Orient of Florida 2023 Honourmen
Ill. Richard G. Hoover, SGIG for the Orient of Florida is proud to announce the 2023 Honourmen who were elected to either be coronated an Inspector General Honorary and receive the thirty-third degree, and those receiving the rank and title of Knight Commander of the Court of Honor. These worthy brothers will be honored with their new rank at the 2023 Florida Scottish Rite Honors Weekend in Tampa, Florida on November 10th and 11th, 2023:
Inspectors General Honorary-Elect
Valley of Fort Myers:
Peter M. Kolthammer, 32º KCCH
Edgar F. Lanham II, 32º KCCH
Valley of Jacksonville:
Rudin J. Boatright, 32º KCCH
Corey D Kosciuszko, 32º KCCH
Valley of Key West:
Frederick Blaine Rineer, 32º KCCH
Valley of Lake Worth:
Ramon M Voils, 32º KCCH
Valley of Miami:
Adrian Martin Castro
Armando David Mitat, 32º KCCH
Ishmael Morin, 32º KCCH
Valley of Ocala:
James Edward Chaffin, 32º KCCH
Valley of Orlando:
Donald R Goolsby, 32º KCCH
Imre Judovits, 32º KCCH
Valley of Panama City:
Mark C. Dragon, 32º KCCH
Valley of Pensacola:
Carl Glynn Kirtley, 32º KCCH
Valley of Tallahassee:
Hugh Wesley Prine, 32º KCCH
Valley of Tampa:
Brian D Campbell, 32º KCCH
Charles Ray Jordan, 32º KCCH
Richard A. Vogt, 32º KCCH
Knight Commanders of the Court of Honor-Elect
Valley of Fort Myers:
Jonas Seda, 32º
John Troia, 32º
Robert K. Zimmerman, 32º
Valley of Jacksonville:
Randal Lee Burkett, 32º
Jonathan E. Croft, 32º
David Coulter Lea, 32º
Andrew Keith Zerber, 32º
Valley of Key West:
Alden E. Albury, 32º
Jeremiah Schaffer, 32º
Valley of Lake Worth:
Alfredo Flores, Jr, 32º
Clifford Alan Kraft, 32º
Joel H. Miller, 32º
Stephen Christopher Nelson, 32º
Gerald I. Strohacker, 32º
Valley of Miami:
Eduardo Victor Carranza, 32º
Angel Luis Fernandez, 32º
Manuel Olmedo, 32º
Francisco M. Perez, 32º
Byron C. Smith, 32º
Lazaro Manuel Trejo, 32º
Valley of Ocala:
John M. Gysen, 32º
James R. Hawkins, 32º
Tony K. Martin, 32º
David M. Rice, 32º
David E. Windmiller, 32º
Valley of Orlando:
Tracy Dwayne Chastain, 32º
Terry Loren Lewis, 32º
Norberto Monell, 32º
Antonio J. Pereira, 32º
Michael Guy Seeley, 32º
O. Harris Springer, 32º
William A. Triplett, 32º
Valley of Panama City:
Ronald Gregory Espanola, 32º
Dale A. Kiel, 32º
Jerry J Miller, 32º
Charles G. Sipes, 32º
Tony Vegas Viejo, 32º
Valley of Pensacola:
Shawn D. Johnson, 32º
Benigno Q. Quinto, 32º
Dwight Alan Wilson, 32º
Valley of Tallahassee:
Donald J. Goss, 32º
Gary E. Huff, 32º
Paul Roy Swanson, 32º
David Jon Tranchand, 32º
David Lamar Vickers, 32º
Valley of Tampa:
Charles Roland Bailey, 32º
Perry D. Batson, 32º
Robert “Joey” Davis Jr, 32º
Douglas W. Dobbs, 32º
Andrew S. Gluchov, 32º
Reginald J. Guier, 32º
Paul A Ippolito, 32º
Joseph A. Monday, 32º
Petar Sibinkic, 32º
Jeffrey T. Sklet, 32º
Ill⸫ Richard G. Hoover Elected Sovereign Grand Inspector General in the Orient of Florida
We are pleased to announce that Ill⸫ Richard G. Hoover, 33° was unanimously elected and crowned as Sovereign Grand Inspector General in the Orient of Florida on Saturday, August 21, 2021 during the biennial session of the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction.
