FREEMASONS: Winchester Resident elected to the 33rd Degree
WINCHESTER, MA - Kamel Oussayef, a Winchester Resident was recently awarded the prestigious 33rd Degree of Freemasonry and was presented the medal of his attained rank. The brief ceremony took place last Saturday at the Masonic Grand Lodge in Boston.
In August 2009, more than 2,000 33rd Degree Freemasons and their Ladies gathered in Boston at the Sheraton hotel Hynes Convention Center for the annual meeting of the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite for the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. The Supreme Council is the governing entity for more than 210,000 Freemasons in the 15 northeast and Midwest states of the Unites States of America.
Among those in attendance were Grand Masters from American Grand Lodges and Representatives of 29 Masonic Jurisdictions around the World.
The highlight of the meeting was the conferring of the prestigious 33rd Degree upon 110 members who were selected for outstanding service to Scottish Rite freemasonry and for significant contributions to their respective communities that reflects credit upon the Masonic fraternity.
Their election, to receive what the Masons refer to as the 33rd and last degree of Freemasonry, took place a year earlier in Providence, R.I, during annual meeting of the Supreme Council, which meets every year in a different State.
Oussayef, a resident of Winchester, was among the recipients of the distinguish award. Oussayef, a past master of William Parkman Lodge of Winchester was born in Algeria and schooled in France near Paris. He has resided in Winchester for more than 20 years with his wife Mary Park Lenox and two children.
Oussayef holds a Master Degree from both the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and the School of Public Communications at Boston University. He works as an Insurance Broker for the Prudential and has an office in downtown Winchester.
Oussayef has been a Freemason for more than 33 years. He is a member of the Shriners, the Scottish Rite and the International Relations Committee of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts. Since 2003, Oussayef has also worked as a research volunteer on precious, and sometimes unique historic French Masonic manuscripts preserved at the National Heritage Museum in Lexington.
Editor’s Note Richard Maggio lives on Spruce Street in Winchester. For more information about the Free Masons contact Maggio at[email protected].