MW Thomas Watson, Grand Master of South Carolina, Passes Away

by Christopher Hodapp

Most Worshipful Brother Thomas 'Tommy' E. Watson, the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge AFM of South Carolina, passed away unexpectedly at his home on Monday. A message was forwarded to members yesterday by Deputy Grand Master A.C. "Acey" Flora, IV. 

Brethren are asked to keep his family in their prayers.

Grand Master Watson was elected in 2025. Presumably, DGM Flora will now assume the duties of the office until the next annual meeting of the Grand Lodge. 

(NOTE: This story has been corrected. It previously stated GM Watson was elected to a two-year term of office. South Carolina's tradition is that a GM is elected for one year, and generally re-elected to a second consecutive term. I regret my misunderstanding.)

From GM Watson's biography on the Grand Lodge website:

Thomas Evans Watson was born November 17, 1952, in Greer, S.C. to the late Rev. Choice and Grace Watson of Duncan, S.C. He has one sister, Peggy, and two brothers, Billy and Bradley.He has four children, six grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

He was educated in the public schools in New Orleans, La. and in Spartanburg County District Five. He graduated from James F. Byrnes High school in 1971. He attended the Baptist College of Charleston (Charleston Southern).

He served in the United States Air Force from 1972 to 1976 during the Viet Nam era where he was an electronics technician on the B-52 Stratofortress. He was promoted to the rank of Sgt in 1974.He was named Base Airman of the Month at Lowery AFB in January 1973. He was stationed at Robbins AFB in Ga. and Anderson AFB in Guam.

He entered law enforcement in 1977 with the Duncan Police. In 1981 he was appointed Chief of Police for the Town of Lyman. In 1983 he became Director of Public Safety for the town of Lyman. In 1990 he was hired as the Chief of Police for the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, where he served during the 9-11 crisis. He retired from Law Enforcement in 2011. He served as the President of the South Carolina Police Chiefs’ Association in 2002.

He was trained as a grief counselor with the National Organization of Victims assistance in early 2001 and was deployed to Ground Zero in September 2001 to assist the NY-NJ Ports Authority Police.

He was elected Mayor for the City of Wellford in 2011 where he served one term.

He was initiated, passed, and raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason in 1978 at Irving Southworth Lodge #350 in Lyman South Carolina. He served his Lodge as Master in 1984 and 2016. He Was appointed District Deputy Grand Master of the 21st Masonic District by Most Worshipful Grand Master Ron Mitchum in 2006 and was re-appointed by Most Worshipful Grand Master Gerald Carver in 2007. He served as Masonic Education Committeeman for the 19th 20th and 21st Masonic Districts from 2012-2017 and Grand Marshal from 2017 to 2019.He was elected Junior Grand Warden in April 2019, Senior Grand April 2021, Deputy Grand Master 2023, and was Elected Most Worshipful Grand Master in 2025.
In 2017 he was presented with the second highest award in masonry in SC, the Fredrick Dalco certificate of Merit, by Most Worshipful Brother Michael D. Smith Sr. In 2019 he received the Albert Gallatin Mackey Medal, the highest masonic award in South Carolina.

He received his degrees in the York Rite of Free Masonry and was knighted as a Knights Templar on September 10. 2007. He is a member of Chicora Chapter # 33 where he served as Excellent High Priest in 2013, Blake council # 19 where he served as Illustrious Master in 2014 and Spartanburg Commandry #3 where he served as Eminent Commander in 2015. He was appointed District Deputy Grand Commander for the 4th District in 2016.

He is a member of the Spartan Council #153 AMD where he served as Sovereign Master. He is a member of the Sam Womack chapter # 20 of the Knight Masons, Piedmont York Right College #84, and Super Excellent Master of Aiken Council # 23. He was inducted into the Order of the Red Cross of Constantine in 2017.

Tommy is a member of the Lyman Chapter of the Order of the Eastern star where he served as Worthy Patron.
He received the Royal Order of Scotland in 2016.

He received his degrees in the Palmetto Forest No. 206 Tall Cedars of Lebanon of North America in 2017.

Tommy is a Noble of the Hejaz Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He served as President of Mid-City Shrine Club in 1986.

