About Me

I thought I would provide a little bit about me and how I got to where I am. 

I was born in North Seattle in May 4th, 1966, ironically, if elected, the Roast of the Grand Master in May of 2024 will be on my Birthday.  Roast, Star Wars Day, and my birthday all wrapped into one!  My family moved from Seattle to Anchorage, AK in 1970 where we lived until 1975.  In 1975 my world went to hell for about the next 10 years.  My parents divorced and I attended at least 4 different schools in the 5th grade alone.  The longest I spent in one place after that was 2 1/2 years in Bellevue during my years in Middle School.  I attended at least 1 different school in every year of high school and never made any lifelong friends in High School.  In 1985 I was living in Bellevue trying to become a productive member of society, but I lost my job and was in danger of being homeless, so I did what every 19 year old dreams of doing...I moved back in with my Mom.

I began working different jobs and got myself back on my feet.  One of my jobs was working the front desk at the local bowling alley.  At this job, the biggest event of my life happened.  This is where I was lucky enough to meet Robin.  We were married in 1991 and started our family with the birth of our first child in 1992.  In 1994 we added to our family with our second child.  In between that, I started my career with the Federal Government in 1993 working for the US Forest Service.  I started as a clerk typist and then became an IT Specialist.  During this time I also had the experience of being part of a firefighting crew and fighting wildland fires in Oregon and Idaho.  In 1998 I transferred to NOAA and I am still with them today.  In 2005 our youngest was initiated in Rainbow in Juneau, AK in June.  In August of that year we moved to Monroe.  I coached football in Monroe and we became very active in Rainbow.  It was at this time that I was informed that in order to be my child's Rainbow Dad, I would have to be a Mason.  So I made probably the second biggest decision in my life and petitioned Genesis Lodge #305 in 2007.  I was raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason in 2008 and the rest of my Masonic journey is documented in Masonic Bio.  It has been a long journey to get where I am today, but I would not change a thing, it has made me who I am.

So there you have it, a little about me in a brief history of Steve.

Fraternally,


Steve C Martin
Junior Grand Warden 

Independence Day

It has been an interesting week leading up to our Independence Day celebration.  So much unrest and  polarization continues in our Country.  I continue to ask myself and reflect "are you part of the problem, or part of the solution?".

I often talk about being "all in" for Masonry and committing to the Masonic Family as much as you can.  Don't look for reasons to not be involved, but rather look for reasons to stay involved and commit more time to the Masonic Family to surround yourself with like minded people to make yourself a better man and at the same time make the world a better place.

So I started diving deeper into these thoughts.  Shouldn't we use these same ideas and principles in all of our different areas of life?  If we as Masons are truly trying to be better men, shouldn't we at least put as much effort into listening as we do into responding?  I have heard many time in my life things like "the only good xxx, is a dead xxx".  Fill in the blank "Republican", "Democrat", "Black", "Hispanic", "Homosexual", etc.  Are we not better than that?

We hear at the close of every meeting that "every human being has a claim upon our kind offices".  As a Mason, I need to live up to that.  We need to educate ourselves to others plights and struggles in life.  We need to live our lives by the teachings of our Degrees, and we need to live up to our obligations and charges throughout our Standard Work in every aspect of our lives.  Not just in the tiled recesses of our lodge rooms.

If, as Masons, we are all in and we pay attention to our teachings, we will become better men, strengthen our lodges, and make the world a better place.

Fraternally,



RWB Steve C Martin
Junior Grand Warden

Penmanship

In addition to trying to blog and keep a record of my time and provide more about my thoughts and opinions electronically, I have also decided to make an effort to improve my penmanship and handwriting and keeping a handwritten journal.  Taking better notes, and keeping track of things on paper when I don't have access to a computer.  At the same time, using a fountain pen instead of a pencil, ballpoint, or rollerball.

I have purchased a couple different pens and will probably purchase more as I use them more.  I purchased a Monteverde Monza with three independent nib types and ink to test the differences.  I also purchased a Cross Beverly and I love the way it feels.  If anyone out there has tips and tricks for improving hand writing for adults, I would love to hear about them.

Happy Writing! 

Fraternally,

Junior Grand Warden - June 2020

It has been awhile!  I am going to try and get back into the blogging again.  As Grand Lecturer I was expanding our ritual competition for Masons because I think good ritual work is a beauty to behold.  I also believe most, if not all, of the lessons we as Masons need to learn and adhere to, can be found in our Standard Work.  Unfortunately, with all the work and preparation that was completed by many of the Brethren in our State, COVID-19 hit and put an end to the competition.  There was a lot of interest and a lot of participation, and hopefully that will carry forward for the new Grand Lecturer.

Elections for the new Grand Lodge Officers was held on June 13, 2020 and I was elected as the new Junior Grand Warden.  With installation later that day, I was also installed in that position.  With all of the Social Distancing, and safety precautions that go along with COVID-19, it was a very small event, with no more than 5 people in a room at a time.  No big installation reception followed and the officers took some photos and went home.  I can't wait to get back out on the road and meet up with my Brothers!

On that note, the biggest topic of discussions as the newest member of the Executive Committee is when do we re-open and how?  We are still working out the details and doing our best to come up with what we think is the best possible course of action for the health and safety or our members.  We are going to continue to be closed for the near future, but hopefully are developing a solid plan to move forward as soon as safety and common sense will allow.  There is no shortage of opinions on how and when we should re-open, you get 10 Masons in a room and you get 22 opinions.  In the end, the decision will be what is determined to make the most sense and least risk with the data and opinions that are provided.

I look forward to seeing you on my travels
Fraternally,

RW Steve C Martin
Junior Grand Warden