First of all, we’re located in Orange County, NY but there are DeMolay Chapters across the country. In fact, there are more than 1,000 chapters worldwide. We’re one of the newest Chapters in New York state but we’re growing fast. We meet in Walden, NY two nights a month for Chapter meetings and fun activities and we also travel around the state to ski weekends, leadership conventions, ritual competitions, conclaves, and other activities with our brother DeMolays.      Hang on… Chapter? Ritual? Conclaves? What does THAT stuff mean? To better understand, let’s explain what DeMolay IS first…      DeMolay is an organization dedicated to preparing young men to lead successful, happy, and productive lives. Basing its approach on timeless principles and practical, hands-on experience, DeMolay opens doors for young men aged 12 to 21 by developing the civic awareness, personal responsibility and leadership skills so vitally needed in society today. DeMolay combines this serious mission with a fun approach that builds important bonds of friendship among members.      What makes us different from other organizations for young men is our ties to the Masonic fraternity. Our local branch of the organization is called a Chapter, modeled on the Knights Templar of old, whose greatest leader was Jaques DeMolay, for whom we are named (More on that later!). A Conclave is like a convention, when all the Chapters in a district or state get together for a weekend of fraternity and fun.      One of the things that sets us apart is our ritual, which is the memorized dialog that we use to open and close our meetings. The ritual not only teaches us lessons through symbolism, but it connects us with other DeMolays around the world. No matter where we visit a Chapter, we have a common knowledge and experience with brothers we’ve never met yet and that helps us become good friends all the faster. Learn more about DeMolay here