Dear Brethren, With 2018 well underway, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued commitment to Freemasonry and for your support of Hialeah-Opa-Locka Lodge No. 391. I would also like to introduce a new quarterly newsletter that will be used to keep brothers up to speed with what is happening at our lodge and what we plan for the future. 2017 was a year to remember. Our lodge initiated two new members last year, Brothers David Cardona and Ruben Ovalle. Both brothers passed proficiency in their Entered Apprentice Catechisms and were passed to the Degree of Fellowcraft in October, before being raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason in December.
HOL 391 was well represented at the 188th Grand Communication of the Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of Florida, in 2017 too. The event was held at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando, FL and allowed the brothers who attended to engage in some brotherly bonding with our families at Disney World.
Our lodge even threw a first of its kind event when we hosted our first annual "Open House". Our goal was to present the craft to any men who were interested in Freemasonry and bond together as a lodge in doing so.
Our installation of the 2018 Officers was held on December 30, 2017. The main dining hall was decorated like never before, for the event, and over 50 people attended the installation in support of our lodge.
We didn't skip a beat and just two weeks after our Installation of Officers, we initiated our first brother for the New Year! Congratulations to Brother Randy Cruz on becoming an Entered Apprentice. In February, we initiated our second brother for 2018, Joshua Logo, along with four courtesy candidates from three other lodges!
With a new air conditioning unit and a functioning elevator shaft, we've seen great strides in our efforts to repair our aging building. We recently undertook a massive repair to our roof, which suffered a few leaks in recent years, with one of those leaks causing water to start coming into the lodge room a few weeks after Hurricane Irma.
The project was costly and financially straining to our lodge which is why we increased dues this year, and recently turned one of our brother's talents into a fundraiser, by providing professional photography services and portraits to newly installed officers throughout the district, in exchange for a donation for our building. The fundraising effort garnered some support, with four other lodges signing up to participate.
While our roof was successfully resurfaced, we are still hoping to undertake several restoration projects in and around our lodge building. We hope that any brother that is able to donate to our building fund to assist us with this endeavor will do so, as any and all donations would be truly appreciated. Our lodge is strong my brothers, and it will get even stronger in 2018. With this growth and new blood joining our fraternity, we have also seen a couple of old faces back at HOL 391, but would always like to see more return. If you have been thinking about coming back and getting engaged again, we welcome you with open arms and hope to see you at one of our Thursday meetings. Our Stated Communications are held on the first and third Thursday of every month, with the second and fourth Thursday reserved for work and instruction. Dinner is always served at 6:30 PM and our meetings begin at 7:30 PM. I hope this newsletter finds you and your families in good health and prosperity, and I look forward to hearing from you, and perhaps seeing you at your second home, once again. If you are able to donate to our building fund, please do so by using the enclosed pledge form, if you cannot donate at this time, still fill out the form with any updated contact information, so that we may update our records accordingly.
Thank you for your time and we look forward to a bright future!
Sincerely & Fraternally,
Alejandro Zequeira
Worshipful Master
Hialeah-Opa-Locka Lodge No. 391
954.540.8202