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Sovereign Grand Commander
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Ronald A. Seale, 33°, was installed as Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction, on October 7, 2003. Ill. Seale's service on the Supreme Council began with his appointment as Deputy and then Sovereign Grand Inspector General in Louisiana in 1995.

Grand Commander Seale was born on June 24, 1948, and attended the public schools in Baton Rouge before graduating with a B.A. from Louisiana State University in 1970 and with a Juris Doctor from Cumberland School of Law, Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama, in 1973. He entered law practice in Baton Rouge in 1974 and is a member of the American, Louisiana State, and Baton Rouge Bar Associations as well as the International Association of Defense Counsel.

A member of the First United Methodist Church of Baton Rouge, Ill. Seale has been active for over 30 years as a teacher of adults and youth in Sunday School. He has served as a delegate to the Louisiana Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Active in amateur radio, Ill. Seale currently holds a FCC Extra Class License (KE5YX). He also holds a private pilot's license.

Ill. Seale began his Masonic career in 1962 as a member and then Master Councilor of Pelican Chapter, Order of DeMolay, in Baton Rouge. He is a Past Chapter Dad of Pelican Chapter and an Active Member of International Supreme Council, Order of DeMolay.

Raised a Master Mason in 1969 in East Gate Lodge #452, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Ill. Seale served his Lodge as Master in 1988. In the Baton Rouge Scottish Rite Bodies, Ill. Seale was active in several of the Degrees, including the 5th, 27th, and 31st Degrees. For his many services to our Order, he was invested with the rank and decoration of Knight Commander Court of Honour in 1977 and coroneted a 33° Inspector General Honorary in 1993.

Grand Commander Seale and his wife, Saundra, reside in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and take great pride in their two children, Michael, who is attending Louisiana State University, and Stephanie, who is employed in the music industry in New York City.


Lieutenant Grand Commander
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Curtis N. Lancaster is the Lieutenant Grand Commander of the Supreme Council and Sovereign Grand Inspector General in the Orient of Utah. He is Chairman of the Supreme Council's Fraternal Relations Committee and a member of the Finance, Ritual and Ceremonial Forms Committees, and the Strategic Planning Committee. He also serves as Vice President of the Supreme Council's two Foundations. Other current offices include Grand Viceroy of the United Grand Imperial Council, Red Cross of Constantine; Secretary-Treasurer of the Commission on Information for Recognition for the Conference of Grand Masters of North America; and Active Member, International Supreme Council, Order of DeMolay.

Past offices have included Worshipful Master (3 times); Grand Master of Utah (1983); Worthy Patron (3 times), Order of Eastern Star; Presiding Officer of all three Grand York Rite Bodies in Utah; Potentate of El Kalah Shrine; and Executive Officer, Order of DeMolay.

He is a graduate of Texas A&M University, with a degree in Engineering, and is retired as a Division Manager after 35 years in the aerospace industry. A member of Mountain View Baptist Church, he serves as Treasurer, Deacon, Chairman of the Church Council, and teaches an adult Sunday School class. Curtis and his wife, Janet, have three children and six grandchildren.


Grand Executive Director
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Rear Admiral William G. Sizemore, 33°, Grand Cross, retired from active duty with the U.S. Navy in 1982 after 38 years of service. He has served the Supreme Council, since 1983, as Director of Education and Americanism and, since 1989, also as Grand Executive Director. In this capacity, Ill. Sizemore oversees the Southern Jurisdiction's 215 Valleys, supervises the operations and maintenance of the House of the Temple, acts as Business Manager of the Scottish Rite Journal, and handles the multitude of other administrative responsibilities associated with this position. For instance, the office of the Grand Executive Director maintains a computerized master record with current information on all Scottish Rite members, administers a centralized dues billing system, and provides guidance to the Valleys on various Supreme Council policies and procedures.

Continuing in the position of Director of Education and Americanism as well, Admiral Sizemore administers a diverse program including pamphlets, books, films, videotapes, DVDs, and materials related to overall Masonic education. In addition, each year he reviews numerous applications for the Public School Administration scholarships; the Shepherd, Hilburn, and Bichan Scholarships; The George Washington University Scottish Rite Scholarships and Fellowships; and the Scottish Rite Paul R. Kach, 33°, DeMolay Prize Americanism Essay Competition. In addition, he is often a guest speaker at various Masonic functions.