He received the Masonic Order of Althalstan on June 22, 2019.

He received his degrees in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite in 1985. He was honored with the Rank and Decoration of a Knight Commander of the Court of Honor in 2009 and was crowned as a 33rd Degree Inspector General honorary in 2015. He served Spartanburg Valley in many capacities, but his favorite was being the Americanism Chairman, where he ensures that the ROTC and JROTC awards are given with Pride and dignity.
​
He was inducted into the South Carolina South Carolina College Societas Rosicruciana In Civitatibus on October 29, 2022.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.

His column is broken, and his brethren mourn.

Requiescat in Pace

Cuban Freemasons Oust Grand Master in Called Session

Grand Lodge of Cuba in Havana

by Christopher Hodapp

The Grand Lodge of Cuba is in what the English used to call a right old bloody mess. First, their former Grand Master, Mario Alberto Urquía Carreño, was arrested last September under accusations of fraud, in collaboration with the former Grand Treasurer, Airam Cervera Reigosa. After an extensive audit of the Grand Lodge finances, Carreño and Reigosa may have ultimately embezzled more than US$20,000 using forged documents, along with making off with another US$19,000 in cash from an office safe. The thefts were discovered in January 2024, he was soon expelled by the Supreme Council (the Scottish Rite) in Cuba, but he refused to step down from his Grand Master position amid shouts of "Traitor! Usurper! Out thief!" at the annual meeting of the Grand Lodge in March 2024. After he finally left the meeting hall, he was unanimously replaced by Mayker Filema Duarte as the new Grand Master until proper elections could be held in March of this year. 

Former Grand Master Mario Alberto Urquía Carreño (Photo: Cubanet)

At that time, Carreño was seen by most Masons in Cuba as being a hand-picked puppet, illegally imposed on them by the state's security forces. Despite the charges of conspiracy and embezzlement against him last year, the Communist government's Ministry of Justice (MINJUS) ordered him reinstated and restored as Grand Master in June. But by August, the criminal charges against him could no longer be dodged, and he resigned as Grand Master, handing the purple apron over to Mayker Filema Duarte. 

Cuban Masons didn't like that choice, either, as Duarte was seen as a buddy of Carreño and just one more narc for the state security service. Duarte was supposed to hold general elections in March of this year, but postponed them until May 25th. That date came, but Duarte decided to cancel the elections altogether and remain in the Grand East until further notice. Making the situation even dicier, Duarte's actions were supported by the Communist Party of Cuba and the MINJUS, despite the fact that he was in violation of the Grand Lodge's internal rules. And that's when the rank and file Masons collectively yelled, "Hold my Cuba Libra," and the gathering turned into an ugly hockey game brawl.

Last Sunday it was reported that Grand Master Duarte has now been removed from his position after refusing to hold the grand lodge elections. Duarte was booted after 121 members of the Grand Lodge and 117 representatives of lodges around the country held a special called session in Havana. According to at least one source, Duarte had ordered the closure of all the Grand Lodge's facilities, prompting the Freemasons to gather outside the theater while government security officers observed and recorded their activities.

Cuban Masons held an impromptu called meeting outside of the
Grand Lodge after Grand Master Duarte closed the building down. Photo: Cubanet

The current Deputy Grand Master Juan Alberto Kessel Linares was named as the new sitting Grand Master by the assembled brethren until a called meeting for general elections can be held in September. 

Duarte and his grand officers did not attend the sidewalk session.

A Mason interviewed by Cubanet considered the event historic and said that they made the decision to oust Duarte after exhausting all legal avenues.

"We tried, through all legal means, even unconventional ones, to assert our will and respect our legislation, but Filema refused to do so. Their lack of respect became evident and, worse still, MINJUS, far from ensuring proper conduct, actually supported it and fostered an unnecessary confrontation. We, the Cuban Freemasons, are the rightful owners of this Institution and we must, above all else, adhere to our oaths and the current legislation. If the government wants to dominate us, we will not allow it,"

From the article on Cibercuba.com:

[Duarte] had suspended the session of the High Masonic Chamber (the legislative body of the institution) in which elections for the senior positions of the Lodge were to take place in previous weeks.

