A NEW TEMPLAR YEAR BEGINS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
This fall begins a new Templar year here in New Hampshire. A different approach is planned for carrying out our Annual Inspections of the Order of the Temple, and of the Reception of the Grand Commander including the formal Pass In Review ceremony. For the past few years it has been difficult for several of our Commanderies to assemble the necessary number of able and willing members to perform these activities on an individual Commandery basis. It has been necessary for several Sir Knights from other Commanderies to lend a hand in performing these rituals. In addition, our Grand Commander wishes to try an arrangement where our Ladies can be present for some of the Inspection activities. This feature may offer new opportunities for having a larger number of Sir Knights present and participating in the ceremonies.
        Here are the plans. There will be two separate Inspections for the Order of the Temple: one in the Southern area of the State; and one in the Northern area of the State. The Southern area event will be held in Portsmouth on Saturday, October 6, 2007. It will include three Commanderies: DeWitt Clinton Commandery No. 2 of Portsmouth; St. George Commandery No. 8 of Nashua; and Palestine Commandery No. 11 of Rochester. The program will begin at 2:00 PM, and there will be a program for the Ladies while the Order of the Temple is being performed. A social period and dinner will follow. The Northern area event will be held in Concord on Saturday, March 29, 2008. It will include four Commanderies: Trinity No. 1 of Manchester; Mt. Horeb No. 3 of Concord; North Star-St. Gerard No. 4 of Littleton; and Sullivan-Hugh dePayens No. 6 of Claremont. The program will begin at 2:00 PM, and there will be a program for the Ladies while the Order of the Temple is being performed. A social period and dinner will follow.
        The Official Visits by the Grand Commander will be conducted one Commandery at a time. Each visit will include the formal Reception of the Grand Commander, and the formal Pass in Review ceremony. Also included will be the remarks by the Grand Officers in attendance and of course by our Grand Commander. Each of these seven events will be semi-public, so that our Ladies can be in attendance. They will take place on the following schedule:
        Trinity Commandery No. 1 - to be announced;
        DeWitt Clinton Commandery No. 2 - Monday, September 17, 2007;
        Mt. Horeb Commandery No. 3 - to be announced;
        North Star - St. Gerard Commandery No. 4 - Monday, November 5, 2007;
        Sullivan-Hugh dePayens Commandery No. 6 - to be announced;
        St. George Commandery No. 8 - Monday, February 11, 2008;
        Palestine Commandery No. 11 - Tuesday, December 4, 2007.
We expect that at each event there will be a dinner at 6:30 PM followed by the Official Visit at 7:30 PM. Our Ladies will join with us and witness the ceremonies. Each of these occasions would be an excellent opportunity to have Veteran's awards presented to those entitled to receive them, as the Ladies will be in attendance and will add to the festive nature of the occasion. After all activities associated with the Official Visit have been concluded, the Commandery will likely declare a recess. After the guests have been excused, the Commandery may desire to hold a business meeting for consideration of such matters as may be appropriate. The hope is that each Official Visit will be a festive occasion for the Sir Knights and their Ladies, with opportunities for all to enjoy a pleasant fraternal evening.
        We also expect that our KrafTy Companions will be holding their gift basket fund raising activities at the two Orders of the Temple described above. These hard-working Ladies are the life blood of our Knights Templar Eye Foundation donations, and are to be commended for their dedication to this most worthwhile charity. We hope that you will contribute generously to their endeavor, and perhaps win one of the well-stocked gift baskets. Your Editor's Lady Barbara was the winner of a basket last year, and he can attest to the delicious contents that were discovered in it.
        This new approach to the annual ritual of inspecting our Commanderies will require some adjustments in our operations, but may well produce a more effective and enjoyable way of getting the job done. We hope that it will make some of the activities a bit more fun for the Sir Knights. We will also have the benefit of feedback from our Ladies that may help us to design our future endeavors. Our hope is that the Sir Knights will study to improve their contributions to these events so that the very best performance will result, and that they will thoroughly enjoy themselves in the process. We also hope that our Ladies will come to understand the beauty of our ceremonies, and the reasons why we work so diligently to carry them out. It should produce a win-win situation, with all participants finding themselves better off for having participated in it. That reward alone will make our efforts worthwhile.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
        The Grand Commandery of New Hampshire has been quite active during the past several months on issues with the Grand Encampment, particularly related to the sudden and substantial increase in the per capita dues paid to the Grand Encampment annually - an increase that will become effective with the return due in July 2008. We have made our position on this matter known to Grand Encampment, and are hopeful that an acceptable resolution will be reached soon. While we want our readers to know about and understand this activity, we feel that more time is needed to let matters settle down and reach a stable position before we attempt to describe the issues on these pages. We appreciate your patience in this matter. Be assured that your Grand Commandery representatives are actively pursuing an agreement with Grand Encampment to resolve this matter in the best interests of our Commanderies here in New Hampshire, in particular, and of all smaller Commanderies throughout the Country. We fully expect that our efforts will assist in gaining a resolution acceptable to all. RAR