Appended Bodies

Grand Lodge of South Dakota has a long legacy. Masonry, also known as “Freemasonry,” is the oldest and largest fraternal organization in the world. Its main purpose is to make good men better.

Masons are men of charity and good works, respected leaders of their communities. Many of our nations’s founding fathers were Masons, including thirteen signers of the Constitution. Fourteen U.S. Presidents were brothers of the craft, beginning with George Washington. Over four-million Masons in the U.S., from diverse religious, professional, and political backgrounds, have built this fraternity on the cornerstones of friendship, compassion, and brotherly love.

The Scottish Rite of South Dakota consists of 1400 Masons who have joined together as alumni of the “university of Freemasonry”.  The 29 degrees of the Scottish Rite culminating in the 32nd degree, teaches deep philosophical lessons that encourage us to think beyond our own corner of the world.  The Scottish Rite of South Dakota is also a multi-million dollar charity that provides real assistance to our Rite Care Clinics in Vermillion, Aberdeen, Sioux Falls, and Rapid City.

These clinics are instrumental in bringing needed speech and audiology services to children who need them.  Eliminating speech or language problems can be a life changing event for a child.  Through the South Dakota Scottish Rite Foundation we provide graduate level fellowships to over a dozen students at the University of South Dakota Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders each year.

DeMolay, the premier international youth leadership organization, striving to shape young men into leaders of character.

By epitomizing timeless values, and accepting the challenge of leadership – both of character and of action – the young men of DeMolay transform themselves into citizens of the highest caliber.

Each young man takes ownership of his DeMolay experience. From generating ideas, planning events, coordinating logistics, and executing their plans, each DeMolay Chapter is responsible for defining their success. All of this is accomplished under the mentorship of trained Advisors, selected from the local community, enabling each Chapter to be uniquely tailored to support the interests of its members.

DeMolay is an inclusive organization that only asks of young men interested to believe in a higher being.

A high level of involvement and enthusiasm is far more important for success in DeMolay than any particular skill or ability.

Daughters of the Nile is an international fraternal organization that has prospered as a social and charitable organization since 1913. Our members:

• Contribute more than 1.7 million dollars annually to the Shriners Hospitals for Children®
• Volunteer and sew garments, quilts, and other necessary items
• Support over 137 Daughters of the Nile Organizations in the United States and Canada

The members of the Order of the Eastern Star are dedicated women and men who sincerely reflect the spirit of fraternal love and the desire to work together for good. It gives them the opportunity to give a part of their time to many projects that benefit mankind.  Our lessons are scriptural, our purposes are beneficent, and our teachings are moral.

Assisting Children to Smile (A.C.T.S.), was founded in 2005 as a joint project of the WGM Jan Hadrick and WGP Deach Koch as part of their Grand Session with the goal of making sure every child has the confidence and pride that comes along with a perfect smile. A.C.T.S. achieved 501(c)(3) status in September of 2013. That following October, the A.C.T.S. committee that was administering the program was dissolved and a board of directors was created.

Through relationship with local businesses and leaders in the community and the Grand Chapter of South Dakota we strive to make an impact in the community.

By assisting families who cannot afford the financial burden of braces, filings and life altering surgeries A.C.T.S. is able to change the lives of children one smile at a time.

Bethel #38: Job’s Daughters is a girls youth organization that teaches leadership, community service, and friendship in Sioux Falls, SD.

Founded in 1920 by Mrs. Ethel T. Wead Mick, Job’s Daughters International is an organization of young women with members in the United States, Canada, Australia, the Philippines, and Brazil.

Members have fun together at activities such as swimming parties, dances, family picnics, slumber parties, miniature golf, marching in parades, and so much more. In Job’s Daughters you will make new friends that will last a lifetime.

Job’s Daughters perform service projects to help their community and the less fortunate. We actively support the Hearing Impaired Kids Endowment (HIKE) Fund, which purchases hearing assistive devices for hearing impaired children. 

Job’s Daughters can qualify for various scholarships that are offered on a state and national level. We also gain valuable leadership experience, serve as part of a team, and learn democratic principles as they run their own meetings, decide our own activities, and plan our own events. 

In short, Job’s Daughters International offers the qualities that today’s young women want and need from organizations that earn their commitment: fun, friendship, helping others, and the chance to learn organizational and leadership skills. 

United States Templary has existed in one form or another for going on 239 years. The first date of record for the conferring of the Order of the Temple in the North American continent is August 28, 1769, when Captain William Davis, a Past Master, received the honor. On December 11 of that same year Paul Revere was knighted, and on May 14, 1770, General Joseph Warren received the Order of the Temple. Following is a capsule history up to approximately 1985, when the volume was first printed, of Templar years in America.