VW DeMolay members attend conclave

Van Wert DeMolay news

BEREA — Eight members of Van Wert Chapter, Order of DeMolay traveled to Baldwin-Wallace University to attend the annual Conclave of Ohio DeMolay and brought home over $8,000 in scholarships.

The session was also attended by young men from across the state, from neighboring states, and by dozens of adult leaders and volunteers who met to honor the activities of the youth fraternity and install the officers for the ensuing year.

This year’s state master councilor, Mark Chong of Columbus, was recognized for an unprecedented six years of dedicated service to Ohio DeMolay and was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award for Ohio. Executive Officer Martin R. Woodworth of Parma was pleased to report that the past year had been a very good term, and that Ohio had won the Heartland Speech Competition, which involves six states, for the third year in a row.

Several chapters were recognized for their successes in various projects and membership growth; and advisors and other adults were noted for their service to the Order of DeMolay and the community at large.

A.J. Thomas, son of Keith and Jill Thomas of Van Wert, was elected to serve as the deputy state master councilor of Ohio DeMolay for the next year; and will ascend to the state presidency the following year. Thomas was a recipient of the Ohio DeMolay scholarship and was distinguished by his fellow state officers as the “State Officer of the Year.”

Robbie Trittschuh, son of Steve and Jennifer Trittschuh, was identified as the “State Officer Rookie of the Year” for his term as state first preceptor and was also a recipient of the Ohio DeMolay scholarship, as well as an Ohio Eastern Star scholarship.

Bob Laing, son of Dr. Kevin and Barbara Laing of Van Wert, who is a past Ohio state master councilor and is currently serving over 100,000 DeMolays as the international master councilor, addressed and was received with a standing ovation by the crowd gathered at the annual conclave.

Laing received the Ohio DeMolay scholarship and an Ohio Eastern Star scholarship.

Others in attendance included Joe Linser, current Van Wert master councilor; Michell Mengerink, Jon Lisa, Nick White, and Quintin Mengerink. Advisors in attendance were Dr. Kevin Laing and Kevin Weisman.

For more information or those who want to apply for membership can contact any of the local DeMolay officers, members or advisors mentioned in this article.