Right Worshipful Julius Brown

RW Brown is a true leader.  His first year as Worshipful Master of Daniel "Chappie" James saw him leading the lodge into enough community and humanitarian work to be honored as Lodge of the Year for the year 2004. Although a defining moment in his career as a Mason, he will tell you that his true leadership skills can be defined by the many young men who look up to and respect his advice on minor and major life issues.  "Awards come and go; but a gift of knowledge & the importance of service to a young Mason keeps giving back to the community," is a favorite thought of his.

Not only has he built his own company, but he has successfully assisted other businesses to become successful.  He’s a leader in the community as well and has been ear marked to be a very viable candidate for the Lakewood City Council.  Along with his leadership ability in his business, his leadership abilities in the community, he has become a centrifugal force in his lodge.  RW Brown is actively seeking his Bachelors Degree in the Computer Sciences field. 

As the Chairman of the Lakewood African-American Police Advisory Committee for it's 6th year, RW Brown has lead a group of 12 African-American in establishing an organization that has assisted the Lakewood Police Department in developing several plans to bridge gaps between the black community and the Police Department.  This year, DCJ and the LAAPAC have planned another Come Out & Play Sports C.O.P.S.) day.  This is an event where we bring minority families together with the Police Officers who serve in our community, together for a cook out and day of sports.  We have different sports setup as individual and teams with officers as to build a better positive relationship for both parties. 

RW Browns leadership abilities were shown once again when he helped establish the Citizens for 21^st Century Leadership under the tutelage of the great Senator Rosa Franklin.  So far the C21CL has hosted a successful Job and Contracts Fair, a Town Hall with the Tacoma Police Department, and a voters information forum to assist people in understanding the caucuses and political landscape.

Religious Affiliation:

RW Brown is a former member of Word of Life C.O.G.I.C. in Lakewood.  He was in charge of the Media Ministry where he built the webpage and had a team of 8 people who record the sermons on Audio Tape, CD, Video Tape, and DVD and have them packaged and ready for sale at the bookstore by the time service is over.  They also make several different types of packages for sale items as well. 

RW Brown is now a member of Shiloh Baptist Church where he is happy to be in the company of other fellow Prince Hall Masons from within the jurisdiction and once again, in charge of the Media Ministry.

Degree of Affiliation in Community Programs:

RW Brown setup an after school program with funding from the National Weed & Seed Organization.  http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ccdo/.  The program is called E-for-T for Engineering for Teens.  He teaches Audio, Video, and technology to teens 3 days a week at Woodbrook Middle School in the Woodbrook section of Lakewood.  He attended the National Weed & Seed Conference 2 years ago along with representatives from every city and state participating in the program. 

As the Chairman of LAAPAC, the group has sponsored several events with the community and the Police department such as its COPS (Come Out & Play Sports) program and community forums with the Police Department.  The COPS program gives children from the African-American community an opportunity to interact with the Police in a positive manner, thereby fostering an opportunity for the officers and the teens to build some trust that will benefit the entire community. Under the leadership of RW Brown, the LAAPAC and the Lakewood Police Department won the Good Shepard Award during its first banquet from the Apostolitic Clergy and the National Crime Prevention Council in Washington D.C.   RW Brown and Chief Larry Saunders of the Lakewood Police Department, traveled to Seattle for a dinner along with some other award recipients to receive a glass trophy that will be displayed in the new Police Department in Lakewood.  RW Brown is also a member of the Citizens workgroup who actually interviewed the potential employees and now are building the Police Department from brick one.  RW Brown supported the Lakewood VFW War memorial in Lakewood Town Square and Daniel “Chappie” James has purchased a brick in honor of the man whose name our lodge bears to this day.

RW Brown continues to sit on the Commission for Race relations and Law Enforcement which is facilitated by the National Crime Prevention Council.  This board of people gathered together to discuss issues between the Police and Minority groups.  We now gather together once a month to develop a game plan for fostering trust between the Police department and the African-American community. 

You can’t catch this young man sitting at home doing nothing.  He’s worked on political campaigns in Lakewood and Tacoma.  He’s sponsored community programs to bridge gaps and foster trust.  He’s also well known on the local poetry circuit for his poetry and for sponsoring the local poetry sessions.  RW Brown put lots of time in as a member of the Arts Together Board in Tacoma, where they developed a poetry slam contest that ran for two years at Jazzbones in Tacoma.  The poetry contests still occur although they no longer run at Jazzbones.  From time to time, he still frequents the circuit to catch up on all the latest poets and to display his own skills. 

