2011 Alaska Honorees

Inspector General Honorary of the Thirty-third Degree:

During the Biennial Session of the Supreme Council, Sovereign Grand Inspectors General and Deputies nominate a small quota of members who are Knights Commander Court of Honour to receive the Thirty-third Degree. A committee reviews the nominations, but the Supreme Council must vote upon every nomination. Members unanimously so elected become honorary members of the Supreme Council. The Thirty-third Degree may not be requested. The Degree is conferred solely out of recognition for outstanding services. The only difference between the jewel of the Thirty-third Degree and that for an Active Member of the Supreme Council is that the latter is larger. The cap for an Inspector General Honorary is white with a white band edged in gold, featuring the symbol for this honorary Degree, a red slanting Patriarchal Cross.

The following Illustrious Brothers from the Orient of Alaska were Coronated Thirty-third Degree Scottish Rite Masons in 2011:

Dan McCrummen (Juneau)

Jerry W. Pinion Sr. (Anchorage)

Lee O. Seagondollar (Anchorage)

Douglas Whorton (Fairbanks)

  Knight Commander Court of Honour:  

The Rank of Knight Commander of the Court of Honour is not a Degree but an Investiture bestowed upon members deserving recognition for faithful services to the Rite. The respective Sovereign Grand Inspectors General or Deputies likewise nominate members for this honor, and these must also be unanimously approved by the Supreme Council. This Investiture is a prerequisite of receiving the Thirty-third Degree at some later time, though relatively few receive this distinction.

A Knight Commander of the Court of Honour is a Scottish Rite rank peculiar to the Southern Jurisdiction, except that our Supreme Council has permitted the Supreme Council for the Philippines (part of our Jurisdiction until 1949) to continue the practice as one of their special honors bestowed.

The cap of the Knight Commander Court of Honour is red with a darker red band trimmed in gold. In the center front is a representation of the Knight Commander Jewel, a Passion Cross with fancy arms, featuring in the center a trefoil embroidered in green encircled by the "Kt. Comm. Court of Honour" embroidered in gold. The symbol used often, the tripod, was regularly used in formal Masonic documents in place of a period in the abbreviation of formal titles. Its use is maintained as a tribute to the Craft’s distinguished past in much Masonic writing today, such as in the Scottish Rite Journal, but it may be and often is replaced by a standard period.

The following Brothers from the Orient of Alaska were invested with the rank of Knight Commander of the Court of Honor in 2011:

Ronald Ackerman (Juneau)

Al Brookman (Juneau)

Al Kelly (Anchorage)

Michael Miles (Fairbanks)

Gary Satterfield (Anchorage)

Montgomery Schefers (Anchorage)

Steven Stewart (Juneau)

The opinions expressed in these pages do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Scottish Rite Bodies of Alaska. The Editor accepts sole responsibility for the content.