With that precedent, which, according to a report from Cubanet, extended its "dictatorship" and "the illegality within the Institution", the Freemasons decided to enforce justice.

A decree obtained by that media outlet revealed that Filema Duarte claimed that the "conditions to resume the suspended session on March 23 were not guaranteed."

In the text, he justified suspending the meeting to prevent alleged "scandals that transcend public life" and "further damage the already tarnished image of our Institution."

Previously, he warned about "personal threats" against him and announcements of "vandalistic behaviors with publicity from independent media." He believed that such acts were "inappropriate" for Freemasons and aimed to discredit the institution.

Filema Duarte was elected as Grand Master following the resignation of Mario Urquía Carreño, amid a corruption case involving the misappropriation of thousands of dollars and over 4 million pesos from the Lodge.

However, although the High Chamber established a six-month term for the position, until the holding of general elections, the Grand Master suspended the agreed-upon session.

Cubanet revealed that the Freemasons handed over documents and evidence to the Ministry of Justice to demonstrate the illegality committed by Filema Duarte in refusing to hold elections. However, Miriam García, director of Associations at MINJUS, did not address the complaint and supported the [actions of Duarte].

Making matters worse (if that's possible), while the large Grand Lodge headquarters building in Havana looks impressive, as though it's packed with Masonic occupants, it is, in reality, packed with government offices and officials who rent space in the building. Government officials frequently sit quite openly in Masonic meetings to observe their activities. It will be curious to see whether the Masons will prevail at electing and disciplining their own governing officers, or if the government forces them to knuckle under and keep Duarte on the throne of Solomon.

Freemasonry in Cuba has a peculiar relationship with their Communist Party that's quite unlike anywhere else in the Communist world. Most Communist regimes have banned Masonic organizations completely, dating back to the Russian Revolution in the early 20th century. But when Cuba's revolutionary leader Fidel Castro was fighting anti-Communist forces on the island in the 1950s, he was given aid and comfort by several groups of Masons there. Some have claimed that he was allowed to hide out in Masonic halls. 

After the Batista government was toppled and Castro came to power in 1959, Masonry was one of very few private organizations permitted to operate behind closed doors, and he never forgot the assistance they gave him during those early days. Which is partially why their Havana office tower got so many government tenants over the subsequent decades. But it also makes it quite easy for the government to keep a careful watch over their internal affairs.

According to fairly recent figures, there are currently 327 lodges in the country and a total of 48,000 Cuban Freemasons. Of these, only about 20,000 remain within the island, representing an exodus of more than 50% of registered Masons.

It should be said that, while the Grand Lodge of Cuba is perfectly legitimate in origin and satisfies most of the most common requirements of recognition with the regular Masonic world, it was kicked out of the Conference of Grand Masters of North America (COGMNA) in 1962 because it was openly being used as a tool of the Cuban government. 

More than 60 years later, it would appear that little has changed in that regard.

Utah Past Grand Master Gerald Everett Expelled

by Christopher Hodapp

The assembled members of the Grand Lodge F&AM of Utah have voted to expel Gerald J. Everett, Past Grand Master, from Freemasonry. 

In a letter dated Monday, it was reported that Everett appealed a conviction by his lodge to the Grand Master, and Utah's Grievances & Appeals Committee reviewed his case. At the 153rd Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Utah, the Chairman of the Grievance and Appeals Committee presented the charges, the verdict, and the results of their own investigation. The Grand Lodge subsequently voted overwhelmingly to uphold the decision of the Lodge Trial Commission. Effective immediately, he is expelled from the fraternity and is no longer entitled to the rights and privileges of the fraternity. (CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE)

Gerald Everett served as Grand Master of Utah in 2015. No details of the case were made available, which is not uncommon in Masonic trial proceedings.

Grand Master Cuts Off DeMolay From Arizona Freemasons

by Christopher Hodapp

In an edict issued on Monday, MW Michael Dale, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Arizona, cut off the Masonic-related youth group DeMolay International from Arizona Freemasonry. (Click the image above to enlarge)

In his edict, GM Dale (photo at left) - a 27-year veteran of the Marine Corps -  gives no explanation apart from it being due to "the Grand Master's and the Arizona DeMolay State Association's loss of faith and trust in DeMolay International and the Arizona DeMolay Foundation."

