Greetings my fellow Nobles,
What another busy and fun month it has been! I recently got back from traveling to Las Vegas for the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Thank you to everybody who came out to support this special event that brought an enormous amount of exposure to Shriners Hospitals for Children and Shriners International. I believe we had close to 1,100 volunteers, and it was great to see that most of them were wearing fezzes. I would also like to thank Adam Sperling, the tournament director; and Gary Dunwoody, chairman of the golf committee and his committee members, for all of their hard work in making this an extremely successful event.
Congratulations to pro golfer Kevin Na for winning the tournament.
If you watched the tournament on the Golf Channel, you were able to see your Imperial Potentate being interviewed by the network. The interview went fantastic and I was able to explain to people all over the world about our philanthropy, Shriners Hospitals for Children, and the life changing work they provide for children on a daily basis. Also joining me for part of the interview were our terrific patient ambassadors, Alissa Perkins, 2, and Kate Hickman, 13.
I’m also looking forward to another signature event for our fraternity, the 86th East-West Shrine Game, which will take place January 21, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. I cannot be more thrilled to have the game in a community that strongly supports our Shriners Hospitals for Children – Tampa and is the home to Shriners International Headquarters. This year’s game will have several fun and exciting activities planned for Shriners to participate in, so start making your travel plans to be in Tampa this January!
In addition to my interview with the Golf Channel, I recently filmed an episode in Los Angeles with Christopher Coppola for his show “Digivangelist” on the Reelz Channel. Christopher is the nephew of director Francis Ford Coppola and recently became a member of the Al Malaikah Shriners in Los Angeles. The episode will discuss Noble Christopher’s process of becoming a Shriner and inform the public about our one-of-a-kind fraternity and philanthropy. Stay tuned for details of when the episode will air!
Earlier this past month, it was a pleasure to attend with Patty the Central States Shrine Association Ceremonial Session in Overland Park, KS. We had over 3,000 Nobles in attendance and Patty greatly appreciates all the support she received from the ladies for her fundraising program “Stepping Forward Toward a Brighter Future.”
I also had an enjoyable time attending the Great Lakes Shrine Association in Boardman, Ohio. An interesting fact is that I’m the first Imperial Potentate to visit that area since Harold Lloyd in 1949. Hopefully, the streak continues with the next Imperial Potentate because the Nobles at the Youngstown Shrine Club are wonderful hosts.
In other exciting news, my 22-year-old son, Joe, is taking the necessary steps to become a Shriner. Joe is currently a Master Mason at the Englewood Lodge No. 166 and decided he wanted to join the fraternity after attending the Imperial Session this past July in Denver. Legacies are a great way to increase membership, and I encourage every Noble to share the special tradition of brotherhood within your own family.
As some of you may already know this past month we lost a great member of our fraternity, Past Imperial Potentate
Kenneth W. Smith. I had the honor to travel to Vancouver and give part of his eulogy. I knew Imperial Sir Smith personally and he was an avid fisherman. I remember one time going fishing for salmon with him and he would perform all of the more demanding work, such as baiting the fish, just so that I could enjoy the experience. Imperial Sir Smith truly embodied what it means to be a Shriner, because he was a selfless individual who only cared about doing things for others.
As members of this wonderful fraternity, I sincerely hope all of you will strive to have the same mindset as Imperial Sir Smith and will always remember to put others first.
“Remember why you became a Shriner!”
Yours in the Faith,
Michael G. Severe ,Imperial Potentate , Chairman of the Board of Directors
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