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For 34 years the mainland Masons of District #10 have honored our public
schools by recognizing the top junior students of all eight high schools
in Whatcom County in a single grand event, the Masonic Scholar-Citizen
Award Program. Each year many man- hours and local Masonic dollars are
contributed to this program.
Almost like defying
gravity, despite the number of Masons in the district dropping over the
past decade, the number contributing and the amount donated this year
were higher than in any of the past ten years: 191 (35% of the District
roster) contributed $5,774. Even subtracting one generous brother's
$1000 contribution, the total still beat the previous record by $800.
Better still was the number of Masons attending with pride one of the
few community events that showcases Masonry in action.
The District scholarship trust fund now totals $33,000, which includes
$8000 in CD's set aside for this year's and last year's scholarships to
be awarded over the next
two years.
Our annual award program
is open to high school students in their junior year. Applicants must
list their school activities, courses, awards and GPA, as well as their
community activities, and they are required to write concise responses
on three topics. From the applicant pool, 6 to 10 finalists are selected
from each school (6 from the 5 smaller schools, 10 from the 3 larger
schools). The top male and female from each school are selected to be
award winners and from these 16 the 6 scholarship winners are selected.
The annual Award Program is a delightful, uplifting event that showcases
students who are leaders in their schools, as well as their communities.
The principals and junior class counselors from each school present
their students with obvious pride.
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