2009 Conclave

Honors Banquet Speech

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Brothers…. let’s talk for a moment about membership. Every DeMolay, Advisor and interested guest in this room wants to see DeMolay Grow. That’s great, but it’s a pipe dream unless we’ve got something to attract new men, and then do something even harder- retain them… and grow them into DeMolay leaders… future officers… ritualists…. Leaders….. Master Councilors and so on.

First… we take inventory …what do we have to work with? Answer… we have the man in the mirror. Is that man in the mirror a good enough ambassador of our organization to cause other young men, and their parents, to say” hey, that guy’s got it all together”… “he’s going places”…. “there’s something about him I just can’t put my finger on.that really something!”

Are we as individual DeMolays living the teachings of DeMolay?

Are we walking, talking, standard bearers for our order?

First I challenge each of us….. are we doing more than talking the talk? Are we walking the walk?

Next…. assuming that we as individuals are what we should be as DeMolays…. what is the state, the condition of our individual chapters?

There are two things that INDIVIDUALS CAN DO to turn that around, assuming it’s not where we want it to be.

Number one…. increase the number, quantity …quality and consistency of our chapter activities. Nobody wants to be a member of a chapter in name only… a shell chapter. DeMolay has soooo much more to offer than just our name…obligations… and a handshake.

Second… and get all the Q-tips out and use them…. because we don’t want to lose this one.

Brethren , it’s all about excellence. Individual excellence… a passion for excellence…

A group excellence…a team commitment to be the best.

We have a system of ceremonies… our ritual…that is incredibly impressive…. when we bother to take pride in our work.

Guys… learn your obligations… learn your ritual part…. learn another part… learn your parts in the degrees and learn and learn and learn some more…. and do it well.

DeMolays were never charged with being… average…. we were charged with being the “cream of the crop”. Let the boys clubs settle with mediocrity. We want to invest in excellence.

As DeMolays we have a long heritage of it. We have brother Olympians… astronauts… newsmen… radio guys… senators….governors…speakers of the house of representatives….and yes even a president who owes DeMolay a debt of gratitude for their experience as a DeMolay. They didn’t settled for second best in themselves and neither should any of you. The God who created us sure didn’t do so by some cosmic accident.

We have an obligation to be the best individual we can be. Let’s collectively get off our tails and go out there and be the best person, the best DeMolay we were meant to be.

Hold yourself to a higher standard, a standard of excellence.

I will be expecting it of each of you, as I trust you expect it of me.

So breaking it down again.,..number one….activities, activities, activities, and number two…a PASSION for excellence. It is a two step program for enthusiasm…. leading to success.

Speaking about programs let me give you some dates and activities to look forward to...in two weeks the white water…paintball extravaganza takes place. A two day fall retreat for ritual, and leadership excellence, a two day celebration of Dad Land on a beautiful Tennessee farm with an outdoor degree and of course, a dance or two.

These are not meant to take the place of a chapter’s program… perhaps though to supplement them …and there is nothing brothers like a good DeMolay road trip to build the DeMolay experience and spread the cement the brotherhood which unites us all into that band of brothers we will forever remember.

Brothers …these will be “.the good old days”….never to be forgotten.