Chief Financial Officer
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Bro. Jorge I. Franchi, CPA, is a member of Cherrydale Lodge #42, Arlington, Virginia. He holds a B.A. in Accounting and Business Management (1990) from North Carolina State University, Raleigh, and is experienced in all facets of not-for-profit accounting. A member of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (Senior Vice President-Finance/National Treasurer, 1991-1996), Bro. Franchi was a Supervisor/Manager for Watkins, Meegan, Drury and Company, LLP (1997-2000) and Manager for McGladrey & Pullen, LLP (2000-2003). In these positions, he was part of the team that performed the annual audit of the Council’s financial records. Thus, he became a member of the full-time headquarters staff, first as Head Accountant (2004) and then as Chief Financial Officer (2005), with considerable specific and in-depth knowledge. Bro. Franchi lives in Annandale, Virginia, with his wife, Jackie, and two children.


Managing Editor, Scottish Rite Journal
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Ill. S. Brent Morris, Grand Cross, was appointed Managing Editor of the Scottish Rite Journal, in April 2005. He retired after 25 years as a mathematician with the Federal Government and has taught at Duke and Johns Hopkins Universities. He is a Past Master of Patmos Lodge #70, Ellicott City, Maryland, Junior Deacon of Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076, London, a Life Member of the Scottish Rite Research Society, a Fellow of the Philalethes Society, recipient of the Philalethes Society Certificate of Literature, an honorary Fellow of the Phylaxis Society, Editor of Heredom, Grand Abbot of the Society of Blue Friars, and former Book Review Editor of The Scottish Journal. He is author of many articles on Freemasonry and the books Masonic Philanthropies: A Tradition of Caring; Cornerstones of Freedom: A Masonic Tradition; The Folger Manuscript: The Cryptanalysis and Interpretation of an American Masonic Manuscript; and A Radical in the East. He and Ill. Arturo de Hoyos co-authored Is It True What They Say About Freemasonry? and co-edited Freemasonry in Context: History, Ritual, and Controversy. He is also co-editor of Freemasonry on Both Sides of the Atlantic. He is a member of the York Rite, the Red Cross of Constantine, the Royal Order of Scotland, and the Allied Masonic Degrees. He was elected to the KCCH in 1985, 33° in 1989, and Grand Cross in 1999.


Grand Archivist and Grand Historian
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Arturo de Hoyos, 33°, is Grand Archivist and Grand Historian of the Supreme Council. He is a Past Master and Endowed Life Member of McAllen Lodge #1110, McAllen, Texas, and an Endowed Life Member of the Valleys of San Antonio, Texas, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Having presided over all his local York Rite Bodies, he was awarded the Knight York Cross of Honor.

As an authority on Freemasonry in general and a polyglot, Ill. de Hoyos monitors international Scottish Rite relations and advises the Supreme Council on constitutional, statutory, and ritualistic matters. He is the leading authority on the history of the Scottish Rite and the evolution of its ritual, with expertise in most Masonic Orders, Rites, and Systems.

The author and editor of numerous works on Freemasonry, he and Ill. S. Brent Morris, GC, co-authored the popular book, Is It True What They Say About Freemasonry?

Ill. de Hoyos is a member of other Masonic groups, including the Masonic Rosicrucians, the Red Cross of Constantine, and the Royal Order of Scotland. He also serves as the Grand Archivist and Chairman of Publications of the Grand College of Rites of the United States, a Masonic organization dedicated to the preservation and study of ritual. A member of the Board of Directors of the Scottish Rite Research Society, he was a premiere recipient in 2001 of one of its two highest honors, the Albert Gallatin Mackey Award for Excellence in Masonic Scholarship.


Director of Development
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Earl E. Ihle, Jr., 33°, is the Director of Development for the Supreme Council. Earl has over 30 years experience in sales and marketing. During the past 20 years, he has been involved in fund-raising for non-profit organizations. Prior to joining the Supreme Council staff, he served as Vice President of a national direct mail fund-raising company for 14 years. His clients included national non-profit organizations and a variety of state and national fraternal organizations. Earl recently celebrated his fifth year with the Supreme Council.

In his position as the Director of Development for the Supreme Council, Earl works with potential donors to establish major gifts to both the national and local Scottish Rite Foundations. These gifts are received in the form of cash, charitable remainder trusts, pooled income funds, real estate, and charitable gift annuities. The Development Office recognizes the generosity of contributors through the Scottish Rite Donor Recognition Program.

Earl has been a member of the Fraternity for over 30 years and served in 1978 as Master of Lafayette Lodge, #111, Baltimore, Maryland. He is also a member of Boumi Shrine Temple and the Red Cross of Constantine. Earl is a dual member of the Scottish Rite Valleys of Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Ill. Ihle lives in Baltimore with his wife, Christine. Earl and Christine are the proud parents of their daughter, Elaine, who is attending Goucher College in Towson, Maryland.


