Lehighton Masonic Lodge 621 honored veterans at program on Thursday evening.

Lehighton Masonic Lodge 621 Worshipful Master Patrick Totaro, an Army veteran, said the lodge's new ceremony to honor veterans was open to the public for members of all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces and will be held again next year."It's an honor to do this," he said, "this was a great turnout."In all, 29 veterans and their families attended the ceremony, during which each received a personal thank-you and an honorary pin.Begun by Robert Bateman, R.W. Grand Master of Masons in Pennsylvania, who local District Deputy Grand Master Robert Neff said strongly supports veterans, the same program will take place at Masonic lodges throughout the state during November, such as the one in Jim Thorpe on Wednesday and the one in White Haven on Monday.He said that on Sept. 20 an eternal flame monument was dedicated at the Masonic Villages in Elizabethtown to honor veterans and that, since the start of the Freemasons' "Change for the Troops" initiative in 2010, over $800,000 has already been gathered in Pennsylvania to benefit members of the military.