My Brothers,

            I hope that you have all had a fun filled, and safe summer. When we last met in June, I think we all thought that we weren’t going to have a summer. Thankfully we finally saw the good weather, just in time for our Annual Family Picnic. Speaking of the picnic, what a fantastic time!!! I have to commend Jason Gail and Ed Diggle and our new classes for the extraordinary work that was done on the picnic. To Jay and Ed, great work on the planning and executing of this event. It went off flawlessly and everyone enjoyed themselves.

            It is hard to believe that the entire summer has passed by already, it never seems to last long enough. During the summer we had two large events for Harmony, one being the picnic, the other our Annual Golf Tournament. This year was the 19^th Annual Tournament which benefitted the Big Brothers Association of Rhode Island. Through the hard work of Wor. Carmine DePetrillo and his Golf Committee and the generosity of our golfers, Harmony raised $10,000 for Big Brothers! We will be presenting a check to them at our September meeting. Also during the summer the Grand Lodge held its Annual Family Picnic. I would like to thank all the brothers who came out and supported the picnic and our own MW Richard Ault. The attendance was great and truly shows the Brotherly Love that the craft embodies!

            So here we are, September, and we are not slowing down. For our September meeting I will be presenting 25 year Service Medals to a few of our brothers. This is a great honor for me to be able to present these medals to our brothers who have shown such a great love of the craft over the past 25 years. I encourage all of you to come to the meeting to celebrate their achievement.

            Now for the big announcement, yes we will be having a Ladies at the Table Banquet. I have set the Date for Sunday October 4^th. This is a fantastic event to show our ladies our appreciation for their support and understanding for the many nights we are out for the craft. I know from talking with many of the ladies, that they greatly enjoy this evening and are looking forward to it.

Tickets are available and the cost will be $35.00 for the brother, and his lady is our guest. Special ladies will, as always, be invited as guests of the Lodge. If a special lady would like to invite a guest they will have the same cost as a brother, being $35.00. I will be taking reservations so please call me at (401)942-1108 for reservations.

Finally, just to get the idea in your minds, our Halloween Party is going to be on October 24^th. All officers will have tickets for this event at the September meeting and the cost is $10.00 per person. This is a fantastic party with costumes, games, and prizes. If you haven’t been to one before, you are missing a fantastic evening.

Fraternally & Sincerely,

James