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