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Character. Leadership.
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Grand Master's 2004 |
Posted by Kyle Martin
Grand Master's Class is fast approaching. For those of you
going, "Who?, Whuh? Huh?," Grand Master's Class is a packed
event filled with the best of the best that makes DeMolay
awesome!
This year, throw on your zoot suit, your gold watch chain and
mobster get up for the Roarin' 20s Texas Holdem Poker
Tournament at King David Lodge in Altoona. If you don't know
how to play Texas Holdem, we'll teach you OR you can play
BlackJack, pool or foosball. Either way you have to know the
Password of a DeMolay to get through the door!
After Friday night in the hotel, there is of course the
basketball tournament, sponsored by Za Ga Zig Shrine, where
it's chapter versus chapter. This is your chance to make up
for what might've happened back at the Tailgate Football
tournament or at Grand Master's last year.
After the ballin' is done and a champion is crowned, Iowa
DeMolay gets down to some serious business, the initiation.
This is not just any usual initiation you might see at a
chapter meeting or even other state events. This is the best
initiation all year! Some of the parts are given by All Star
ritual champions so you know you are getting the best. Why do
we compile the best ritualists in all the state for this one
event, you ask? For the Grand Master of Masons in Iowa, Robert
(Bud) H. Erikson, of course. He is the head of the Grand Lodge
of Iowa which has generously sponsored Iowa DeMolay since its
beginning. It's important that the Masonic bodies who help us
are treated to the best we have to offer.
Between degrees, a banquet dinner will be held. During the
dinner, tall trophies will be awarded to basketball tournament
champions by the Potentate of our tournament sponsors, Za Ga
Zig Shrine.
When the degrees have concluded, the State Officers will
present possibly the best membership awards Iowa DeMolay has
ever handed out. For more information on Swords and Shields
1314, check out iowademolay.org.
You may wonder what the 1314 in the membership program is for.
All you need to know about that is June 5th and 6th. The rest
will be explained in a promo video shown exclusively at Grand
Master's Class.
The cost is 45 dollars which includes the Poker Night, sweet
Prizes, a stay in a Hotel, the Basketball Tournament, the
Awesome Degrees, a Grand Banquet Dinner and any other shiny
things you might win throughout the weekend.
Now that you know what Grand Master's Class is, go out and get
some prospects, get your basketball teams together, practice
your cards and get ready to roll to Des Moines! Maybe you'll
bring home a trophy. Maybe you'll bring home something else a
little sharper around the edges. Maybe all you'll bring home
is some memories, but you will know that you've experienced
the best at Grand Master's Class 2003!.
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Installations |
Posted by Brandon Stone
This April has something really special about it that most
DeMolays don't realize. There is a lot of installations this
April. Installations are very important because it is the
marking of change. When you have your installation you
typically have a large number of people but usually the only
DeMolays there are the DeMolays that are getting installed to
the new offices in that chapter. This is very discouraging
because no chapter could be great without other chapters
helping them in certain ways to take DeMolay to a new level.
Theirs more to an installation than just members getting new
offices. Installations are were we can all talk to one another
afterwards and give ideas, comments, and a lot of jokes. I
guess that what I think is that the reason that some people
see installations as boring is because the people that you see
there are either masons, parents, advisors, SO's, or Shane.
There is however a very easy solution to this problem and that
is simply to go to installations for other chapters, see what
makes them great and get to know the members of that chapter.
You shouldn't really be limited to seeing other chapters only
at state events.
The best thing about attending other chapters installations is
that they will probably want to attend yours someday to see
what your like. So if your feeling lucky this month and you
happen to have a weekend free here are a list of some of the
installations that are going on this month.
Altoona Installation on April 4, 2004 @ 2 P.M.
Cyclone Installation on April 17, 2004
Cedar Falls Installation on April 18, 2004
If you have any Questions, Comments, or concerns about these
please email me at stonermc2003@hotmail.com or log onto
iowademolay.org on the internet and check out the interactive
calendar.
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Cedar Rapids
Invitational Kicked Wumpuss (and GREATLY so...) |
Posted by Carl Todd
On March 20th,many vibrant, trigger happy youths made their
presence known in Cedar Rapids,Iowa with virulent war cries
abounding. On the far-flung fields of the future, in a place
known as Halo, there was battle to be done. Adrenaline ran
high, and ice water coursed through people's veins as they
braced themselves for combat.
The Cedar Rapids Invitational was a great success. Teams from
around the state, full of enthusiasts, attended a half-day
Halo tournament hosted by Cedar Rapids Chapter, # 10. The
tournament was a double elimination bracket, and very intense
capture the flag games, pitting some of the best players
around against each other. The games were a lot of fun,
according to even the most terrible teams...
Teams competed from Cedar Rapids, which had four, Boon, which
sent three, and Allen Chapter and James A. Guest which each
sent a team of their own. After many hours of delightful
carnage, pizza consumption, and uproarious game play a victor
emerged. Placing second was # 10's A-Team, and placing a
glorious first was the best of the Boonies. Man, you should
have seen those Booners go at it. It was a close race for many
teams, and as such, no single individual could be singled out
as the MVP. There was, however, one individual award
presented.
Far surpassing the other competitors in his excellent
performance, Paul Grabau was the only one winning an
individual award. It was decided from upon high, that his
exceptional abilities should be recognized. While some people
lay claim to being excellent snipers or flag runners, and
others to their agile melee abilities, their teams still need
men like Paul Grabau, men who areexceptionally skilled at
falling on grenades and eating lead for their teammates. Paul,
we hail the noble martyr, and were honored to present you with
a pound of sausage in reward to the greatest meat-shield there
ever was.
This event really did separate the hardcore DeMolays from the
boys, and C.R. Chapter, #10 has already decided that the
invitational will be an annual event, especially due to it's
successfulness.
Oh, and by the way, just in case you were wondering how good
it really was, allow us to just say this, "Fun was had by
all..." |
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