Brother Ian Mackenzie was born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1963, which may be hard to believe from hearing his thick Australian accent. However, everyone’s favorite Australian was born in the U.S. and is a diehard Green Bay Packers fan!
Despite being born in the United States, Bro. Mackenzie grew up in Melbourne, Australia, moving there when he was four months old. Ian spent his childhood days as a member of his church choir. In his free time he enjoyed playing Australian football, cricket, and participating in any other sports that he could. Bro. Mackenzie graduated from Scotch College* in 1982.
Brother Mackenzie started his journey in Freemasonry in Old Scotch Collegians Lodge #396 in Melbourne, on August 1, 1991 when he took his entered apprentice degree. He took his Master Mason degree in 1992. Bro. Mackenzie remembers that being tested on his 3° was an incredibly stressful experience due to the way things are run in Australia. As he describes it, “you stand in front of the entire lodge, and any member can ask you a question about any topic from any of the three degrees. If you don’t know the answer, you don’t move on.” Bro. Mackenzie joined the craft because he wanted to have the experiences with his father. He describes seeing the look on his father’s face when he joined as one of the proudest moments of his life.
Brother Mackenzie returned to the United States in 1995 with his wife Astrid, settling down just south of Boston. Bro. Mackenzie began working for the Boston Police Department, and affiliated with Old Colony Lodge in Hingham. Ian served the lodge as Worshipful Master from 2011 to 2012, where he presided over his lodge with the famed “Boomergavel”. Which he claims gives him all of the powers of Thor’s hammer, without the need for him to wear a cape. During his time as Master, Ian and eight other members from Old Colony Lodge joined the Valley of Boston on October 29, 2011. Each of these eight became active in their own way, with Bro. Mackenzie taking a shine to Lodge of Perfection.
While he may not be an officer in the body, he’s always willing to help the body with anything they need: including traveling for degrees. When asked what keeps him coming back, Ian listed three things that keep him interested in the group, mainly it’s the charity work. Bro. Mackenzie likes to give back in anyway that he can, and he enjoys all of the opportunities that Scottish Rite affords for him to do this. Second, Bro. Mackenzie says that the opportunity to meet a broader and more diverse circle of friends always has him interested in Scottish Rite events. Finally, Bro. Mackenzie enjoys working with the “Legendary” Sid Shapiro who, according to Ian, is a “Scottish Rite’s Renaissance man, [and] an expert crocheter” who does not mind when he freelances ritual.
Brother Mackenzie has two sons, Kyle and Aiden, who are both active members of Old Colony Chapter Order of DeMolay. They are serving as the Master Councilor and Senior Councilor of the chapter, respectively. Both young men are quick witted and kind, sharing these, and many other traits, with their dad.
Bro. Mackenzie is an avid movie memorabilia collector, with a vast and diverse collection. However, he says that the coolest piece he has is a promotional poster for “The Godfather” printed in Italian. Ian enjoys running marathons, having completed five to date. Bro. Mackenzie says that the two proudest moments of his life have been getting married, and watching his sons join DeMolay.
Congratulations to Brother Mackenzie on all he has done in our Fraternity, and his life. If you’d like to meet Ian personally, he can be found at any of Old Colony DeMolay’s meetings or at Old Colony Lodge.
Take a look at who we higlighted last time!
*Please note, what we in the United States would refer to as “high school” is considered “college” in Australia. What we call “college” they refer to as “university.”
