Brethren I have much pleasure in submitting my report, which covers the period since our last Provincial Grand meeting.We have been very fortunate to bounce back from the previous 2 years to the extent that our membership figures are just above prepandemic membership numbers. This might be due to the fact, that we started our meetings shortly after restrictions were lifted.
Whilst the first few meetings’ brethren were somewhat cautious about returning, we soon resumed back to normal practice and attendance levels. During this period, we have inducted 7 brethren into the order, as well as conducting several Princes Degrees and installation meetings. We also have 4 brethren waiting to be inducted, these will be carried out in due course.
I strongly encourage every brother to make an effort to recruit new members into the order. There is information to assist you, in terms of booklets and I would suggest you direct people to the website, where there is further information. As I always say, after passing this information on to the perspective candidate, don’t forget to follow-up with a phone call and answer any questions they may have.
Today we have with us many honoured guests from all over the Country, which I had much pleasure in introducing them to you all earlier. I have visited many of the Provinces represented here today, to which I was shown great hospitality and friendship, which has made my visits enjoyable and rewarding. I strongly encourage all Provincial Officers to make every effort to visit other Provinces.
I can assure you that you will be made to feel welcome and enjoy the experience. At the ELJ Smith Conclave, which is our Supreme Rulers Conclave, this year we will be performing a Ceremony of Mourning to honour Brethren who have been called to higher service. You do not have to be a member of that Conclave to attend the Ceremony of Mourning. For those of you who have not seen this Ceremony performed, it is well worth attending and it gives us the opportunity to pay our respects to departed Brethren. I always think that it is a very thought-provoking Ceremony, please attend if you can.
The Order of the Scarlet Cord, out sister order, is going from strength to strength. At present, I believe, around 70% of our members also belong to the Scarlet Cord. We will continue to encourage members of the Order of the Secret Monitor to seriously think about joining. As we all know their membership relies entirely on the members of the OSM. You will find the ceremonies are very interesting. If you would like further information, you can contact their Provincial Grand Recorder, Chris Eley and I am sure, he will be pleased to assist you. At the last Provincial meeting we approved donations to the Mark Benevolent Fund, Motor Neurone Society, as well as the Princess Alice Hospice. I contacted the Hospice, who invited me to take a tour of the Hospice, which was very interesting, and they had various projects on the go. Towards the end of the tour, I presented them with a cheque for £500, to which they were very grateful. I believe that this will be used towards upgrading one of the wards. All the staff do a marvellous job in making the patients feel as comfortable as possible. We held our long awaited OSM Dinner & Dance in November. This was an outstanding success; all 160 tickets were sold. It is a very enjoyable and fun party night, as well as giving us the opportunity to raise money for charity. It was so successful, that we managed to raise £1,600 and I decided that this money was shared by the three nominated charities, once again I visited the Hospice and presented them with a further cheque of approximately £530.
We will be holding another OSM Dinner & Dance this year and we have moved it to December 10th at the Reigate Manor Hotel. Tickets are selling out fast! The last time I heard, there were 140 sold, so, if you are thinking of attending, please get in touch with Alan Brockwell to secure your tickets. Today’s meeting would not have been possible without the excellent assistance from Len Hayward, Nigel Thomson, Peter Dack, Ian Bloodworth and Roger Short, as well as the Officers who stood in for those Provincial Officers who were unable to attend. Brethren once again, I thank you for your attendance today and for listening to my report. I look forward to your company at the reception and festive board.
Keep well and safe and may the almighty friend of all friends be with us all.
Colin M Beerling
Provincial Grand Supreme Ruler
11th June 2022
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