Two Cincinnati businessmen — one black, and one white — were among those honored Monday for their efforts in creating mutual recognition among black and white Masonic groups.

        Steven Reece Sr. and Carl Lindner received plaques at the annual banquet of the United Supreme Council Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonary Prince Hall Affiliation Northern Jurisdiction, U.S.A., Inc. at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

        Sovereign Grand Commander Samuel Brogdon Jr. said the two Masons were being honored for their part in organizing that “historic meeting which ignited recognition.” He presented both with the plaques, which contained the illustration of two hands shaking — one white, one black.

        “This is a very touching moment for us,” Mr. Reece said after receiving his plaque. “None of us knew what to expect (from the summit).”

        The success of that summit, Mr. Lindner told the audience of more than 1,200 Masons, “has been one of the highlights of my life” and the “highlight of my Masonic life.”

        On Dec. 4, 1994, top national Masonic leaders held a summit in Cincinnati and agreed to pursue mutual recognition — a vital step to cooperation, and even visiting each others' groups. Merger between the two Masonic groups, which are segregated, was never an issue. A formal compact was agreed to in 1995.

        A number of white Masons attended the three-day gathering of the black Masonic group, which ended with Monday's banquet.

        Mr. Reece, owner of the Integrity Hall meeting facility in Bond Hill and head of the black Masons in Ohio, organized the summit that led to the compact. Mr. Lindner, whose family holdings include United Dairy Farmers, Great American Insurance and Chiquita Brands International, helped Mr. Reece organize the summit.

        Payoffs for the mutual recognition between the two Ma sonic groups included greater scholarship funds and helping hands at work and in hiring, Mr. Reece said before the banquet.

        “It opens a lot of doors and dialogue,” he said. “The payoff to the community is building bridges.”

A decage ago, Steven Reece wrapped up a speech to high schoolers about giving back to the community, walked off the stage and realized he should be practicing his preaching.

Soon after, Mr. Reece and his wife, Barbara, bought a vacant 31,000-square-foot photographic processing factory in Bond Hill and relocated the family business from downtown.

Bit by bit, private dollar by private dollar, the couple has created an unusual sort of community center at 2081 Seymour Ave. During the last 10 years, the Reeces gutted and renovated the complex, creating a banquet center, a beauty salon, a floor of offices and three one-bedroom apartments.

"I look at it as a family entrepreneurial center where people can make things happen," Mr. Reece said. His family could serve as a model. The couple's three children -- Alicia, 27, Steven Jr., 19, and Tiffany Janelle, 18, each hold positions with the family's companies.

Except for the leased apartments and family's offices on the second floor -- which house their promotional company -- all of the space is available for short-term rental. Integrity Hall, which opened in 1989, caters to groups that can't afford the rates of hotels and convention centers.

"When we were coming up," Mrs. Reece said, "we would go to events and we would go to the hotels and we felt that there was no interest in accommodating us. . . . That's why we decided to open the banquet hall and give people something that looks elegant, but at a savings of cost."

Five of the upstairs offices are available for lease to start-up businesses or home businesses that need short-term use of the space. "We're not a (public) program here, but we do a lot to help individuals get down to really doing business," said Alicia Reece, who handled promotions at the Reeces' Communiplex Promotional Services. The most recent addition to the complex, and the family enterprise, is a record label and production company created by Mr. Reece and his son, Steven Jr. SR Productions, which will operate from studios in the rear lower level, will record and produce music and offer disc jockey services.