Member Profile: Gloriani Lontoc
Meet a California Freemason doing double-duty as grand master of Hawaii.
Text by Justin Japitana, Tony Pierucci, Brian Robin, and Ian A. Stewart
Whether it’s the super idea behind a new charity, the fantastic team powering the state’s fastest-growing lodges, or the marvels of lodge administration, these heroes don’t wear capes, but they do wear aprons.
Footwear Fanatic: Steven Yeffa
Pleasanton No. 321
A year ago, Steven Yeffa listened as Past Grand Master Stu Wright spoke at the Annual Communication about how the Masonic Service Association Network of America was able to donate 10,000 pairs of new socks to Veterans Affairs hospitals. Yeffa immediately thought of the thousands of socks piled up in boxes in his garage. “I was like, I can help with that!” he recalls. As CEO of Flight Adventure Parks, a national chain of trampoline gymnasiums, Yeffa had access to a lot of socks. (The parks give patrons complimentary hospital-style socks to wear while jumping.) It didn’t take long for Yeffa, a member of Pleasanton № 321 and the current grand marshal, to connect the dots. He immediately pledged 25,000 pairs of socks. But after speaking with representatives from the VA, he says he was blown away by the opportunity to help fill a critical, if typically overlooked, void at the hospitals. “I was just blown away by the need,” he says. “Anything that comes their way is a dollar they can spend elsewhere.”
Impressed, Yeffa upped his donation from 25,000 to 125,000 pairs of socks, an in-kind gift of half a million dollars. The pledge was made through the Grand Lodge of California and the MSANA to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and over the summer, 275 boxes of socks were shipped to 208 VA hospitals around the country. “It was a wonderful synergistic response to a real need, and we were happy to do it,” Yeffa says. “I think it’s important to not only give through Masonic charities, but also work with our communities, in all aspects of our lives. That’s really sharing the light of Freemasonry.”
And it’s only the start. As chairman of the Adventure and Trampoline Parks Association, Yeffa says he’s spoken with other executives in his field about making similar donations. He also has lots of kids’ socks, too, and is now working with representatives from the Shrine to arrange an additional $500,000 in-kind donation to their children’s hospitals. Says Yeffa, “It’s a wonderful way to repay the fraternity that’s given me so much.”
Rookies of the Year: TJ Elliott, Darrel Watson and Josh Price
Phoenix Rising No. 178
Coronado No. 441
Veritas No. 855
In sports, a team captain is relied on to motivate his players, relay direction and strategy, and provide organization. The world of fundraising, it turns out, is pretty similar.
When it comes to Masons4Mitts, much of the boots-on-the-ground rallying comes from team captains, who get the word out, pass the hat, and solicit donations. “But we’re more than that, too,” says Josh Price of Veritas № 855. Price is one of 16 new team captains who volunteered for the 2024 season, injecting a much-needed dose of creativity and enthusiasm into the effort. “We’re ambassadors, too.”
Thanks to captains like Price and his fellow rookies, including Darrel Watson (Coronado № 441) and TJ Elliott (Phoenix Rising № 178), the fundraising drive looks poised to break records set in 2022 and 2023, which helped bring all-time giving to Masons4Mitts to over $2 million.
The challenge of asking for money is made easier by the nature of the program, which provides mitts to kids in underserved areas who might otherwise never get a chance to play baseball and softball. “Leading with the story of these great kids makes soliciting money easier, because Masons have big hearts and this program really makes a difference,” Watson says.
Having already made an impression in their debut season, the rookies are already looking ahead to year two. “It’s about setting new, more ambitious goals and learning how we can get better at this,” Elliott says. “At the end of the day, it’s all about the kids.”
The Tearjerker: Delaine Easton
In what was very likely the final public appearance before her death on April 23, former state superintendent of public instruction Delaine Easton brought the house down with a rousing speech to California Masons and their educational partners in Sacramento. Reflecting on her time in office, Easton recalled how Masons had been among her most loyal supporters. “The first people to stand up were the Masons,” she said to applause. “I owe you so much.”
