The summer season is upon us and that means it is also parade season! Seven units already flexed their parade muscles as the Motor Corps, Sprint Cars, Rickshaws, Steel Drum, Fife & Drum, Clowns, and Horse Corps participated in the Loyalty Days Parade held in Brandon on May 2. It was good to see all of you on the street, doing that thing that you do so well! We are all looking forward to more opportunities this year!
One of those opportunities, is the Pote’s Parade in Pipestone, MN, on July 31. According to the Minnesota Government page, there are plans in place to end Covid-19 restrictions as follows: “Effective May 28, all capacity limits, distancing requirements, other restrictions, and requirements are lifted.” I also talked to the Pipestone Chamber of Commerce and they confirmed that the Watertower Festival event will be taking place. Put in on your calendar, Pipestone is the place to be on July 31!
In this edition of the Cactus are the names and photos of the Master Masons who became Nobles of El Riad Shrine at our Ceremonial on May 1. We welcome you all to our fraternity and hope you have visited some of our units and found one you want to be a part of.
We also had a Cold Sands on May 26 and we want to extend the same welcome to those new Nobles.
On June 10, a group of Divan and Nobles will be traveling to Watertown for a BBQ. The Watertown unit is hosting the event and we will be able to obligate those Nobles who were unable to attend the Ceremonial on May 1. We also want to welcome our new brothers in the Watertown area.
With all the new Nobles and with all the summer activities scheduled, it might be a good time to talk about volunteering. We want all of our Nobles to volunteer, whenever or wherever possible. Unfortunately, (or fortunately) that is not always possible. We all have a life outside of the Shrine. In fact, we have an old saying in our temple, a noble’s priorities are “family, work, and then Shrine”. Some nobles are hesitant to volunteer because it might be “biting off more than one can chew”. The Nobles of El Riad know that you have other commitments. They also realize that a noble needs to be motivated to “want to” volunteer. That motivation comes in the form of having fun, providing leadership experiences and helping kids! Having fun and helping kids has motivated Shriners for decades, and we hope it motivates YOU! If you, as a Noble, have any questions about the Shrine, and/or volunteering, please feel free to reach out to your sponsor, your Divan, or your Potentate, we are here to help. And we want you to HAVE FUN in ‘21!
El Riad Potentate
Les Kruse