Scimitar. The. Just a small sample of the great turnout at the Gaspee Day Parade!! The Rhode Island Shriners Newsletter.

Transcription

1 Scimitar The Volume 18 Issue 7 The Rhode Island Shriners Newsletter Just a small sample of the great turnout at the Gaspee Day Parade!!

2 The SCIMITAR is published monthly by the Rhode Island Shriners One Rhodes Place, Cranston, Rhode Island Publisher Robert O Brien, P.P. RHODE ISLAND SHRINERS One Rhodes Place, Cranston, R.I Toll free A CHILD 5 Web Site: Telephone: (401) Office Extensions: Potentate/CEO, Domenic DiStefano...#14 Recorder, Paul Healy...#16 Secretary, Pat Deitch...#10 Treasurer, Walter Phaneuf...#15 Bookkeeper, Elaine Williams...#18 Sales, Hillary Williamson...#13 Bar...#11 Kitchen...#12 Patrick Gordon...#17 Chef Chris...#19 Charities (Sue Bowering)...#21 Charities (Leon Knudsen)...#25 ELECTED OFFICERS 2017 Potentate...Domenic DiStefano Chief Rabban...Donald Williamson Assistant Rabban... Frank DiMascio P.P. High Priest & Prophet...Robert St. Jean Oriental Guide...Alan Kinsley Treasurer...Walter Phaneuf Recorder...Paul Healy APPOINTED OFFICERS 2017 First Ceremonial Master...James Conway Jr. Marshall...Norman Messinger Captain of the Guard...David Bradley Chief Director...Robert Chase Military Aide...Stephen Kemp Chief Aide...Michael Barboza Membership Chariman...Clark Cate P.P. Hello Shrine Family, Message from the Potentate Six Months Complete! I am in no hurry to complete my term, but stress the importance of transition and future planning for our leadership team. It always upset me when a leader could not wait to be done with his term of office. I encourage you to offer your help and assistance to Noble Don Williamson and the rest of the leadership team as they prepare for the future. Transition can be seamless while we continue to conduct the business planned for At a special communication held on Monday June 5 we elected Noble Robert St Jean to represent us at the Imperial Session July 9-13 in Daytona Beach, FL. We also amended a motion to remove up to $100,000 from the building fund for Temple payables. This will be voted on at our July 31 communication. Please make every effort to attend. Tuesday June 6 was Shriners Awareness Day. I believe that we must take advantage of these opportunities. We used this time to introduce Brother Tony Isabel to the Shrine and the fun we have. Thank you to Nobles Bob St Jean, Tim Delaney and Jim Conway and their ladies to make this a great event. We have been busy collecting tabs as the school year finishes. Monday June 5, Nozzle (Boss Clown Tim Delaney), Disco (Sam Miller) and myself collected 269,000 tabs from two years of 3 rd grade classes at Narragansett Elementary School. Great conversation followed with questions from the students. Wednesday June 7, Bob St Jean and I went to Lonsdale Elementary School to collect tabs from all the students there. We had lunch with them and answered questions. We took advantage of the home field advantage and made the most out of Gaspee Weekend. On Saturday the Director s and Ladies stayed back to raise funds and awareness with stands. Food and fellowship followed in the band room. Sunday we held a breakfast and the Legion of Honor conducted a flag retirement ceremony. Thank you to the Legion of Honor and to those who attended. It made the weekend complete. Friday June 23 was our Strawberry Festival. We invited Blue Lodge Masons who are not Shriners with their Ladies to join us. What better event to share than the Strawberry Festival. While few took advantage of this, those who did really enjoyed themselves. Our banquet facility continues to shine. Friday, July 3 Mike and Gel s Pizza and Papa s Ice Cream, West Shore Rd Warwick is hosting a blood drive from 3-6 pm. Donors get a slice of pizza, drink and ice cream. For every donation made, the Rhode Island Shrine will receive $5. Please tell you family and friends. Our presence is requested. We will have an informational table and clowns present. Please donate some time and/or blood. July 4th we start the day in Bristol. Coffee and doughnuts in the morning, burgers and hotdogs before kickoff. We had great turnout last year. Let s keep it up. Ancient and Horribles that afternoon in Chepachet at 4 pm. We would like a presence there. Please make an effort to join us. We will have sandwiches on the way to Chepachet. All Units Picnic Saturday July 15 starting at 11am. Open to Nobles and their immediate family. You do not have to belong to a unit to attend. Please take 2

