Message from the Festival Chairman W. Bro. Dick Knifton

16 March, 2017

Message from the Festival Chairman WBro Dick Knifton

  • My message is a very clear one, the Brethren of Hertfordshire have started brilliantly towards the target of £3million, so far raising £2.01m, but there is still much more to do in the remaining time.
  • The generosity so far shown has been fantastic, The PGM,  myself and the Festival Team are all so appreciative of what has been raised so far , and thank you for you what you have done and what you are doing as we progress towards the end of the Appeal.

 

WBro Chris Noble  Provincial Grand Charity Steward

As we pass the half way stage of the 2019 Herts Festival I have to thank the wonderful generosity of the Happy Herts Masons who have donated an incredible £2.01m  or 67% toward our £3m target. 22 Lodges have reached Vice Patron (80%) : 14 have achieved Patron (100%) and 8 have already donated in excess of 120% of their target and gained Grand Patron.

The list of Lodges and Chapters using gift aid envelopes continues to grow.     39 Chapters and 144 Lodges have collected an amazing £264,000 claiming back over £64,000 in Tax.

Festival Honorifics : 1,900 members have supported the Festival, The Province and their Lodges by qualifying as Festival Stewards. 51 members have donated a massive £186k by qualifying as Festival Grand Patrons. 164 have qualified as Patrons donating nearly £223k and 170 Vice Patrons have together donated £146k.

Lodge & Chapter Honorifics : 22 Lodges have reached 80% Target achieving Vice patronage : 14 are Patrons having donated 100% Target and 8 are Grand Patrons donating in excess of 120% Target. A new level is being introduced for high achievers so watch out for details.

Ex Comp Howard Collins continues to encourage his members to support the Festival and he has 48 Chapters who have donated nearly £70,000. We thank the members most sincerely.
Perhaps a timely reminder to “donate to charity not save for charity”. Banks and building societies continue to pay derisory rates of interest. The RMTGB needs our money now. In return they will award a good rate of interest on your donations toward your Lodge and personal honorifics. Thus far we have been gained £67,450 interest, the equivalent of four or five extra Lodges.

Festival Steward : not too late to qualify. Just £15.00 per month until the end of June 2019 will immediately qualify you and we look forward to presenting your jewel in open lodge. Download the RPP form now

Lodge of True Aim L9930 : The new “shooting Lodge” aims high and expects to hit their Festival Target with half the Festival remaining. They have already reached Vice Patron with the certificate presented by WBro Chris Noble Provincial Grand Charity Steward (L9930 Charity Steward) to the L9930 IPM WBro Dick Knifton (Festival Chairman) at their March meeting. Several Jewels were presented to members from our neighbouring Provinces, who have set high standards in qualifying to help the Lodge reach the target.       Bedfordshire : Northants : Essex : Bucks.