Our new SGIG was born in Williamsport, PA, May 31, 1952. He attended the public schools in the area and graduated from Williamsport High School in 1970. After graduation, he worked in his father’s construction business for several years until moving to St. Petersburg, FL in 1977. Ill⸫ Rick returned to Williamsport to marry his high school sweetheart, Robyn (Bobby) L. Allen, on December 17, 1983. Together they have two sons, Richard A. and J. Ryan. Ill⸫ Hoover has a daughter, Tammie Hartland, from a previous marriage. Rick and Bobby enjoy spending time with their three beautiful granddaughters: Alexis, Marissa and Audrey Rose.
Since moving to Florida, our SGIG has been employed in the Pest Control industry. He has worked with several of the largest firms in the Nation in management with duties including technician training, customer relations and retention, and management. In 1988, Ill⸫ Rick and Bobby incorporated All R’s Pest Management to give a type of service prospective customers look for, a company who cares. This business has been successfully serving customers for over thirty years.
Ill⸫ Hoover received the Three Symbolic Degrees of Freemasonry in Nitram Lodge No. 188 in St. Petersburg, FL in 1994. He served his Lodge as Worshipful Master in 1998 and as Secretary from 2004 – 2013. He has served his District in various committee chairmanships from 1997 through 2008.
Our SGIG has served the Grand Lodge of Florida as District Deputy Grand Master of the (old) 21st Masonic District in 2003 and served as District Instructor in 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2013. In addition, he served as Grand Standard Bearer in 2007, five years as a member of the Masonic Jurisprudence Committee, the FA-100 Committee, Public Education & Citizenship Committee, Public Relations and Publicity Committee and the Masonic Leadership Training Committee. In 2010 he was appointed Grand Representative of the Grand Lodge of Arizona near the Grand Lodge of Florida.
Ill⸫ Hoover was elected Junior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge of Florida in 2014, Senior Grand Warden in 2015, Deputy Grand Master in 2016 and elected Grand Master at the 188th Annual Grand Communication and then installed Grand Master on his 65th birthday, May 31, 2017.
Ill⸫ Hoover became a Master of the Royal Secret on May 6, 1995 in the Valley of Tampa. He has been an active member of the Valley, having served as Master of Kadosh in 2008 along with serving as President of the Past Masters Organization. He has served as the Valley of Tampa’s Trustee on the Scottish Rite Foundation of Florida’s Board of Trustees in 2012 – 2014. He was coroneted a Thirty-Third Scottish Rite Mason in November 2013.
Ill⸫ Rick is a member of the St. Petersburg York Rite Bodies, Selama Grotto, Egypt Shriners, Bethlehem Chapter No. 169, OES and a member of the Royal Order of Scotland, Maxwell Clan.
In his spare time, he enjoys golf, trap and skeet shooting, bowling and collecting Masonic paraphernalia and memorabilia.
Holiday Greetings from SGC Cole, 33°
Greetings!
I’m sending this email out at the request of Illustrious Deputy Rick Hoover. The following reflects our collective thoughts and shares information we have gathered from Royal Caribbean.
Given the current situation with Covid-19 (the Corona Virus) many people are concerned about cruising at this time. It seems to be prudent to postpone the April 19-26 cruise and Rick is suggesting re-scheduling for next year (date TBD).
The good news is that Royal Caribbean just announced that they are temporarily changing their cancellation policy. This will allow you to cancel your April booking without incurring their usual penalty this close to the cruise.
Their policy is as follows:
If you confirm that you want to cancel by March 15, you will be able to get 25% of your base cruise fare back as a refund (to your credit card) and 75% as future cruise credit to be used by December 31, 2021. If you cancel between March 15 and April 15 all of your base fare would be issued as a future cruise credit to be used by December 31, 2021.
If you cancel, you will receive a refund (to your credit card) of any taxes, fees, prepaid gratuities, excursions, spa treatments, etc. that you paid for this cruise (and 25% of the actual cruise fare if you decide by 3/15).
Refunds will be issued to the credit card that you used to make your final payment with (if you have had a change to that card, i.e. expired, lost/replaced, etc., please let us know so we can let Royal Caribbean credit a different card.) Refunds may show up as several different transactions and should appear within 7-10 days of cancellation.
You will receive a future cruise credit letter approximately 14 days after cancellation for the appropriate portion of your base cruise fare.
If you purchased trip protection insurance, you will not, unfortunately, be eligible for refund of that premium. Cancelling due to concerns about the Corona Virus is not a covered reason for cancelling, thus your trip protection would not apply to this cancellation.
