C. Edd Guffy, 32°
811 N. Chelan Avenue, Wenatchee, Washington 98801

Brother W. Steve Guffy, 32°, K.C. C.H., has been my hero since I was a child and now even more. As a child, I remember him always being there whether it was to be a baseball, soccer, or basketball coach or to support me in whatever I endeavored to do. He was a Cub Master and Scout Master and led our church's youth program. He always treated every kid the same, like one of us, his own children. He and my mother, Lana, were awarded the Boy Scouts of America's "Family Scout Award" for their long service and dedication to the Scouts. He still enjoys talking about Scouting. And he has also been a leader in the community, always involved with a project, be it working for Habitat for Humanity to build a home or taking photos of children for a kid ID program. He is always doing but never forgetting his family.

My father waited until my brothers and I were in our early teens before joining William H. Jett Lodge No. 285 in Wenatchee, Washington. He was Master of his Lodge in 1995, the Lodge's 50th anniversary year. Following his year as Master, he took on the post of Secretary and still serves in that post. Also, he is currently the Master of Riverside Lodge No. 112 in Wenatchee. This year, he and the Brethren are celebrating the 100th year of Freemasonry in Wenatchee. Despite all these Masonic and many other obligations, his motto has always been "Family First." We found out that after he joined the Lodge, we did not lose him but gained a whole new big family, all the Lodge members, their wives, and families. Dad raised me in William H. Jett Lodge on November 15, 1997. This makes three generations of Guffys at one time in our Lodge, a first for the Lodge.

Dad has been Past Venerable Master in our Scottish Rite, and he serves on the Board of the Wenatchee, Washington, Scottish Rite Center for Childhood Language Disorders. He enjoys that a lot because he stuttered as a young child. Now, he is helping kids overcome stuttering, among other problems. He is also a Past High Priest, Past Master of the Council, and Past Commander in the York Rite. In 1995, he was awarded the General Grand Council's "Adult Leader Award" and in 1998 the General Grand Encampment's Knights Templar Cross of Honor. In 1999, he was invested with the K.C.C.H. in the Scottish Rite. Always modest, he says they should have given it to someone else.

At our Grand Lodge's annual meeting, the Grand Master really surprised my dad when, out of the 26,000 Master Masons in the State of Washington, he awarded Dad the "Mason of the Year Award." Only my mother and a few others knew about it, and it was a big shock to Dad, but it is a well-deserved honor. He is the current Grand Standard Bearer for Grand Lodge, and every year he takes pictures of all the Grand Lodge team and makes a poster out of them for each Lodge. And that is just one of his services to the Grand Lodge.

Dad has been a Past Patron in Amaranth and is always promoting fund-raisers for the diabetes fund. He works on the state level scholarship committee of Amaranth and helps out in the kitchen when they cook dinners. He has worked on the Grand Lodge Youth Committee for two years and continues to help with the Rainbow Girls and Job's Daughters. Now, he is working to restart the DeMolay Chapter in Wenatchee.

There are so many things I could say about my Masonic hero, my dad, but time and space will not allow it. No matter what he is involved in, he always has a smile for everyone, a joke or two to share, and he is always talking in one form or another about Masonry and his family. I am the oldest of three sons, all very active in different directions. My middle brother, Lane, is a professional skater and snowboarder, and Dad has taken him many places all over the state, taking photos of him for magazine ads. My youngest brother is a soccer player. He has been on a state championship team and has played three years on the Olympic development team. Last fall, he was suddenly ill, and we took him to the hospital where we found out he had a brain tumor that had to be taken out. Our Masonic family was there at our family's side through it all. The love of the Masonic families from all over the state poured in. My brother is back to college and playing soccer once again, and I guess you could say my other Masonic heroes are all the people from Blue Lodges all over the state as well as the Scottish Rite, York Rite, Shrine, Amaranth, and Eastern Star members who supported us in our time of need.

In ending, I can only say that, as heroes go, I hope that someday I can fill my father's heroic Masonic shoes just a little bit.

C. Edd Guffy was born on September 9, 1975, and gained the rank of Eagle Scout with a bronze and silver leaf. He also earned a Scout award for his church work. Bro. Edd graduated from high school in June of 1994 and was raised a Master Mason in his father's Lodge, William H. Jett Lodge No. 285 in Wenatchee, Washington, on November 15, 1997. He is currently going to the University of Maine, studying English Literature, and lives near Portland, Maine. Edd is applying to the Portland, Maine, Scottish Rite for courtesy work, if he cannot make it home to become a Scottish Rite Mason this fall.