Month: December 2022

Great fun and great food at our Potluck dinner on December 29th

Gulf  Beach Masonic Lodge, located at 14020 Marguerite Dr. in Madeira Beach helped bring Holiday cheer to ten local families in need. Fifteen Masons delivered  Christmas food baskets to less fortunate families in the area. The baskets included a large ham, pies, and all the sides necessary for the most sumptuous Christmas dinner. Gulf Beach Lodge is pleased to be able to assist in making this a great holiday season for those most in need. Gulf Beach Lodge has provided Holiday baskets for over 45 years and looks forward to continuing the tradition well into the future.

Gulf Beach Lodge No. 291 donated $200 worth of personal hygiene items to the Masonic Home ‘Corky’s Cupboard’.
In 1990, Coreen “Corky” Brownell, a member of the Masonic Home Service Guild, came up with the idea to hand out sundry items and health and beauty aids to residents for no charge. She issued a request to Masonic Lodges and Chapters. Then donations started coming in from across the state.
Today, residents enjoy stopping by Corky’s Cupboard twice a week to pick up health and beauty aids they might be out of and spend a few minutes socializing. The shop is stocked with in-kind donations and run by volunteers, so there’s no charge for these items that residents might need between their shopping trips.

Freemasonry at work!! Brother Tim Delaney and his lady Traceylee, purchased Christmas gifts and cards for each resident at the Masonic Home of Florida and with assistance from Worshipful Master, Steve Johnson and Chaplain, Howard Knapp, delivered the presents to the residents Sunday morning, December 18th.

Needless to say hearts were warmed for those receiving as well as those giving!

It was a great evening of Holiday Cheer at Gulf Beach Lodge last night. The brothers, clad in festive attire, enjoyed a pizza party prior to the meeting and upon entry to the Lodge room were provided candy canes and ‘snowballs’ which were later lobbed (the snowballs, not the candy canes) at the Master (all in good fun). Here are some things that were accomplished:

** The Junior Warden, Br∴ Bobby Burkett, gave his year end meal financial report and received a resounding applause for a great job

** The Senior Warden, Br∴ Joe Sosa presented the 2023 Budget

** The Secretary, W∴ David Neville, gave a moving year end report and thanked the brothers for the support over the past 3 years

** R∴W∴ Howard Knapp reported that many PR articles have been running in the local papers

** The craft donated $200 to the Masonic Home ‘Corky’s Cupboard’ initiative.

** The craft advanced $400 to the OES for Installation refreshments on January 7th

Our Family Holiday Gathering was a great success. 31 family and friends enjoyed a wonderful ham dinner (the ham was provided by Brother Bobby Burkett) with delicious side dishes prepared by Mark Sawa-Szostak. Following the meal everyone split into 5 teams for a ginger bread house decorating contest.

Gulf Beach Masonic Lodge recently purchased $500 worth of Christmas gifts for six local children ages 3 -12 at the recent Salvation Army Angel Tree. This was done in connection with the Lodge manning the Angel Tree booth at Tyrone Mall in St. Petersburg for the fourteenth consecutive year. What a blessing it is to be able to bring joy into a child’s life. 

Gulf Beach Masonic Lodge, located at 14020 Marguerite Dr. in Madeira Beach, took part in the Salvation Army Angel Tree program for the fourteenth consecutive year at Tyrone Mall. The Angel Tree program is designed to provide holiday gifts for needy children in the community. Over nineteen members of Gulf Beach Masonic Lodge took turns manning the Angel Tree booth at the Mall on December 3rd. It was a very moving experience for the Masons to see how the community comes together to bring joy to the hearts of children this time of year. Gulf Beach Masonic Lodge is appreciative of the Salvation Army for allowing them to take part in this worthy program, and encourages other organizations and individuals to take part in this event in the future.

It was a wonderful evening of fellowship at Gulf Beach Lodge tonight, here is what transpired.

• The OES prepared a wonderful beef stew for the meal prior to the meeting
• The lodge donated $500 for the purchase of Christmas gifts for needy children
• The lodge donated $900 for the purchase of the Bengston Holiday Food baskets
• Cards were passed around for our sick and distressed brothers
• The following brothers were elected to Lodge office for 2023
  • Joseph Sosa – Worshipful Master Elect
  • Bobby Burkett II – Senior Warden Elect
  • Buck Owens – Junior Warden Elect
  • Howard Knapp – Treasurer Elect
  • Steve Johnson – Secretary Elect
• Open Installation was announced for 11:00 am on Saturday January 7th

Please join us this Saturday at Tyrone Mall for our annual volunteering with the Salvation Army Angel Tree