FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Louisiana Attorney Heads National
Masonic Group

WASHINGTON, D.C. On October 7, 2003, Ronald A. Seale of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was elected Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite Supreme Council, 33°, for the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States. He succeeds C. Fred Kleinknecht who retired after serving as the organization's chief executive officer for the past 18 years.

A graduate of Louisiana State University in 1970 with a Juris Doctor from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama, in 1973, Seale entered law practice in Baton Rouge in 1974 and is a member of the American, Louisiana, 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, Seale has been active for over 30 years as a teacher of adults and youth in Sunday School, Youth Coordinator, and a delegate to the Louisiana Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.

His past civic involvements include service on the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society in Baton Rouge and the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Sheltered Workshops. He holds a private pilot's license and is active in amateur radio.

Seale began his Masonic career in 1962 as a member and then Master Councilor of Pelican Chapter, Order of DeMolay, in Baton Rouge, and is now an Active Member of International Supreme Council, Order of DeMolay. Raised a Master Mason in 1969 in East Gate Lodge No. 452, Baton Rouge (Master in 1988), he now serves the Grand Lodge of Louisiana as a member of the Law and Jurisprudence Committee. A longtime member of the Scottish Rite in Baton Rouge, Seale was honored as a Knight Commander Court of Honour (KCCH) in 1977, Inspector General Honorary, 33°, in 1993, and Sovereign Grand Inspector General in Louisiana in 1995.

During the Biennial Session of the Supreme Council, held in Washington, D.C., October 5-7, other newly elected officers were as follows.

SOVEREIGN GRAND INSPECTORS GENERAL: Howard E. Kerce, Mississippi; Hans R. Wilhelmsen, Maryland; Gary L. Sissel, Iowa; Michael D. Smith, South Carolina; Leonard E. Buffington, Georgia; Jerry B. Oliver, Minnesota; and James D. Cole, Virginia. Also, William J. Mollere was appointed Deputy in Louisiana.

The new Elective Officers of the Supreme Council, in addition to Sovereign Grand Commander Seale, are: Curtis N. Lancaster, Utah, Lieutenant Grand Commander; Earl K. Dille, Missouri, Grand Prior; Thomas C. Raum, Jr., Kansas, Grand Chancellor; Robert L. Goldsmith, Florida, Grand Minister of State; John E. Moyers, Kentucky, Grand Secretary General; Dwight A. Hamilton, Grand Treasurer General; and Jack D. Rehberg, Montana, Grand Almoner.

During the Biennial Session, 1,406 members were elected Knight Commanders Court of Honor, and 713 members were elected Inspectors General Honorary, 33°.

The Grand Cross, the highest honor of the Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction, was awarded during the Biennial Session to: Michael Bilirakis, Tampa, Florida; Fitzhugh K. Powell, Jacksonville, Florida; Arnold Hermann, Long Beach, California; Alexander G. Spanos, Stockton, California; George R. Carr, Des Moines, Iowa; Arthur J. Kerr, Balboa, Panama Canal; Leonilo T. Alger, Agana, Guam; Pat Beard, Waco, Texas; Joseph D. Brackin, Dothan, Alabama; Webber C. Harrington, Portland, Oregon; Robert G. Davis, Guthrie, Oklahoma; Roland T. Stayton, Louisville, Kentucky; Sidney M. Johnston, Anchorage, Alaska; and J. C. Montgomery, Dallas, Texas.