Spend much time at the Albert Pike Masonic Center and you can meet any number of interesting brethren, Lt. Col. Rick Rasnick is an outstanding example.
Brother Rasnick is often spotted in and about the temple as well as in far off quarries such as mentoring in Masonic Schools of Instruction and participating at Masonic degrees. He graciously accepted and blessed us with the following insights as to what’s made him the Brother he is today.
I was born March 26, 1956 in Norton, Virginia. I was six weeks old when I moved to Morocco, North Africa. My dad was a career Air Force non-commissioned officer. We relocated to Little Rock Air Force Base in 1959 and remained until my dad retired in 1966. I met President John Kennedy in October of 1963 at Little Rock Air Force Base when he flew in to dedicate Greers Ferry Dam. He was assassinated in November almost one month to the day I met him. After leaving LRAFB I lived one year in Magazine, AR, my mother’s home town. I finished the 4th grade before moving to my Dad's hometown, Wise Virginia. I attended the 5th through 10th grade there and began playing organized football which continued l continued until graduation. We left Wise, VA and returned to Booneville, AR., in 1972 as I started my junior year of high school. I graduated in 1974 and attended the State College of Arkansas in Conway, later renamed the University of Central Arkansas in January of 1975. I joined the Army ROTC program there. I married my lovely wife Rebekah Brownlee in July of 1976 and we both finished college, graduating in 1977 and 78 with BSE and BS. I was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in Armor, December 18, 1978. My first assignment to the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Fulda, Germany. Our regiment guarded the frontier of freedom which was the Iron Curtain separating East and West Germany. I left Germany in 1982 and continued my military career for the next 18 years with assignments to Georgia, Texas, Kansas and Little Rock, AR. I received my Masters Degree while attending the Army’s Command and General Staff College. I retired February 1, 1999 as a Lieutenant Colonel and afterward settled in Conway, AR. Following my military retirement my second vocation for the next 18 years was in sales.
I was raised at Sul Ross Lodge #1300 in College Station Texas while on duty at Texas A&M in May of 1990. I attended a German/American lodge in Stuttgart, Germany and joined Green Grove #107 in Conway, AR in August of 1996. I was WM there at Green Grove in 2003 and 2021. I was selected to serve as a Deputy Grand Lecturer in 2023. Both were great honors for me. I was installed as a District Deputy Grand Master in February 2024, which has been another great honor for me. I joined the Scottish Rite in October of 2018. My thoughts on Freemasonry are that it isn’t dead by a long shot. Yes, changes need to be and will be made to attract and keep the younger generations of men. I joined Masonry because my uncles were Mason’s and my curiosity was piqued by their Masonic rings. To me, being a good man means so much. It means doing the right things all the time and promoting kindness, charity, and love for our fellow brothers and men of good standing. You shouldn’t have to know if a Mason is a good man or not by being around him for sometime. If he is a Mason, then he should be a good man that you can trust with your wife and pocket book. They are far and few in between in my mind and to me that is a major problem.
-Who is your hero? “My first hero is Woodrow (Woody) Wilson Rasnick born 1914. He was my second cousin on my dad’s side of the family. Woody loved to play pinochle and smoked a pipe. The most genteel man I ever met. Woody was at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. He landed at Normandy on Omaha Beach, June 6, 1944 (in the lead wave of the 1st Infantry Division) and fought in Korea. He earned 4 Bronze Stars for Valor and the Distinguished Service Cross. He was of “The Greatest Generation” and my hero. My second hero is my Uncle June Roberts my mom’s youngest brother. He was captured on Bataan and spent three years in a Japanese Prisoner of War Camp. He turned 104 in November 2023. He raised a family of 4 kids, worked 40 years, and never gave his community or country anything but praise.”
-What is your proudest accomplishment? “My four grandchildren. Life is a rough and rugged road for sure. I am glad that I continued my journey through many peaks and valleys and have ended up in life with four wonderful grandkids that have an excellent opportunity to make it in this crazy world.”
This article was published in the August 2024 edition of the Voice of the Orient.
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