Episode 99. Trajectory (ft. Marc Lovin)

How do we set up the Masonic journey to be a success?

“We say it, but do we actually do it?” 

Former Army Intelligence Analyst and Minnesota transplant via Texas and Tennessee: it’s Marc Lovin. Newport No. 118's Senior Warden weighs in on planning for the year ahead, overcoming internal communication struggles, and the underrated value of Masonic travel. 

“What is your lodge doing today that will be of benefit in a decade?” 

It’s a podcast, folks…and “it doesn’t even have a first name, it just says McLovin!”  

Transcript

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What was your path to pursuing the Masonic experience? Masonry has been something in my life that has been there since I can remember. my godfather when I was young, was a police officer in the town that I was in, uh, and was a Mason. very well respected in the community and honestly one of the best men that I've ever known as far as morals, standards, taking care of those that need it. Uh, an example of what I would consider a man. unfortunately he passed away before I was able to come to an age where I was able to ask him. throughout my time in the military, I had met Masons. They had kind of given me a brief overview, but I never dove too far into it. after getting outta the army, you know, I, uh, moved to Minnesota, didn't have any family on this half of the country. so I was looking for that brotherhood that, you know, you had in the military. Going through and making sure that I'm able to support my community, give myself some sort of goal to work towards instead of being stagnant. Mark Levin, you were born in Fort Hood, Texas. Spent 14 years in East Tennessee before moving and going to three different high schools in three different states. He graduated from Park High School in Cottage Grove in 2010. You left for the Army in 19 days after graduation. Served eight years as an intel analyst, multiple schools warrior leader, course, air assault, combat lifesaver, field sanitation, asymmetric warfare. You volunteered for all of it. Proud father of two kids. Marcus is three, and Anthony is two. I have to ask, how difficult was it? Having a name so closely associated with super bad and three different high schools in three different states. So is it, can I connect the dots and think that as you're a new guy and McClean is all over, how did you deal with that? it was an interesting experience to say the least. Super bad came out at the tail end of my sophomore year of high school. Oh man. so I was in ROTC at the time as well, so you just see Loving on my uniform. And your name's Mark. So it's pretty close. And Mark's spelled with a C at that. Oh, that's right. Um, so it was something that, uh, I distinctly remember both first days in Ohio and Minnesota. I walked into both classes. The first one was like, dude, you're McLoving. I was okay. Like I hadn't seen the movie at that point in time. I'd heard the reference but hadn't seen it. So of course that strung me to go see it. and I am a skinny kid with dark hair and I wore glasses. so it wasn't anything that was a, a far stretch, to make that correlation. My senior year, I walked in first day and I was late. cause I couldn't figure out where my class was. and the first thing I hear is, dude, it's him. I'm like, what? It's mle. So not only that, but you join the military 19 days after you graduate. Drill sergeants have fun with everyone's name. Oh yeah. Do you know? And uh, it just got to the point now where even today I still hear the reference and it's like. Everyone thinks that they've come up with something unique, you know? Yeah. Have you ever been called lov? No. Brother. You're the first one to ever think of that one. I like it though. So what, did you have a different nickname in basic training or was it, uh, it was, uh, M loven was pretty standard. for most of the places that I've been. and one Sergeant Major called me, Mack Levin. Don't know how he drew that correlation. But it's something that, you know what, when you first hear it, it kind of gets old. but then you start realizing it's a networking tool. Hmm. People do not forget your name. So if you provide good service, if you can stand out in any positive way, your name is something they remember. So I, I used to look at it as something that was kind of a burden, but now I look at it as a blessing. It really was a classic scene in the movie when Jonah Hill said, you get a fake Id made in you chose mic. I actually had friends get me that fake id. Really? Yes. You still carry it? I don't, I don't, uh, the real one is just as funny though. you join Newport Lodge, number one 18 St. Paul Park in 2022. You're currently the senior warden eyes are on advancing to the East. Some might say that is a fast progression. You've been a mason for three years sometimes, however, that is a situation out of necessity. What are your thoughts? How do you feel about the next position as you assume that station next year? there's always. You know, nerves that come with any sort of new position that you haven't been in before. and I would say that anyone that isn't nervous isn't truly understanding of what they're overtaking. it's been a process to prepare for, uh, when I came in, our lodge was struggling with members with attendance. Uh, this is post COVID. Uh, so it was more of an out of necessity that I was kind of plunged into that. Uh, started off as a junior deacon, actually our senior deacon stopped showing up. Next month I was a, or next year I was a junior warden. it was something