The edict reads as follows:

Due to the Grand Master's and the Arizona DeMolay State Association's loss of faith and trust in DeMolay International and the Arizona DeMolay Foundation, effective as of this date, no Mason under the jurisdiction of The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Arizona will be a part of, participate in or sponsor any part of DeMolay International, the Arizona DeMolay Foundation or the Arizona DeMolay State Association or any other DeMolay associated organization.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available. (Note the August 15, 2024 date is incorrect and was probably left in error from a previously used letter. The edict really was issued Monday.)

Grand Master Morrow of Grand Lodge of Scotland Abruptly Resigns

by Christopher Hodapp

The Grand Master Mason of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, RW D. Joseph J. Morrow, resigned unexpectedly on Wednesday, according to a message circulated to lodge secretaries and posted on their website.  

According to messages on Redditt, GM Morrow is currently traveling abroad. The message gave no explanation beyond "personal reasons" for his abrupt departure.

From the official announcement:

The Grand Master Mason, Brother Dr Joseph J. Morrow, has resigned, for personal reasons.

We would like to thank him most sincerely for his great work and outstanding service within Freemasonry throughout many years and wish him well for the future.

Dr Morrow, currently on holiday abroad, has decided to withdraw from all of his commitments to The Scottish Craft.

In the interim, Immediate Past Grand Master, Brother W. Ramsay McGhee, will preside over the forthcoming Regular Communication of Grand Lodge on Thursday 31st October 2024. This will also include the nomination and election of Grand Office-bearers for the coming year.

Despite these changes, Grand Lodge will ensure our support for Freemasons at home and overseas will continue as normal. 

Immediate Past Grand Master, W. Ramsay McGhee

 

2024 Conference of Grand Master Masons of North America Opens in Seattle

by Christopher Hodapp

The Conference of Grand Master Masons of North America (more affectionately known as COGMNA) officially kicks off its annual meeting in Seattle, Washington today. It's an opportunity for regular, recognized grand masters in our end of the Masonic world to meet each other and learn from each others' successes, failures, programs, catastrophes, and more.

The Conference is being held at the Seattle Westin Hotel and will continue through Wednesday.

Membership in the Conference currently consists of the 52 state or "mainstream" grand lodges of  the United States of America, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico; the 10 Provinces of Canada; the State of York, Mexico; and the American-Canadian Grand Lodge of Germany, representing some 2 million Freemasons in North America. It's the largest such confederation of regular Masons in the world.

If you're new to the fraternity, you may not have heard of this gathering, but it's not really designed for the edification of rank and file Masons. Grand masters, deputy grands and grand secretaries all have responsibilities and situational issues that can really only be understood and intelligently discussed with other grands and past grands. In addition, COGMNA is also where programs from other jurisdictions get talked about, and often spread throughout the Masonic world. And I'd be less than candid if I didn't mention that it's also where fads occasionally get started in Masonry. One-day classes, CHIPS programs, bikes-for-books projects, the adoption of grand lodge computer services like Grandview and Amity, the founding of the Masonic Service Association, even the beginnings of Prince Hall recognition and the national support to build and maintain the George Washington National Masonic Memorial – they all came out of presentations made at COGMNAs of the past. 

One of the highlights of the Conference each year is the report of the Commission for Information on Recognition. The Commission is charged with investigating questions of regularity between grand lodges and issuing their own findings in a summary. Individual grand lodges often receive requests for recognition from different grand lodges all over the world. More often than not, it's difficult for every single grand lodge to have the resources or ability to investigate the history, practices and regularity of faraway jurisdictions, especially if they don't provide sufficient background documentation in English to make a judgement. It's also quite common for there to have been a schism in a foreign country that results in rival grand lodges, both claiming proper regular origin. The Commission has no enforcement powers, it doesn't settle disputes, and it doesn't tell your grand lodge who they can or can't recognize as regular. They merely investigate and make a determination as to the regularity of a grand lodge in question (or the lack of regularity, as the case may be). But most grand lodges in the Conference respect their findings.

