With so many new members coming in, the General Board has asked for a synopsis of the Grand Lodge structure and operational procedures be made available so that every member is aware of the similarities and differences to structure of the Craft Grand Lodge.
The Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of Queensland comprises of 9 Mark Lodges that hold charters from the Grand Lodge. Membership of the GLMMMQ comprises of all financial members of these Mark Lodges. The Grand Lodge is governed in 3 ways, through its Quarterly Communications, through the General Board and through the Management Committee. Grand Lodge meets 4 times a year in Communication, usually on the 1st Wednesday in February, May, August and November. The Communications of Grand Lodge are open to all of it’s members to attend and voting and speaking rights are available to all financial members of Mark Lodges in this jurisdiction. The Communication is chaired by the Grand Master and receives reports from its two major committees (the General Board and Management Committee), the Grand Treasurer and Grand Secretary, endorses or rejects decisions of those bodies and officers, deliberates and votes upon constitutional amendments, and receives information from other jurisdictions concerning Mark Masonry in general.
The General Board is the executive wing of Grand Lodge. It handles all matters affecting the welfare of the Grand Lodge with the exception of financial policy and financial management. The General Board is comprised of the following Members: The President of General Board; The Grand Master; Deputy Grand Master; All Past Grand Masters; Grand Wardens; Grand Treasurer; Grand Secretary; Assistant Grand Secretary, Grand Director of Ceremonies plus one representative elected by each Mark Lodge. Members of the General Board are easily recognisable as they are entitled to wear a collarette jewel of a golden winged globe. We are the only order that has regalia that identifies our Executive Board members.
The major difference to the Craft Grand Lodge is that the GLMMMQ is an incorporated body with the Office of Fair Trading Queensland. Incorporation is a system of registration that gives an association certain legal advantages in return for accepting certain legal responsibilities. Simply put it makes the Grand Lodge a separate identity to its members, therefore protecting member’s individual assets from any action that may be incurred against the Grand Lodge. In return the Grand Lodge as an incorporated body has to operate its financial affairs through a Management Committee that reports annually at the Incorporated Body’s Annual General Meeting prior to the Quarterly Communication Meeting in November. The financial dealings of the Grand Lodge have to be kept in strict conformity with the guidelines set down by the Office of Fair Trading, and must be audited annually by a registered auditor and the audited statement adopted by the Incorporated Body at the Annual General Meeting before being lodged with the Office of Fair Trading. The Management Committee consists of: The Grand Master; Deputy Grand Master; two Grand Wardens; Grand Treasurer; Grand Secretary; Grand Director of Ceremonies and the Grand Superintendents of Workings with appointments confirmed at each Annual General Meeting of Grand Lodge. The Management Committee controls without question, all financial dealings of the Grand Lodge. It may elect to take advice from or accept the recommendations of the General Board, through it’s President who is usually invited to sit as an observer to Management Committee meetings.