Too long between posts…
January 15th, 2010
Lots to catch up on as I haven’t been very faithful to my blog!
On December 10th I attended Bethel 67’s last meeting at Cumberland Lodge. It was sad to be there for the last time, but I believe the move to Greenfield will be a rewarding one for this Bethel!
December 11th took me to Bethel #34’s Installation of Officers. I was happy to be there for our Miss Congeniality, Elizabeth’s retiring as HQ and our Jr. Miss’s, Carolyn’s installation as HQ. It was a very nice installation!
December 14th I went “home”… Bethel #32 was initiating. It was awesome to be there for the girls and to meet Aleiyah and her family.
December 16th I went to Bethel #53 for their Christmas Party. The girls made cards for the residents at the Masonic Home, we had pizza, did word searches and had a gift exchange.
December 18th Dave, Carolyn, Leslie and I headed to Green Bay for my cousins installation as Worshipful Master. It was very interesting to see their installation, there are 4 lodges that meet in the Scottish Rite building they call home. Every year the Grand Master comes and installs the 4 lodges – at the same time. It was pretty cool. I presented Michael with my Grandfather’s Past Master jewel that my father also wore as Master – I made it through with dry eyes! The Bethel that meets there is Bethel #32 (how about that?!) and we met their girls. We also met the GBHQ & GBSP. Then we met a “celebrity” (according to LB & Carolyn) — Alice Byrnes, PGG – she was on the ritual revision team in 1989. It truly was a great time. The hotel had an indoor waterpark, so that was a lot of fun! I was pressured in to going down the slide, it was scary, but fun! Our way home was pretty interesting, to say the least! Our car broke down on the lower se side of Chicago (not a good area). We had to call Papa Bailey to come and rescue us. Lord bless that man for everything he did for us that night!!!! It is amazing how fast 3 hours goes by when you have 2 teenagers in the backseat being silly. We all made it home safely.
Dave and I went to Florida for 2 weeks over Christmas.. It was nice to get away for awhile. Once we got back home it was right back to work!
January 9th was School of Instruction. We started the day off with announcements, then Grand Bethel exemplifed Initiation and had a Q&A session afterwards. It went beautifully, ladies, hats off to you! You did a fantastic job! Have I said lately how blessed I am to be able to work so closely with Tara and her Officers?? Some of our Misses filled in as well and they also did a wonderful job! The afternoon session was great! I met with the adults and we went over several things. We had everyone split into groups by council station, they reviewed duties, shared ideas, etc.. Dinner was provided by GB and it was very good! Around 6 p.m. some of us headed over to the fairgrounds for the Indiana Ice hockey game. It was awesome to see a whole section almost filled with folks from our 3 youth groups. Everyone really seemed to enjoy the game and most of us cheered for the Ice.. SOMEONE decided she needed to cheer for the other team… lol
January 13th Tara and I went out to Plainfield to help them with their stop and go meeting; Stephanie met us there and we all helped out. It went very well. Bethel 86 was there as well, so we got to work with them..
Today we are headed to Nashville, IN for the grand officer retreat. I am looking forward to a great weekend hanging out, shopping and playing games.. It should be fun!!
Wrapping up…
December 10th, 2009
Honestly hard to believe how fast this term has come and gone! I hope all of the Honored Queen’s had a good term! I am sure the newly elected and newly installed Honored Queens are excited for the upcoming term. Remember ladies, you are the leader of your Bethel, please preside in a gracious manner and know your work! Set a good example for others.
We had the last OV of the term – Bethels 37 & 53. It was a good OV! Thanks to all of the protems for helping out. Thanks also to the adults that work with these 2 Bethels! They are small but working hard to grow again. After the OV my carload went to Oriental Lodge to set up for the Grand Family Christmas Party… Once we finished up there, we went in search of a Sonic that is supposedly off of Crawfordsville Road —- well, that’s not accurates so we ended up at Noble Romans and it was pretty tasty.
