Bro∴ Steven B. VanSlyck was born in Fargo, ND, where he joined DeMolay at 14. His father’s job transfer took Steve to Canton, Ohio about a year later, where he joined Canton Chapter, Order of DeMolay, presiding as Master Councilor in the summer of 1975 and receiving the Degree of Chevalier in 1978. After his term as Master Councilor, he joined the Navy and was honorably discharged in 1979 as a submarine-designated Yeoman Second Class. While in the Navy he became an Emerald Shellback upon crossing the Equator at the Prime Meridian. He remained active in the Naval Reserve and was promoted to Chief Yeoman in 1985.
After active duty, he continued college and finished his baccalaureate degree at Kent State University in 1983, and then took a Juris Doctor degree at the University of Akron in 1986. Steve practiced law for several years in the Akron area, focusing in the areas of estate planning, tax and probate; consumer bankruptcy; and non-profit organizations.
In 2003 he received a second bachelors degree, in Information Technology, graduating summa cum laude from DeVry University in Columbus, Ohio. In 2004, returning to the practice of law, he was appointed to his current position [2015] as general counsel for a Columbus real estate developer and restaurateur, concentrating in the areas of corporate law; real estate development and sales; condominiums and owners associations; and commercial and residential leases.
Bro∴ VanSlyck is a third generation Lewis, his father and paternal grandfather both having been Masons. He was raised in Trinity Lodge No. 710 (Canton, Ohio) in 1978 and quickly began earning Grand Lodge lecture bars. He served as Master of the Ohio Lodge of Research in 2003, as Master of New England Lodge No. 4 (Worthington, Ohio) in 2006, and as Master of Arts & Sciences Lodge No. 792 (Hilliard, Ohio) in 2015. He is one of the seven original members of the Goose & Gridiron Social Club (which was the seed body that later became Arts & Sciences Lodge), is a charter member of Arts & Sciences Lodge, and is the author of both its Vision Statement and its Statement of Principles.
Steve is also the author of two well-received pieces of short fiction published by the Anne McCaffrey fan club, Star Rise Weyr, has written and presented various continuing education lectures for attorneys and paralegals, is the creating editor of and maintains the Wikipedia articles about the Grand Lodges of Ohio and North Dakota, and has written a number of articles about Freemasonry, including “Fifteen Points for Masonic Education,” Proceedings of the Ohio Lodge of Research (2004); “Understanding Masonic Law,” Proceedings of the Ohio Lodge of Research (2009); “What a Lodge Can Truly Be: The Birth of Arts & Sciences Lodge No. 792, Part Two,” The Philalethes (2011); “A Masonic Memorial and Funeral Service for Arts & Sciences Lodge” (privately printed 2014); and “Grammar - Key to the Art of Freemasonry,” Proceedings of the Ohio Lodge of Research (publication pending as of 2015).
Bro∴ VanSlyck served as one of two materials editors on the Grand Lodge Committee on Education and Information in 2006. He currently serves as an advisor to the Grand Secretary concerning the design of Grand Lodge forms, designed the first petition for degrees ever published by the Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Ohio, and is the scrivener of charters for the Grand Lodge of Ohio, F. & A.M. and the Grand Council of Ohio, R. & S.M.
When talking to prospects, petitioners and candidates about how a man should approach Freemasonry, Steve often paraphrases Albert Pike: “Those who are satisfied with the explanations offered by the ritual deserve and will get nothing more.”