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Call AND NOTICE TO THE VOTING MEMBERSHIP for A Special Assembly of the General Grand Council to be held on Saturday, August 17, 2024, by electronic means
UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE GENERAL GRAND MASTER 2023-2026 at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah,
by Order of the General Grand Master and the Deputy General Master Pursuant to Article VIII of the Constitution of the General Grand Council of Cryptic Masons, International
Before the close of the 48th Triennial General Assembly in Branson, Missouri, USA. the General Grand Master 2023-2026 and the Deputy Grand Master 2023-2026 jointly ordered, decreed, and called for a Special Assembly of the General Grand Council to be on Saturday, August 17, 2024.
The call with purpose, time and place was announced to all voting members present on August 15, 2023, and was noted that the Special Assembly of the 49th Triennium would be conducted with voting by an authorized electronic means.
The purpose of the Special Assembly is the final consideration of legislation presented at the General Assembly on August 15, 2023, for the total Revision of the General Grand Constitution and Bylaws.
The General Grand Recorder has been directed by the General Grand Master with the advice and consent of the General Grand Board of Trustees, to issue due and timely notice of the Call for this Special Assembly.
The General Grand Recorder shall send this Call and Notice by electronic means, including email, or by the use of the U.S. Mail, at his discretion, to the Grand Recorders of Constituent Grand Councils and Recorders of Subordinate Councils operating as a member of the General Grand Council.
The authority for an electronic meeting is expressly provided for in the Constitution, in that Triennial, Special and Occasional Assemblies “may be conducted using technology to facilitate virtual/electronic assemblies by unanimous decision of the Board of Trustees and due notice to the voting membership. Electronic means for all balloting and votes shall also be permitted . . . .”.
The Board of Trustees has accordingly, unanimously authorized the use of electronic means for this Special Assembly and electronic voting on the total revision of the General Grand Constitution and Bylaws.
Specific instructions on advance registration for the Special Assembly and voting credentials shall be issued in due time by the General Grand Recorder.
The Cryptic Jurisprudence Committee shall provide the procedural aspects of voting upon the pending legislation, which shall be promulgated to the voting membership through the Grand Recorders and Subordinate Recorders.
The General Grand Recorder shall endeavor to issue this Call and Notice to any list of voting members in the records of the General Grand Recorder by electronic means, including email.
The General Grand Recorder shall cause this Call and Notice to be appropriately posted on the official website of the General Grand Council, the official Facebook or other social media conduits of the General Grand Council, and published in the electronic newsletter of the General Grand Council, the DeCryption without delay.
A comparative posting of the current Constitution and Bylaws along with the proposed total revision in substitution and amendment of the current Constitution and Bylaws shall be posted on the official website of the General Grand Council and, where practical, any other official platform available to the General Grand Recorder.
Informative summaries of the changes proposed in the pending legislation shall be posted as appropriate and/or distributed by additional notices by electronic means for the use of the voting membership.
This Call and Notice shall be promoted widely by the General Grand Recorder beginning as of February 17, 2024, with supplemental notices to be issued at least three (3) months prior to the Special Assembly on 17 August 2024.
The Special Assembly shall commence without a ritual opening at 10:00 a.m. MST (Salt Lake City time), with the General Grand Master as its presiding officer or his duly authorized officer.
The only item for consideration by vote at the Special Assembly is the matter of the total Revision of the Constitution and Bylaws.
All other business shall be limited to such announcements as may be authorized by the General Grand Master such as a Call for a second Special Assembly of the 49th Triennium to be held by electronic means for a report on the financial status of the General Grand Council as was done in 2022 and any proposed legislation providing for additional avenues of member support of Cryptic Mason Medical Research Foundation which is the principal charity of the General Grand Council or reports to the voting membership on programs initiated by the Board of Trustees in 2023 and 2024.
This Call and Notice is hereby issued to all voting members by and through the Grand Recorders and Subordinate Recorders and to any list of voting members reasonably available to the General Grand Recorder, and all who are so notified are encourage to advance this Call and Notice to any known voting members within their respective jurisdictions as soon as is practical and reasonable.
IT IS SO ORDERED, DECREED AND DIRECTED by the General Grand Board of Trustees at the recommendation and Order of the General Grand Master 2023-2026, William Gene Snyder, and the Deputy General Grand Master 2023-2026, G. Thomas Taylor, on this 17th day of February, 2024.