DeMolay Time and Free Time

The following blog post was written by Brother Austin Chase, Region C Youth Representative, and PMC of Westmoreland Chapter. 

What does a DeMolay do in his free time when he's not in school or working? Some DeMolay members might like to play sports, play video games, sleep, drink chocolate milk, or practice their ritual. Every DeMolay has their own go to activities that they enjoy.  

During my free time, I like to play video games with my friends. When we're not playing video games, we do other things like go to the gym or go get something to eat. Other DeMolays in my Chapter like to do various other activities during their free time. One member is part of the swim team for their school. One member plays flag football. Another member is in the band and also plays for their high school Volleyball team. 

Some of us get together outside of DeMolay events and spend our free time together. Sometimes we get together to play basketball, listen to music, or play video games. The best part of DeMolay is that it provides you lifelong friendships that last even outside the Chapter banner.

Austin Chase, Region C Youth Representative
    

Use PokémonGO to Recruit for Your Youth Group

Today, we have a guest blog post from the original writer for the PA DeMolay blog, "Dad" Seth Anthony. Thank you "Dad" Anthony for contributing to the blog.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past week, you’ve probably heard about the new social sensation PokémonGO. Marketed as an augmeneted reality game, PokémonGO uses the real world as part of the play experience. Players collect Pokémon characters by walking around their local areas. In addition to the creatures themselves, players can also interact with points of interest as determined by the game, such as statues, parks, memorials, and yes, Masonic Lodges.

Many Masonic Lodges have been tagged by the game, either as Pokestops, where players can earn power ups and experience points, or as Gyms, where participants can train their Pokémon and battle other players. This has resulted in increased traffic around many Masonic buildings and brought new light to the fraternity as players discover our meeting places for the first time. This includes teens and tweens who are seeking out our facilities for their in-game benefits.

And therein lies the power of the game! With all of these new people visiting your building, what are you doing to market Masonic Youth to them? Picture this – a group of teens hanging around outside our Masonic building, battling their Pokémon. You already have something in common with them and a great conversation starter to break the ice! Ask them what team they are on and start up a conversation. Then, transition into talking about how you’re at this building a lot because your youth group meets here. Discuss what you do and how your members are also playing the game. Instantly, you’ve made a connection and found a potential member!

Perhaps you can take it one step further. Why not set up a booth and welcome players? You could even make it a prospect party event, especially if your Lodge is a Gym. As they approach your building, provide them with a grab bag that includes a healthy snack, some information for your organization, and other promotional material. Have your members battle it out and challenge visitors to a battle! Don’t forget to chat with the parents; this is a great chance for advisors to meet prospective parents and build their advisory councils as well!

PokémonGO is an amazing opportunity for your Masonic Youth Groups to utilize your meeting space to reach out to potential members. Don’t waste the chance to build your membership!

Taking Control of Your Career

The Take Control! campaign is based around video games. I don't know of any young guy who doesn't enjoy playing video games from time to time. Whether it be Halo, Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, or Madden, it seems every guy has played video games to some extent. Most guys also think it would really cool to be a video game designer / programmer for a job once they get out of high school. Lots of young men are looking for that quick break into the video game industry. Sadly, the reality of the industry is much different from the way most young men think about it.

I'm a huge fan of all the work that is done over at The Art of Manliness. Recently they posted a great article called So You Want My Job: Video Game Producer. It does alot to illuminate what it is like to work in the video game industry on a daily basis. Perhaps this is exactly the career path you want, or perhaps not. Either way it offers some  helpful tips on what you should do to prepare yourself if you want to make video games for a living. Check it out, you'll be glad you did!

Frat!~"Dad" Seth Anthony

Super Ritual Brothers? Grand Theft Ritual? Final Ritual VIII: The Gong?

Alright, we all know that DeMolay ritual can be boring. Heck, even people who really enjoy ritual can find it mind numbing at times (although this usally only happens when it's performed poorly.) So what can you do to help your Chapter get a bit more excited about ritual? How about ritual as a video game? Impossible? Not at all! Thanks to "Dad" Greg Schaeffer, it's now available to you at the low, low, cost of free!

That's right folks, "Dad" Schaeffer wrote a nifty a little program that can show where people are supposed to walk, and how they should move during the presentation of DeMolay ritual. While it's not Duke Nukem' (for the older gamers out there) or Call of Duty, it is an easy and effective way to help DeMolays grasp the floorwork in the ritual.

Head on over to http://code.google.com/p/demolay-floorwork-simulator/ and grab the program. It's really easy to use, and simple to install. Give it a whirl-- you might find ritual a little less boring next time!

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony