(Pictured Above: Cherly Beverly & William Bennett)
Scottish Rite Masons in Pike and Ross Counties honored two Chillicotheans with their annual Community Service Awards—one a woman who fights against drug addiction and the other a Masonic Lodge officer who works tirelessly on behalf of patients at the local Veterans Administration Hospital.
The woman is Cheryl Beverly, who in 2015 founded Cheryl’s House of Hope, a residential recovery center for addicted women and their families. Beverly began her anti-drug efforts in 2012 after members of her own family became victims of the drug menace so prevalent among us.
Eventually, she opened the doors of her own home to aid in the recovery of addicted women in an effort to help them adopt a sober and positive lifestyle. Since opening the facility she has helped more than 100 women.
While there, the women have gone through a recognized drug-counseling center and have also sought employment. The center can accommodate five women and their children at a time.
The Masonic officer also honored with a Community Service Award is William Bennett, 75, who has served as the secretary of Scioto Lodge #6, Free & Accepted Masons for the past 30 years.
“More importantly, Bill has served as District Masonic Representative for the Chillicothe VA Medical Center,” said William Landrum, who heads Scottish Rite Masons in Ross and Pike Counties.
“He himself is a Marine Corps veteran and Bill works tirelessly to provide our veterans with items they need,” Landrum said.
In a “Shoes for Vets” program in 1917 he coordinated efforts that resulted in the donation of more than $4,000 worth of shoes for needy vets at the VA facilty. In 2018, he did a “Sweats for Vets” program and in 2018, a “Ditty-Bags for Vets” program that provided personal care items for patients.
He also coordinates Bingo Programs at the facility as well as a Picnic for Vets each September.
“Masons provide the food for each of those events, and Bill, who was a cook in the Marine Corps, provides Ribs and Sauerkraut each January at the Bingo event,” Landrum said.