06/01/2019
We regret to inform our brethren and friends that M.:W:. John E. Karroum has passed to the celestial Lodge above. Please keep his wife Carol and their family in your thoughts and prayers. Also, please respect their privacy in their time of mourning. Arrangement information will follow as soon as we are notified.
Here is M.:W:. Karroum’s message for his year as Grand Master. As we reflect upon his service to the Craft, let us use his message to look to the future:
Grand Master's Message
Mr Brothers,
I want to thank you for the vote of confidence in electing me your Grand Master for the ensuing year. My goals during my year are:
1-Masonic Education: I would like to stress Masonic Education to all Brothers more especially the Principal Officers of the Lodge. Let us improve ourselves in Masonry. An Educated Mason is a Dedicated Mason. And I quote “knowledge is power” by Sir Francis Bacon.
2- Masonic Membership and Lodge Improvement: Identify, help and assist failing Lodges and provide them with the necessary tools to succeed. We have to continue educating the Craft and our Lodges about mergers and consolidations to secure our existence in the future. A Lodge that passes the hat to pay the electric bill is on its death bed and needs to rethink merging or consolidating.
3- Masonic Ritual: There will be NO ONE DAY CLASSES in my year. We have to go back to our tradition of Initiating candidates then mentoring and educating them through every Degree. We need dedicated and well informed Masons. Our Lodge Ritual has to improve by following the Ritual set forth by the Committee on Work and approved by the Craft. The Installation of Officers, whether opened or closed, shall follow the Ritual approved by The Grand Lodge of Florida. Mediocre or sub-standard Ritual is not what defines us as Masons.
4- Masonic Home Development and Future Building: We, the Craft, passed legislation to allow non-Masons to reside in our Masonic Home to assist in improving its financial status and make it more financially sustainable. We need to remodel the second and third floors. The rooms are thirty years old and cannot compete with the new nursing homes in the surrounding area of our Home. We have projected a cost of 1.5 million dollars to remodel these rooms. In the past these rooms were sponsored by a Brother, a Lodge, or a District. I would like to see that again. The original sponsor will be given the option to remodel his room first. Our Masonic Home was built by donations from the Craft and I expect that to happen again. Also, I would like to see the Independent Living Project revived (the Craft already approved it in 2009). The MH property is on the water, it is a prime property in Florida and we should explore its potential. I believe for the MH to succeed it needs to be separated from Grand Lodge as a different business entity managed by real professionals in that field that report to the Grand Master and the Craft of their successes and failures. The other benefit is by protecting the Grand Lodge from any liability that may arise from the MH. It may happened in my year and it may not. It is an idea we need to seriously consider in the near future.
The First Lady, Carol Karroum’s, project will be remodeling the reception area of our Masonic Home. I hope you extend full support for her project.
For my District Deputy Grand Masters: Thank you for stepping up to the plate and fulfilling my requirement for Masonic Education. You will be my beacon in your District.
For my District Instructors: Also, I want to thank you for meeting all the Masonic Education requirements and getting your Blue Proficiency Card. You are the backbone for our Fraternity in keeping the Ritual alive and well.
My Brothers, I am here for you. Let’s act as upright men and Masons, learn to subdue our passions, agree to disagree, and work together for the betterment of our Fraternity. I look forward to seeing everyone in our future travels, may God Bless each and every one of you, may God Bless our Fraternity, and May God Bless the United States of America and all who serve it.
Fraternally yours,
M∴W∴ John E. Karroum,
Grand Master
