Most Worshipful Gary Wallace Taylor

 Gary Wallace Taylor was born in Norfolk, Virginia on July 17, 1945, the youngest of three children of Brother Armand Milton and Evelyn Taylor, Sr. He graduated from Granby High School in 1965. He graduated from Bluefield College in 1995 with a Bachelor's Degree in Management of Human Resources, and he obtained a Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Criminal Justice from Virginia Commonwealth University. He attended a one-year program at the Northwestern University Traffic Institute on Police Administration. He worked as an Installer Repairman with the C & P Telephone Company in Norfolk, before beginning his career in 1966 with the Virginia State Police, where he was involved with the State Police Academy in Richmond, Area 19 of the 3rd Division, Area 64 of the Safety Division, Headquarters of the 2nd Division, and Headquarters of the 4th Division before retiring as a Field Lieutenant with thirty-seven years of service. He is a veteran of the Army National Guard.

Brother Taylor was made a Master Mason in King Solomon's Lodge No. 194 on March 1, 1977. He affiliated with Wytheville Fraternal Lodge No. 82 on October 2, 1989, where he is a Life Member in Perpetuity and served as its Worshipful Master in 2007 and 2010, and is currently the Treasurer. He was District Deputy Grand Master of Masonic District 42 in 2011. He serves as the Child ID Coordinator for Masonic District 42. He was elected Grand Junior Deacon in November 2012 and was elected to the Office of Grand Master in November 2017.

He is a member of the Valley of Roanoke, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. Also, he is a Life Member of Kazim Shrine Center and a member of the Provost Guard and the New River Valley Shrine Club. He is a member of Wythe Royal Arch Chapter No. 51. He is a charter member of the Widows Sons Masonic R.A. Sojourners Chapter. Brother Taylor received the Legion of Honor from the International Order of DeMolay.

His professional and community involvement includes service on the Board of Directors of the Wytheville Habitat for Humanity, and Chairman of the Friends of the NRA Chapter in Wytheville, where he was selected as Volunteer of the Year for Southwest Virginia in 2009. He is a volunteer for the Agape Food Pantry in Wytheville. He is a member of the Virginia State Police Association and the American Association of State Troopers. He is the former Treasurer and current Division IV Representative for the Virginia State Police Alumni Association. He is a recipient of the Grand Master's 2011 Award of Excellence. He is also an active member and Deacon of Wytheville Baptist Church.

He is married to the former Billie Lynn Blankenbaker, and they have a son, Todd Milton Taylor, daughter-in-law, Amy Parrish Taylor, and two grandchildren, Callie and Travis.