that I wanted to support the lodge in any way that I could. not fully knowing what that meant. Sure. At the time, of course. but once I dove into it, you know, it was something that brought me a lot of joy, brought me a sense of feeling like a. Importance. I'm doing something that can be beneficial for our lodge. I'm considered one of the younger guys in our lodge at 33, so, uh, that's a little new for me, but, it's been a process. I think the Junior Warden Academy really set me up for success. going through that process really allowed me to meet with other masons that I didn't necessarily have those connections with, and then also provide me the tools to set me up for success two years in advance. Let's talk about the Junior Warden Conference a bit now. It has been renamed the Leadership Academy. It's happening February 13th and 14th, 2026. The Park Event Center in Wake Park Leadership, one will be for junior wardens, and there's a leadership two that is open to anyone who has been to a prior Junior Warden's Academy. What comes to mind on what you learned at that? What were, what were you anticipating getting out of that versus what the takeaways were in going through the Junior Warden Academy now? The Leadership academy. So I, I really went into it with a blank slate. Uh, being a new Mason for one year. I had experienced my lodge, and didn't really know what to expect. from the guys that I had talked to. They hadn't had to go previously'cause they were past masters. so I went, you know, I went to Wade Park, I think it was two day event. we went through, I think it was about six to eight hours of coursework every day, including breakout sessions, uh, coursework, hearing lectures from Grand Lodge officers, uh, Minnesota Masonic charities. So when you go through and you try and piece all of it together, the binder that you know, coincidentally I brought with me today, it makes it easy. They have tabs, it goes 1, 2, 3, 4, all the way through 10. And it sets you up for your calendar, how to set up a budget, how to set up your officer line, uh, awards banquets, making sure your widows and awards dinners are done. It's all these things that I didn't even know we did. And now I have to play for lot of layers. Layers. Yeah. You know, and meeting with other guys at from other lodges. Oh yeah. Well we do this on this day every year. Well, we do this, well, we do this. And the more I listen, the more that I found that a lot of people tend to schedule things on the same day, whether intentionally or unintentionally. They tend to schedule things on the same day because it works for their timeframe. so that kind of opened up a door for coordination. You know, we have all of these lodges that are around us, we're more likely to support each other than anyone else. So how is it that I can support you if we have the same thing going on the same day? I still hear that feedback from all over the state, and to me that was an unintended outcome, to be able to meet and network with all of these brothers from all over the state in a similar position about to become the junior warden. The networking, the collaboration that came out of that is still strong and still growing several years into this now it's been one of those things that it takes one step to start a thousand mile journey. it took one person I know recently, uh, we had a meeting between myself and the other senior wardens in Metro East, Going over our calendars. These are my major dates, these are your major dates. Okay, well if this one is stepping on yours, can I move it? Can you move it? Is it something that we really expect that much support for? and just that level of coordination, showing support has helped us grow our ties, you know, throughout other masonic areas or lodges in our area. So that has been one thing that's really, really helped is going through and trying to just start those conversations. But it wouldn't start without meeting at the Junior Warden Conference. And it's understandable that we sometimes get into our own silo. looking internally and forgetting to have that collaboration and to build those relationships with neighboring lodges, or in your case, any lodge in Metro East, even if it's a little further in proximity. He just said something that sparked a little passage I wanna share. Running one mile has more in common with running a marathon than sitting at home. Investing$100 has more in common with being a millionaire than being broke. Writing one sentence has more in common with writing a book than never writing one. It always feels small in the beginning. The big goals seem far away. It's easy to talk yourself out of the early attempts because they feel kind of meaningless, but every race starts with one step. Every fortune starts with a small deposit, and every book begins as one sentence. The real question is not what is my current position, but rather what is my current trajectory? Doing nothing builds nothing. put yourself on the path to something better. Start small, but make sure you start. Kayla Henry wrote that, and that to me, that reminded me of the lodge experience. When we address an area that needs help or attention, maybe something that we've failed to do well in the last couple years. At at the, so when you got to Newport, there was some. Attendance issues and programming issues, but you've all coalesced around a longer trajectory of making that slow sustainable progress together. Yeah, absolutely. You know, I'm very fortunate to have the mentors that I have at Newport. Having the grand Treasurer, there