Attorney At Law Roysdale Alton Forde has been installed as Grandmaster of the District Grand Lodge of Guyana, an integral part of the century-odd Freemasonry fraternity. His preferment is also attended by the title of Grand Superintendent in and over Guyana.
Brother Forde’s accession to this high office was attended by fulsome expressions of congratulations from a wide cross section of prominent personages and institutions including His Excellency David A. Granger, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, the United Grand Lodge of England, the District Grand Lodge of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands and the District Grand Lodge of Bahamas and Turks.
Brother Forde comes to this distinguished office in the Freemasonry at what is a relatively tender age, a reality embodied in a sentiment expressed by His Excellency The President of Guyana who pointed out in his congratulatory message that “the mantle of leadership of the District Grand Lodge of Guyana is about to be passed on to a new generation.”
In an interview printed in a souvenir magazine published to mark his elevation District Grand Master Forde said that the single greatest challenge facing individual Lodges in Guyana was “ourselves.” In this context he opined that Lodges appeared to have become afflicted with “a culture that seems receptive to ordinariness………This culture to which I refer manifests itself too often and in too many ways,” he added.
The new District Grand Master, however, sounded a distinct note of optimism asserting that he intended to make the changing of that culture his “major goal.”
“In order to effect this fundamental change of culture it is essential that there be a strategic plan defining the vision and mission of freemasonry in the District as this would provide a new perspective and general approach to Freemasonry.”
Brother Forde has also committed his own tenure to significant engagement in “Masonic education, mentoring and training,” which he said were essential for “the sustainability and growth of the membership of the District.”
