Kinmundy Lodge #398 Welcomes Home Scholarship Recipient

Kinmundy Lodge #398 was proud to welcome home Kai Howard, the recipient of a joint scholarship, during the annual Kinmundy Labor Day Parade. Kai, who recently returned from a year-long academic exchange in Japan, visited with the Masonic brothers to express his gratitude for their generous support that helped make his international studies possible.

The journey began when Brother Dave Spencer shared with the lodge that his grandson, Kai, had been accepted into a prestigious exchange program to study in Tokyo from September 2024 to August 2025. The estimated $10,000 cost for the year presented a significant financial challenge. In a true demonstration of Masonic charity, the lodge took action. Brother Thomson put forth a motion to award Kai a $1,000 scholarship, which was promptly seconded by Brother Matt and passed unanimously.

Furthermore, the lodge submitted an application to the Illinois Masonic Student Assistance Program (IMCAP), which successfully secured a matching grant. This doubled the total scholarship amount to $2,000, providing substantial aid for Kai’s educational endeavor.

Kai spent his school year at Tokyo Metropolitan University (1-1 Minami Osawa, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo, Japan), where he pursued an intensive course of study in Cyber Security with a minor in the Japanese language.

Pictured here are the members of Kinmundy Lodge #398 celebrating Kai's successful return. Featured in the photo are scholarship recipient Kai Howard; his grandfather, Brother David Spencer; the current Worshipful Master, Ed Michael; and Past Master Clayton Keen, who was serving as Master when the scholarship was originally awarded. They are joined by dedicated brothers of the lodge, Jerry Osborne, David Thomson, Steve Lindsey, Tim Yates, Louis Carter and Dale Jahraus. The lodge is honored to have played a part in Kai's academic and personal growth and wishes him the very best in his future pursuits.