Sunday was the GF Christmas Party. It was a blast! Thanks to Candice, Cheri, Carol and Mom Geyer for the wonderful food and great party! The decorations were beautiful, there was Christmas music playing throughout and the spirits were high! We had a great turnout, 58 people! Our ornament exchange was fun and a little confusing at times! Thanks everyone who attended! We hope you had a good time! After the party wrapped up, several of us went to Christmas at the Zoo. It was pretty cold, but we bundled up and walked around the zoo. It was a lot of fun! It’s beautfiul walking around with all of the lights and decorations. We went to see the dolphin show, that was pretty amazing! Carolyn made friends with the Walrus, he was rubbing his face right up against the glass and kept splashing water… It was really cool to see him interacting with her! Most of us met up at one point and were together and then everyone went their seperate ways. It was really a great day!
Last night I attended Bethel 99’s Installation of Officers. Alicia, our JMC was installed as Honored Queen. It was nice to be present for her installation. 
Muncie, Franklin, a visit out west and home….
November 25th, 2009
Dave and I went to Muncie’s meeting on the 12th… It was nice to visit! They had elections and Addie Mulvaney was elected as Honored Queen and Emily was elected Sr. Princess.
Marcia D., Cheri U., Elecia and I went to Franklin on the 18th.. The were doing mock initiation. We all pulled double, even triple duty to help. It is really nice being able to help a small Bethel!
Saturday the 21st we had the Official Visit for Bethels 2/5/121. We started off with baby dedication for 2 thrid generation babies.. The Daughters did the Majority Ceremony for Jordan Russell and Debby Cox. After the meeting we had Chicken and Noodles, Mashed Potatoes, corn and homemade rolls! It was very good! Thanks so much to the hands that prepared the delicious meal! Once we finished up eating, we sat in the OES 50 year pinning ceremony for Anna Ruth Lucas and Sharon Kovarik. It really was a nice day!! On our way home, LB, Dave, Carol T. and I stopped at…non other than…Sonic! Once we got home, it was time for pajamas, guitar hero and lounging around! It was great..
Monday I went home to Beech Grove. It is always nice to be back home. They held elections and Abi was elected Honored Queen and Kami as Jr. Princess. They are initiating on the 14th of December and could use your help!!!
I am looking forward to the Thanksgiving Holiday.. I am taking the next 4 days “off”… I’ll check emails and return phone calls on Monday…
Have a safe and fun holiday weekend!
Fraternally,
Lori
OK, OK!
November 8th, 2009
So, i’ve been nagged at about my blog… BUT, it was deserved! I haven’t posted anything since Coronation Ball, shame on me! My apologies!!
Let’s see, what have I been up to lately?? Well, I attended the Grand Bethel Get-Away, which, was FANTASTIC! It was so much fun!! The games outside were a blast and I actually fell down and took poor Rachel Cox with me.. I must’ve apologized 20 times! T-Shirt race, Tossing contest, Group race with cords tied around us, etc… It was a hoot! Indoor games were just as good! The “Neon MAZE’ was out of this world! It was so cool! However, I think my favorite game was the “Scattergories” game, next fave would be Catchphrase! Loved it so much, I went out and bought one for myself… Candice Geyer, Cheri Utterback and Carol Titus (AKA The Three C’s) put on a great weekend!! Thanks ladies!! You rock!!
On Halloween, Tara and I met up for dinner, went down to the Shrine Youth Dance for awhile and then went to see Paranormal Activity.. I might’ve been scared, but that was pretty impossible as I was too busy laughing at all of the other ladies screeching in fear. It was a hoot! I will admit, I made Dave stay in the room until I fell asleep — even though he was not tired and ready to go to bed yet — I made him stay.. So, I guess it was a little creepy….
