HARRY S TRUMAN FOREST #212
2000 NW BARRY ROAD
KANSAS CITY, MO



HISTORY:

In 2012, several members of Mark Twain Forest #202 (located in Columbia, MO at the time) ,who lived in the Kansas City, MO area, had a vision of starting their own local Forest. With the help and hard work of several key members of the Grand Lodge of Missouri, the Supreme Forest of Tall Cedars of Lebanon of North America, and Mark Twain Forest #202; this vision came to fruition.

On February 17, 2013, at the Grand Masters of North America Conference in Kansas City, Missouri, Harry S Truman Forest #212 was instituted and chartered, with over 50 members in attendance. Supreme Tall Cedar (STC) Richard "Dick" Feeser and his fellow elected Supreme Forest Line Officers attended and presided over the meeting. This was a special event due to the fact of the rarity of instituting and chartering a Forest at the same time.

Past Grand Master of Missouri MWB John W Hess was then elected and installed and became the first Grand Tall Cedar (GTC) of the Forest. The other chartered elected officers were Teddie E Harrison as Senior Deputy GTC (SDGTC), Lloyd L. Salmon as Junior Deputy GTC (JDGTC), Bobbie E White as Scribe, and William J Bowser as Treasurer. Appointed officers were Joseph S Russell as Preceptor, Dennis N Vogel as Chaplain, and Stanton T Brown II as Sentinel.

In 2014, GTC Teddie Harrison had the privilege serving a dual role as Forest Grand Tall Cedar and appointed by the Supreme Tall Cedar as District Deputy Supreme Tall Cedar for the 17th District which included all the Forests of Missouri.

In 2015, GTC Joseph Russell had the same privilege serving dually as GTC of the Forest and District Deputy Supreme Tall Cedar for the 17th District.

On August 30, 2015, GTC Joseph Russell, SDGTC Dennis Vogel, JDSTC Dennis Spears, and Tall Cedar William O'Neil had the privilege in conducting the Past Master Councilor Meritorious Service Award Presentation Ceremony to Past Master Councilor Jordan Greenhagen of Rising Sun DeMolay. (see picture in Pictures section).

In December 2015, the Forest was recognized by MDA Kansas City as a major sponsor in 2015.

At the Supreme Forest Midwinter Conference in January 2016, out of 90+ other Grand Tall Cedars, newly Past Grand Tall Cedar (PGTC) Joseph Russell was awarded the Grand Tall Cedar of the Year award for 2015 by most recent Past Supreme Tall Cedar (PSTC) Robert E Saul. (see picture in Pictures section). This was an unexpected and great honor for our new Forest and PGTC.
Also at the conference, PGTC Russell was appointed to the Supreme Forest Board of Directors as Supreme Director of Region No. 10, consisting of ten Forests located in Missouri, Tennessee, Indiana, and Illinois.

In 2018, the Forest teamed up with the Missouri Mavericks hockey organization and held a fundraiser for Tall Cedars and the MDA. The Forest also participated in the MDA Muscle Walk. Between the two events, the Forest raised over $1,000 for MDA and received the Jerry Lewis Award from the Tall Cedar Foundation.

In 2019, at the National Convention in Wildwood, NJ, PGTC Joseph Russell was awarded the highest honor in Tall Cedarism by receiving the John S Broughton Award, named after the very first Supreme Tall Cedar, and states, "who best exemplifies Tall Cedarism by his unselfish deeds and devotion to his country, community, Freemasonry in general, and above all, his fellow man."
Joseph was also elected to the national or Supreme advancing line as the Junior Deputy Supreme Tall Cedar for 2020.