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The Mitt Champions
The mitts themselves are striking—black with orange piping and the Masons’ logo embossed on the thumb. And soon there will be a whole lot more of them gracing local fields, thanks to a newly announced $650,000 pledge from the California Masonic Foundation to the San Francisco Giants Community Fund.
But beyond the mitts—of which nearly 60,000 have been donated to Junior Giants players—the gift supports a range of community efforts aimed at helping kids in under-resourced areas. The pledge is the largest ever made by a foundation to the Giants Community Fund. In addition to providing mitts to the noncompetitive, coed Junior Giants baseball and softball leagues, the pledge also includes support for the expansion of Junior Giants Schools, which brings free PE classes to San Francisco schools. The pledge also funds the addition of a career and technical education component within the Giants Community Fund Academy’s baseball leagues for middle and high school students. Through the Masons’ pledge, those programs will now feature sessions designed to expose students to careers in the trades.
Douglas Ismail, president of the California Masonic Foundation, invoked the Masonic working tools while announcing the pledge. “The trowel helps us level the playing field for people from all walks of life,” he said. “With this investment, we’re doing that by ensuring that every kid who wishes to is able to participate in these programs and that they’re able to have a summer to remember.”
The New Kids on the Block
Kapayapaan at Pagkakaisa Lodge
From the time he first raised the idea of starting a new lodge to the day this past February that Eugene Abad found himself sitting in the east as master of it, only a few months had passed. But for Abad, that relatively short stretch was actually the culmination of a much longer wait, reaching back five generations in his family and including countless hours of imagining what is now Kapayapaan at Pagkakaisa UD, San Diego’s newest Masonic lodge.
Meaning “peace and harmony” in Tagalog (many of the 27 charter members are Filipino), Kapayapaan at Pagkakaisa aims to live up to its name. Abad says officers seek member buy-in at every turn: After a successful breakfast fundraiser, for instance, members sat down and had a two-hour long debriefing. “That turned into a productive conversation about how the lodge was doing overall,” Abad says. Those lessons are informing how they’ll stage their next event: a fundraising golf tournament.
The seed of an idea for the lodge was planted around the time Abad’s father and grandfather passed away, causing him to reflect on their lives and the place that Freemasonry held in it. “I realized what I valued most in Masonry was finding peace and harmony among brothers,” he says. That thought galvanized him to found a lodge modeled on those principles.
Whether any lodge can live up to such lofty tenets always remains to be seen. But for Abad, the secret ingredient to the fraternity’s centuries of success lies in its ability to create just that kind of atmosphere. “I think we found what works for us,” he says. “That’s what matters most.”
The Campaigners
Marin No. 191, Ross Valley No. 556, Mill Valley No. 356
With a little help from their friends, the three lodges of Marin County—Marin № 191 in San Rafael, Ross Valley № 556 in Larkspur, and Mill Valley № 356—have pioneered a new hyperlocal approach to membership drives—and in doing so, demonstrated remarkable intralodge cooperation. This February, the three lodges, all of which had been struggling to attract new members and officers, pitched in on a countywide social media awareness campaign. Piggybacking on the Grand Lodge’s statewide drive, the three lodges shared the cost of the $10,000 ad buy, which targeted prospective Masons in the North Bay. With more than a quarter-million impressions, the campaign is helping replenish the membership pipeline for the first time in years.
The Ambassadors
Los Angeles No. 42
There’s a certain similarity between gatherings at Los Angeles № 42 and a Model U.N. meeting. That’s because the lodge has become one of the state’s most international groups, with dual members living all around the world and a steady stream of foreign visitors stopping into the lodge from as far away as Italy, Azerbaijan, Moldova, and Armenia. Then there’s the lodge’s monthly Zoom call with William Preston № 327 of Romania—a pandemic-era program that has continued ever since. In fact, this summer the two lodges signed a “sister lodge” resolution recognizing their cross-jurisdictional bond. “We have members present papers or we talk about general Masonic principles,” master Ronald Hopkins says. “Symbolism is a pretty universal language.”
The Recruitment Agency
Elysian No. 418
Asked how his relatively small group, housed in a handsome if unassuming red-brick lodge hall in Los Feliz, has made itself into the buzzing hub of Masonic initiation in California, Elysian № 418 master Frank Barbano gives a shrug. “We don’t do anything special,” he offers. “We just focus on making people feel welcomed.”