You'll find the Commission's previous annual reports since 2004 online HERE.

Masonic Grand Secretaries have their own unique sets of problems, concerns, solutions and success stories, so they hold their own conference-within-a-conference at COGMNA – in case you're wondering why your state's grand lodge office seems so empty next week. Everybody's in Seattle.

(And in case you were thinking of asking, grand masters of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Affiliated (PHA) grand lodges have their own Conference of Grand Masters that's been held each year since 1909.)

Just to trumpet our Indiana team's presence, our longtime grand secretary, MW Richard Elman, PGM (2004-05) has been the president of the Conference of Grand Secretaries for many, many years. Our current grand master, MW Gary Brinley will also be speaking at one of the sessions.  And MW Roger VanGorden PGM (2002-003) is heavily involved with the Masonic Renewal Committee and will be giving their presentation on Sunday afternoon. (Last year, Roger was also named as the Scottish Rite NMJ's "Active" Deputy representing Indiana on the Supreme Council.) 

And just to round out the list of influential Indiana grand masters in leadership positions within their various Conferences, MW Eugene Anderson, Jr., Past Grand Master of the MW Prince Hall Grand Lodge F&AM of Indiana, is the president this year of the Conference of Prince Hall Grand Masters, which will be held May 15-19 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

UPDATE: Texas GM Smith Ignores Trustees and Removes Grand Secretary From Office

by Christopher Hodapp

Just a few days after The Texas Masons For Truth website reported on a failed attempt to remove Grand Secretary Justin Duty (photo above) from office at a called meeting of the Grand Lodge Trustees, Texas Grand Master G. Clay Smith apparently has now decided to ignore that Trustee vote and just go it alone.

The following story appeared today:

Information is fluid, but it is currently our understanding that Grand Master G. Clay Smith has removed Grand Secretary Justin Duty from office and instructed him to turn over his keys and passwords. A Form 1 has been filed and the Grand Master is expected to accept the charges. 

 

G:M: G. Clay Smith is taking these actions supposedly based on the issue of payroll deductions. The payroll company forgot to deduct for benefits in [Duty's paycheck], which was resolved and paid for last February.

We expect to hear about Grand Treasurer Rick Townsend’s removal in the coming days.

One source tells me that Townsend's office may have missed a due date for some sort of payment earlier in the year, and that this will be the justification for bringing Masonic charges against him.

Back in March, Smith had ordered an extensive audit of the Grand Secretary and Grand Treasurer, zeroing in on a fundraising event from 2022: proceeds came from the sale of a special limited batch of whisky that had been donated to the Grand Lodge for this purpose. According to the information surrounding the event, all sales were conducted outside of the purview of the Grand Lodge and were not held on Masonic property. It was conducted in strict compliance with Grand Lodge law and the laws of the State of Texas. GM Smith's investigation (conducted by just two members of the Finance Committee) found no errors or impropriety on the part of either office.

It's looking more and more certain that the 2024 annual communication of the Grand Lodge of Texas is going to be a grotesque bloodbath come January. None of this will be any good for Texas Freemasonry. A faction in the Grand Lodge regards Immediate Past Grand Master Brad Billings and the brethren who supported him last year as nothing but a noisy group of "frat boys" whose influence on the membership must be rubbed out at any cost. Billings has made his intentions of running for Grand Secretary this year known, and Justin Duty had intended to run for Grand Junior Warden. 

The trouble is that Billings and his team successfully brought new enthusiasm and positivism to Texas Masonry in 2022 that few others have in recent years, and their supporters aren't likely to just fade away. Removal from office, suspensions, expulsions – these types of actions frequently backfire when they're attempted, and martyrs have a funny way of outlasting their tormentors.

Texas: Attempt To Remove Grand Secretary Fails

by Christopher Hodapp

Backroom intrigues continue in the Grand Lodge of Texas as their annual communication approaches in January. The Texas Masons For Truth website is reporting on an unsuccessful attempt by current Grand Master G. Clay Smith and Deputy GM H. Bart Henderson to remove Grand Secretary Justin Duty from office prior to their annual meeting.