Of course, you have the option to take the April cruise as planned. It will just not be the “group cruise”. Hopefully you will be able to join Rick and Bobby next year when the official cruise is rescheduled.
IMPORTANT: If you decide you want to cancel, you must notify me via email by 5:00 PM on March 15. I will be working on processing the cancellations over the next couple of weeks and will send confirmation of cancellation to everyone after March 15. I will also send documentation of your future cruise credit when I receive it (it will come directly to you from Royal Caribbean if you have added your email address to your cruise profile).
Let me know if you have any questions.
We hope everyone stays safe and healthy and that you will all be together next year on the group cruise with Rick and Bobby.
Jen
Jen JacksonAll Vista Travel
(408) 250-5826 – mobile
www.AllVistaTravel.com
jen@allvistatravel.com
An Important Message from SGC Cole, 33°
Please click the video link below for an important message from
Sovereign Grand Commander, Cole, 33°
Valley of Miami Centennial Celebration
A truly magnificent night of history, camaraderie, and fellowship occurred on October 26, 2019 as the Valley of Miami in the Orient of Florida celebrated its 100th Anniversary. The valley began when all four coordinate bodies of the Scottish Rite were in place in October of 1919. This was when the young city of Miami was on the cusp of its great century of growth emerging as a world class metropolis from what had been nothing more than a fishing village 30 years prior. The establishment of an additional branch of freemasonry sat poised to grow along with the city.
The evening began with a meet and greet of the 300 plus attendees with several distinguished masonic guests including Ill. James D. Cole, 33°, Sovereign Grand Commander, Ill. Richard G. Hoover, 33°, Deputy in Florida and Most Worshipful John W. Westerman III, Grand Master of Masons in Florida. Next a special Masonic Music performance was given by Orchestra Miami in the grand auditorium of the valley’s building. The works included everything from Mozart to Ragtime to patriotic songs of the United States. This was followed by a lavish banquet that included a historical talk on the valley and comments from the special guests.
The event was enjoyed by all and favorable comments are still coming in to the valley’s leadership as the four coordinate bodies embark on their second century of service to the Miami community.
Photo 1: From left to right, Ill. Richard G. Hoover, Deputy of the Orient of Florida, Ill. James D. Cole, Sovereign Grand Commander, M..W.. John Westerman III, Grand Master of Florida, Ill. Glenn G. Gomez, Personal Representative in the Valley of Miami.
Photo 2: Watching the Orchestra Miami production.
Photo 3: Three male tenors performing
Photo 4: Cellist performing solo during the performance
Photo 5: A duet performing during the program
Photo 6: Ill. Glenn G. Gomez, Personal Representative, introducing Ill. Richard G. Hoover, Deputy in Florida, for comments. Ill. James D. Cole to the speakers right, M..W.. John Westerman III, Grand Master of Florida, far left and Ill. Dale I Goherig, S.G.I.G. Emeritus to the far right.
Photo 7: Ill. John Borsa giving a speech on the Valleys history.
Photo 8: Ill. Glenn G. Gomez, Personal Representative, Ill James D. Cole, Sovereign Grand Commander, Ill. John Borsa, III. Richard G. Hoover, Deputy of Florida and his wife Bobby laugh at a joke from Ill. Borsa.
Photo 9: Ill. James D. Cole, Grand Commander, Ill. Glenn G. Gomez, Personal Representative, Ill. Richard G. Hoover, Deputy of Florida, as Ill. Gomez introduces M..W.. John Westerman, Grand Master of Florida.
Photo 10: Grand Commander James D. Cole presenting his Grand Commanders Cap to Ill. Glenn G. Gomez, Personal Representative, in appreciation for the weekends events.
Scottish Rite Workshops
To start the new year, the Supreme Council will be offering Scottish Rite Workshops. Information can be found online at https://scottishrite.org/
Charlotte, NC, is planned to be the home for one of the 2020 Scottish Rite Workshops on March 13th and 14th. You can go to the Supreme Council website, click on the link for the workshops, and register there. You will also be able to book your hotel room from your confirmation page. If you are going to attend this Scottish Rite Workshop, please let your Valley’s General Secretary or Personal Representative know, as our Deputy Ill. Rick Hoover will be arriving there on Thursday March 12th, and leaving on Sunday March 15th, and would like to meet with the Florida contingent on Friday morning before the session starts.