Current Memberships in other Local or Worldwide Organizations:

RW Brown has been a member of the NAACP since 1984 and continues to participate in the organization to this day.  RW Brown has affiliation with the National Urban League and the Tacoma-Pierce County Black Collective, Pierce County Health Departments Tobacco Advisory Board, Citizens for 21^st Century Leadership, former Deputy Director of Safe Homes, Inc. a non-profit organization that exists to give teens a place to go and learn positive skills that will lead them to a productive life.  He’s a member of the Black Data Professionals Association (BDPA).  Not to forget he is a member of the Knights of Pythagoras, Royal Arch Masons, and a Noble of the AEAONMS Yemen Temple # 152.  RW Brown is an honorary member of the Fraternal Order of Police.  He’s a member of VFW Post # 969.

Knowledge of Masonic Law, Customs, and Landmarks.

Even after serving two years as Worshipful Master, he is still learning Masonic Laws.  He participated in a Masonic Trial and has made studying the Code Book an Officers meeting favorite.  He sat as one of the Worshipful Masters who presented at the Leadership Training session this year in Federal Way.

RW Brown has been traveling for 20 years and has served his time in every seat in the Masonic body as well as two terms as Worshipful Master.  During his time in Germany in 1991 as a member of the United States Army in Schwaebish Hall, he along with a couple other brothers that were members of Herman E. Bradley # 74 in Nuerumberg decided that they wanted to start a lodge on their post.  Along with Bro. Clarence McKinney and Bro. Stewart, RW Brown created the by-laws and constructed all the necessary paperwork to establish a lodge on their post.  During this process, Maryland Jurisdiction claimed they had jurisdiction to this post and therefore delayed the process.  After several months of jurisprudence and Grand Lodge involvement, it was determined that no one had jurisdiction until a lodge could be established.  Since we were already ready to go, we in fact won the opportunity to begin meeting as Jimmy Simmons Lodge UD and we were given our dispensation by PGM Daniel Lundsford himself during one of his European visits.  This UD served under DDGM Andrew Morgan and was thriving for 2 and a half years until the post decided to deactivate.  RW Brown started as Junior Warden when Jimmy Simmons opened its’ doors and was elected Senior Warden and ultimately Worshipful Master but was never given the opportunity to serve as Worshipful Master because of the Post deactivation.  Starting a lodge from scratch is the biggest thrill of my Masonic career. 

Degree of Participation in programs of local lodges and the Grand Lodge:

RW Brown has taken over as leader of the Tacoma Dome Fund Raising Events.  He is now working with the staff at the Tacoma Dome to secure all the necessary requirements to make the transition back into the Dome a seamless one.  Now he is working with Qwest Field in Seattle to establish them as a fund raising option for the lodges of this jurisdiction as well.

In 2004 RW Brown joined the Grand Lodge Degree Team to assist other lodges in their degree work.  Along with several of the members of Daniel “Chappie” James Lodge # 72, he assisted Hamma Hamma # 35 in a first degree and Abiff Lodge # 37 in a raising.  He’s visited Hamma Hamma # 35, Julius A. Headen # 102, Pride of Washington # 98, Spanaway Lodge # 83, Cassia Lodge # 5, Egyptian Lodge # 44, and Arthur Ury # 73.  RW Brown also arranged a joint first degree at Daniel “Chappie” James which consisted of 6 lodges getting together to do a first degree at their lodge hall.  This was done at the same time that RW Browns’ brother who is a PM in Philadelphia brought 9 of his brothers out to visit with the lodge. 

This event was a truly beautiful event and was topped off by the Grand Master coming out to support the lodges.  A week later, Daniel “Chappie” James presented the Defense of the Ruffians play where several members of the Grand Lodge of Washington were also in attendance to view the first of many showings of this play. 

In 2005 he visited many lodges on his own and has also traveled to many lodges during their Grand Masters visitation.  As he did in Vancouver, WA where 11 of the DCJ Members also attended and were taken note of.

RW Brown was appointed to two Grand Lodge Positions in 2006 by newly elected Grand Master Harden M. Keys, Jr. Director of Community Relations and Chairman of Automation & Technology.  Both have been challenging in the first year and he looks forward to working them even harder in the next year should he be chosen to do so.

RW Brown also sat on the Red, White, & Black Ball committee and was instrumental in helping the event in 2005 be one we can talk about for two years.