Whatever they’re doing, it’s working. Elysian currently has more than 30 prospects, plus four pending applicants. Over the past year, the lodge initiated 19 Entered Apprentices, meaning the lodge has grown about 20 percent over the last 12 months. Those new members hail from as far away as Armenia, the Philippines, Japan, Latin America, and all around the United States.
Pressed on their secret sauce, Barbano acknowledges that the lodge has done well to put a strong system in place to handle and guide prospective members. The result is a program in which a current lodge member is assigned to each would-be brother, tasked with answering their questions and welcoming them into the group. “That way, when Grand Lodge forwards us someone, we know we have guys ready to greet him,” Barbano says. “A Masonic lodge should be open to all good men seeking to be better men. That’s what we want our lodge to be like.”
The Friendliest Reminders
Elysian No. 418
Up and down California, little blue flowers were sprouting, reminding Masons everywhere of their obligation to others.
That was the result of the California Masonic Foundation’s effort to distribute to members seed packs of forget-me-nots, a flower typically associated with love and remembrance and used by German Masons during WWII in place of the square and compass to avoid persecution by the Nazis. (Members of lodges where 100 percent of officers donated to the Foundation received a handsome blue forget-me-not lapel pin, too.) Just be careful: Unlike charity, the flowers may spread farther than you’d like!
The School Spirits
Wisdom No. 202
Each spring for the past 20 years, students and parents in Glendale are reminded that the local Masons have their back. That’s because Public Schools Night at Wisdom № 202 has grown into one of the most anticipated fundraisers in town.
This year, more than 200 people crammed into the lodge to attend the program, which included a performance by the student choir at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School. The lodge also recognized the school’s principal, teachers, and music department with a donation to fund new keyboards for piano students.
That’s reward enough for lodge members, but the exposure the group gets from hosting the event is a nice bonus. Capitalizing on the large turnout, the program now included tours of the lodge room, informational pamphlets about Freemasonry, and a short talk about the history of the fraternity. “It’s a good way to introduce the fraternity to the community, and of course, gather prospects,” says lodge master Hampo Nazerian. “We love to let them know that nothing is stopping them from knocking.”
The Entertainers: Rick Hodkin, Eric Chilson, Kevin Curtis and Chris Barry
Eureka No. 16
Last year’s inaugural Auburn Festive Board was a smashing success—so much so that the planning for this year’s event began in earnest just one week later.
That zeal for preparation showed, as the 2024 festive board took the concept of the Masonic dinner-and-lecture event to new heights—quite literally, in the case of the 12-foot-tall decorative angels hoisted in the rafters. Where some Masonic festive boards are somber or formal, Auburn’s—cohosted by Eureka № 16 and the local York Rite—takes things to 11 by leaning into the theatrical element. This year’s theme was the holy writings, so organizers transformed their hall into King Solomon’s temple, complete with incense altars, members in costume as high priests, and an Ark of the Covenant. There were lasers, fog machines, an illuminated Bible, and other not-inconsiderable audiovisual components. The seven-course meal was punctuated by short talks on each of the passages from those texts that appear in the Masonic degrees.
“I don’t know how we’re going to top it,” says Rick Hodkin, a past master of Eureka № 16 and one of the event’s organizers. “The grander vision is to make a name for ourselves here.”
The Saucier: Javier De La Torre
Home No. 721
The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. For Javier De La Torre, it was also the way to Freemasonry. Nearly two decades ago, he was hired as a maintenance man at the Van Nuys Masonic Temple.
Within a few years, he’d taken over as cook, too, manning the grill for the many lodges sharing the hall (including Van Nuys № 450, Reseda № 666, Home № 721, North Hollywood № 542, Clarence F. Smith Daylight № 866, and Beverly Hills № 528). Ten years later, he finally swapped out his chef’s apron for a lambskin one, joining Home № 721.
“Through the years, I saw the wonderful things these men did in the community,” De La Torre says. “I like giving back to my brothers and I’ll keep doing it as long as they like my food.”
