Hiram Masonic Lodge Hands Out Awards

By Joshua Keeran, Delaware Gazette

Hiram Masonic Lodge No. 18, located at 51 W. Williams St. in Delaware, honored three recipients with the Community Builders Award during a presentation May 21. This year’s honorees are:

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• Paul Craft, superintendent of Delaware City Schools

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• Paula Roller, executive director of Turning Point

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• Sheriff Russell Martin, Delaware County Sheriff’s Office

​The Community Builders Award is presented annually by Hiram Masonic Lodge and honors non-Masons who have distinguished themselves through their outstanding contributions and service to the community of Delaware, and their lifelong dedication to improving the lives of those around them. It is presented to those individuals who have never been initiated into Masonry, but follow the same precepts, ideals, and standards that have been established for Masonic behavior.

​Craft was honored for his service to his country as a U.S. Army veteran, his service to others as an educator, and his near decade long guidance of Delaware City Schools. Roller and Sheriff Martin were both honored for their dedication to establishing Turning Point, Delaware’s first shelter for victims of domestic violence, which opened to families earlier this year.

​Hiram Masonic Lodge No. 18 is one of 450 local lodges of Ohio Freemasonry. It was established in 1811 in Delaware, Ohio, and has been meeting continuously since 1900 in Moore Masonic Temple, located at 51 W. William St., Delaware. Freemasonry is a worldwide fraternal organization of over 3,000,000 that unites men of good character who, through varying religious, ethnic, and social backgrounds, share a belief in the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. To learn more about Freemasonry, visit www.freemason.com.