Be Different Spotlight: Reading Chapter

The following post is part of a series entitled the “Be Different Spotlight.” This post will display a chapter’s effort to grasp the concept of the theme for this year. Each chapter was challenged by the State Master Councilor, Adam Pritchard, to “Be Different.” 

Challenge Accepted! This is the story of how Reading Chapter embraced that challenge...

I am proud to announce that Reading Chapter has successfully thrown their first “Be Different” event. In order to explain the event, we all need some back story. For a couple of years “Dad” Dan Loughin has challenged Reading Chapter that if they can make positive growth, he would allow the members of the chapter who were first line signers to shave his head. Reading has been desperately trying to reach this goal for a while, but have unfortunately come short every time.

However, this year was a bit different. Reading Chapter was able to make positive growth for the first time in years due to the help of state incentive programs and chapter incentives. Now the problem continued: When is a good time to celebrate this auspicious occasion and officially get the clippers buzzing.

Reading Chapter’s Master Councilor Brian Henderson had planned a “Be Different” game night for his term. This game night was newer than game nights that Reading Chapter used to throw in the past, which usually involved card games and board games only. Recently our lodge hall had several parlor games installed in the lodge cafeteria, including billiards and air hockey. For the first time, Reading Chapter was able to utilize these items to take game night to a whole new level.

Members showed up with their families, as well as prospects (thus doubling this fun game night to also be a prospect party.) There were sodas, chips, cookies, pizza and fellowship for everyone. Throughout the night you could hear the constant clanking of air hockey chips as well as the cracking of a cue ball against the other pool balls. Members and friends played doubles so as to include as many people as possible. I sat at a table playing various card games with 3 other youth in attendance. The prospect party did not end there, with the opportunity to play Wii or ping pong still remaining as options before the night was over.

The night culminated in the long awaited and anticipated shaving of “Dad” Loughin’s head. The floor was prepped, the clippers were plugged in, and the members gathered. The first line signers took turns taking swipes across “Dad” Loughin’s head while others watched and laughed. At some point members began to forgo shaving everything off, but thought it funnier to cut irregular tufts of hair off his head, and then began to make fun patterns and unusual shapes. 

The night ended with shaving the rest of his head bald and clean up. Much fun was had and goodbyes were given (especially to "Dad" Loughin's hair.) The event was so successful that several prospects who were in attendance showed strong interest in joining, and younger siblings who came for the fun were looking to continue to be involved in chapter activities until they can join.

To watch the video of "Dad" Loughin getting his hair shaved off click here

This blog post was written by Pennsylvania DeMolay SMC Adam Pritchard. Thank you Brother Adam for your contribution.

Reading Chapter has completed the challenge to “Be Different.” What has your chapter done in order to change things up a bit? Send in program details or write a post for your chapter and send it to me at JAPullin@pademolay.net

DeMolay - 700 Years Later

I'm still out on the road, but I have another awesome video to share with you. Check out this clip, which is a digital tour of the last seven years of Jacques DeMolay's life. I found it fascinating and it made the story of Jacques DeMolay seem much more real.
 

Thanks to DeMolay International for this great piece!

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony

Match a Shirt, Suit, and Tie - Oh, my!

It's our final day of Blog Week here at PA DeMolay and I would be remiss if I didn't offer up something on one of my other favorite topics - men's fashion and grooming. We've spent the first four days on history, so it seems high time that we broach a more modern day subject.

During Key Man University, "Dad" Dan Loughin taught a class on the "Art of Manliness." In it, he spoke about many manly skills, such as shining your shoes, properly tucking in one's shirt, and good personal habits to keep. One question came up from the young men, but was tabled until later, as it was quite broad - "How do I match shirts, suits, and ties?"

As I explored the Art of Manliness website (www.artofmanliness.com), I came across this video that explains it quite succinctly. Check it out!

I hope you've enjoyed Blog Week and perhaps learned something along the way. See you Monday!

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony

I am Still Learning

Today's post comes from my ever increasing need to continue to learn and teach myself skills I didn't know previously. As "Dad" Tom Labagh has quoted Italian Artist, Michelangelo, in a few of his remarks, Ancora imparo.

"I am Still Learning."

It's pretty simple to tell what this means, and says a lot about one's character who emulates this ideal, but what it doesn't quite tell us is "how can we continue to learn?"