is an invaluable asset. Uh, most of the gentlemen in my lodge have been masons for 10 plus years. so to have that has been, you know, game changer. Uh, just being able to lean on'em and know that I have the ability to call you, and just ask a question. but beyond that, you know, traveling is something that we always talk about as masons. Let's go visit another lodge. Let's go see how this is done. Uh, when you finally go do it, it's a game changer. It's not necessarily good, bad, or indifferent how other lodges operate. We all operate the same basic way. We have the same rituals. Right. You know, but how they run their meetings can be a little different. Mm-hmm. Being able to travel and go to these other lodges and see how they do things. I was able to, I don't wanna say cherry pick, but I like this. Maybe this is something we can try at our lodge. Mm-hmm. You know, we've been doing this and it hasn't been as effective. Well, this lodge said that they had the same issue. This is how they resolved it. Let's give it a try. You know, if it doesn't work, we can refocus. But sitting here. And repeating the same thing is the definition of insanity. And expecting a different result or just talking about it, right?'cause we really like to talk about things as masons. Maybe that's a male thing too, let's think about all of the 101 things we could do. And then inaction becomes our greatest form of action. in having those conversations with other lodges, you learn from each other. It's not about what are we doing today that is working so perfectly? It's what were we doing when we were in your position and what would we do differently? What worked well? What can we say, Hey, you know what? Over the last two, three years we've incorporated this? And it's been received well by our members and is having an impact on membership and retention and involvement. we're really trying to build that lodge experience across the state. On three big things. Connection, meaningful education, both Masonic and non Masonic, and building community not only within the areas in which we reside in our zip codes, but building that community inside the lodge. I know you've given a lot of thought to planning your year ahead. What, when did you start, so as senior warden, when did you start planning for next year and what were some of your priorities? So I actually started planning as junior warden. I took our. Basic events. We have five or six events that we do every year, and go through and they're usually on the same date, uh, same weekend, I should say. same pancake breakfast or done the same month. any other fundraiser is usually around the same timeframe. Uh, so we started planning that. one of the biggest events that really got me planning was our table lodge that we do every year. you guys, it's a big one. It's one of the only ones in the state that I'm aware of where we actually do an EA degree during our table lodge. it's a great event. something that I was very fortunate for. Frank Spiva and John Hawthorne to bequeath to Hunter and myself, giving us that vote of confidence to carry on something that they started 26 years ago, I believe. Wow. Um. So we started traveling for that. Hunter and I had our conversations, well, how do we get membership up there? How do we get attendance up? They don't know about it. How do I get'em to know about it? Let me go visit their lodge and tell'em about it. I'm not going to, something I've not been made aware of, right? Correct. so when you go through and you start traveling and you show up to other people's events and make someone wanna show up to your event, so this last year we had a great turnout, had a great degree, great meal. It's a seven course prime rib dinner. While watching an EA degree, it, it's a great time. Doesn't get much better than that in the Masonic experience. Yeah, yeah. No, we try and make it a great experience. but starting to travel for that really got me planning, because if you want any sort of attendance for my Grand Lodge officer, you need to be planning two years in advance. That's true. If you want them to attend, you need to have your dates lined up. What can I do to make sure you're there? At least for the, at the very least, your big keystone events throughout the year. Correct? Yeah. Correct. So, every year the grand has been at our table lodge. So getting that on his schedule and then scheduling it with the loss spur event center. It takes coordination. They do weddings there, they do events, they have wine tastings. Uh, the Shrine owns the building, so you have to coordinate with. Potentially three or four different bodies to get that building, and then that has to line up with the Grand Master. So it's a level of coordination that you have to go through and really put a priority on if you want them there. they have to know about it. Let's distill that down one more layer.'cause yes, we wanna have Grand Lodge dignitaries invited to all of these events, of course, But most importantly, you wanna get those dates on the calendar for your members. You want Newport members to know that on May of whatever date that is next year, block this off right now. Correct. Many months in advance. Correct. And then that kind of sets them up for, I know we have to prepare for this date ensure that all of our processes are going through to make sure that the degree goes off seamlessly. And that's always our goal. but again, it takes coordination. my time in the military intelligence as an intel analyst, there's five Ps. Prior planning prevents poor performance. Yeah. You