3 advantage of our beautiful facility on Narragansett Bay. Thank you to Bob St. Jean for chairing this event. Friday, July 21 we will host a Benjamin Franklin night. We have a Franklin re-enactor who will present a fun, unique program. This event is open to the public. Tickets are $15 per person and are available from the leadership team. Thank you to Alan and Ann Kinsley for chairing this event. Saturday, July 29 is Shriners Night at Seekonk Speedway. Tickets are $25 and included admission, and the BBQ tent. This is a public relations event. We would like all units represented. Kids trike race, pre race ride around track and community relations presentation. All members of the clown unit have tickets. Sunday, July 30 is the Grand Lodge picnic. Tickets are available through the Grand Lodge office. Shrine will be present. Hope you will join us. Maple Sugar Bowl (Hanover) Weekend August 4-6, Rutland, VT. We will be staying at the Holiday Inn in Rutland. We currently have 10 rooms reserved. I hope more of you will join us. Contact Bob St. Jean or myself to reserve. center. I will put a spotlight on Nobles Joe Pine and Yaakov Rosenbaum. They are both members of the clown unit. They have gone above and beyond of late. Joe and his Lady Jen pulled triple duty Memorial Day Weekend and then helped us make sandwiches for Monday s parade. They are new to our Shrine center. Please continue to welcome them. May your energy and enthusiasm never fade. Yaakov (Yiddle) is new to clowning but not the Shrine. He shares every bit of his energy with the crowd along the parade route, something that makes clowns unique, but Yiddle goes above and beyond to the point of exhaustion. Thank you Nobles. I cherish our relations this Fraternity affords us. The leadership team appreciates all who serve our Temple. If you have been on the sideline, but your schedule now permits, please become active. We certainly could use the help. Nobles I hope to see you over the summer. May we share each other s company and engage in the Fraternity that unites us. As always, I wish you well. Regards, Domenic J DiStefano, Potentate, 2017 Saturday, August 12 is our Shrine Ceremonial. This has been a long time coming. Let s make a day of it. Registration starts at 9am. Ceremonial begins at 10:30am. Break for Lunch, then the impressive unit march in. Followed by Fraternal fun. Unit rooms will be open after. Dinner at 6pm. Please invite a brother who would reflect honor on our fraternity. Eight couples are joining us for the Northeast Shrine Association Field Days Aug in Ottawa, ON. Will you be joining us? It is not too late. Please contact me immediately. Please mark your calendar for Friday, September 15. This will be a Chief Rabban fundraiser. Noble Don and Lady Hillary have a fun evening in store. Please make every effort to attend. Nobles, financially we are not doing well. We have time, but it is getting narrower in how long we can sustain our course without additional income. The leadership will not point fingers or blame. It will not solve our problems. But you as Nobles also need to respect the overall situation that we face. Please respect the current leadership as we try to address this challenge. I would also challenge you, the individual Noble and Unit member. The Temple Guard, Artisans and Past Pote s have stepped up and made contributions. Your leadership team is very approachable. If you have fundraising ideas please talk with us. Manpower is something we desperately lack to drive our Temple. Your participation is greatly appreciated. It is not too early to think Christmas. We are welcoming businesses that are looking for unique marketing opportunities the Shrine has to offer. If you have, or know a business that wants to get in front of hundreds of people on Thanksgiving weekend please give us a call. We have successful events that we are looking to enhance. The Fez-tival of Trees is one of those events. I would like to thank all Nobles and Ladies who serve our Shrine Congratulations to Most Worshipful Brother Peter Iacobucci on his ascent to the Grand East as our 162nd Grand Master 3

