The Masonic Society's 2017 Conference in Lexington, Kentucky begins tomorrow evening, and you don't want to miss it! This promises to be one of the best of these events the Society has ever hosted, and John Bizzack and the other organizers have done an outstanding job. An amazing list of speakers, panelists, and presenters will be on hand for a VERY intensive program.
PLEASE NOTE: You do NOT have to be a Masonic Society member to attend this event. We'd love for you to join TMS, but anyone may sign up for the Conference regardless.
Speakers and panelists will include:
Thomas W. Jackson
Mark Tabbert
Jordan Yelinek
Dr. Elquemedo Oscar Alleyne
Patrick Craddock
Allan Casalou
Andrew Hammer
Jon T. Ruark
Dr. John Bizzack
Cameron C. Poe
Richard A. Graeter
A certain Dummy
Early check-in begins at noon tomorrow, Thursday September 7th, with a Welcome Reception at 6PM. The main Conference events kick off at 9AM on Friday with introductions, followed by Tom Jackson's opening presentation of The History of the Future of Freemasonry. Speakers and panels will take place throughout Friday and Saturday, and I'll be moderating a panel on Friday afternoon on the topic of "Freemasonry and the Next 100 Years." There will also be a closing panel discussion on Sunday morning from 9-11AM for those still in town. The current program may be seen HERE.
Lexington is a fascinating city with a very storied history of its own. Included with the Conference fee are optional tours to Kentucky Horse Park and Henry Clay's historic home in nearby Ashland. Please sign up for these on the registration so the organizers know how many people to expect to accommodate. (Note: spouses or friends not attending the Conference itself can sign up for the tours for $20 apiece.)
The Conference website is available HERE. Registration is $125 for the Conference only, plus $45 per person for the Festive Board on Friday evening (this dinner is for Masons only - back tie or business suit, please). If you happen to be a member of Lexington Lodge 1, there is no charge for the Festive Board, as you are the local hosts.
All events will be held at the Embassy Suites in Lexington. I have no idea if there are any rooms left in our bloc, but online reservations using the Masonic Society Conference code, CLICK HERE.
By the way, speaking of John Bizzack, be sure to check out his new book, Island Freemasonry, published by Macoy Publishing. It is an absolutely outstanding exploration of the explosive, rapid expansion of the fraternity on the frontier of America in the late 1700s and early 1800s. On the one hand, Freemasonry was a positive, civilizing, leadership-training influence that attracted the best of men, while encouraging others to emulate them. However, that unbridled expansion into distant, often rugged, uneducated men on the frontier also laid the seeds of the Morgan Affair and numerous other troubles that have plagued us ever since, and was as much about political and practical expansion at the time as it was about brotherhood. Arguably more. John has done an excellent job of connecting history's dots, and it is well worth your time to read this tremendous work of scholarship.