know, it's, um, you have to plan and your plan is gonna go wrong. Something is going to go wrong every time. Every time. Yeah. It, it's, uh, nothing is ever gonna be 100%, but. If you have that plan in place, it makes your plan B and C fall right into place. I think it's common that we fall into that trap though, of thinking maybe, you know what? Why don't we try to do a big event and maybe a new event just a couple months from now? And I don't know if that's a younger mentality or they just don't realize how crucial it is to be planning ahead, whether it's a table lodge, whether it's a degree schedule, or a community engagement event at the lodge. It's really difficult to plan something six or eight weeks in advance and a expect to have your members even be able to be there, and B, to have that successful event that you'll wanna say, let's do this again. there's a common pattern of lodges trying something. They plan it in the 11th hour. They give it their best and it doesn't feel like a home run. And then the, the conventional wisdom is, well, let's just not do this again. Well, if you plan ahead, way ahead and communicate to a level of, I like to say communicate to a level of almost annoyance, to ensure that everyone's getting that message, get it on the calendar months in advance. And we're talking for some of the big, big events like a community engagement, right. That's difficult in this world. Tell me how it is in this world that we have so many ways to communicate. Text. call. Not everybody calls anymore, but emails, instant messaging, are people reading their emails? Are they reading their text messages all the way through? It's quite. Paradox It is, you know, and that's something that I've experienced even in my time in the military, you know, uh, we called it stove piping in the intelligence community. what does that mean? So a stove pipe just goes straight up and down. So that's where the information goes, just straight up and down. It doesn't branch out and go to everywhere that it needs to go. so when you have a stove pipe, that single pipe is where your smoke goes. If it's like a pipe set up for plumbing, hot water goes through all the pipes, goes to your sink, it goes to your bathtub, and that's essentially what we're looking for is to make sure to essentially over communicate to the point where it's like, you can't say that you didn't understand or didn't receive it, right? Yeah. Uh, or didn't receive it. Yeah. So it's difficult, you know, um, there is such. A technological advance. In the last 50 years, some of our members have seen, Yeah. You know, the technological advances in their lifetime have just been astronomical, uh, and comparative to other generations and fast. Correct. so we have to. Understand that not everybody's gonna be able to be at that same level, I know brothers that have difficulty logging into Grand Lodge, you know, in grand view. Just in the grand view, you know, uh, sometimes we help them out though, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. We'll always help'em out and be there to live. Linda helping hand. and at a certain point we will get to the. There's gonna be a new technological advance where I don't know where it is in my life. Right. We'll all be there someday. We'll all be there. Yeah. So I'm hoping Mark, in a few years I'll be calling you to say, oh my God, I can't navigate this new platform. What do I do? Right. I mean, chat, pt chat, GPT coming out, you know, that's changed so many people's lives. That wasn't a thing when I was in high school. that was 15 years ago. You know, we look at the technological advances that we just assume that everyone understands how to utilize. And that's not always the case, but we have to be there to lend that helping hand to, okay, well I know that you don't check your email, you answer my phone call every time I call you. Yeah, let, let me give you a call. Make sure that you understand what is going on. My phone line's always open. Text me if you can't text, let me know. I'll come over to your house. You know, we have to. It takes some sort of personal responsibility to ensure that we're able to effectively communicate, and I say effectively because we can communicate all day. Yeah. What, what and forth. What is effective communication to you? So communication is a sending a messages, there's a sender and a receiver. If I'm sending a message and you're the receiver and you're not anticipating or getting the same message that I'm sending, that's not effective. Communication, tone of voice has a lot to do with that body language. It has to ensure that the message is received correctly. You've been proactive in getting your calendar, your trestle board prepared for next year. I know the Leadership Academy had a lot to do with that as to where to prioritize, but what are your priorities and what does your calendar currently look like as far as lodge education or community engagement, or what are you, what are you focusing on? What are your, tell us about what that has looked, looks like now. Well, I actually had an an honest conversation with our lodge members. What's important to you? we had lodge members that I'd called to say, Hey, why aren't you coming back, man? Uh uh, the food wasn't good. I'm not gonna show up and pay$20 for something I wouldn't pay$5 for. Okay, I get it. So we went through and I have all of next year's meals planned out. Do you really? We have all of next year's meals planned out. I can tell you exactly what month you wanna come visit. quick plug right here. August of