This weekend was a BUSY ONE! Friday night Tara, Leslie, Carolyn and myself went to the OES District 10 meeting where we were presented a check for $1,000 to go towards scholarships! That was incredible! Demolay and Rainbow were also presented checks. Elizabeth Fisher was also there representing Rainbow and did a lovely tribute to the Christian Flag.
Saturday morning, it was off and running! Headed to Jeffersonville at 8:30 a.m. for their 11:00 a.m. Official Visit, Majority Ceremony for Brittney Utley was done. I enjoyed the folders that included scrapbooks and powerpoint presentations from Bethels 24 & 42! I also enjoyed both Librarian’s reports and the great march music, one song was Puff the Magic Dragon! I did have to hum along a little. We had a nice lunch and hung out for awhile and then it was off and running again to head to Bloomington. The Executive Committee held a meeting, then after we finished up, it was time for dinner. We were served Beef & Noodles, Mashed Potatos and Green Beans, it was wonderful! The Official Visit of Bloomington and Eminence was really fun! Disney music was played and the spirits were high! Bloomington presented me with a beautfiul flower arrangement and everyone sang happy birthday to me.. It was a very sweet, but I must admit, I was a little embarrassed! After I got finished with up, with some business, I headed to the car, which was already all packed up for me (THANKS T! Love you!)… Well, Tracy Cooksey came out to say goodbye and at that very moment, I was pouring out old drinks from an earlier McD’s stop and accidentally poured a drink all over Tracy’s foot!!! I was so embarrassed and apologized profusely, in between hysterics! We laughed so hard at that and I am pretty sure I will never live that one down!!! Afterwards, of course, we had to visit Sonic! A favroite pasttime! Once there, and attempting to order, more giggling took place.. It was just that kind of day! Once home, I could barely climb the stairs… But, it was a good day.
This morning was Go to Church Sunday at my home church.. We had a great turnout! We were approached by several folks — one girl had a friend in Job’s when she was younger and remembered, she now has a Daughter, so of course, she got a brochure! One man is a Mason himself in Acton, Rich Condre and their newest member, Claire, came up and said hello, I was super surprised to see them there! Another man said he remembered JD’s because his high school girlfriend was a member at Bethel #58 Lawrence…. The moral of my story?? Have a go to church Sunday!! It is a required activity for each Bethel each term and you never know, it might be a great promotion activity! All in all, we had 16 present and it was a great day!
An evening in “Twilight” 2009 Coronation Ball
October 18th, 2009
Last night, the dance was AMAZING! I walked in to a lifesize cut-out of Edward Cullen and a door size poster of Edward & Bella at the main doors. The sigb-in table was beautiful with floating candles and carnations… Programs spread out and king drawing tickets and box… Walk through the red & black streamers and into the dining room where a sea of red and black table cloths with glitter sprinkled on them, floating lit candles floating carnations, stars and Twilight posters all over the walls, black balloons hanging over the dance floor, smoke coming from the fog machine… It was beautiful!
Kathy Harlow, Brettney Nelson, Peaches Bird, Jessica Murphy, Kristi Murphy, Tony Perry, Cheri Utterback, Ronda Prather, Marcia Disbrow, Brandi Thompson and anyone else I might have missed, THANK YOU. The event was AMAZING and I was just thrilled with it all. I got several compliments that this was an incredible CB and that it was a blast! I believe we had about 150 in attendance, but that might be off a bit. I will know more today when Kathy give me the count.
Our 2009 Coronation Ball Queen & Runner-Ups:
Queen: Rustie Mills Bethel #2
First R/U: Felicity Witten Bethel #107
Second R/U: Samantha Bertram Bethel #54
Jr. Queen: Genesis Jones Bethel #107
First R/U: Asia Uptgraft Bethel #8
Second R/U: Madison McKendry Bethel #54
Attendance Winner was Bethel #8!!
Congratulations to everyone!!!
Again, this event was really incredible and I am so proud of the work my sister, Kathy Harlow did! It was everything I dreamed it would be! Brettney Nelson did a fabulous job on the tests and I am proud of the young woman she has become!