4 From the Desk of Fezzy the Artisan Out in the Community I would like to introduce The Artisans Unit officers for the year 2017: Left to right: Chief- John Werchadlo, Assistant Chief-David Graham, Secretary-Walter Phaneuf, Treasurer-Paul Shulver. Call to arms: Nobles, the 2017 Parade season is upon us. It is always a good time. Come meet your brothers on the streets of the towns/cities that are gracious enough to have us show our mission. When you read this, we will have had the Lincoln Memorial Parade, and the Gaspee Days Parade. Lincoln was a wet start, but finished dry. Thanks to all Artisans that attended. Gaspee Days will be a great warm day for us in this cold wet spring, and will be enjoyed by all. The next parade will be the July 4 th in Bristol. We hope to see you there! Do you need transportation to/from parades? We will do our best to accommodate you for any parade you wish to join. You can contact me Fezzy, at: striderdav@yahoo.com and I will find a way. Some of you may not know (this includes any noble), that we have 2 bench seats on the float truck, so if you can t walk a parade, you can ride in STYLE! An early mention that we will be joining the FEZZtivities in Rutland again this year. This is a weekend to throw your hair back (or hairs) and enjoy some fun. I am sure a party card game or two will break out again. More details to come. Fezzy Monday, June 5, Nozzle (Boss Clown Tim Delaney), Disco (Sam Miller) and Illustrious Domenic DiStefano collected 269,000 tabs from two years of 3rd grade classes at Narragansett Elementary School. Friday, August 4 thru Sunday August 6, 2017 NESA Maple Sugar Bowl Weekend, Rutland, VT This Hanover Weekend will once again be held in Central Vermont. The parade and football game will occur in Castleton, VT, with our hotel located a short distance away at the Holiday Inn, 476 Holiday Drive, Rutland, VT ( ). The negotiated room rate at the Holiday Inn is $109 per night. Included this year will be two hospitality rooms, one for food and one for drinks. These will be shared with our Shrine brothers from Connecticut Sphinx Temple. Rhode Island Shriners will provide the food, and Sphinx will furnish the adult beverages. Call or text Bob St. Jean at (or via at bobstjean99@verizon.net). Happy Independence Day!!! 4

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6 Musings from the High Priest and Prophet Robert St. Jean Summer is here and so are two fun-filled Temple events. Saturday, July 15th All-Units Party at the Masonic Youth Center. This cook-out, hosted by the Artisan Unit and the Legion of Honor, will once again be held at our beautiful Buttonwoods facility. This event is free of charge to all Nobles and their immediate families; Hot dogs & hamburgers will be provided, along with watermelon, soda and beer; Participating families are expected to bring something for sharing. Examples include pastries, salads, picnic side dishes or assorted snacks like chips, etc. Once again, we will have the covered pavilion for our use all day. The BBQ will begin at noon. There will be plenty of picnic tables placed under the pavilion, but be sure to bring folding chairs for your after-dining comfort. What s Needed? All unit heads are expected to obtain a tally of attendees from their respective unit. This head count needs to be reported to yours truly by Saturday, July 8. We had an excellent turn out last year. A good time was had by all, so please help your Temple build on this tradition by participating again this coming July 15th. And remember, the pool will be open so be sure to bring your swimwear. Friday, August 4 thru Sunday August 6 NESA Maple Sugar Bowl Weekend, Rutland, VT This historic event will once again be held in Central Vermont. The parade and football game will occur in Castleton, VT, with our hotel located a short distance away at the Holiday Inn, 476 Holiday Drive, Rutland, VT ( ). The negotiated room rate at the Holiday Inn is $109 per night. Included this year will be two hospitality rooms, one for food and one for drinks. These will be shared with our Shrine brothers from Connecticut Sphinx Temple. Rhode Island Shriners will provide the food, and Sphinx will furnish the adult beverages. It is recommended that any Noble wishing to attend try to arrive on Friday, with check out Sunday morning. This will give you plenty of time to relax, take in the local sights, and be fresh and ready for the parade on Saturday afternoon. There are a number of good restaurants in Rutland for Friday evening, and breakfasts are freeof-charge at the Holiday Inn. After the parade on Saturday the two Temples will host a cookout for all attendees. This is a family event, so be sure to bring your spouse, kids, whomever. All rooms will be furnished with two full-sized beds. What s Needed? Call or text me at (or via at bobstjean99@ verizon.net). Give me your name, number of guests, room needs (if any) and arrival/departure dates. I will forward this information on to Sphinx Temple as they are coordinating room reservations this year. Be sure to let me know ASAP should you wish to attend. All attendees will be responsible for paying their own hotel bill upon departure. I will let you know if a credit card filing is required in advance. This event is a long-standing tradition which, as most of you know, was previously referred to as the Hanover Hangover weekend. The crazy wildness of many, many bygone years has been muted somewhat by the maturing of our Nobles. However, this still represents a wonderful opportunity to chill out and have fun. There is an excellent indoor pool, so bring your suits. And because this is an official Shrine Parade all units are encouraged to participate in full performance mode. That s grease paint, costumes, vehicles, etc. All non-nobles will be required to remain on the sideline in keeping with Imperial bylaws regarding designated Shrine-only parades. Night at McCoy Stadium Thursday, August 10th Tickets on sale July 17th 6 Clowns in Lincoln Parade:Yiddle (Yaakov Rosebaum), Disco (Sam Miller), Woody (Joe Pine) and DJ (Mark Reardon)