The Swingers
Hiram's Hackers Golf Club
Slices, hooks, duffs, and bogeys all feel a bit better when you know it’s for good cause. At least that’s the idea behind Hiram’s Hackers Golf Club’s annual Grand Master’s Golf Tournament, which, after taking a pause in 2024 following a change in leadership, is aiming for a grand return in 2025.
The annual charity golf tournament, which benefits the California Masonic Foundation’s fundraising efforts for Masons4Mitts, the Masonic Homes of California, and the literacy nonprofit Raising a Reader, was launched in 2009 to bring Masons together for the shotgun-style tournament. In addition to the stroke-play champion, there are prizes given for putting, long drive, and more—as well as “cheater’s kits” available for those needing a little help getting to par.
After being held primarily in the South Bay, the tournament is relocating to the North Bay for its next installment. That’s not the only change in the offing: Organizer Paul Dana says the next edition will incorporate an afterparty at Riverstone Ranch in Healdsburg, in Sonoma County, where previously he held the Hiram’s Haven family picnic. “Our goal in moving the event is to get some new people involved and really tap into some of the vibrant lodges in the North Bay—and ultimately to get people active during the charity auction,” Dana says.
That’s not all. Dana says that in the future, he hopes to expand and replicate the Hiram’s Hackers tournament formula so that Mason golfers in other areas have a chance to get in on the action, as well. He envisions regional tournaments held all over the state, all benefitting the Foundation’s programs. “That’s the 10-year plan,” he says, before taking a mulligan. “Or maybe the five-year plan.”
The Bookworms
Channel Islands No. 214
The Masons of Ventura County are throwing the book at local students—in a good way. Building on a partnership with the literacy nonprofit Raising a Reader that began in 2017, members of Channel Islands № 214 have turbocharged their educational efforts lately, helping to ensure that local students in transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and first grade have access to exciting and relevant reading material.
In 2023, the lodge hosted its first-ever Blue Bag giveaway for kids entering second grade, during which they visited the South Oxnard Library to get their library cards and listened to story time with local Masons. The success of that event led the lodge and Raising a Reader to partner with nearby Port Hueneme School District to invite the book-bag program into 122 more classrooms this fall. Says Kirt Wilson, a past master who helped lead the effort, “The program gets the kids excited to read, and it becomes a whole family activity. It was surprising to see how impactful this thing is, and it really reinforced my commitment to keep it thriving.”
The Intergenerational Dynamic Duo: Justin and Jason Berry
Culver City Foshay No. 467
The butterflies were fluttering in a flight pattern Jason Berry had rarely experienced. And yet beneath the nerves there was a father’s pride. After all, it’s not every day you get to make family and fraternal history all at once.
That’s what happened on May 22, as Berry performed the third degree for his son Justin, raising him as a Master Mason.
The seldom-seen father-son degree is known within Masonry as a Lewis Degree, so-named for the ancient tool used to hoist large stones. It’s not known how many Lewises there are in California, but it’s likely no more than a few. (The degree was introduced here in 2016 by then–Grand Master David Perry, who raised his son.)
For the elder Berry, the occasion was one he won’t soon forget. “We don’t have many family legacies or traditions in our family,” he says. “So the fact that my son chose to join the fraternity is establishing a legacy for our family—not only now, but for future generations.”
The Brainstormers
Sacramento No. 40
One recent night, the members of Sacramento № 40 were gathered around a table and asked to write down 25 things they’d like to accomplish in their lives. The exercise was inspiring, helping each person consider their priorities, where they found joy, and what to do with their limited time on earth. Then they were asked to eliminate 20 of them.
If that sounds heavy for a Tuesday night, well, that’s the point of the so-called SocratiCafé program, a potluck dinner and philosophical debate. Think of it as a modern-day version of 18th century French salons, except the topics are firmly rooted in the 21st century.
