Master's Message September 2016

Hello Brethren,

I hope everyone had a great summer and I am looking forward to starting back up for the fall.  I would like to just recap the past few months and acknowledge some of the good work that has been going on.  First, our annual Scholarship night in June was another very successful night.  I take great pride in being a part of such a charitable organization that does so much good for local groups and students.  I’d like to thank Brother Tom Kennedy for putting together such a great event.  Also in June, we had our Annual Strawberry Fest Dinner which was truly enjoyable and I’d like to thank Brother Michael Alienello for putting together such a festive night.  Lastly, I’d like to thank our Junior Past Master, Brother John DeOliveira, for putting together our Annual Fishing Trip out of Point Judith.  This year saw over sixty participants, so nice job John.  

I’d like to just touch on something fraternal for a minute.  In any organization there will be people who complain about one thing or another and most times it’s not being done to be malicious.  However, criticism, unfortunately, is plentiful everywhere, while thank your’s and appreciation are mostly silent.  Despite that fact, in any organization, as in society itself, there are those people who, despite the criticism and in absence of appreciation, continue to do for others.  So, it is important for all of us to maybe take a minute before we criticize.  By taking that moment, we may realize that instead of criticizing, we may want to appreciate the fact that the person is doing what they are doing, not for themselves, but for us.
 
With that said, I will close with my favorite quote from Teddy Roosevelt:  "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
Teddy Roosevelt.
Thank you and God Bless!   
      
Fraternally,
Raymond J Blinn Jr.
Presiding Master