Every year in the month of May, Masonic Lodges across the State of Texas recognize outstanding graduating High School Seniors by granting hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of college scholarships in their communities.
Our local Masonic Lodges are no different. Last Thursday night, Pampa Masonic Lodge No. 966 hosted their annual High School Scholarship presentations for four outstanding Pampa High Seniors and their families. Honored were Mckenzie Woods, Ki’sha Brown, Hanna Porter, and Michael Sims.
“Each year Pampa Lodge sends out Scholarship applications to all the High Schools in our area”, said Cole Tefertiller, Secretary of Pampa 966, “we welcome any Seniors in the area to apply. Criteria considered include their Career goals, Community activities, Academic achievements, and School activities. The Seniors are also asked to write a short essay on Masonry and its impact on our Country or State. Our scholarship Committee reads all of the applications and selects the most suitable candidates.”
Ryan Manley, current Master of Pampa Lodge 966 added, “These outstanding graduates excelled in all of those areas, and because of their exceptional efforts were chosen as this year’s recipients from over 20 applicants “We’re so pleased to do this for our local students. Also, along with the scholarship money, it’s great to recognize their scholastic achievements by presenting them with the Lamar Medal.”
The Mirabeau B. Lamar Award for Excellence, a prestigious Texas Masonic Honor, was established by the Grand Lodge of Texas in 1988 to recognize outstanding Texas students or educators. Lamar, a Mason, is known as the “Father of Texas Education”. He was elected as the second President of the Republic of Texas in 1838 and largely responsible for setting aside properties for the funding of the Texas Public Schools.
Pampa Lodge No. 966 was founded in Pampa in 1907. This is their 14th consecutive year to provide Scholarships to graduating Seniors. This year each student was awarded $1000.00. Sponsored by the Texas Masonic Charities Foundation through matching grants, the local Masons at Pampa Lodge have raised and donated nearly $50,000.00 in College Scholarships since starting the program. Additionally, statewide the Texas Masonic Charities Foundation partners with the 747 Lodges across the state on a yearly basis and provides scholarships to High School Seniors, Community Grants, and Teacher Honorariums (recognizing the educators of our state’s future leaders). Through this partnership, Texas Masons are extremely proud to have provided more than $21,000,000.00 in assistance since 2014.
