Civic Organization To Hold Open House

A national civic organization that helps boys and young men become leaders is looking for new recruits and will host an open house in Rio Rancho next Saturday, Aug. 25.

The DeMolay organization is for males 12 to 21 years old and it teaches them leadership skills, civic responsibility, the importance of personal appearance and image and gives them experience in public speaking.

The Rio Rancho chapter will be holding the open house from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Sandoval 76 Masonic Lodge, 1420 Barbara Loop.

Local DeMolay adviser Steve Reil said the young members are responsible for running the club, from conducting the meetings to planning group events.

“We want them to learn leadership skills,” he said. “They get to organize everything.”

Reil said the organization also has a strong focus on community service. They host dinners, volunteer at the Shrine Circus, pick up trash along the road and other activities.

“We pride ourselves on being the largest character-building organization in the United States,” he said.

The DeMolay organization was started in 1919 by Frank Land, a Masonic Lodge member. Land noticed, according to Carolyn Harwell, an adviser for the Rio Rancho group, that many of the boys were left fatherless because of World War I.

The organization made its way to New Mexico in 1921, when several chapters were established. Today, the organization has chapters in Rio Rancho, Albuquerque, Farmington and Las Cruces and a more than 100 members.

Harwell said there are more than 25,000 members nationwide, and alumni include Walt Disney, John Wayne and Walter Cronkite.

The Rio Rancho group — Metro Chapter DeMolay — meets the second and fourth Thursday of every month at 7 p.m.

Call 280-3318 for more information.