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                           Two Little Words
                        by Fred E. Allen, MPS
         Grand Senior Warden, The Grand Lodge of Texas, AF&AM
     (Reprinted by permission of The Philalethes - February 1990)

     Today  I  am going to talk about just two little  words.  They're
common words - perfectly acceptable words, even in mixed company. But,
until  just recently, if you used the two words together  in  Masonry,
they  were considered almost dirty words, so you hesitated using  them
together.

     And what are the words? The first one is "Public." And the second
one is "Relations." Put them together and you have "Public Relations."

     And  why  were  they almost dirty words  in  Masonry?  Because  a
majority of Masons just didn't understand them. And people don't  like
to talk about something they don't understand.

     And because a lot of Masons thought they meant "advertising"  and
advertising  was also a very misunderstood term. But it was  surely  a
"taboo"  subject in Masonry, so we didn't use those two  little  words
together.

     Instead  of  saying "public relations," just to be  on  the  safe
side,  we used other words like "information" or "education"  when  we
talked about anything that was really public relations.

     But I've been seeing those words quite a bit recently in  Masonic
publications, so I guess times have changed enough that it's all right
to use them now.

     I  decided  to talk about those words today - to tell you  why  I
think it's very important for all of us to start using those two words 
a lot.

     So,  I  told  my wife, Mildred, that I was going  to  talk  about 
public relations. And she said, "Well, that's nice, Fred, but what  is 
public  relations?"  Then it hit me, I couldn't define  it  in  simple 
terms for he. Then she said - very sweetly, I might add - "Fred, don't 
you  think it might be a good idea to find out what it is  before  you 
try to make a talk about it?"

     Well, I couldn't argue with he on that, so I started looking  for 
a  simple  definition. I knew in general what it was, but I  wanted  a 
good,  short  definition.  To find one, I began calling  some  of  the 
public relations people I know.

     And  I  found  out  something interesting.  Most  of  the  public 
relations   people  themselves  also  have  trouble  defining   public 
relations in simple terms.

     One read me a definition - I swear it must have been a whole page 
long  -  and it just left me more confused than ever.  Another  public 
relations man gave me a definition about creating images and  changing
public  opinion  and establishing attitudes and a lot of  other  high-
sounding words that didn't sound very simple at all to me.

     Then I struck pay dirt. I called a Brother Mason who is a PR man.

     He said, "Fred, there's nothing more to public relations than  an 
organization  or  company doing good and making the  effort  it  takes 
these  days to tell people about it." And he added, "Masons are  doing 
good,  just  like they always have. The trouble is  they  seem  almost 
afraid to tell the public about it.

     "In today's world, you need professional public relations to tell 
the  story effectively to your own members and to the public,  because 
PR people know the best way to tell the story to just the right  group 
of people you want to reach without wasting your money."

     And he summed it up by saying: "Public Relations is simple - just 
common sense communications in today's busy world."

     So,  that's what I'm talking about - using our common  sense  and 
realizing  that  times have changed. We can't sit back  and  wait  for 
people  to come to us as our fathers and their fathers may  have  been
able to do.

     We need to use modern communications to reach modern people.

     I thing many of us have been making the mistake of assuming  that 
people know about Masonry. But the facts today prove they do not!

     The majority of the general public doesn't know who we are,  what 
we are, what we do or what we stand for. And a lot of those who  think 
they  know are misinformed or have misconceptions about it. Even  more 
disturbing is the fact that they don't care. They won't care until  we 
give them a reason to care.

     We  have to make the effort to take our story to busy  people  in 
this  busy world. And keep taking it to them until we know  they  have 
heard us. And know that they understand us.

     I refer to people who are Masons or in Masonic families, as  well 
as those who are not.

     That's  where public relations comes in. That's why  I'm  talking 
about  it now. That's why I am going to keep talking about it as  long
as I am in this wonderful Fraternity.

     Because I think that Masonry is sick. Masonry is so sick that  it 
is going to die in just a few years - unless we act now to save it.

     If  we  look  at the last 25 years, Texas  Masonry  has  lost  an 
average of over 2,400 members a year. But if we look at just the  last 
five  years,  the average jumps to over 4,000 a  year!  So  membership 
losses are increasing every year.

     I hasten to reassure those who may feel that we need more quality 
members instead of just higher membership totals. We most certainly do 
need more quality members, but there's another side of the  membership 
coin.

