R. W. Bro. Roland A. Morrow - DDGM 2011-2012

R. W. Bro. Roland Morrow was born just north of Bath, Ontario, in a car by the side of the road.

He was raised on a dairy farm overlooking Lake Ontario. His family was active in their community, the educational system, the church, and 4H Clubs. As a youth, he was a member of St. Paul’s Anglican Church choir; a server; later becoming a lay reader, and an assistant in delivering the sacraments in that church and its sister church.

He attended the local one room school and graduated from Napanee and District Secondary School. Following a period of dairy farming, he attended Peterborough Teachers’ College and Queen’s University graduating with a major in Mathematics and a minor in Psychology.

He commenced his teaching career in 1968 in a large school in the north end of Kingston and quickly rose to an administrative position in 1973. He is a past Director of the Ontario Association of Mathematics in Education; past Chairman of the Frontenac Mathematics Council and Vice-Principals’ Association. He has presented workshops as far away as Toronto and Winnipeg for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

As a principal, he was instrumental in involving seniors in schools, introduced and supervised Literacy Support personnel into North Frontenac Schools, sponsored Canadian Citizenship Courts for new Canadians in his school and hosted a visit by the former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Rt. Honourable Lincoln Alexander.

R. W. Bro. Morrow retired as principal of schools in June of 2000, but quickly returned to the employment scene after a brief retirement period. He is employed with the Attorney General’s Department, working in The Superior Court of Justice. With his home court in Napanee, his services have been used in various locations , including Ottawa and Newmarket Superior Courts. Along with his co-workers, he was the recipient of the Excelsior Award presented by the Attorney General’s Office to recognize Outstanding Achievement in the workplace.

Locally, R. W. Bro. Morrow’s enthusiasm shone forth in his work on the Project Steering Committee for the Lennox and Addington County General Hospital’s multi-million dollar expansion completed in June 2009. He is a past member of its Board of Governor’s 2005 to 2009 and past Chairman of the Lennox and Addington County General Hospital Foundation.

He is no stranger to the out of doors. He has crewed the tall ship schooner, True North, the length of Lake Ontario and into Lake Erie, climbed using snowshoes and crampons, then overnight tented in below 30 weather atop Phelps Mountain in the Adirondacks, kayaked the Florida Everglades, part of the Gulf of Mexico, Georgian Bay, Sagunay Fjord among beluga whales, the Haida Gwaii Queen Charlotte Islands, and the highlight being the Nahanni River by canoe, attacking four canyons with rapids of four and five foot standing waves over a distance of 380 km. He has travelled as far north as Alaska and N.W.T. and as far south as Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, and the Ice Fields and Paradise Bay of the Antarctic peninsula, 535 miles south of Cape Horn.

R. W. Bro. Morrow is married to his lovely wife, Colleen, for 37 years. They have three children, 1 boy and 2 girls, who are all married and have children of their own.

Within his home lodge, Union No. 9, he has held various positions, including a member of the Board of Installation and Investiture. He co-chaired Union Lodge’s Juno Beach Memorial drive and their 200th Anniversary. On behalf of his lodge, he has been a contributor to each edition of the Masonic Ashlar for ten consecutive years, concluding in 2010.

He is a past committee chairman for the Masonic Association of Frontenac District, a Noble in Rameses Shriners, Kingston, and a charter member of Templum Fidelis No. 746. He had the pleasure of organizing the Grand Junior Warden’s and Grand Senior Warden’s Degree Team for Frontenac District.

In 2009, he was elected as Vice-President of the Masonic Association of Frontenac District (M.A.F.D.) and in 2010 President of the District Association.

On July 21, 2011, R. W. Bro. Roland Morrow’s nomination as D.D.G.M. was confirmed by the Grand Master, M. W. Bro. D. Garry Dowling, as the Grand Master’s representative to Frontenac District.