PGM Address – 2025
Brethren
I begin my address by formally extending a very warm welcome to you all, and to thank you for giving up your time and travelling considerable distances to be here today in support of both the Province and of those receiving Provincial Honours and Promotions.
In particular, I welcome the Provincial Grand Masters from other Provinces and Heads of Other Orders, and thank them for the very generous hospitality extended when we attend their Meetings. I hope that you will all have an enjoyable time with us today.
I continue my thanks to the outgoing Provincial Team who have given unstinting support throughout the past year, particularly during our Team Visits and representing the Province at the Installation Meetings. Your commitment has been greatly appreciated, and I hope you enjoyed your year.
Today’s meeting is of course, my opportunity to recognise the hard work and dedication of many others who give similar commitment to the Province, and I offer my sincere congratulations to those whom I have had the pleasure to appoint and promote this afternoon.
Every appointment was well-earned and well-deserved, and I thank you, not only for what you have done in the past, but what I know you will continue to do in the future.
I am very pleased to report that we have just had another happy and very successful year – particularly with our recruitment, and I thank our Membership Officer, Nick Wilson, with the backing of our Webmaster, Neil Harvey, and our Social Media Officer, Steve Adams for their very considerable contribution to the success.
Last year, our main focus was on the recruitment and retention of Mark Members with our extremely effective campaign of ‘March into Mark’, and whilst continuing our efforts to attract new Mark Members, our main attention this year has been to raise the awareness and profile of the Royal Ark Mariner Degree with a similar campaign of ‘March into the Ark’.
Currently, only 42.73% of our Mark Members are Members of the Royal Ark Mariner Degree compared to the National average of over 50%.
The Royal Ark Mariner Degree is very much an integral and important part of our Mark Order, and from the enthusiasm shown by the whole Province last year, I am confident that with your help again, we can significantly improve on those numbers.
It has certainly been an honour today to receive a delegation of Royal Ark Mariners to emphasize that importance, and many of you will recognise a number of Mark Grand Officers in the delegation who are also active in the Ark Mariner Degree and are extremely proud to wear their colourful Ark Mariner regalia to this meeting.
I sincerely thank them for doing so and urge those of you who are not Royal Ark Mariners to join this beautiful degree as soon as possible in support of the ‘March into the Ark’ initiative.
Contact details are in the Summons, or you can approach me directly. To make it easier for you to find a contact, you may have seen many wearing ‘green socks’.
I’m assured by my recruitment team that you will receive a pair of green socks today on receipt of a completed application form.
Speak to V.W.Bro. Peter Cole or Nick Wilson, who will get you signed up.
Three members who are already Royal Ark Mariners are:
W/Bro.’s Kevin Shannon, Roy Black, and Paul Gausden, and I extend my hearty congratulations on their promotion to Provincial Royal Ark Mariner Grand Rank earlier this afternoon.
You will have seen that I have made some changes to the established Provincial Offices.
I have today appointed a new Provincial Secretary to replace Simon Baines who retires from his post today after completing 4 years as Deputy Secretary and 6 years as Secretary, and I cannot speak too highly of the tremendous hard work and commitment he has given to the Province.
Simon’s knowledge, efficiency and attention to detail are second-to-none and I shall greatly miss his wise counsel.
Nothing has ever been too much trouble – and on behalf of every member of the Province, Simon, I thank you for everything you have done as Secretary over the past ten years.
I am pleased to welcome into that important Office – W/Bro Tony Robinson, whose considerable expertise and proven ability as Provincial Secretary in the Craft will without doubt ensure a smooth transition, and I very much look forward to working with him in the future.
In his absence, I also thank W/Bro Ian Hussey, who steps back from his duties as Deputy Secretary following his recent complicated heart surgery. W/Bro Ian made a considerable and valuable contribution during the past couple of years, and I’m sure we all wish him well in his recovery.
Another key change is that of the Provincial Almoner. I have appointed Peter Smith as Almoner as Stephen Knight steps down today, having given excellent service in this role for the past 5 years. Again, I thank you, Stephen, for the great skills you have brought to this important role and for your preparation of much of our literature, particularly for the Royal Ark Mariner Degree.
I am delighted that you will continue to support the Province in the role of Chaplain.
Peter Smith is well known to a great many of us and I thank him not only for taking this Office, but for his great energy and enthusiasm for recruiting and for organising a very successful dinner-dance at the Gerrards Cross Golf Club resulting in the presentation of a cheque for £1500 for the South Bucks Hospice.
We have another busy schedule planned for next year, and I very much look forward to working with the incoming Active Provincial Team. I am very confident that we have an equally strong team in place again this year to help us achieve our ambitions.
Our recruitment drive for both the Mark Degree and Royal Ark Mariner Degree will continue, and in this regard it is essential that we support and assist both the Craft and
Royal Arch in their campaigns wherever possible, and work constructively together to achieve our respective objectives.
I very much look forward to building on the excellent relationship we already have with the Craft and Royal Arch and working closely with the recently appointed Provincial Grand Master Tim Anders and Provincial Grand Superintendent Graham Dearing, who we warmly welcome here today, and I again thank them for their support.
This year, we will also be devoting a good deal of attention to the Grand Master’s Keystone Fund, and I have tasked our Charity Steward W/Brian Meager to promote the Fund within each Lodge with the aim of each achieving the qualifying level of contribution to gain a Jewel and Collarette. The most recent Lodge to qualify for this jewel is Nightingale Lodge No. 1768, and I would invite the Worshipful Master, W/Bro Michael Knight, to be brought to the pedestal to accept this Keystone Jewel on behalf of the Lodge.
Brethren, this is a suitable moment to congratulate Brian Meager on his recent promotion through Hertfordshire to Past Grand Standard Bearer and to congratulate our W/Bro Paul Harrison who received an Active Grand Rank First Appointment of Assistant Grand Standard Bearer and also to our newly appointed Provincial Senior Warden W/Bro Gary Brodie who received the Grand Rank of Past Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies.
Brethren, I think they all deserve our applause.
You will no doubt all have seen that our black Mark Tie is being retired today in favour of a new blue one, and with the introduction of a matching pocket square. The black one has served us well through five Provincial Grand Masters, but I thought that the time had come to freshen up the design of our tie in keeping with many other Provinces.
I hope you like it and will purchase a new one to wear with much pride. This will be the Bucks Mark tie from now on and they are available here today, and I am pleased to see a number of you already wearing one.
As I begin my 4th year as Provincial Grand Master, I see firsthand from my many visits that the Province is in great heart and a happy one, all working together as a team.
Importantly, the standards of our ceremonies continue to be delivered to a very high standard and are likely to encourage the newly-advanced brethren to recommend their friends to join our Order.
Before closing, I would particularly thank all those who have worked hard behind the scenes to organise and plan for today’s meeting. It is greatly appreciated, and we couldn’t have done it without you.
Brethren, my enthusiasm and determination remain undiminished to grow our membership in both the Mark and Royal Ark Mariner Degree, and I am confident that in the coming year, collectively, we can achieve just that – but above all Brethren it is important that we continue to enjoy our Mark and Royal Ark Mariner Masonry.
Thank you all for your excellent work over the past year, and I look forward to the coming year with our new Team.
In the meantime, Brethren, may the Great Overseer of the Universe keep you safe and have you in his holy keeping.
Thank you, Brethren.