     Because,  if  an  organization is to grow  and  provide  adequate 
services to it members, the increased income from a growing membership 
is  essential. From the leadership point of view, new members are  the 
lifeblood  of growth of Masonry. For, remember that  experience  shows 
only one in ten members are active in their Lodges. That's one  reason 
we have such poor attendance in most Lodges.

     So, responsible leadership must encourage growth as vigorously as 
it encourages improvement in the quality of present membership.

     On the national level, recent projections by the Masonic  Service 
Association show that we have lost a million and a half members in the 
last  25  years. We will lose 500,000 more between now  and  the  year 
2000! That's about 20 percent of our total membership today.

     Apply that to Texas and it means we'll lose over 36,000 Masons in 
the next six years - unless we act to reverse the trend. Of course, we 
are  getting  older. The average age of Masons is rising.  Thus,  more 
deaths are occurring, but it is not only deaths which are lowering our 
membership.

     We  have to face a sad truth: we have some Masons who are  losing 
interest  and  simply  quitting Masonry,  perhaps  because  they  have 
decided that today's Masonry is not worth their time.

     But,  wait. Before you put all of the blame on those men who  are 
leaving, look into your own hearts, my Brethren.

     Are  we allowing Texas Masonry to fail its own members and  those
who  could be members? Are they not justified in feeling that  Masonry 
is failing them? Your heart tells you the answers, loud and clear.

     Now,  you don't need to answer or hold up your hand. But, to  see 
how  we're doing, let's must take a short, secret ballot on  questions 
like these:

     How  many of you have talked to a non-Mason about Masonry  during 
the  last  month?  Or to a newspaper, magazine,  radio  or  television 
reporter about Masonry or a Masonic event during the last year?

     Have you talked to a Brother and invited him to go to Lodge  with 
you  or called a Brother and told him you missed seeing him  in  Lodge 
during  the last month? For that matter, how many of you were at  your 
Lodge's last meeting?

     How many of you have shown a copy of our new Texas Mason magazine 
to a man who could petition a Lodge if he was sufficiently  interested 
in Masonry? Or to his wife?

     You've  seen the answers in your hearts, Brethren. So now, I  ask 
you  again: Are we allowing Texas Masonry to fail its own members  and 
those who could be members?

     The saddest part of this whole situation is this: It doesn't have 
to happen!!

     We can keep it from happening. It is well within our  capability, 
if  we are willing to work at it and spend the money it takes. But  we 
have to move fast. And we have to move with truly professional skill.

     There  is a miracle drug that will cure Masonry's illness. It  is 
readily  available. Some of it is free, but a lot of it  costs  money, 
but  it will save Masonry's life. I believe Masonry will  require  big 
doses of it over many years - probably forever.

     And, what is this miracle drug?

     The miracle drug is professional Public Relations - Common  Sense 
Communications, and I am convinced that it can cure Masonry's critical 
illness, if we give it in big doses.

     We  could  be  doing a lot of public  relations  ourselves,  with 
almost  no cost but time. Let's look at what we're not doing  that  we 
should  be doing. With only a few exceptions, we are not using  modern 
means of communications to reach our own members or the public. We are 
not  attempting  to  get  our story in  newspapers  or  on  radio  and 
television.

     But, do you realize that only one good feature story in a Houston 
or  Dallas or San Antonio newspaper or on a television  station  would 
reach more people at one time that the Grand Master currently  reaches 
in  every one of his 40 workshops, many public speeches  and  numerous 
Lodge functions during his entire year?

     Think  about it. Only one good feature story in one city  reaches 
more people than the Grand Master does working cruelly long hours  and 
traveling thousands of miles for an entire year!

     We are not issuing press releases. We are not inviting the  press 
to  Masonic events. We are not sending out videotapes  for  television 
broadcasts  or audio tapes for radio or pictures for the print  media. 
We are not distributing informative literature to the press or schools 
or libraries or civic leaders or leaders on any level of government.

     We are not making significant efforts to educate the media  about 
who and what we are. We are not correcting the misconceptions held  by 
the  press  and public, such as thinking that being a Shriner  is  the 
highest a man can go in Masonry...or that wives shouldn't read Masonic 
magazines.

     We are not developing a common Blue Lodge charity to work for and 
talk  about. We are not adjusting to the fact that America  and  Texas 
are  URBAN  societies now. We are not recognizing that the  people  we 
need to reach with our story are busy people and it will take lots  of 
professional  communications  work just to get their  attention,  much 
less make them knowledgeable and get them interested.