That intellectual curiosity has emerged as a hallmark of Sacramento № 40, which in 2020 launched a series of “TED Talks for Zoom,” with speakers including MMA fighter Frank Forza, Robert Johnson from the Masonic podcast Whence Came You, Jared Stanley from the “How to be a Mason” YouTube channel, and Johnny Royal, the director of the Illuminated and 33 and Beyond documentaries (and a California Mason), among others. Members also keep personal journals in the lodge’s chambers where they can write about their philosophical growth. “It’s a textbook for their life,” says master Blake Green. “When they look back, they can see how different ideas impacted their journey.”
The Connectors
The Rough Ashlars
Home No. 721
Last year, Michael David founded a new Masonic club. With any luck, by next year none of the current members will still be enrolled. The club, the Rough Ashlars, is made up entirely of prospects, suspended members, petitioners, and others waiting for a lodge to act on their application. The Rough Ashlars meet every week at Home № 721 and stay in touch over a text thread. They are invited to all the lodge’s social, philanthropic, and non-ritual events, and even hold events of their own, like a volunteer day at the local elementary school. “We did this to prevent people from falling through the cracks and to get them involved in a productive and enjoyable manner,” says David, a past master. “That way when the time comes, they’re ready to be a better Mason.”
To date, the Rough Ashlars have had 40 members. Of those, eight have gone on to petition a lodge for membership; four are now Entered Apprentices; one is a Fellow Craft; three are now Master Masons; and two are preparing to become lodge officers.
The Hurricanes
Palos Verdes No, 883
Twenty-six degree conferrals in a year would be a lot for a lodge of any size. But it’s doubly impressive for Palos Verdes № 883, given that the lodge was only constituted a year ago, and that its initial membership included fewer than 40 Master Masons. “We kept ourselves busy,” admits Charlie Cailao, worshipful master of the lodge. “We made giving degrees a goal, and I think we did pretty good.”
The numbers don’t lie, though Cailao points out that it’s about more than just stats. “We wanted to make sure the men coming into our lodge fit in,” he says. For that, they’d have to be committed to not just degree work but community work, as well. “Right now, we’re focused on growth. Then we’ll be able to make a difference around us,” Cailao says. If the number of prospects approaching the lodge is any indication, that message seems to be resonating. “I’m guessing we will be busy again next year,” Cailao says.
The Easy Riders
Widows Sons No. 869
There’s no missing the members of Widows Sons № 869 when they pull onto the scene. Unofficially known as Team Burgundy, members are loud and proud about Freemasonry, often arriving to degrees or charity events on their motorcylces en masse, wearing their distinctively colored vests, ties, and hats. “To me, team burgundy represents unity, solidarity, and a sense of belonging,” says senior warden Arielito Hipolito. “It shows that each member is part of a cohesive group with shared values and goals. It’s a sense of pride and identity within the fraternity.”
The lodge, which was chartered in 2018 in Murrieta, hasn’t taken long to make its mark. The group hosts frequent charity rides to the Masonic Homes in Covina and elsewhere, and has attracted a following among the two-wheeled set, though they’re equally committed to socializing off the road, as well. In fact, motorcycling isn’t a requirement to join the lodge; only about half the members actually ride, and—in a confusing twist of nomenclature—the motorcycle club they belong to is the Brazen Pillars, a local chapter of the statewide Widows Sons Motorcycle Club.
With members hailing from all over the state, lodge events can easily turn into weekend-long celebrations of Freemasonry. “My favorite part is the camaraderie not only among the brethren, but also with our families,” says Jack Fernando, a charter member of the lodge. “Our lodge makes our gatherings worthwhile by combining business with pleasure. To me, that’s just one of many reasons our lodge exhibits that strength, uniqueness, and sophistication.”
The Survivors
Joseph L. Shell Daylight No. 837
Things were getting pretty bad for the members of Joseph L. Shell Daylight № 837. The COVID shutdowns had decimated membership and the sale of the San Diego Scottish Rite had turned the group into nomads. “We were very seriously considering turning in our charter,” says four-time master Abel Parra.
Consolidation wasn’t an option: As San Diego’s only daylight lodge (meaning it meets during the day), Shell № 837 serves a membership of primarily older members, many of whom can’t or don’t drive at night. To merge with another group would eliminate that option. So Parra and inspector Dave Vassall put on a full-court press, visiting every lodge and Masonic meeting in the county to give their pitch for preserving daylight Masonry in San Diego. Parra also asked his neighboring lodges to run an ad in their newsletters promoting the group, with the hope of gaining enough affiliations to stay intact.
