Page 82 - PGM Compendium

of the United Grand Lodge of England in 1989. He was elected Junior Grand Warden at the 129th
Annual Communication in 1986 and progressed successively through the elected line until being
installed into the Grand East on June 22, 1989.
Like those who served in the Oriental Chair before him, our Grand Master had a deep concern for
membership in the Craft. To quote from his message at the 1990 Annual Communication: “Why
this concern about membership present and future? Fewer members means less dues, to be sure,
and that means we must all dig a little deeper to pay the bills. But that is not the real concern.
Consider how many fewer members we have to recruit into the officer chairs. Past Masters are
being recycled much too often. Consider how many fewer ‘windows into Freemasonry’ we have
at work in our several communities as walking advertisements for the benefits of belonging to the
World's Greatest Fraternity. Consider the necessity for Lodges to consolidate to meet today's
realities and thereby deprive many of our communities of that beacon of stability and morality, the
little Blue Lodge. But most important, consider how much our world needs advocates for
Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence, Justice, Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. We are not giving
enough good men in our communities the opportunity to fine tune their attitudes about these
principles through traditional Masonic instruction - to accept the notion that it is all right to
subscribe to the ideal of dealing with one's neighbors on the level and by the square.”
Most Worshipful Brother William R. Miller carried the banner of Masonry with outstanding
dedication throughout his term as Grand Master. He was, by natural ability and training, uniquely
qualified to lead the Craft in this Grand Jurisdiction, and he did so with dignity and lasting benefit
to the whole Fraternity. Thankfully, Freemasonry continues to benefit from our Past Grand
Master’s acumen. His ongoing support of DeMolay led him to serve on the Washington State
DeMolay Foundation Board of Directors from 1990-2007. His love of and service DeMolay being
duly recognized, Bill was elected a member of the DeMolay Supreme Council in 1994, where he
served as Grand Orator 2008-09. He retired from the Supreme Council in 2010, and received the
DeMolay Guild of the Leather Apron from Washington DeMolay in that same year.

Our Most Worshipful Brother presently serves our Grand Lodge as Fraternal Correspondent. In
this capacity, he monitors and reports on matters of interest in other Masonic Jurisdictions. His
extensive travels make him ideally suited for this role.

Bill was once asked about his continued involvement in the various aspects of Freemasonry, and
he shared this thought: “I have received many Masonic lessons from the various organizations to
which I belong. Not one of them includes the words ‘sit down good & faithful brother for your
work is done’”.