The Valley of Las Vegas
Scottish Rite of Freemasonry

Salve Frater!

My name is Sir Knight Arthur Huffman, and I am honored to be Chieftain for Valley of Las Vegas Knights of St. Andrew. Like many in our Valley, we are eager to get back to labor and serve Scottish Rite Masonry to the best of our capabilities. While the Knights are very visible helping out at Scottish Rite events, there is a lot more to our organization. Let me share with you a little bit about the Knights of St. Andrew, and what it means to be a Knight in our organization.

The short version of our history starts in Scotland where exiled Knights Templars, who had received protection from King Robert the Bruce, joined his army to meet the invasion of his country by Edward II of England in 1314. The end result was the Battle of Bannockburn, a decisive Scottish Victory. In consequence of the assistance rendered on that memorable day by the Templars, Bruce created, and received them into, the Order of St. Andrew du chardon, meaning 'of the Thistle,' of Scotland. The order thrived in Scotland for several centuries until the Stuart monarchy was banished from the British Isles in 1688. Prince Charles Edward Stuart was the last Grand Master of the Order (1720-1788), and he exercised his powers in France by establishing a Chapter of Rose Croix of Heredom at Arras. There the Order of Scottish Knights of St. Andrew evolved into what is now known as the 29th degree of the new Rite and the rest, as they say, is history.

The modern evolution of The Knights of St. Andrew started in the Valley of Tulsa, OK, in 1993, where our organization was formed to assist and support the Valley during it's Reunion and other events. The Las Vegas chapter was founded in 2006 seeing a similar need to lend assistance and support to our Scottish Rite Valley. Borrowing from the success of Knights of St. Andrew's chapters in Phoenix, AZ, and Long Beach, CA, our first Chieftain, Sir Knight Arcangelo Cocco, PC, 32°, KCCH, and the charter group of Sir Knights, started a tradition of service and excellence here in the Valley of Las Vegas which lasts to this day.

The Order of the Thistle of the Knights of St. Andrew (our formal name) stands ready to assist in upholding the highest standards of Scottish Rite Masonry. To be a Knight of St. Andrew is to truly strive for excellence in all you do for our Scottish Rite Valley – from taking pride in maintaining a high-standard of Scottish Rite ritual, to lending our help and services at many Scottish Rite events, and such other services as needed. We are always looking for 32nd Degree Scottish Rite brethren who share these same high standards. 

Do you have what it takes to be a Knight of St. Andrew? Download a Petition Here.

Sincerely & Fraternally,
Sir Knight Arthur Huffman, 32°
Chieftain
The Knights of St. Andrew, Las Vegas Chapter