When It Comes to the Masonic Youth Orders, They're Super Dads

The Super Dads

THE 2024 YOUTH SUPPORT AWARD RECIPIENTS SHOW THAT WHEN IT COMES TO THE MASONIC YOUTH ORDERS, YOU GET MORE THAN YOU GIVE.

By Ian A. Stewart

Ask anyone who’s been closely involved in the Masonic youth orders about a favorite moment and you’re likely to get a version of this: A first encounter with a bright but shy kid who’s petrified to speak in front of others. Over time and with the support of their peers, the kid begins to grow into themselves. They learn to recite and deliver the ritual. They gain confidence. And a few years later, standing before hundreds of their peers and their parents, it all clicks into place as they deliver a well-honed speech.

If that’s a story that’s been repeated thousands of times before, it’s no less meaningful for the adults who’ve watched it play out. And for the four recipients of the 2024 Grand Master’s Youth Support Awards, it’s more than sufficient reward for what was often years spent helping to mentor these young people. And while none of them do it for the thanks or credit, the fraternity is proud to recognize the significant amount they’ve given—in man-hours and dollars, but also in support and expertise—so the next generation has what it needs to experience its own aha! moment.

DeMolay, Southern California

Ever Mendoza, Van Nuys No. 450

Ever Mendoza’s journey into the world of the Masonic youth orders followed that of his first son, Eddie. In 2012, the year Mendoza was raised as a Master Mason in Van Nuys № 450, young Eddie joined the newly reconstituted Hollywood chapter of DeMolay, which had just relaunched after a more than 20-year period of dormancy. The elder Mendoza volunteered to help as an adviser, quickly becoming the chapter’s dad, or adult supervisor. Under his leadership, the Hollywood chapter grew into one of the most active groups in Southern California, and in 2018, Eddie was named the Southern California jurisdiction’s master councilor. “When [Eddie] started, he was kind of a wallflower. So for him to go from that to jurisdiction master councilor, it gave him a voice and helped him find his own two feet,” Mendoza says.

Luckily for the Hollywood chapter, just as Eddie graduated out of DeMolay, Mendoza’s younger son, Michael, aged in—meaning that the family remains a fixture of the chapter. “I don’t see myself retiring anytime soon,” Mendoza says with a laugh.

DeMolay Northern California

Steven Kolden, Crow Canyon No. 551

When Steve Kolden’s youngest daughter was 13 and a member of Unity Assembly № 65 of the Rainbow for Girls, one of her friends asked him about DeMolay. As a teenager, Kolden had been an active member of its Castro Valley chapter, and even after aging out, he’d served as chapter dad for the group several times in the 1990s.

Steven Kolden, California Mason and one of the 2024 Youth Support Award winners.

But by 2016, when the request came in, the Castro Valley chapter had shuttered. So Kolden made it his mission to restart the group. “I had two petitions in my pocket,” he explains of his motivation. The newly reformed chapter grew from two members to five and now stands at a stable 13. With Kolden serving as chapter dad, the group navigated the pandemic shutdowns and continued to meet. In 2021, Kolden was named adviser of the year; in 2023, the group was named Chapter of the Year.

For all he’s meant to the chapter, it’s only one of several Masonic organizations Kolden has supported. He’s also a five-time worthy patron for the San Lorenzo Chapter № 103 of the Order of the Eastern Star (this year serving alongside his wife, Heidi, who is the worthy matron), a former dad for the Rainbow’s Unity Assembly, and a former lodge marshal for Crow Canyon № 551. “With every new member I meet, I make a new friend,” Kolden explains. “So my interest comes from both a teacher’s point of view and a place of comradeship.”

Rainbow for Girls

Rob Meyer, Lakewood No. 728

It started with a simple-sounding request. A board member for the local assembly of the Order of Rainbow for Girls asked Rob Meyer if he’d be willing to join as a board member with a minimal commitment: “They asked me to come to one meeting a year,” Meyer remembers. Twenty-four years later, “I’m still not sure which meeting that was,” he says. “Because I’ve been to all of them.”

Rather than a strictly part-time gig, Meyer’s involvement in Rainbow, beginning with Camellia Assembly № 108 in Sacramento, has evolved into something like a calling. He’s served several times as chairman of the assembly’s board, helps with the group’s summer Rainbow Camp, and in 2022 was appointed the state Rainbow dad, mentoring, guiding, and chaperoning the 28 youth leaders of the group.

For Meyer, who’s also the lodge secretary for Drytown № 174 in El Dorado, it’s been worth the commitment. “I just enjoy watching the girls grow and learn,” he says.

Job's Daughters

Robert Pawneshing, Van Nuys No. 450

Most of the time, you become a Mason first, then get involved in the youth orders. That wasn’t the case for Robert Pawneshing. Instead, it was his wife and children’s involvement with Bethel № 161 of Job’s Daughters that spurred him to learn about Masonry and join Lakewood № 728. More than 25 years later, he’s become integral to both groups.

Pawneshing first served as treasurer for Bethel № 161, where he made a point of involving the young members in the finances of their organization. Later he spent a year as a grand officer for the state organization and was recruited by his youngest daughter, Hannah, who’d since grown up and become Culver City Bethel № 2 guardian, to take over as treasurer. But he remains simply “an extra set of hands” for any of the groups in the area needing help. That often means popping into meetings at other bethels in San Pedro, Norwalk, and Bellflower.

Having already seen his kids matriculate through the order, he’s now got another milestone on the horizon that’s keeping him close to the group. “My granddaughters are 5 and 8 now,” he says—almost ready to keep the family legacy going.