Teamwork makes the dream work, first Province to meet approval of UGLE

Under the leadership of Peter Low and the hard work of his Team, on 21st August 2021 Essex was the first Province to meet approval of UGLE

In preparation for the National Digital Marketing Campaign to be launched in September 2021, all 48 Provinces in the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) were tasked with implementing 14 important ‘Marketing Actions’. Under the leadership of Peter Low, the Provincial Communications Officer (PCO) and the hard work of his Team, on 21st August 2021 Essex was the first Province to complete 100% to meet the approval of UGLE.

Over the last year the Provincial Communications Team members have worked hard to enhance public perception of Freemasonry in Essex with a voluminous number of press releases, news items on the public facing Provincial Grand Lodge (PGL) and Provincial Grand Chapter (PGC) websites, through social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as well as in The Essex Mason magazine and internally to members with the new Second Rising and Provincial Download publications. 

The team strives not only to get local publicity but also to ‘fly the flag’ for Essex within UGLE. ‘Essex Freemasons Win Pride of Essex Award’ was one of the first provincial news stories to appear in UGLE’s newsletter ‘First Rising ’in which a number of other stories have subsequently been published as well as many more in Freemasonry Today (FMT) both online and hardcopy. “Engaging with the Community” about the partnership with Braintree Museum is one of the most recent.

The National Digital Marketing Campaign is due to be launched on 20th September 2021 by which time all 48 Provinces, including Metropolitan Grand Lodge, in the ten Regional Communications Groups across UGLE must have the requisite 14 Marketing Actions in place. These include Provincial Grand Lodge websites achieving the UGLE Charter Mark, having the new key words displayed, as well as the ‘Discovering Freemasonry’ video and booklet, new Mission Statements, new FAQs and a social media review undertaken. Other processes must also be able to follow through to help make the Campaign successful.

Peter Low expressed his appreciation to Lee Zetter for all his hard work in getting the Essex PGL website first over the line and extended his thanks saying “we have a great team and everyone plays a big part”. In addition to Lee the Provincial Communications Team consists of David Badger, Mike Barrett, David Boylan, Lee Britton, Braham Djidjelli, Ian Graham, Tony Hales, Mike Hall, Barry Hayward, Graeme Lockwood, Paul Palmer, Gerald Reilly, Russell Segal and Barry Stedman.  On hearing the news, Elliott Chevin, the new incoming Deputy Grand Superintendent and the Provincial Executive Officer with the remit for Communications, emailed Peter saying “Huge congratulations to you all. The epitome of a dream team!”

There is an exciting era ahead for Essex Freemasons led by a new Most Excellent Grand Superintendent. With the National Digital Marketing Campaign, the Essex 2022 Festival, support for other Essex Provincial Teams through key players such as Chris Hicks, Chris Lee, Paul Kelly, and Graham Lucas, as well as recognising and publishing the achievements and good works of individual Chapters and their Companions, the Provincial Communications Team is under no illusion that, in the Province of Essex, “Teamwork makes the Dream Work”.