next year. We are having a steak dinner, RSVP only, that's gonna be in celebration of our hundred 50th year at Newport. so yeah, we kinda got that planned out. You plan the meals, but you're ensuring they're quality meals too. Correct. That's the thing is we wanna make sure that you're showing up and getting a meal that you wanna leave home for. You know, I don't wanna come to a place where my wife cooks a better meal at home and pay for it. Mm-hmm. The fellowship is great. But if you're coming for the meal and you know, I visited Lodges where it's like, I'll definitely be back. Yeah. You know, this was phenomenal. Uh, so the quality of the meal is something we've kind of focused on, getting our lodge education. I know we have four, uh, different LEL presentations coming in from outside of our lodge. Uh, we have you coming in to speak on February. worshipful brother Marcus Mueller is coming in March. And then we have past Grand Master Foster Solem. Coming in the fall to give us a presentation. getting those different viewpoints from just Newport Lodge. What we can learn. Mm-hmm. that's something that, I wanna focus on. Frank Spiva gave a great LEO presentation on the point within a circle. I saw that. Yeah. That was really cool. So, uh, that was one that I'd kind of asked him a few questions on. Mm-hmm. You know, and I know if I have questions. Others have questions. Yeah. And there's no such thing as a stupid question. So learning that little bid was so eyeopening, you know, just the little details and that one symbol. That's what I think we wanna come here for. I've seen it firsthand that a good meal. At a lodge gathering spreads positive gossip. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I know Hunter has made some outstanding meals in the past, and to your point, well, I heard somebody say it once recently, and I can't get this outta my head. Give me a reason to leave the house. Exactly. I don't, I, I sure I want to go to lodge and see my, my friends and brothers, but to your point, if I could have a better meal at home and weather may not be perfect outside. It's really nice to know that that meal, no matter what is on the menu, is going to be topnotch. And then there's the education portion. It's so crucial to have something, whether it's Masonic or like, I call it non-MS. A lot of guys correct me on that and say, well, all education is Masonic. Well, yes, but I'm saying specifically, so like Frank did the point within a Circle Lodge education, and then maybe there's another. Outside source is gonna speak maybe at dinner. That will be considered the lodge education that night. it could be any outside topic of interest that is going to help and enhance a brother's life journey both inside and outside the lodge. I'm really excited to hear that you have so many of these details in place. As simple as this sounds, it's so impactful. Your brothers know when we meet, you know what night the state it is. Yes, we know when we meet, what are we going to eat? We have the menu and we know it will be good. And what is the topic of the night? Who is going to be speaking on whatever topic, right? To know those three things? The, the first of which, pretty obvious that has moved the needle for attendance. Retention new master masons that now what do we do to keep enhancing the Masonic experience within each of our lodges? Absolutely. You know, and that's something that we're very fortunate with right now is, uh, Newport actually has, uh, four new entered apprentices coming through here this next month. Uh, we've had two dual affiliations of brothers that wanna come join our works. So we're very fortunate in that aspect, but the question becomes what do we do to take care of them? How do we set up their Masonic journey to be a success? You know, what type of mentorship are we gonna give them? Or is it gonna be, here's a book, memorize it, let me know when you're ready. Right. And is mentoring more than a memorization coach, or is mentorship in that mentor mentee relationship? Something we focus on for the rest of our lives. I truly believe that a good mentor stays with you your entire life. And it's something that I keep mentioning Frank Spiva, but I've kind of tabbed him. Like, I want you to be my mentor. I want to learn from you. and I think that's what we, as Masons are here called to do is we're here to be brothers. We're here to take care of each other. We're here to mentor and give advice, information that we otherwise wouldn't receive. Like I said, I grew up, I graduated in Minnesota, but I spent one year here. I don't know anyone in this state, and if it hadn't been for my brothers, still wouldn't, you know, without Freemasonry, I wouldn't know these people from Adam. But to have a mentor come through and say, mark, I care enough about you to say that you need to work on this, that I appreciate so much. You know, it's also telling you when you're doing good, but also to give you that. Words of Whisper, you know, the whispering of Wisdom White counsel. Exactly. It's not done in public, but pull me aside. Correct me. You know, and that's something that I think we're missing, uh, especially with the young handed apprentice. You know, we don't, I say we, but I speak for myself personally. I didn't know what I was getting into, you know, after my EA degree. I'm deer in the headlights. You know, what did I just go through? Was it a lot? When you look back, were you thinking, were you overwhelmed? A little, you know, a little overwhelmed because of the state that you're in, you know? Um, things