A PDF of this memo may be found here.
To: DeMolay Chapters
DeMolay Advisors
CC: “Mom” Gale Gould, Supreme Faith and Supreme Inspector
Mrs. Kristina Turri, State Director
Fr: “Dad” Peter W. Brusoe, Executive Officer
Date: October 12, 2021
Subject: Adjustment of Borders, Appointment of Governors, New State Staff
My brothers and fellow advisors, I am writing to you with some exciting changes in New York DeMolay
Adjustment of Borders
As I mentioned in my comments at Convention, the western part of our state has added several new chapters! We have seen the addition of Olean Chapter and paperwork for DeMolay in Lockport and Fredonia. A concept our young men are probably learning this year in social studies is reapportionment where our state legislative and congressional boundaries are adjusted to reflect changes in population. The same is true with our DeMolay Regions. I am moving St. Lawrence, Jefferson, Lewis, Oswego and Onondaga to Rivers, and Dutchess to Metro.
Appointment of Governors
New York DeMolay is returning to a tradition from our past and we are moving away from District Deputies to Region Governors.
We are doing this for several reasons: We have Regions but we currently do not have Districts. The archives of New York DeMolay, Districts were subunits of Regions. We are currently not there yet. This change better reflects the structure of New York DeMolay. Second, the term District Deputy is a reserved term in the Masonic Fraternity for the man entrusted to represent the Most Worshipful Grand Master in a specific geographic area, or for our Eastern Star “Moms” the District Deputy Grand Matron representing the Most Worthy Grand Matron. Moving DeMolay away from using this term creates greater clarity and ensures there is not confusion about roles.
Under 204.3 (c),these governors act in the place of the Executive Officer, or the Personal Representative of the Grand Master. They have been charged with meeting on a regular basis with the advisory councils, working as success coaches, coordinating schedules and calendars to ensure no conflict within the region. In consultation with myself and the respective program advisor they may be adding additional regional advisors.
Effective October 11, 2021 I hereby appoint:
“Dad” Matthew Howard Lakes Region Governor
“Dad” Mark Heitmann, Four Rivers Region Governor
“Dad” Bruce Brandt, Metropolitan Region Governor
Our State Constitution and bylaws reference “advisors in charge of each region” these are the advisors.
I want to thank them for stepping forward and strengthening New York DeMolay. I want to thank “Dad” Bill Williams who served as District Deputy for the Four Rivers Region after “Dad” David Schneider’s departure for Arizona. I wish “Dad” Williams the best of luck in his transition to Nevada. Nevada DeMolay is blessed to have such a hard working and dedicated adult volunteer to work with them. We stand on the shoulders of giants because of their hard work.
New State Staff:
I am pleased to share the appointment of three new Deputy Executive Officers:
“Mom” Stephanie Cook is assuming the role of Deputy Executive Officer for Young Women and Sweetheart Programs. “Mom” Cook has dutifully served as our State Sweetheart Director under three different Executive Officers and I am hard pressed to think of anyone better for the job. The creation of this Deputy Executive Officer position highlights the incredible importance of our Sweetheart Program and the expansion for Young Women’s Programming makes it clear to all that our sisters, our female friends, and our allied Masonic Youth have a place at DeMolay without needing to be a Chapter Sweetheart.
“Mom” Maura Celentano is assuming the role of Deputy Executive Officer for Family & Parent Engagement . “Mom” Celentano has dutifully served as our Director of Parent Engagement. This position is being elevated to a Deputy Executive Officer Role to highlight the importance of parental and family involvement. “Mom” Celentano has taken on a number of different exciting projects and I am so excited about the great work that she has done and likewise hard pressed to think of anyone better for the job.
My friends, these are two historic appointments. In 2001, I proudly voted with the majority at the DeMolay Congress to allow women to serve on Chapter Advisory Councils. I also voted with the majority for allowing parents into all DeMolay events. For the first time in New York DeMolay history, we have “Moms” as Deputy Executive Officers.
Grand Master “Dad” William M. Sardone, Past Grand Master of DeMolay is assuming the role of Deputy Executive Officer and Director of Masonic Engagement. Friends, I could write a book about the incredibly passion and energy that “Dad” Sardone has for our Masonic Youth and the Order of DeMolay. He is a tireless advocate for the truths that DeMolay teaches. I cannot begin to tell you the amount of times someone from another state says how lucky we are to have him in New York. I feel like we loaned him to the Grand Lodge of New York and they certainly have benefited from his visionary and dedicated leadership. We welcome him home to DeMolay.