OV Report - Alderwood & Floral, Aug 17, 2009

(WP Bob's Count) 98 members enjoyed a wonderful official visit from WGM Marge Ramsdell with WGP Dennis Okicich to Alderwood and Floral Chapters on Monday, August 17th. The Grand Officers and most of the sideliners were decked out in Hawaiian attire to keep cool.

WM Darylyn Phraner and WP Tom Busby lead the Alderwood officers in opening the Chapter and introductions. Then WM Donna Miles and WP Bob Gates took over and presided while Floral Chapter officers did the Examination of a Visitor and closing.

WM Darylyn gave a wonderful response to open the meeting - worthy of repeating here with her permission:

This meeting tonight is brought to you by the letters R & E together and the number 0.

Relax, Review, Regroup. This was told to me by a customer service representative I was speaking with to whom I had related some tales of woe concerning our son’s upcoming wedding…this Saturday BTW. Relax, Review, Regroup. This instantly resonated with me as a reflection of our order and my feeling on how we can rebound.

First we need to relax. We need to remember we are here for fellowship, friendship and fun. Ritual is beautiful but it can also be fun if you take the time to practice, teach a new member or just…

Review. Everything can look different if you see it with new eyes. How long has it been since you sat on the sidelines of a Rainbow, Job’s Daughter’s or DeMolay meeting. Our young adults hold all of us in high regard and they are our future and this is the best place to recruit new members. When is the last time you recommended Eastern Star to your friends? If you make your remarks pleasant and fun they just might want to spend some time with you and us in our beautiful order.

Regroup. This is what we must do to survive. As the world changes we must too. That doesn’t mean throwing out our ritual or traditions but revamping what we do. Retiring traditions from which the world and technology have moved on, Rescuing those things that we cannot live without. It is restoring respect. It is our responsibility to repair, replenish and represent our order.

You may think my response lacks reflection. But just because we have always done it that way does not make us ready for this new world. If we make it real we can rebound and a stronger revitalized order will be our reward.

And just so you are not left wondering there are 40 Re’s in this response.

The number 40 ends in a zero. A simple beautiful symbol that alone stands for nothing but when brought together with any other number makes that number greater and stronger. We need to find our zeros and bring them into Eastern Star to make us better and stronger, and so they never again have to stand alone.

Well done, Darylyn!

Prior to the meeting the 2 Chapters held a pot luck dinner for members and the Grand Officers and afterwards there were delicious treats for all as we enjoyed the fellowship in the dining room.


Next up: OV of Amethyst and Crown Chapters, Wednesday, August 19th at West Seattle. Come out and enjoy the fun!

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