So far, the plan seems to be working. After years of losses, the lodge’s numbers have finally stabilized, and this summer it held its first third-degree ceremony in years, with a second-degree event lined up for later this fall. Parra is optimistic he can increase membership by 15 percent through affiliations by the end of the year.
“I see an enthusiasm I didn’t see before,” he says. Vassal, too, is impressed by the team spirit at the lodge. He recalls how quickly members showed up to help clean up after a flood caused damage to the old Scottish Rite building. “You have this group of 75- and 80-year olds moving stuff into pods,” he says. “They just keep on trucking.”
For his part, Parra says that’s just part of the job. “When Masonry calls you, you have to step up. That’s all there is to it.”
The King Pin: Kaveh Astaneh-Asl
Acalanes Fellowship No. 480
“I’ll tell you, I have a conversation every day about Masonry,” says Kaveh Astaneh-asl. It’s no wonder: Drawing from a collection of more than 400 Masonic pins, medals, and jewels, plus a wardrobe full of Masonic-themed clothes, “I’m definitely a walking billboard for Masonry.”
What makes Astaneh-asl’s collection of Masonic flair even more incredible is the fact that it was all compiled over a scant 18 months since he was raised as a Master Mason at Acalanes Fellowship № 480. Besides his love of a good pin—Astaneh-asl has given a talk at his lodge on the history of pins—indulging his habit has brought him closer to the history of the fraternity. Shortly after joining the lodge, Astaneh-asl posted a message on Facebook asking anyone with extra Masonic gear to ship it to him. In exchange, he’d do research on its connection to the craft. Soon pins began pouring in from all over the country—and he was helping people learn more about their fathers and grandfathers. Now he’s preparing a history of Masonry in the East Bay for the lodge.
But as much as he loves acquiring new or especially old pins, what Astaneh-asl really enjoys is handing them out. “Someone did that for me once,” he says. “He took his pin right off his lapel and gave it to me—and I thought that was so cool.”
The Fill-In: Mart Gaylor
Coachella No. 476
As he looks toward next year and the future of Coachella No 476— a future that not long ago seemed very much in doubt—it’s easy to detect a note of satisfaction in Mert Gayler’s voice. “We’re on the right track,” he says. “I think next year I’ll be sitting on the sidelines, like I ought to be.”
If anyone’s earned the rest, it’s Gayler. A past master of the lodge in 1996 and 1997, and a longtime district inspector in the Inland Empire, Gayler was called out of semi-retirement in 2022 after the lodge had its charter suspended. With many of its officers having quit or abandoned the lodge, Gayler was asked to take over as master and help rebuild its leadership line. “I wasn’t about to see that lodge go under, as long as I had any ability to help,” he says. “I just said, ‘This is not going to happen.’”
Along with inspector Stu Ryan and assistant grand lecturer Vic Ropac, Gayler reached out to past masters and to others who hadn’t been to lodge in years. Within months, he’d established a quorum to hold meetings, and soon began growing. From July 2023 to July 2024, the lodge gained 11 new members, and last fall it regained its charter. “Now we’ve got degrees going almost every week,” Gayler says. Now he’s once more in a position to hand the reins to the next generation.
Says Ryan, “I give Mert all the credit. He takes the time and really puts his heart and soul into Masonry.”
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The Socialites
Culver City Foshay No. 467
“If it didn’t happen on social, it didn’t happen at all,” explains Jason Berry. That’s not a worry at Culver City Foshay № 467. Berry, the lodge master and the voice behind the group’s social media channels, runs one of the best Masonic accounts in California by showcasing as much of lodge life as possible, from degree conferrals and prospect portraits to out-there psychedelic AI-generated Masonic memes.
Balancing reverent or esoteric Masonic images with more lighthearted fare is a conscious attempt to lower the barrier for outsiders to engage with the lodge. Says Berry, “Having a presence on social media allows people to see the many diverse faces associated with our building. Otherwise, they might just pass by us while they’re walking to yoga.”
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