I can’t say thank you enough to all of you for making this dance everything I wanted it to be!! I truly think the Twilight theme was something the girls were really interested in and I believe they had a fantastic time!!
October events/travels…
October 18th, 2009
September 30th Tara, Kathy H. & I visited Bethel #53. Tara worked with the Daughters in the Bethel room; they went over floorwork, signs/responses, etc. Kathy & I worked with the adults and did a kind of “Council 101″.. It was nice to be able to help them progress!
October 8th I went to Cumberland for Grace Miller’s initiation. I helped fill in wherever the Council needed me, it was nice to work with them! Leslie, Carolyn, Tara, Raquel and Markanda all helped pro-tem. Thanks ladies for all of your help!! Great to see Misty Miller, Sarah Gibson and the Miller clan!
Ocotber 9th I hosted the GGC?GB Lady Line Retreat. Everyone got in and we enjoyed a wonderful homemade chicken and noodle dinner. We chatted for quite some time and then split up into 2 groups, GB girls and GGC ladies. It was a productive evening. Saturday morning some of us got up early and some late (yeah, ok, it was me!).. We hung out and talked, had lunch and then everyone scattered and went and did various things. We met back up later and went to have dinner with Joe S. and Roy. It was a nice dinner at Jonathan Byrds. After dinner, Stephanie, Anita and myself went to Fashion Bug! Then back to the house for some Scattergories! Sunday morning, everyone was up and out early to head down to the Masonic Home for the Annual Statewide Go to Church Sunday at the IMH.
First church service at Nettie Ransford Chapel was nice. I had the honor of sitting with Ken Bastin! Ken Bastin and Ruth Lohide were GG & AGG when I was Honored Queen, so it is always special when I can spend time with either of them! We had a decent turnout of girls for the first service. After first service, we headed over to the hospital chapel for the second service. Almost every Daughter present helped bring residents in tot he chapel, it was really nice to see the girls helping out the residents. Once the girls marched in for the cross, I was surprised, the size had almost tripled from earlier! It was incredible!! Tara, Leslie and Carolyn did a fantastic job helping with both church services and Tara did an amazing job with the cross talk.
Soups Cook-off & Bazaar was held in the basement of the hospital. Lots of Bethels had goodies to sell such as, carmel apples, auctions, cakes, duct tape belts, cookies in a jar, etc. We had lots of soups and chili in the cookoff and our “Soup Chef Supreme” this year was Lynn Cooper!! It was really a nice day to just hang out and chat. Once I got home, I took a 3 hour nap!! Thanks to Tara for handling everyething and to all who made the day a success!!
October 12th I went to Bethel #32. I hadn’t been “home” in awhile and it was truly refreshing to be there. They are small, but they still run the meeting the way it should be. It is nice to have Elecia on Council helping! The Prospect Demolay chapter adults are very helpful too!
October 14th was the O.V. of Bethels 86 & 99. We had a pretty good turnout. Leslie pro-temmed Honored Queen and we were done with the o.v. (cross and all) in one hour flat. It was amazing! The girls did a nice job!
October 17th was the O.V. of Bethels 38 & 107. There was an awesome turnout! There were 9 visiting Job’s Daughters! Pro-tems included Noelle Mourlas from B#44 and Carolyn Winebar, JMIJD from B#34. We also had a nbice turn-out of Past Grands: Bonnie Kelly, Vicki Loughmiller, Hubert Haynes, Fred Rohr & Sonny Woods. Bethel 38 initiated Claire Shutters and Bethel 107 dedicated 3 babies and one toddler.. Great day!
Coronation Ball — seperate post!!
Grand Master’s Leadership Conference
October 18th, 2009
Tara and I went to the Orak Shrine in Michigan City on October for a leadership conference. I must admit, we were not really sure what to expect! The presentation was GREAT! It was “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” by John Walsh.. It is a fantastic program and I encourage EVERY ADULT volunteer in the organization to take this class, it was truly awesome!