are very limited to you. and as you go through and you learn more and you see it more often. it becomes very clear. Uh, there was a gentleman that I went to an EA degree with at Stillwater Lodge, number one, or St. John's, number one in Stillwater. Mm-hmm. I attended his EA degree up there and I invited him to come to our table lodge, come see how it's done from a non candidate perspective. And he came up to me afterwards and. That was so eye-opening. Thank you for inviting me. It makes so much more sense to see it versus when you first go through it. So that label of mentorship, making sure you understand why we're teaching you this, that's so much more than just here. Memorize it, and the courtesy of just extending an invitation was as easy as can be. Simply for the sake of Masonic Travel, we'd love to see you. At our event and we'll go to your event in the future. yeah. That's the brotherhood, you know? And that's, that's that authentic bond, right? Yeah. Yeah. We, we say it, but do we actually do it? You know, that's just something that I've really tried to focus myself on, is we look at all of our principles on being a brother and being a good man, and being a mason, and working to become that perfect ashler. Well, it's one thing to say, but to put it into action is two totally different things. I'm not perfect by any means, you know, but to continuously work on myself and just be an outlet for a brother. one of the EAs that we have coming through is, um, he's Muslim, so he and I have had several discussions about, you know, what he can expect. You know, we've had in-depth conversations. his father-in-law's, a past master of our lodge. Hmm. He chooses to come to me and speak to me. That's speaks volumes to me. Yeah. To be able to go through and help a new brother who has admittedly not had a lot of friends. I understand what that's like firsthand, being in a new state. So you know, when you're able to build those bonds, it's not ones that are severed easy. You find that common ground in either a life experience or just that level of trust. Freemasonry being open to members of all faiths. We are non-sectarian. I think that's such a beautiful thing in today's world, that we are non-sectarian and apolitical and we get together and really rally around timeless core values that all of us relate to and resonate with us. sometimes we get mischaracterized as some, a religion or a substitute for religion, which we are. So definitely not, no, when you mention how powerful and meaningful that mentor mentee relationship can be. What's that old phrase that the, the young man, the young guy walks faster than the old guy, but the old guy knows the road. Exactly, exactly. And you know, admittedly my mentors. Weren't as hands-on as I would've liked them to have been. they were great mentors. You know what I mean? I'm not gonna bash anyone, but from a personal standpoint, I would've liked a little more conversation on what I'm learning, why I'm learning this. You know, is it just something to memorize, to move up to the next level, right? Or what am I really getting out of this? And if you look at the words that you're memorizing and you ask questions, you find new depths for what you're actually doing. And that in itself can be enlightening to understanding what your purpose is. and as a mentor, you know, it's something that even after you're a master mason, it's not something that just goes away. we need to really foster that environment of mentor and mentee. And that's something that I've seen in lodges where, oh yeah, I've been a master Mason for three months. Oh yeah. Have you met this guy? No. Right. And you're members of the same lodge. Yeah. But we assume that someone else is making that connection for them, don't we? Correct. It's really difficult to not get hyper-focused on just the process of putting our members through the degrees And sometimes we get so hyper-focused on that we forget about the experience, we forget about the introductions. All of those things that foster true friendship, brotherly love, collaboration, I've done it. I've been lazy. I've just assumed the guy next to me was taking care of the introduction. We all have to be so proactive with that because big picture, from going through the degree process, I talked to Brian Bierman recently. He said something that I just, it was so well. Worded. The important piece of Masonic ritual is the application of the ideals of Masonic ritual and how to apply them to our daily lives. It's not just making members in a vacuum to say, okay, now you're a master Mason, and away you go and our work here is done. That's the beginning, right? That is the start of authentic friendship Finding ways to become a better version of ourselves. That personal growth, sharing stories with each other. What would I tell my 30-year-old self? Yeah, that, and that's a great question to ask, you know, and I find myself like an Oreo generation, you know, what does that mean to you? So I have, especially in the lodge, I have members that are older that don't have the technological tendencies. I have met younger members that are wanting to petition lodge that don't understand heritage, that don't understand our customs and why we do things, and it's very easy for them to wanna change it. I'm kind of in that area where I understand where we come from and I've done research on it. If you really dig into Freemasonry in America, we wouldn't be a country without Freemasons. When you look at our historical aspects, it makes you appreciate where we've been and where we're