2009 Scottish Rite Honors

KNIGHT COMMANDER OF THE COURT OF HONOUR; the rank of Knight Commander of the Court of Honour is not a Degree but an Investiture bestowed upon members deserving recognition for faithful services to the Rite. The respective Sovereign Grand Inspectors General or Deputies likewise nominate members for this honor, and these must also be unanimously approved by the Supreme Council. This Investiture is a prerequisite of receiving the Thirty-third Degree at some later time, though relatively few receive this distinction.

The cap of the Knight Commander Court of Honour is red with a darker red band trimmed in gold. In the center front is a representation of the Knight Commander Jewel, a Passion Cross with fancy arms, featuring in the center a trefoil embroidered in green encircled by the "Kt\ Comm\ Court of Honour" embroidered in gold. The symbol here, the tripod \ , was regularly used in formal Masonic documents in place of a period in the abbreviation of formal titles. Its use is maintained as a tribute to the Craft’s distinguished past in much Masonic writing today, such as the Scottish Rite Journal , but it may be and often is replaced by a standard period.

Those from Des Moines receiving this honor in 2009 are

Des Moines - David Thomsen Aldridge
Des Moines - Timothy Dale Bonney
Des Moines - Cecil Hillard Brewton, Jr.
Des Moines - Craig Lynn Davis
Des Moines - Michael C Fulton
Des Moines - John Hupp Ghrist
Des Moines - Gene Raymond Hatfield
Des Moines - Rusty Linn Hill
Des Moines - Terry Lee Hudik
Des Moines - Steven F Jacobsen
Des Moines - William Robert Jensen
Des Moines - Robert Larrett Mahaffey
Des Moines - Richard G Manning
Des Moines - Floyd Wallace Nesbit
Des Moines - Donald Ray Sardeson
Des Moines - Jay Cole Simser
Des Moines - Hollie Francis Smith
Des Moines - William Charles Smithson
Des Moines - Gregory Ronald Spooner
Des Moines - Douglas DeWayne Woodley

The complete list is available here.


INSPECTOR GENERAL HONORARY OF THE THIRTY-THIRD DEGREE; during the Biennial session of the Supreme Council, Sovereign Grand Inspectors General and Deputies nominate a small quota of members who are Knights Commander Court of Honour to receive the Thirty-third Degree. A committee reviews the nominations, but the Supreme Council must vote upon every nomination. Members unanimously so elected become honorary members of the Supreme Council. The Thirty-third Degree may not be requested. The Degree is solely out of recognition for outstanding services. The only difference between the jewel of the Thirty-third Degree and that for an Active Member of the Supreme Council is that the latter is larger. The cap for an Inspector General Honorary is white with a white band edged in gold, featuring the symbol for this honorary Degree, a red slanting Patriarchal Cross.

Des Moines Recipients are:

Des Moines - David Michael Dryer
Des Moines - Shane Allen Harshbarger
Des Moines - Richard Hulett Hickman
Des Moines - Russell Edward Johnson, Jr.
Des Moines - Brian Douglas Pappaducas

The complete list is available here.

Congratulations to all the recipients of these honors.