Toot, toot! Listen up, DeMolay International!
If any of our readers are "numbers people" they might have caught onto the fact that this is blog post number 500! (You can add up the number of posts for each year in the navigation bar to the right.) In less than 4-1/2 years, we have amassed an incredible treasure-trove of ideas, opinions, inspiration, history, video archives and fun. Some of this material is worth repeating, or highlighting again, because we have a new generation of DeMolays coming along. Some of it had one-time value, to promote a specific event long past -- but a vast majority of the posts are as interesting now as when first written.
The credit for this blog goes primarly to "Dad" Seth Anthony, who is responsible for the blog account, and has coordinated most of its content since it began in 2010. In fact, he has written 440 blog postings over the years. I have written 39 (a number that surprised me) and 16 other authors have contributed: Isaac Holtzer (1), "Dad" Dan Loughin (1), "Dad" Peter Brusoe (3), Robbie Smith (2), Alex Rauschenberger (1), "Dad" Bruce Neubauer (1), "Mom" Jan Harms (1), Branden Glass (1), Adam Neubauer (1), "Dad" Zack Panitzke (1), Evan Quinter (1), James Palo (1), "Dad" Brent Richards (1), "Dad" Matt Blaisdell (2), Jordan Ippolito (1), and Alex Garcia (1).
I was privileged to write the first blog entry, which is why, I suppose, I have been asked to write the 500th blog posting. In the Monday, November 1, 2010 blog post, I answered the question, "Why blog?" and it is still a very accurate explanation of why we do what we do. The significance of it continues to grow as we realize the international audience we have amassed from the Philippines, Brazil, Germany, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Russia, India, and Australia. And when we realized that some of our posts were bringing a lot of people to our blog who knew nothing about DeMolay, it encouraged us to look for items to share that would be of greater general interest.
Our most-often viewed posts include the story about the Senior DeMolay who grew up to become the WWE's "Undertaker," a detailed look at the yellow cords on officer capes called aigulettes, the history of Dad Land's very own personal Founders Cross Award, and the DeMolay advisor who was the President of the Philippines.
I am very proud of this effort on the part of Pennsylvania DeMolay, and I admit that it gripes me just a little that the blog has never received any "official" recognition from DeMolay International. They send certificates to the creators of regular monthly Chapter publications, which reach out to 15-150 local members and advisors. But this blog reaches thousands of people, twice each week. Google and other search engines index it, and make it easy for people to find subjects of great interest to them. It often shows up in the top searches for DeMolay topics, and has even been featured on Chris Hodapp's FREEMASONS FOR DUMMIES blog. Usually I am reticent about calling attention to myself or our jurisdiction, assuming that the work speaks for itself, but there is another side of me that whispers, "If you don't toot your own horn a little, don't expect others to do it for you!"
So, I am laying it out there for all of you to see and judge. How about it? Where's the love for the PA DeMolay Blog? Where's the respect for its diverse range of topics, and its readability (typos abound, but, the nature of a blog is its immediacy, not its literacy) and its entertainment value?
Doesn't this merit at least a no-cost certificate, if not better?
Toot, toooooooot!
What say ye, DeMolay International?
"Dad" Thomas R. Labagh
Executive Officer in Pennsylvania
To celebrate the DeMolay Centennial, PA DeMolay will be counting down 100 memories worth celebrating that took place within the DeMolay Chapters and Jurisdiction of Pennsylvania.
