Our halls are one of the most important assets of our lodges – they are the spaces that help Freemasonry thrive. Protecting them is a key aim of our new Fraternity Plan, the Keystone Initiative. Part of that effort is already underway and coming to a hall near you.

The Hall Assessment Program is conducted by SnapRISK, a property risk engineering company working with Grand Lodge to evaluate the condition of halls, and they’ve jumped right in. Evaluations began in December. “Already, more than 10 lodges have had their assessment,” says Ruby Gill, Real Estate Specialist for Grand Lodge and the program coordinator for this effort.

The Hall Assessment Program is designed to give hall associations a rundown of the physical property of the lodge – the good, the bad, and the ugly – so that the members stewarding that hall are well-informed and have a plan. This program is provided free of charge to help halls get out in front of any problems that might arise.

Right now, hall associations don’t have to do anything to initiate the assessment – Gill will reach out to them directly via email or phone when the folks at SnapRISK are ready to schedule the assessment. This effort is going to take all of this year and will likely roll into 2027. So, for now, just sit back and hang tight – but until then, here’s some information to keep in mind:

Woodland Masonic Lodge No. 81 consists of a large banquet hall and the lodge building itself, both built in 1959. “It’s about 7,500 square feet,” says Chester Stiles, President of the Hall Association, “so it’s a big facility and I wasn’t sure how the assessment was going to go when Ruby first contacted us in December about scheduling.” Within a few short weeks of first receiving the email, though, Chester and other members of the lodge were standing in front of the buildings to meet staff from SnapRISK. “The assessment itself went very smoothly,” Stiles recalls, “it was over in a few hours and within about two weeks we had the report.”

Although they’re still digesting the information from the report, Stiles is happy to have information about their building they never would have had otherwise. “We can now make decisions based on a professional assessment and can plan for large repairs ahead of time.”

Things to keep in mind when preparing for your assessment:

• Make sure you have adequate access to your full facility – this means gathering all the keys ahead of time and making sure you can get entry to all the nooks and crannies.
• If you have tenants, make sure you coordinate with them ahead of time so you can access their spaces too.
• The survey will only take a few hours, but make sure you’ve carved out that time in your schedules so you don’t get sidelined by distractions.
• Make sure the right people join the SnapRISK staff in their survey: one or two officers of the hall association and the master of the lodge is recommended.

Questions about the Hall Assessment Program? Reach out to the Real Estate team at Grand Lodge at realestate@freemason.org

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Stay on track of lodge business and prepare for important deadlines. Here’s your February checklist.

Executive Committee

• Schedule inspector’s official visit and examination of the books, due by end of March.
• Share the date and topic for the International Conference on Freemasonry at UC Berkeley on March 14 at your stated meeting. 
• Register for the 2026 Leadership Retreats.  

Senior Warden

• Review all candidates’ progress toward advancement.
• Begin preparing 2027 program plan.
• Begin preparing 2027 budget.
• Begin preparing 2027 officer appointments.
• Begin preparing 2027 installation of officers.
• Register for the 2026 Leadership Retreats. 

Secretary

• Present secretary’s annual report to the lodge at stated meeting.
• Continue to collect delinquent dues from members (they were due on January 1).
• Send list of members with late dues to the master for the Retention Committee.
• Send any suspension notices.
• Charity Committee considers remissions.
• Review the list of suspended members sent to you by Grand Lodge and determine if your lodge wants to participate in the 2026 Restoration Campaign.
• Budget for and register for the 2026 Leadership Retreats. 

Treasurer

• Present treasurer’s annual report to the lodge at stated meeting.
• Prepare financial reports for Grand Lodge, to be filed by end of March (unless your lodge uses Intacct, in which case you do not need to submit anything).
• Register for the 2026 Leadership Retreats.  

Hall Association

• Submit annual report to the lodge at stated meeting.
• Register for the 2026 Leadership Retreats.

Audit Committee

• Begin auditing lodge books, to be completed by end of April.

Questions? Contact Member Services at memberservices@freemason.org or (415) 776-7000.

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