ill. Raymond T. Dietz, 33°. We will invite all the one day Class members to attend a Special Communication of Philadelphia Lodge of Perfection and a Special Assembly of Kilwinning Chapter of Rose Croix, on Friday, 11 November here at the Grand Lodge, when those two Bodies will present their signature Degrees. The Right Worshipful Grand Master will be here to welcome those new Brethren to our Valley and to Scottish Rite Freemasonry.

Plan now to attend our Valley’s Holiday Party on Saturday, December 17, 2016 at the Heritage Ballrooms, 2107 MacDade Boulevard in Holmes, PA. The cost per person is $30. The evening will include a Social Hour at 6PM with a delicious buffet dinner following at 7PM. DJ Bill Scheivert is back to rock the place again this year, so be ready to hit the dance floor after dinner! Beat the holiday rush and send your check in now. There is a flyer for the event in the May issue of The Double Eagle, or you can download one from the Valley’s website by visiting, http://www.philascottishrite.org/announcements.html

I’ve ordered our 2017 Dues Billing from the Supreme Council. Which means once they are run you will receive your bill in the mail. Please be sure to include your billing statement with your check when paying your dues. Make your dues check and any check you make out to the Valley for any purpose, payable to, ‘Scottish Rite Bodies.’ Please be patient, we are one 107 Valleys that the Supreme Council will be running billing for. I promise I won’t suspend anyone, well, at least not until this time next year and only if you’re two years behind in dues. Believe me, I don’t enjoy having to do that.

Well, it’s the first day of Summer and they’re calling for it to be in the 90’s. Stay cool, stay hydrated and check on the elderly. Ill. G. Kent Hackney, 33°, are you okay? Have a great day!

Good Morning everyone and I say 'Good Morning' in my most sincere attitude as I am about to change the subject to something that some folks find, unsettling; dues.

Yes, that time is soon to be upon us. It is my plan to order our dues run from the Supreme Council very soon. For our new members, the Valley's fiscal year runs from 8/1 to 7/31 and I usually bill you for dues in mid to late June/early July, depending on where we fall in the queue up at Supreme Council. As always, PLEASE WAIT UNTIL YOU RECEIVE YOUR BILL FOR DUES PRIOR TO PAYING YOUR DUES. And if you're one of us who takes advantage of electronic banking, please make sure your 9-digit member number is on your check. This is the number on your dues card. If you're still not sure, call me. Thank You.

Now to those that have not paid their dues for 2015 & 2016: Prior to ordering our dues run I will have no choice but to suspend you from the Valley. We gave you the time required by the Supreme Council Constitution. I contacted you by letter. Our Retention Committee contacted you. Nothing more can be said. Once you are suspended, you will no longer be a Scottish Rite Mason. If you wish to come back after that, you will be required to pay two years dues.

For those that haven't paid their 2016 dues yet: Your bill will be for two years worth of dues. Which means you will be on our suspension list next year. You have time to pay your dues and avoid that situation even if you do it by installments. I would rather you send a dollar a day before suspending you. Seriously. If you're having financial difficulties but want to remain a Scottish Rite Mason, I want to help you make that happen. Please note that we can no longer remit dues. It's simply not affordable for the Valley to continue that practice. But. we can work out a payment plan that works for you (within limits). Call me at 215-563-1814 and lets discuss it.

Again, I have to order our dues run from the Supreme Council and they have 107 Valleys to run dues for. We'll be set into their queue and when our time comes they will run and mail out our dues billing. Please be patient. Also, please remember to return your bill with your check!

Now see? That wasn't so painful to discuss, was it?