going. So to understand where you come from, you can't go forward unless you understand that. So I'm kind of in an Oreo to where I'm technologically advanced to work with the younger guys, but I also stand the heritage of the older members, which has beneficial. it presents its own difficulties, if that makes sense. What's your lodge doing today that will be of benefit in a decade? That is a fantastic question. Um, right now we're working on establishing a. Setting standards of our wardens, of our masters, of how we want to set our lodge up in the future. the question has often been been asked, what do we want to be known for? And that's a very vital question is, do you wanna be known for community involvement? Do you want to be known as having the best ritual in the state? Do you wanna be known for the best pancake breakfast, which. Everyone has their best pancake breakfast. So everyone's is the best. Yeah. Um, so it's what do you wanna be known for? And right now, what I've discussed with, you know, tradition prevailing the wardens that'll be, you know, helping serve our lodge next year, is that we want to be known as a lodge that gives great degree work. We have great meals and we have great fellowship. Some of those are easier to take care of than others. But setting yourself up by planning to make those happen is what's been beneficial. So the senior warden and I already are working on his year for his calendar for 27. For 27. Outstanding. so we're getting events lined up there for, we know this community event is always this weekend. We're gonna make sure that's locked in. and the same way with Frank coming up as junior warden, we're gonna be start working on his year, so. Ideally we will have a two year rotating calendar, that'll be published on our website that we just got. So we're moving into the 21st century. Oh yeah. So, well, that's, again, again, it's slow sustainable progress. And the website's rolling. I know your social media presence is very strong. Um, we were 10,000 views between our Facebook and our website in one month, our first month of starting it. So it, that outreach has been phenomenal. Uh, we've seen increase in our pancake breakfasts because of our local community. and our website we've actually gotten a couple of petitions from. So it's one of those things that it's very simple to set up and you don't realize the magnifying implications that it can have. Mm-hmm. So it's those little steps The 10,000 impressions is exciting, but we are shifting away from that numbers only game. Correct? You're putting out there a great brand awareness. This in, in your case, this is what Newport does. These are some of our events. Here's what this experience can look like. Maybe the Masonic experience is not for everyone, but if things like building community and personal development that, that friendship and brotherly love that we have as a if, if that resonates with someone, then yes, click here for more information. Right? We really wanna focus on new members who wanna be a mason in their heart. They don't wanna just say the words and go through the motions, where the merch, they wanna do this for all the right reasons and, and really we can have such. A positive impact on each other and on our communities when we band together like that. it's one of the things that I was actually talking with, uh, hunter Petit here recently, is that we're starting to see a. A trajectory change for Masonry. I think with COVID, a lot of people became so secluded, you know, during that timeframe that that personal connection was lost, uh, with a lot of people. and here in recent years, we're seeing a lot of younger members. all of our members that are petition to become EAs are under the age of 40. to see that youth upswing and get an interest in community involvement and brotherly love and. Making yourself a better man is something that we're really starting to see an upswing in. But we have to foster, as you previously stated, we have to foster that environment to make them want to come back. Right. You have to have it in place that delivers on that experience because once the master mason degree is over, then what? Well, exactly, and that new brother attends his first stated meeting. And if all we're doing is reading the minutes. Complaining about the bills. Oh, we didn't organize lodge education tonight. That new brother is gonna look around and possibly think, this is it. Right? This is what a meeting is all about and nothing else. And, and when we think about how busy people are with family event, this is one layer of our members' lives. Correct. They have other hobbies, families, kids. everybody has such a crazy schedule right now. We have to deliver Absolutely. And to, to be able to do so consistently because if we, if we have too many letdowns month after month, that that new new brother especially, or even someone who's been a member for five years or less, may lose the motivation or, yeah. You know what? I'd rather be at home on the sofa with my wife or with my family tonight. I'm really excited to hear about the momentum. You guys really have taken that long-term trajectory. You're not trying to fix everything overnight, but you are. Coalescing around the priorities making an equality experience, and now the results are coming and they're continuing to grow. Yeah, we're, we're really excited for it. it's been an interesting journey to say the least, to start off as such a young Mason, and I'm still a young Mason in comparison to Yes, you are. Any other Mason that I've talked