Brethren. Welcome to 2024. I hope everyone had the opportunity to enjoy time with friends and family over the Holidays. December is normally a light month, so it was great that many of us remained active in the community, visiting and taking in Christmas banquets and celebrations within the District. At our December meeting we welcomed W. Bro. Emile Taimazov and Bro. Dale Hutchison after a successful affiliation ballot followed by an Education piece by Bro. Stephen Ford. I'm certain both W. Bro. Emile and Bro. Dale are ready and willing to be active participants in our activities for years to come.

December was not without some very sad news as we learned of the passing of W. Bro. James Chisholm. W. Bro. Chisholm will be missed by all, but his memory and kind heart will remain with us always. We will have an opportunity to say goodbye and pay our respects at a Masonic Service on January 3rd here in Barrie. Details have been provided in a separate email.

Our regular meeting on January 4th will once again be light. We have many brethren in the queue that are preparing to advance their journey so I ask them and their Sponsors to advise the secretary when they will be ready in order to plan accordingly. For now, we will complete our regular business followed by an education piece on the history of the Masonic Service. At the moment, no emergent meeting is planned, however this may change to an open practice session depending on Officer availability.

Cornerstone

Blood donation. Our second blood donation is scheduled for January 18th. If you haven't already done so, please register using the guidance provided from W. Bro. Les Fraser in a previous email. The process is very simple and an excellent way to pay it forward for this much needed resource.

"Scotch Night" District Fundraiser.

The date has now been set – April 6th. So please mark this in your calendar. Tickets are only $90 each and we are hoping to sell out far in advance. Please reach out to your circle of friends and family to help promote this event. Since we were unable to provide the tickets on our website, feel free to collect and submit the names and number of tickets sold to the secretary. Tickets can be picked up at the Lodge or from any Officer. Once again, this event will contribute the majority of our fundraising efforts for the District Project.

Social Media

With the successful introduction of our WhatsApp communication tool our Secretary, Bro. Nithin Liviero, and myself are looking at ways to improve our website. We plan to meet early in the new year to look at options and provide a report for the Brethern to discuss and vote on. Please keep in mind that email will remain the primary source of communicating ALL lodge events and the distribution of Summons etc. For that reason, it is imperative your information is kept up to date with the secretary.

It is hard to imagine we are halfway through our Masonic year. The coming months will be fast and furious. We have limited time to complete our mandate, so I ask everyone to get engaged individually and collectively to ensure the success of our candidates and continued strength of our Lodge.

W. Bro. Robert Warren

WM, Corinthian Lodge 96

"A Lodge is not held together with steel bands, but by the silken ties of brotherhood, woven of interest, friendliness, good times, wholesome fraternal intercourse."