7 Legion of Honor Bristol Ancient & Horribles Parade Shriners International 2017 Imperial Session Temple Guard 11:00 am All Units Picnic 11:00 am Children s Dyslexia Center s Golf Tournament 8 am Director s Staff 7:00 pm Ben Franklin Night 6:30 pm Clown Unit 9:30 am Mazol Shrine Visitation Grand Lodge Picnic 11 am Stated Meeting 7:00 PM Artisan s/ Motor Corps Mazol Shrine Visitation Shrine Night Seekonk Speedway Hanover Weekend (See ad for details) Hanover Weekend PawSox Night 5:00 pm Shrine Full Form Ceremonial 9:00 am Legion of Honor Northeast Shrine Assoc. Field Days Ottawa, ON Temple Guard 11:00 am Northeast Shrine Assoc. Field Days Ottawa, ON Director s Staff 7:00 pm Artisan s/ Motor Corps Clown Unit 9:30 am 7

8 The SCIMITAR Rhode Island Shriners One Rhodes Place Cranston, R I Up-Coming Events: Friday July 3 Mike and Gel s Pizza and Papa s Ice Cream, West Shore Rd Warwick is hosting a blood drive from 3-6pm. Donors get a slice of pizza, drink and ice cream. For every donation made, the Rhode Island Shrine will receive $5. Tuesday, July 4, Bristol Parade Ancient and Horribles that afternoon in Chepachet at 4 pm July 9-13 Imperial Session in Daytona Beach, FL Saturday, July 15 All Units Picnic starting at 11am Saturday, July 15 Children s Dyslexia Center of RI, Golf Tournament 8 am Friday, July 21 we will host a Benjamin Franklin night Saturday, July 29 is Shriners Night at Seekonk Speedway Sunday, July 30 is the Grand Lodge picnic Monday, July 31 Stated Communication August 4-6, Maple Sugar Bowl (Hanover) Weekend, Rutland, VT Thursday, August 10 PawSox night at McCoy Stadium 5 pm Saturday August 12 is our Shrine Ceremonial 9 AM August Northeast Shrine Association Field Days in Ottawa, ON Friday, September 8, Artisan Steak Fry Friday, September 15, Chief Rabban s fundraiser. Parade Schedule July 4th Bristol Parade (leave Temple no later than 8 am) Chepachet Ancient and Horribles parade 4 pm August 12 Full Form Ceremonial, all units. Considered a temple parade. October 8 Columbus Day Federal Hill Line up on Simms St. 10:30 October 9 Woonsocket Octoberfest Line up 9:00 AM