to. Um, but I've done my best to try and just be a sponge. And absorb everything that I can from everyone that I talk to, whether it be good, bad, or indifferent. It's a lesson. It's something I either want to do or something I don't want to do something that could be something to ponder on. You know, there's always that self-improvement aspect that you're looking for. it's very exciting. It's. Nerve wracking to say the least. Sure. A little bit. That's good though. You know. But again, I, I always tell people if you're not nervous about going into something, you don't care about it. You know, if you truly have a passion and a care and a desire to do well, your nerves are gonna be a little on edge, which is normal. and I think it's something that we need to embrace, Our Grand Lodge education officer Brad Phelps, wrote a really good article that's in the most recent ema, breaking down some of the crucial aspects of what it takes to be successful, consistency, communication. Building and maintaining effective and strong leadership within the lodge. I, I highly recommend checking that out. And obviously the Leadership Academy. Speaking of Mark, your calendars for February 13th and 14th, there's Leadership one, which is basically what the Junior Warden Conference had been. And leadership too, for anyone who's been to that before. It's gonna be opened up now for a wider audience, and we're really excited about some of the topics that will be covered. Moments ago we briefly touched on just how busy people are in life these days. What's it like having a three-year old and a Being a dad is the most difficult and most rewarding thing that I've ever done in my life. every day wake up with new challenges, uh, new lessons to learn. There's never a dull moment. Uh uh. Those boys are my pride and joy. They are, uh, anything that I've ever done right in my life as them. but no, we're working on a lot of things at their developmental age at this point. Uh, my 3-year-old we're working on spelling his name. So his name is Marcus, six letters, and most of the time he gets it all the way through. Uh, every once in a while I'll, he forget one or two letters, but we're consistently working on that. but just showing up and being a dad, you know, that takes a lot of focus and effort as well, uh, to do properly. And I fail every day. So, uh, we strive for perfect, uh, strive for perfection, uh, but it's not always attainable. You've lived in many places, you served in the Army. What's the most beautiful place you've ever been to? I've been fortunate enough to travel to every state except for Alaska. so I've been to 49 different states. I have. A very biased opinion and that I have a very honest opinion. my biased opinion is the Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee in the fall are some of the most breathtaking taking sites I've ever seen in my life. now the honest answer is something that most people won't get to experience. during the COVID years, I was married and went to Maui the weekend it opened Wow. Was one of the first tourists on the island. So my new bride and I were able to walk on a beach in Maui at 6:00 AM watch a sunrise, and no one was there. One of the most breathtaking views I've ever seen. So there's a little bias being from Tennessee that is absolutely stunning. But sure, a sunrise on Maui with no one on the beach is very hard to beat. What sound instantly stresses you out. Oh gosh. Um, that is very interesting because there's a few that instantly come to mind. Name one, the incoming noise. Uh, when you're deployed and you have IDF coming in, that just gets your nerves on rack. it's a big loud siren. Incoming, incoming that will get your nerves on rack. other than that, uh. Anything talking about the University of Alabama really just gets on me. Uh, uh, I'm a huge University of Tennessee fan. Uh, so if I said roll tide, right? Oh, yeah. Yeah. We might have to end the conversation brother. Uh, It's really exciting to hear of all the great things happening at Newport right now, and you guys really are fortunate, if not blessed to have a lot of. Shall we say mentor figures that are so more than happy to give their time, their talents, like, I've heard it said that the, the best coaches and leaders don't create followers, but they create people who can eventually outgrow them. You know, that's something that I learned in the military too. that's what we look for in a mentor, is. You're always learning two steps above you because you never know what can happen, especially in a military environment, combat situations, somebody can go down. You always need to have somebody prepared to take over. honestly, I look at this year in the planning that I've, we've done, uh, to make our laws lodge a success. And my goal is for that to be the low point. My goal is for that to set the benchmark My goal is for everyone to do better than me because if they don't, then I haven't set them up for success. our goal is to have our calendar on our website for anybody to access at any point, if you wanna know. What meal we're having. It's gonna be on there. If you wanna know who's speaking that night, it's gonna be on there. yeah, it's just been beneficial to take all those little tidbits that you've seen from around the state through your travels. I've communicated things that I've seen through my travels. But it's all for the betterment of our craft and for our lodges and how we can do things better. Mark Levin, thank you. I appreciate you my friend, my brother. It's been a pleasure. Thank you for having me. I.