     Our  Grand Lodge is not producing enough effective materials  for 
the Lodges to use in improving Masonry and informing the public  about 
our  Fraternity.  We  are  not proving that  Masonry  in  Texas  is  a 
responsible,  patriotic, community-oriented Fraternity of men who  are 
doing good for humanity.

     And, that's only a minor portion of the list I could give you  if 
I took the time.

     We  are spending what little money we have to talk  to  ourselves 
and  bemoan  the  fact  that  we're  losing  members  and  that  Lodge 
attendance is at rock bottom. But, among our 186,000 members, we  have 
the  resources  in manpower and money to save Masonry.  The  troubling 
question is: Why are we not doing it?

     The  leadership of Grand Lodge knows it must be done.  They  know 
how  it should be done. They even know the people who can do  it.  But 
they  simply don't have the money to even plan a  professional  public 
relations program, much less start doing it.

     Let's talk money. In the 25 years from 1963 to 1988, we had total 
inflation  of some 290 percent. It took $3.92 in 1988 to buy what  one 
dollar  bought in 1963. The Texas Grand Lodge per-capita dues in  1964 
were $2.80 per member. They are now $6.00.

     Just to keep up with inflation - not increase services, but  just 
to keep up with inflation - the per-capita dues should now be at least 
$10.92 per member!

     Brethren, I remind you that the Grand Master's recommendation  to 
increase  per-capita  dues from $6.00 to $8.00 was voted down  at  the 
last Grand Lodge Communication!

     Because  of inflation, the $6.00 per capita dues today  will  buy 
only what $1.54 bought in 1963!

     Now,  just to help you see the situation a little  more  clearly, 
I'd like for you to raise your hands if your answer is "yes" to  these 
questions.

     Raise your hand if you have spent at least 45 cents for a cup  of 
coffee in the last year.

     Do  you  realize that only 45 cents from each Texas  Mason  would 
give the Grand Lodge $83,700 a year to use effectively?

     Now, let's see the hands of those of you who have spent at  least 
$15.00 for a meal or a show or a sporting event during the last  year. 
$15.00  from each Mason would provide 3 million, 720 thousand  dollars 
for public relations with members and the public.

     If  you  have spent at least $25 for a year's subscription  to  a 
magazine  or newspaper or to give your wife flowers or a  gift,  raise 
your  hand.  That much from each Mason would give the  Grand  Lodge  4 
million 650 thousand dollars to use in saving Masonry.
     Now,  you saw the hands raised. Nearly all of us have raised  our 
hands  on almost every question. That is dramatic proof that  we  have 
accepted  inflation. And we are still buying the things we  want  even 
though  they cost 290 percent more than they would have cost 25  years 
ago.

     For  the love of our Fraternity. Brethren, why will we not do  as 
much for Texas Masonry?

     Why will we not even give the Grand Officers enough money to keep 
up  with  inflation, when we're perfectly willing to give  it  to  the 
restaurant,  or  the  football stadium, or the  coffee  shop,  or  the 
florist, or the druggist, or the car dealer?

     Can't  we skip one cup of coffee a year for Masonry? Or  eat  one 
meal at home during the year instead of going to a restaurant so  that 
Texas  Masonry  can  grow? Can't we watch one game on  TV  instead  of 
buying  the  $15  ticket and use the $15 to buy  a  future  for  Texas 
Masonry?

     Are  we really living our Masonry? Are we carrying our  share  of 
the responsibilities that go with Masonic membership?

     Brethren,  it  is a sad commentary that our Grand Master  has  to 
spend  time  and effort peddling belt buckles and pins and  coins  and 
begging the members to buy greeting cards. All of which is  necessary, 
just to raise enough money to make a little progress toward saving the 
life of this Fraternity in Texas.

     But,  if the present Grand Master and those who came  before  him 
had  not  taken on this chore of peddling things to raise  money,  you 
wouldn't  have  our excellent new Texas Mason magazine.  You  wouldn't 
have special newsletter going to Masonic leadership. You wouldn't have 
as  many  projects  around the state designed  to  make  better  Lodge 
leaders and better Lodges and more active Masons.

     We  ask  a great deal from the men who agree to  serve  as  Grand 
Lodge Officers. It would be a heavy load, even if we gave them all  of 
the money they need. But why do we continue adding to their burdens of 
leadership by denying them the resources just to do what we expect  of 
them  -  and  that  is to keep Texas Masonry  alive  and  vibrant  and 
growing.  We have to change this situation, and change it quickly  and 
drastically, if Texas Masonry is going to stay alive.

