05/31/2026
One of the great privileges of being worshipful master (president) of Siloam Lodge has been being able to oversee the revival of programs like the Student of Today program. As an educator, this one is near and dear to my heart. Aside from making good men into better men, one of the main focuses of our organization is charity work and outreach in the community. It helps to enrich our lives, and hopefully, the lives of those we do it for. We recently hosted the Bethany Public Schools recipients of the award, both teachers and students, at our lodge for a spaghetti dinner and to present them with checks in recognition of all their hard work. Most of them were gracious enough to join us. It was nice to come together as different branches of the same community tree to share what we have in common.
If you or someone you know has an interest in helping us with this project or projects like it, please reach out. We’d love to hear from you! As always, our stated meetings are the first and third Tuesdays of every month, so we will be here this Tuesday, June 2nd at 6 PM for a meal. Anyone with an interest in us and what we do is welcome to join us, as always. Here is an excerpt from the speech I gave before giving out the awards as a way of explaining the award, who we are, and what we do. Oh, and by the way, thank you for all of the birthday wishes!
“Student and Teacher of Today are awards we give to individuals who we feel best reflect our Masonic values of self-improvement and public service—they’re what we are really all about. How many of you have heard some interesting conspiracy theories online or elsewhere about who we are and what we do? Well I hate to disappoint you, but we are actually much more boring than that. As Masons we like to say we “take good men and make them better.” For those men who choose to undertake this journey of being a Mason, you will find no shortcuts or quick fixes on the path to illumination and self-knowledge, but you will learn some immutable truths by which every man can make himself better.
Why are we male exclusive? Well, I tend to think we (males) need all the help we can get. Every society on earth has certain rituals whereby boys become men, but very few such rituals exist for young women. In my opinion ladies seem to pick up on a lot, more intuitively than we do. We tend to need more outward guidance on how to make ourselves better masters of ourselves and servants of those around us, and masonry is an excellent place to find that. We do offer enrichment opportunities for women as well, through groups like the Eastern Star and the Rainbow Girls. If you have any interest in any of these organizations, please reach out to us, as I cannot recommend them enough.
In our modern Internet age—now more than ever—people complain about feeling isolated and lacking community. They say they don’t have any real friends. We have had several young members come visiting us from other states who reported feeling a disconnect from society at large, and a depression within themselves as a result, both of which were thoroughly dealt with once they walked through these doors and joined our ranks. In Masonry we accept people of faith—from all walks of life and all stripes of faith—to come know and be known; to find not just friends, but Brothers. We’re not here to tell you what to believe—so long as you believe in something—we’re here to help make your beliefs (whatever they may be) meaningful and useful to you and, as a result, to those around you.
You are here to be recognized as Students and Teachers of Today because, whatever your beliefs, you have proven yourselves useful and of merit to those around you. We want to thank you for making a difference in your community—as evidenced by others taking note of your actions and nominating you for this award. And as a fellow teacher and educator, my hat is off to you.”
Special thanks to Ryan and Ray Rudebock, who truly made this all happen! Lodges need more members like you, doing the work!