Recently, I've been getting involved in many online, educational forums and videos which allow me to learn about web design, calligraphy and even technology. After researching some places that could allow me to teach myself at my own pace, I've decided to compile a list of sites, for you to continue your education or enhance what you already know. 

A majority of the links below are free to access, those with a minimal fee is marked with a *.

www.openstudy.com - Online educational communities

www.wikihow.com - Step-by-step tutorials for many different projects

www.SkillShare.com - Video-based online courses*

www.Lynda.com - Video-based online courses*

www.ocw.mit.edu/courses/ - Online lectures from MIT

www.ted.com - Professional lectures and forums

www.howstuffworks.com - Self-explanatory and for the person who just wants to know more!

www.codecademy.com - Web design & coding tutorials

www.coursera.org - "World's best courses, online, for free"

www.khanacademy.org - "A world of skills to practice, with help along the way."

I've given you a list of links, so what, right? Obviously this hardly makes a dent in the amount of online, educational websites that are offered but this is where you and your interests come into play. Research free courses online about any subject and I'll guarantee you'll come out of those online-courses as a better, smarter person.

These sites can offer you loads of information, and even inspire you to pursue an educational avenue you didn't think you'd originally like.

Keep learning. Keep teaching. Keep Growing.

- "Dad" Matt 'Still Learning' Blaisdell

Membership Recruitment - It's no mystery!

Many of you know that I'm always scanning the internet for great resources or ideas to bring to Pennsylvania DeMolay. Recently, on one of these searches, I came across a fantastic video produced by the State Master Councilor of Indiana DeMolay.

Bro. Sunny Atwal was on vacation, visiting family abroad, during an important workshop weekend for Indiana DeMolay. Rather than just not be there, Sunny produced a short video on his tips for membership recruitment for DeMolays. The information in the video is really presented well and I think every DeMolay (and Mason) could benefit from understanding the principles that Sunny lays out. So, on with the video!

 

Note: Sunny talks about some Indiana DeMolay programs in his video (such as how they administer the PMC-MSA) This varies in Pennsylvania, so be aware.

Did you learn something from Sunny? If so, leave a comment and let us know.

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony

Ceremony of Light

I was recently checking out DeMolay videos on YouTube when I came across a magnificent video presentation of the Ceremony of Light performed by Brother Louis Martino down in Texas (but posted by Tennessee DeMolay.) This video shows what can be done when a person knows the words so well that they can then improve on the performance of the Ceremony. Perhaps it will inspire some of you to try to reach this level with your ritual work.

The video does start slowly, but I urge you to stick with it, as it's a great performance.

 

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony

Running Good Meetings

I'm having a particularly busy day here at the PMYF office, so today's blog post is going to be short and sweet.

I recently came across this great video on how to run a good team meeting and thought I'd share it with all of you.

 

 

For those in the Western part of the state, I will be attending the Grand Master's Youth Appreciation event in Pittsburgh suburbs this weekend. I hope to see you there!

 

Frat ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony

 

KMC 2013 Videos

As we settle back into our normal groove here at the PMYF office, I wanted to share with you the amazing videos that they Key Man conference attendees created during their week at Patton Campus. Each Key Man Chapter was asked to script and plan out a promotional video, advertising the Key Man Conference or DeMolay in general. The videos were shot and edited by "Dad" Matt Blaisdell and made their premier at the Friday night Conclave.

So, for your viewing pleasure, I present the KMC Conference videos!

 

And, as a special bonus, we present this video in honor of PA's State Scribe, Bro. Eric Dye, who made the mistake of falling asleep in the Atrium. Before doing so, he took of his signature glasses. Shenanigans ensued.



Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony

JacquesTalk, A New Look on Education

For those know know me, I spend a lot of my time in the office or studio filling my mind with audio and video stimulation like documentaries, bazaar music and informational discussions. Recently, I turned to one of my favorite programs, TedTalks, which are a series of conferences cover a range of topics from learning and teaching to the latest electronic possibilities.

While looking though my favorite TedTalk channels, I came across a stream of videos called "Knowledge is Power", which looked at how the educational system works, doesn't work, and how it can be made better. This one particular video in that stream really drew me in, not just because of the content, but because of the speaker as well.

Fifteen year old Adora Svitak, an American child protege and internationally recognized author, presented her ideas under the discussion title "What Adults can Learn from Kids."



What was really compelling about this was that she posited that while adults have gained experience in a specific field and trust among their peers, a large part of every action decided has been from an adult, with very little youth interaction.