Honors Weekend 2019
The Coronation and Investiture of our newly elected Orient-wide Honorees will again take place at the Valley of Tampa on the weekend of November the 9th and 10th. The Ceremony of Coronation for new 33° Inspectors Generals will take place the morning of November 9th, the Ceremony of Investiture of new Knights Commanders of the Court of Honour will take place the afternoon of the 9th, and in the evening of the 9th will be the Celebratory Banquet. The KCCH Investiture Ceremony will be open to family, friends, and fellow brothers! That means many who in the past were not able to gain admission will be able to witness the KCCH Investiture.
Additional information is available from this information sheet. Please complete and return the registration form if you wish to attend. Reservations are due by October 15th!
The 2019 Inspectors General Honorary-elect from the Orient of Florida:
- Fort Myers – Richard William Bayly
- Jacksonville – Kenneth Lomax Lowery
- Jacksonville – Garrett Ewing Newman, Jr.
- Jacksonville – Brian Ray Poole
- Lake Worth – Roy Dean Strohacker
- Miami – Wayne Franklin Foote
- Miami – Richard Edward Lynn
- Miami – Luis Telesforo Meurice
- Miami – Philip Andrew Slack
- Ocala – Robert Joseph Moynihan III
- Orlando – Gary James Bergenske
- Orlando – Ronald Brian Blaisdell
- Orlando – James Robert Hamilton
- Orlando – Edward Michael Sexton
- Panama City – Archie Gene Maynard
- Pensacola – Kenneth Karl Eichorn
- Tampa – James J. T. Blum
- Tampa – Arthur Gary Cavanaugh
- Tampa – Robert Dale Davidson
- Tampa – Casey Alan Fletcher
- Tampa – Michael Roger Pender, Jr.
The 2019 Orient of Florida Knight Commanders of the Court of Honor-elect:
- Fort Myers – Thomas A. Elliott
- Fort Myers – John Allen Herman
- Fort Myers – Robert Starkey Holland
- Fort Myers – Kenneth Robert Jordan
- Fort Myers – Peter Michael Kolthammer
- Fort Myers – Robert John Lippek
- Fort Myers – Robert Lee Miller
- Fort Myers – Jeffrey Michael Nowak
- Jacksonville – Robert Watterson Alexander
- Jacksonville – Raymond Muntaz Ali
- Jacksonville – James Richard Billberry
- Jacksonville – Todd Mark Connor
- Jacksonville – Jimmy A. Dorsey
- Jacksonville – Larry Heyward Elkins
- Jacksonville – Larry Mark Hecht
- Jacksonville – William Raymond Holly, Jr.
- Jacksonville – John William Howard
- Jacksonville – Gerald Bard Tjoflat
- Jacksonville – Martin Douglas Wiggins
- Key West – Antonio Estenoz III
- Key West – Jose Carmo Peixoto
- Key West – Jesseray P. Van Houten
- Key West – Jason S. Vidal
- Lake Worth – Mark Raymond Angstrom
- Lake Worth – Robert Clark Gibbons, Sr.
- Lake Worth – William E. Staats
- Lake Worth – Ramon Mark Voils
- Miami – Richard Lee Brown
- Miami – Brian Mark Chartrand
- Miami – Barry I. Deutsch
- Miami – Carlos Miguel Hernandez
- Miami – Juan Carlos Gironda Mamani
- Miami – William Lee Popham, Sr.
- Miami – Oscar Rondan
- Miami – Steven Lee Rushefsky
- Miami – Dale Andrew Spear
- Miami – Kenneth Lee Whiting, Jr.
- Ocala – Victor Dean Campbell
- Ocala – James Roland Kriebel
- Ocala – Gary R. Moore
- Ocala – Richard Hugh Trout II
- Ocala – Glenn Edward Wyatt
- Orlando – Harry Gilbert Brumley III
- Orlando – Michael J. Catello
- Orlando – Alex Ayham Darwich
- Orlando – Christopher James Durie
- Orlando – Barry Alan Rosenthal
- Orlando – Charles Russell Shiery
- Orlando – Sean Alec Stenson
- Orlando – Chester Joseph Tokar
- Orlando – Thomas Lee Turlington, Jr.