     Public   relations  can  increase  our  membership.   Even   more 
important, good internal public relations can increase the quality and 
participation of current members. And it can cut down on the chance of 
members quitting.

     Happily,  a lot of public relations costs nothing but  our  time. 
For example, it's good, effective public relations and involves little 
more than our time to:

     * Take part in community affairs.
     * Raise money for charity.
     * Take news stories around to newspapers, radio  and  television 
stations.
     * Welcome the public to open Lodge functions.
     * Hold more interesting meetings.
     * Talk about Masonry at a school.
     * Increase our own members' attendance and participation.
     * Distribute materials about Masonry.
     * And many more activities.

     Of  course, some necessary public relations  require  substantial 
sums of money. But, the 186,000 Masons of Texas have more than  enough 
manpower and money to do the job right if they want to do it.

     And,  if  you wonder if it will work, we now have proof  that  it 
will.  A  national  survey of men who would be  eligible  for  Masonic 
membership  has been done by a professional market research  firm  for 
the national Masonic Renewal Task Force.

     Their  findings have only a 5 percent margin of error,  which  is 
almost  as accurate as the networks' projection of  election  returns, 
and you know how accurate they are!

     The  survey  found that 22 percent of the eligible men  say  they 
would be interested in joining a Masonic Lodge if they knew more about 
Masonry. Why would they be interested? Here's what they said:

     * To meet new friends.
     * To have new socializing opportunities.
     * To do community service and charity, and
     * To have the ability to do things with their families.

     Now, think about it. Would a young man find those things in  your 
Lodge?  If  not,  your  Lodge is going to  have  trouble  finding  new 
members.

     The  survey  also found that 45 percent of the men did  not  know 
enough  about  Masonry  to decide if the ideas of  Masonry  were  even 
similar to their own. These are other important findings:

     *  The  pool of potential members is over 16 million  and  it  is 
clearly   defined,   so  communications  can  be  targeted   to   them 
economically and effectively.
     * Wives play an important role in the joining process.
     * The vast majority of Americans know nothing of Freemasonry.
     * Those who might join consider it too secretive or know  nothing 
about it, and
     * Men's time, job requirements, family and community  involvement 
may be at odds with the current practice of Freemasonry.

     Incidentally,  you'll be reading a lot more about this survey  in 
your  August  Texas Mason magazine. I strongly urge you  to  read  the 
story  about this survey, for it shows not only our problems,  but  it 
also points to recommendations for overcoming them.

     This  survey  dealt only with men who are not  currently  Masons. 
Another  survey is being planned to determine the attitudes of  Masons 
toward   their  Fraternity.  When  these  professional   surveys   are 
completed,  we will have a clear, precise road map t follow.  We  will 
know the way to go to reach our goals.

     If  we are really willing to travel on that road, we can  reverse 
the membership decline. We can increase participation by our  members. 
We  can ensure the growth and viability of this beloved Fraternity  of 
ours.

     I am personally convinced that we simply have no choice. We  must 
use the miracle drug of public relations to treat Texas Masonry. In my 
opinion, there is no other way.

     Sure, it takes manpower. You bet it takes money. You can count on 
it taking a lot of work. But, my Brethren, Texas Masonry has enough of 
such  life support to do the job. The critical question is whether  or 
not Texas Masonry has the will to do it.

     I  know we have the quality of leadership it requires. I know  we 
have  the  professional help available. I know that your  Grand  Lodge 
Officers  are ready and eager to work just as hard as they can to  get 
the job done - and done right.

     As  many of you know, I am very active and involved in my  church 
as  a  Methodist layman. And, as you might expect, I often go  to  the 
Bible  for  reassurance  and words to guide me. I  did  that  in  this 
situation and two passages gave me hope and encouragement.

     I read Mark XVI, 15, which directs us to: "Go ye into the  world, 
and preach the Gospel to every creature." We Masons must also go forth 
into the world to tell our story, for the world is not coming to us to 
ask.

     We have a big job to be done. It is a job that is not going to be 
done  for  us. It is a job for you and for me - and  for  every  other 
Texas Mason who loves this Fraternity.

     When I read Luke IV, 23, I realized immediately that I had  found 
the  real answer and my strongest guide, for it tells us:  "Physician, 
heal thyself."

     Brethren, - Texas Masonry must heal itself.

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