As Adora put it. "learning between grown-ups and kids should be reciprocal." Youth have a lot of creative ideas, with not as many social restrictions that old generations may have learned through their experiences. The goal of educating our youth is not to turn them into carbon copies of ourselves in terms of our thinking and doing capabilities, but to establish opportunities for them to do better than us.

The relation our Chapters have to this concept is that Advisors take an "Unplugged" approach to Chapter term planning. The members control their organization and, as "Dad" Tom Labagh has put it many times before, "the members support what they help create."

If you're looking to learning something new, sit down and speak to a youth and take in their ideas and opinions with an open mind. You'll walk away with a different perspective.

"Dad" Matt Blaisdell

Regale me!

I thought I'd try to do something a bit different today and share a video that I found on YouTube. It was made by someone who is friends with PA DeMolay (as he was at Key Man 2012) but I'm not sure who it is! If you know, please drop a line to webmaster@pademolay.org.

Anyways, the video is chock full of old DeMolay regalia and pins. It gives you a nice a contrast between what a real gold jewel looks like, versus one that is just gold colored. Check it out!

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony

Special Guest Post - Sort Of

It appears that people are starting to pick up on the fact that I am always looking for ideas for this blog. On Friday, I received a link from my friend "Dad" Zack Panitzke, formerly of Erie Chapter, but now affiliated with E.A. Mroz Chapter in VA.

Zack sent along a video (which is embedded below) that shows how to pack a suit without using a suit bag. I know I hate having to pack an extra bag just for dress clothes, so, this is a fabulous method for packing those tough garments that you can't afford to have wrinkled. Check it out!

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony

Key Man 2010 Begins!

It has started! The first "key" men and women (our all-volunteer staff) arrived on Friday and Saturday, and spent much of Saturday meeting, organizing and preparing for the arrival of the DeMolay participants on Sunday. This is a significant contribution of time and effort to the program! Without our volunteers, some of whom have traveled in from long distance, we couldn't do this, so here's a "shout out" to Greg Schaeffer (New York), Dave Berry, Rodney Boyce, Ernie Loiselle (Ontario, Canada), John Slade (Alberta, Canada), Deb Vanek, Mike Larkin, Steve Lancaster (Utah), Rick Freedman, Mark Rauschenberger (Illinois), Eric Ullom, Sally Specht, Zack Panitzke (Virginia), Bruce Neubauer, Jan Harms, Nanette Blaisdell, Scott Tressler, Joe Pullin, Lou Grow, Lee Cram, Jeanine Larkin, Seth Anthony, Rich Whitman and of course, Sam Williamson!

I can't believe it has been 25 years! This was supposed to be a temporary replacement program for the DeMolay International Leadership Training Conferences that were cancelled due to budgetary complications. Its success and value has far exceeded our initial expectatations, largely due to the quality of volunteers who design and staff the program each year. Neither Sam nor I saw this as a long-term thing-- it was just to bridge the gap, until D.I. got its act together. Well, that took longer than we had expected, and by the time they had righted the ship, we had a tradition of excellence going that was unstoppable.

This year we are working under the leadership of our Youth Director, Bro. Jake Palo, PSMC of PA, and Conference Director, "Dad" Greg Schaeffer of PA and NY, who has many years of experience with the program. Past Directors who have contributed to the program include Tom Moberly (CA), Keith Klein (IN), Dave Glattly (NJ), Dave Lovatt (NJ), Rich Auerbach (NJ), Mark Ashman (NJ), Ray Flynn (NJ), Rick Freedman (PA), Kurt Duryea (PA), Len VanderHorn (NJ), Allen Moyer (PA), Brent Richards (PA), Dave Berry (PA) and Greg Schaeffer (PA/NY). Each Director has put his own stamp on the program, and what we do today is a conglomeration of all of their contributions.

A lot of changes have happened over the years. The program of today resembles, but is significantly different from the past. As we go through the week, I will be posting some photos and videos of both the current and previous Key Man Conferences. You'll see some of the differences, I am certain. Much of our early history is tied up in slides-- digital cameras weren't available in the "old" days. But a fair amount of video archives have survived, and we are digitizing them for future reference.

Here is a flavor of one of our earliest Conferences-- 1988-- when a "nightly news" cast was a key part of the program...


And here's the scene following Sunday's worship service

It's late, we're tired. Enjoy this, and we'll share more on Monday!

--Tom Labagh, EO & (a 25-Year Key Man Survivor)