We recently interviewed Most Worshipful Brother Timothy S. Wheeland to get to know our newest Grand Master a little better. Read on to learn how he will measure success in his year as Grand Master, as well as how he likes to spend his time outside of Masonry.
Grand Master Timothy S. Wheeland (left) with Past Grand Master Richard A. Dickerscheid at the 212th Annual Communication of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ohio
1. When you look back on your year as GM, how will you look at success?
I will look back at the successes during my year as Grand Master through several different lenses.
During my Deputy Grand Master Rollout Program over the summer, I stated that there was no single “magic bullet” that would take care of all of our issues. We must implement many things – quickly – and start layering them on top of each other if we expect to “move the needle.”
- First off, is the organization better off than when I first became Grand Master?
- Next, did we start to build the foundation that will allow our fraternity to grow in the coming years?
- Did we implement processes to address the lack of contingency, continuity, and succession planning?
- Have we taught the next generation of leadership how to move projects and initiatives forward in a timely manner?
- And what have we done to help our Masonic appendant bodies grow in the years to come?
I will look at each of those questions to reflect on my year as Grand Master. Will we, as the Grand Lodge leadership team, accomplish all of them? My gut says yes… and maybe even a little more!
2. Outside of Masonry, what interests and hobbies fill your time?
Outside of Masonry, I have a number of interests, hobbies, and pastimes. My Grand Lodge journey over the past seven plus years has curtailed a number of them, but I still try to carve out some time for them as I can. During the spring and summer months, I like to golf as much as I possibly can. During the fall and winter, I like to hunt (mostly deer). When I have other free time, I enjoy attending NASCAR races, shooting, being out in nature, and attending bourbon / scotch tastings – or just relaxing at home with Kim.
3. What is something that we don’t know about you that you’d like to share?
If you know me (or are friends with me on Facebook), you pretty much know that my life is an open book. I will tell you what I think (so if you don’t really want to know the answer to something about me, it might be better to just not ask).
Kim and I came from very humble backgrounds – not a lot of money, but a lot of love. Kim and I have worked very hard over the years to support our family and improve our lives. We did without a lot of nice things in our younger years, just to make sure our children had what they needed. We limited our travel, limited our purchases, and built our family in a small starter home that we lived in for more than two decades. We also always tried to focus on doing what is right – knowing that one day, it would all be worth it. This is how we are, and this is who we are.
All along we have been blessed by wonderful family, wonderful friends, and wonderful opportunities in our lives. And now that I look back and reflect on how we got here, I can definitely say: yes, the hard work and struggles were worth it all, and I wouldn’t change a thing.
Learn more about Grand Master Wheeland’s Masonic journey in Part 1 of our conversation.