In back, left to right are Nick Martin, Yvonne Jackson, Davonna Daharsh, Tiffany Ruest, Rex Evans, all from Hugoton, Logan Scruggs of Elkhart, Terry Pierson of Moscow and Rickey Burrows of Hugoton. In front are Debbie Nordling, Sue Smith, Bryan Noyes, Grand Master of Kansas Masons, M:.W:. Derik Hockett of Moscow, David Eckert of Hugoton and Thomas Gillespie, III of Elkhart.
September 23, was a day of excitement as the High Plains Theatre board met to greet of the Hugoton Masonic Lodge #406 to present a Community Grant check for $5,000. to the theater. This was the culmination of many months of preparing a grant application for funding the replacement of the borrowed sound system the theater used to magnify productions other than the movies sound. Meetings between the lodge and the theater had produced approval of the grant request that was submitted to the Kansas Masonic Foundation for consideration for their Community Grant Program. KMF funded $100,000. for grants across the state of Kansas as supported by local
Masonic Lodges.
One hundred applications were submitted by 54 lodges, and the
committee selected 18 award recipients. Two received $10,000. awards and 16 received $5,000. awards. “We are very excited to receive a part of the initial awards with this new endeavor on the part of the Kansas Masonic Foundation to assist worthy local 501(C)3 non-profit organizations to meet local community needs.” said David Eckert, a Trustee Emeritus with the KMF and a local officer of the Hugoton Lodge #406. The KMF has donated over $500,000. annually to local Kansas lodge communities as an extension of the KMF Matching Funds for local lodges to contribute to their local community service. KMF has been very community oriented to provide free cancer screenings to Kansas residents through the Masonic Cancer Alliance, recognizing exceptional teachers and students, and contributing over $200,000. worth of scholarships.
Hugoton Lodge #406 AF&AM is the oldest fraternal organization in Stevens County, founded in January of 1914. It owns its own building in the one hundred block of East Sixth Street in Hugoton and pays taxes to the community. Over the past 10 years the lodge with the cooperation of the KMF, have given over $65,000. in scholarships, has
donated over $20,600. to Project Hope & Hands for Hope, local food pantries. Provided $5,650. in funds for Libraries in Elkhart, Hugoton and Satanta, sponsored 75 music students to the Kansas Masonic All-State Marching Band Camp and are currently offering students opportunities to enter the Kansas Masonic Essay Contest with local cash prizes and an opportunity to win between $500 and $4,000 in Scholarship awards. With the Essay Contests, the Lodge has awarded $2,400. in local cash prizes. Further, the lodge has donated $3,750. to area After Prom Party Committees and Assisted several area 4-H Clubs with funding their summer camp travels.
“This grant is another opportunity for our lodge to help improve our
community and we are pleased to see local volunteer’s hard work paying off in our community.” stated Lodge Master Bryan Noyes. “We trust these funds allow the theater to improve the attractions that can be used in this facility and continue to grow and improve our downtown community.”
Hugoton Lodge #406 covers five School Districts in Morton, Stevens and Haskell counties: Elkhart, Rolla, Hugoton, Moscow and Satanta.
Present for the presentation was the Grand Master of Kansas Masons, M:.W:. Derik Hockett who is the first Grand Master in Southwest Kansas since M:. W:. Robert Nease of Hugoton in 1989-1990.