RCISD Superintendent presented Lamar medal by EL Masons

On April 8th, Eagle Lake Mason Lodge #366 presented the Lamar Medal to Bill Hefner IV, the current Superintendent of the Rice Consolidated Independent School District.

This award was created in 1988 by the Grand Lodge of Texas & is officially called the Lamar Award of Excellence for Personal Achievement.

It is given for outstanding achievement in the academic field. Texas Lodges have long supported public schools. In the early days, most lodges were two-story buildings, like the Eagle Lake Lodge.

The lodge usually met on the 2nd floor and encouraged local churches and schools to meet on the 1st floor.

Many lodges started public schools themselves in their lodge buildings and the lodges paid the teachers’ salaries. This award was named after Mirabeau B. Lamar.

Lamar was a Mason, an attorney, poet & the 2nd President of the Republic of Texas. In his first address to Congress as President, Lamar called for an appropriation of land for public schools.

In 1839, Congress passed the act which set aside land for public schools & 2 universities.

Lamar’s vision earned him the title of “Father of Education in Texas”. His quote “the cultivated mind is the guardian genius” was adopted as the motto for the University of Texas.