Director of Information Systems
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Dean R. Alban, 33°, has been in the corporate information and communications field for over 25 years. As a member of the Printing Industries of Maryland, Dean served on the Communications Committee and produced their annual "Print Quality Awards Show." He has served as the Public Relations Director for Associated Builders and Contractors of Maryland, and, in this capacity, he produced presentations and exhibits for a wide variety of clients including government agencies, medical institutions, and corporate clients. He also managed typesetting and design for Maryland Magazine.

As an adjunct faculty member of Catonsville Community College, Ill. Alban taught business computer graphics and Internet design. Internationally, Dean was the founding president of the Management Graphics Users Group, bringing together North American and European computer graphic organizations. He has been a frequent speaker in the computer graphics field. Additionally, he has designed and implemented a computer networking system for a regional distribution company and has implemented e-commerce Web sites.

Dean is active in Stephenson Lodge #135, Darlington, Maryland, and implemented the Lodge's Web site. A member of the Valley of Baltimore, Royal Order of Scotland, and Maryland Masonic Research Society as well as many Masonic Internet groups, he worked with the late Bro. Allen Roberts, producing a video promoting Freemasonry. He was elected to the 33° in 2003.


Librarian/Curator of the Supreme Council
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Joan K. Sansbury is a graduate of the University of Maryland-College Park and has a Master's Degree in Library Science from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. A member of the American Library Association, the District of Columbia Library Association, and the Masonic Library and Museum Association, she has served as Librarian/Curator of the Library of the Supreme Council, 33°, since 1993. Under her guidance, the Library has been fully refurbished from new UV-filtering windows and custom floor coverings to a state-of-the-art computer data base cataloging of the Library's resources, soon to be available on the Internet (for more information, contact jsansbury@srmason-sj.org). Also, a large vault was constructed in the lower level of the House of the Temple for the safekeeping of many rare and valuable books. As Curator, Mrs. Sansbury initiated a plan in 1997 to identify, evaluate, and restore the Library's many unique holdings according to the highest archival standards. This assures that the Library of the Supreme Council will maintain its position as a premier research site for Brethren and for scholars from around the United States and world. In addition, the Library is open to the general public and participates in several community outreach programs, including a "Children's Hour" where local children and their teachers enjoy readings, puppet shows, brief tours of the building, and light refreshments.


Building Superintendent, House of the Temple
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Robert L. "Rob" Sansbury, 33°, is a member of Benjamin-French Lodge #15 and the Scottish Rite Valley of Washington, D.C., as well as a Life Member of the Scottish Rite Research Society. Presently attending Montgomery College where he is studying business management, Ill. Sansbury began his career with the Supreme Council in 1987 as an electrical service technician. Since then, he has supervised several major projects, including the renovation of the Supreme Council Library and the installation of the House of the Temple's new computer cabling network. Appointed Superintendent of the Building in 2000, he has managed several major reconstruction projects, some of which are ongoing, at the Temple in addition to the replacement of the building's multi-tiered entrance steps. He was elected to the 33° in 2003.


Director of Planned Giving
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Barbara G. Golden, Esq., is the Director of Planned Giving for the Supreme Council. She graduated cum laude from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1979, with a B.A. degree in English and obtained her law degree cum laude in 1982 from the University of Maryland School of Law in Baltimore. She practiced commercial real estate and corporate law with major law firms for nine years and served as Managing Attorney of the Bar Association for Montgomery County, Maryland, Inc.'s Pro Bono Program for seven years before coming on the staff of the Supreme Council as Director of Planned Giving in 2001. In her position, she raises major gifts from donors nationally to support the charitable purposes of the Scottish Rite, notably the RiteCare Childhood Language Program, national disaster relief efforts, and college and graduate school scholarships in public administration as well as hearing and speech. In addition to helping people who want to make current gifts, Barbara assists prospective donors plan various deferred gifts, such as charitable remainder trusts, gift annuities, and bequests in wills.


Executive Assistant, Grand Commander's Office
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Frances P. Johnson is a graduate of Frostburg University, Frostburg, Maryland. She taught English at Colonel Joseph Belt Junior High School, Silver Spring, Maryland, for several years before becoming manager/owner of Francesca's, a chain of five restaurants in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. She joined the staff of the Grand Executive Director's office in 1992 as an accounting assistant. Mrs. Johnson gradually assumed several other areas of responsibility leading in 1995 to her appointment as an Administrative Assistant in the office of the Sovereign Grand Commander. In 2002, she was appointed Office Manager and Executive Assistant to the Grand Commander and is now responsible for overseeing the day-to-day business of the Sovereign Grand Commander's office and providing direct assistance to the Grand Commander as needed.


Official Tableau of the Supreme Council, S.J., USA