Job-a-Rama 2009…
October 1st, 2009
..was a blast!! We had 249 people and this time, there were more Daughters than Adults!! 
) I believe we had right around 150 Daughters… Bethels in attendance, 5, 8, 22, 24, 25, 32, 34, 37, 38, 41, 42, 44, 54, 67, 68, 86, 99, 107, 108, 110 & 121, plus Bethel 18 Louisville!
Dave, Kaylin & I arrived early Friday afternoon at Country Lake to unload and settle in. Settle in? No way! We were off and running, we ran out and grabbed some food knowing we probably wouldn’t have time to eat dinner, good thing! Once we got back to CL, it was registration time! I hung out at the registration table with Leah for awhile and then headed out to help transport folks from one dorm to another. It was rainy, but that didn’t seem to effect any one’s spirit! The Covered Wagons were in constant process picking up groups from the parking lot and bringing them back to the ranch. It was pretty cool!
The costumes Friday night were great!! For the youngest age group, our winner was Matthew Everett, dressed up as Woody from Toy Story. For the middle age group we had the Cow Girl from Bethel 42, and I mean Cow.. She was dressed up like a cow, with spots on her arms and all! She was really cute! If I had to chose a second place, I’d give it to Hannah Leap from Bethel 37.. The older age group was conquered by Taryn Crouch from Bethel 22. Everyone looked great and it was awesome to see the enthusiasm for the western theme! We were up late Friday night chatting and such… I think I headed off to bed around 1 a.m.
Saturday morning was off with a bang! It was non-stop activity! First up, breakfast, then assembly, then lake activities. The lake was crowded with kayaks, canoes and paddle boats! Crafts ran the same time as lake activities, then lunch. At 1 it was movie time! We had a good size group to watch Hannah Montana The Movie. Then at 3:00, square dancing! Now, that was fun! Ok, a bit confusing at times, but definitely fun! Thanks Linda U. for telling me where I needed to be! You were a great partner!! A little bit of a break after square dancing until dinner, which was nice! Dinner was good and then, time for skits! We had some really great skits! From poking fun at Roy, Tara, Leslie, Carolyn and I from Bethel 54 to Bandana/Banana? from Bethel 108, to Dancing with the Stars from Bethel 34, it was a real blast! If memory serves me correct we had skits from: Bethels: 8, 22, 24, 25, 34, 38, 42, 44, 54, 68, 86, 99, 107, 108, 121, 18 Louisville, GB, GGC, the Miss & Jr. Miss, Fab 5 and the 3 C’s.. If I missed anyone, my apologies! Unfortunately, due to a pour down of rain, we had to cancel the wagon rides and bon fire, which was a real bummer.. We showed another movie and some took advantage of that.. Others went back to their dorms to hang out, eat pizza, etc… I *HOPE* everyone ate their pizza and snacks on the porches of their dorms, as food was not allowed inside the dorm houses. There were a number of us in the Corral playing scattergories, eating and chatting away. It was a fun time..
Sunday morning brought breakfast and then church. Alan Blakeburn, PABG #32 became a minister after serving as Grand Chaplain for Mary B. & Jim Maines in 1999-2000, did our service for us… He was great!! It was a lot of fun reuniting with Alan and Cindy! Afterwards, it was time to pack up and head home.. However, did you know?? There is a sonic 5 miles from CL! So, of course, we made a pit stop and had lunch at Sonic! We ran in to a few Bethels while there! Pretty popular place!
All in all, it was a fabulous weekend! We had a great time!! Thanks so much to EVERYONE who made the weekend a success! Mary B., Leah, Erin, Grand Bethel and anyone else I might have missed… It was really special and I am a little sad that it’s over..
Country Lake was fantastic and I do hope we get to visit them again soon!
Pictures soon!!