During the weekend of the Texas Grand Chapter and Grand Council annual gatherings, a closed-door meeting of the Grand Lodge Trustees was called by GM Smith to accuse the Grand Secretary of mismanaging his office, and to remove him from his administrative duties. A majority vote of the Trustees is required to do so.

According to the website story:

Multiple Masons reported shouting coming from the room. At one point, RW Duty was seen waiting outside the room, presumably because they were voting on the matter of removing him.

G:M: Smith is not acting alone. P:G:M Reese Harrison and Bro. Russell Brown are reported to have requested G:S: Duty’s removal after an audit found benefits not deducted from G:S: Duty’s paycheck. This clerical error was corrected as soon as it was discovered.

While Masonic political allegiances change, it appears the relationship between G:M: Smith and D:G:M: Henderson has remained strong throughout this year. With G:S: Duty outside the door, the remaining Trustees would have been the G:M: Smith, D:G:M: Henderson, G:S:W: Raborn Reader, G:J:W: Jim Rumsey, and Grand Treasurer Richard Townsend. 

 

G:S:W: Reader, G:J:W: Rumsey, and G:T: Townsend must have voted against for [the] removal to fail, but we are still gathering details.

We are acutely aware certain Past Grand Masters have continued to work behind closed doors to undermine the will of the Grand West.* 

• P:G:M: Terry Stogner, as seen handing charges to the Grand Master during an open installation of Grand Lodge,
• P:G:M: Wendell Miller, as a member of Brooklyn Lodge where the charges against P:G:M: [Brad] Billings were filed, and
• P:G:M: Paul Underwood, known to be conducting off-the-record investigations at the request of G:M: Smith

* The Grand West is an unusual term used by Texas Freemasons to describe the assembled voting members of their Grand Lodge when assembled.

What's behind all this smellodrama? It seems that Grand Secretary Justin Duty has the intention of running for election as Grand Junior Warden in January, and is seen by many as being aligned with Past Grand Master Brad Billings and current Grand Junior Warden Jim Rumsey. Billings himself is also rumored to be running for the Grand Secretary's position. So the political maneuvering this year has been an ongoing scheme to prevent the "Billings team" from even coming up for a vote.

I suspect that, if one were to poll all of the men who voluntarily demitted from Texas Freemasonry in the past year, you'd likely find that a large swath of them would tell you they left because of the ongoing political infighting and backstabbing going on within the officers of their Grand Lodge. Texas politics have long had an ugly reputation for viciousness – precisely the sort of thing that shouldn't be going on within Freemasonry. And the longer these attempts to subvert the vote of their members go on behind closed doors, the more collateral damage will be suffered by the fraternity as a whole.

There's a good reason why many grand lodge jurisdictions don't permit nominations from the floor and don't permit actually "running for office." Politicking always leads to factionalism. In many jurisdictions, a sitting grand master (or committee) appoints a man to the bottom of the grand lodge line and he advances through the chairs, just as in a Masonic lodge. Over the course of the next 5 to 7 years, long range plans have continuity, men grow into the job (or drop the ball) with several years that permit removal if he's just not leadership material or can't handle the time commitment. Sure, allegations of cronyism arise over appointments and the seemingly un-democratic election process. But I think I'll take that over these kinds of ugly backroom battles and political allegiances. Masons who occupy the dark squares of the tessellated floor eventually move on (or pass on), but they leave way too much blood on the carpet on their way out.

(Photo: Shutterstock)

Grand Master Shuts Down Job's Daughters in Michigan

by Christopher Hodapp

The Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan, MW Leonard K. Davis, has just issued an official edict that revokes all support and association with Job’s Daughters International, a Masonic-related youth group for girls within his jurisdiction. 

Edict 2022-2 reads, in part:

That no Master Mason within the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Michigan can or will be allowed any office, station or place within any Guardian Council, Grand Guardian Council or Supreme Guardian Council, nor will any Michigan Mason be allowed to sponsor, advise, or associate with in any way Jobs Daughters International. Further, No Jobs Daughters International Bethels are allowed to meet in any Michigan Masonic Centers, Buildings, Halls or Temples. Further [sic], the Grand Lodge of Michigan nor any of its subsidiary corporations or lodges are allowed to financially support Jobs Daughters International. This edict will remain in place until such time as it is removed by the Grand Lodge of Michigan.”

