Thou hast promised that when two or three are gathered together...

Earlier this week was the 229th Communication of the Grand Lodge of the State of New York, held in New York City. I made the journey with our Senior Deacon. It was his first time at Grand Lodge and it was interesting to get his thoughts on the process.

The first day was the usual. For me the best part is opening ceremonies when 200 or so men sing the national anthem - accompanied by the grand pipe organ. It makes the makes the hairs on the back of my head stand on end. For some reason this year the first day was a bit grueling. The speeches seemed a bit long and the fact that the City was hot an humid that day didn't help. We remained for most of the day and picked up the Potts Award - the Grand Lodge award for Perfect Attendance at the Grand Lecturer's Convention - on behalf of the Lodge.

The second day saw more committee reports and the election of our officers for 2010-2012. Elected were:

• RW Vincent Labone, Grand Master
• RW Jim Sullivan, Deputy Grand Master
• RW Tim McMullen, Senior Grand Warden
• RW Charles Uhle, Junior Grand Warden
• RW William Thomas, Grand Tresurer
• RW Gil Savitsky, Grand Secretary

Good luck to our new Grand Officers and see you all in Manhattan next year.