- Panama City – John Charles Cluxton
- Panama City – Danny Lee Farmer
- Panama City – Daniel Joseph Hinz
- Panama City – Joseph Curtis Smith
- Panama City – Fred William Werner
- Pensacola – Gene Paul Bodkin
- Pensacola – Alex Carambas
- Pensacola – Alan Bruce Cox
- Pensacola – James Eric Draeving
- Pensacola – Robert Alan Matteson
- Pensacola – Johnnie Steve Mick
- Pensacola – Edward H. Scheye
- Tallahassee – Hector Guillont-Rivera
- Tallahassee – Neils H. Hesse
- Tallahassee – Richard Thomas Sirmons
- Tampa – Frank Stuart Albinson
- Tampa – Herbert Hunter Atwood
- Tampa – Paul David Barber
- Tampa – Donald William Cowart
- Tampa – Charles Ray Jordan
- Tampa – Robert L. Thomas Phillips
- Tampa – Alessio Ruggiero
- Tampa – Steven Jon Silvers
- Tampa – Jeffrey Morris Snyder
- Tampa – William Allen Sorbie
- Tampa – Richard Reed Whitmyer
- Tampa – Gregory Lamar Wynn
Upon nomination of Illustrious Richard Hoover, Deputy of the Supreme Council in Florida, Illustrious Dean M. Resch of the Valley of Panama City, Florida was elected unanimously by the Supreme Council to receive the honor and decoration of Grand Cross.
Ill. Resch was born in New Jersey and grew up in Middletown. He was drafted into the Army in 1965 and after basic attended military police training. He served 7 months at Ft. Monroe VA after which he was assigned to Vietnam where he served 13 months. He was later accepted into flight training and received his wings in 1968. His assignments included Korea, Germany and Vietnam/Laos. He became an CH-47 Chinook instructor pilot and aircraft commander. His decorations include Distinguished Flying Cross (3), Bronze Star, Air Medal (23), Army Commendation Medal and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry w/palm.
In 1990 Ill. Resch joined the FAA with assistance from a longtime friend and Scottish Rite Brother. He managed all flight operations for the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta without accident or incident. He joined the U. S. State Department in 2006 and went to Baghdad, Iraq as an aviation security advisor to the Chief of Mission (Ambassador). He was asked to help out by his Scottish Rite Brother.
Ill. Resch has been very active in many areas of his community a few of which are Past President of Boys and Girls Club, Past Vice-President of Children’s Advocacy Center, Adult Advisor to the Bay County Teen Court, Senior Member of the Bay County Public Safety Council, retired member of U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and a Covenant Care Hospice end stage volunteer at the Clifford J. Sims Veterans Home, usually accompanied by his faithful dog Tebow which the Veterans enjoy seeing.
Ill. Resch entered the Masonic Fraternity in 1976 and is a Past Master of Daleville Lodge #903, Daleville, AL and Acacia Lodge #16, Commonwealth of Virginia. He served as District Deputy Grand Master, Masonic District 6, Virginia for Grand Master James Dean Cole, our new Sovereign Grand Commander. He is a member of Pythagoras Lodge #358, Panama City Beach, FL and is a York Rite Mason and Shriner.
Ill. Resch became a Scottish Rite Mason in 1976 in Dothan, AL. He demitted to the Panama City Valley in 2001 and became very active. He was Coroneted a 33rd Degree in 2011 and is currently serving Ill. Hoover as the Personal Representative in the Panama City Valley. He is a continuing personal donor to the Scottish Rite Foundation of Florida as well as a being a major fundraiser for the Foundation.
One of Ill. Resch’s finest qualities is that he stays in regular contact with many Brothers who are having health problems, he helps to keep their spirits up and he is also known to offer financial assistance. He does all this while undergoing his own weekly cancer treatments. In the last year Ill. Resch has had the added duty of guiding the Panama City Valley through its reconstruction from the destruction caused by hurricane Michael last October as well as helping to see that the Brothers of his community received needed assistance.
Valley of Lake Worth Fall Reunion
The Valley of Lake Worth will be holding their Fall Reunion on Saturday, October 26th and Saturday, October 27th at Bykota Lodge # 333, 421 Jennings Ave. Greenacres (map).
The Degree work will commence at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday the 26th with conferrals of the 4°, 5°, 6°, 12°, 14°, and 18°. A light breakfast and lunch being served both days
On Sunday the 27th, degree work will resume at 9:00 a.m. and the following degrees will be conferred: 30°, and 32°. Following the degree work, there will be a Consecration.
AASR Orient of Florida 