 (Click images to enlarge, or view online at https://michiganmasons.org/news-events/)

The landing page of the Michigan Job's Daughters Grand Bethel has been scrubbed of information and directs all questions to their secretary. 

Some background: Job’s Daughters International is a Masonic Youth Group for girls, headquartered in Papillon, Nebraska.  When it was founded in the early 20th century, the organization required a girl to have a Masonic family relationship or sponsor, but that qualification was dropped several years ago. Job's is an international organization with individual chapters called ‘bethels’ in the US, Canada, Brazil, the Philippines and Australia. It is unique amongst the Masonic youth groups in that the adult leaders at all levels are elected and term limited. Based on the number of bethels in a state, some have their own elected Grand Bethel (daughters) and Grand Guardian Council (adults) that are in charge of running the state, while others simply fall under the international Supreme Guardian Council’s jurisdiction with a person designated by that body to oversee their the state.

There is a youth protection program run by the Job's Board of Trustees (who are also elected), and any adult involved with children must complete a background check and be a Certified Adult Volunteer (CAV). If there is an incident reported, there is supposed to be an investigation, and an appeals process is in place.

In Michigan recently there was an incident that resulted in one adult’s CAV designation being revoked; in this incident it was claimed an adult physically struck a child, there was a CAV violation report filed by an uninvolved party. But according to multiple sources, there are several witnesses who claim that the alleged event did not happen as reported (the adult is 21 and the Daughter was her own younger cousin). There was no investigation, neither the adult nor the youth were interviewed — the woman’s CAV was summarily revoked. (There have been rumblings that the complaint was filed in retribution for things that happened in the past — hard to verify in the light of flying email accounts and commentary.)

According to one insider, the Youth Protection program is specifically in place to protect members from harm, not to discipline adults for things unrelated to youth safety. Objections were immediately raised regarding not following the official process of Job’s Daughters — reportedly, the four adult leaders who questioned the process subsequently had their own CAV status revoked, including three elected state officers.

When Michigan Grand Master Davis got wind of all this rumpus, he requested a meeting with the state and national Job’s leadership. They reportedly agreed to meet, but never showed up. For whatever reason, they simply chose not to respond after that, and, according to sources, even dodged him at the Conference of Grand Masters in Alexandria, Virginia last month.

Two male members of the international Supreme Guardian Council were Michigan Masons, and the Grand Master apparently declared that if the Supreme Guardian Council wouldn’t meet with him, they would be suspended. He apparently asked for a review of the decisions and an assurance that they were made in accordance with their own internal policy. 

In the face of all this, the Supreme Guardian Council suspended the charter of the Grand Guardian Council of Michigan two weeks ago, eliminating all the elected officers of Michigan Job’s Daughters, both adults and youths.  According to the letter, if a state Grand Bethel is dissolved, its property and management reverts to the Supremes.

Supreme Guardian Maureen Wise issued a letter incorrectly claiming the GM had suspended these two Masons on March 13th, and that he had issued an "edict" that hadn't actually happened yet. (Click document below to enlarge)

For Michigan’s Job’s Daughters' charter to be returned, the Supreme Guardian demanded the Grand Master of Masons in Michigan revoke his "edict" in writing. Additionally, all appeals filed in accordance with the youth protection plan must be withdrawn, as should any filed lawsuits. 

Grand Master Davis responded to Wise's letter on March 20th, laying out the chain of events as he knew them, and contradicting much of what she had claimed:

Obviously, his questions and demands were not met over the last week, hence his very real edict issued today.

Unfortunately, when a youth group’s so-called adult leadership begins acting worse than a bunch of splenetic teenagers at a vindictive dodgeball grudge match, the children they’re supposed to be guiding and mentoring wind up the only real losers. No grand master anywhere wants to have a noisy internal donnybrook going on in his jurisdiction, especially when it’s in an appendant, concordant or other related organization. When these fights get escalated, it would be wise for appendant leaders to remember that GMs always hold the winning hand in their state and can kick the whole poker table over. Ignoring his communications is the quickest way to have that happen.