Summertime is here and the events just keep happening!
“Having fun and helping kids” is one of our mottos, and we are trying to live up to it every chance we get. Take the example of the Last Call Band who performed at the McKennan Park band shell in front of an estimated crowd of 500 citizens of the Sioux Falls area. The band set out a tip jar earmarked for the El Riad Transportation Fund and collected over $800! It’s not just Shriners who want to “Have Fun and Help Kids”! Thanks to the guys of Last Call Band and the city of Sioux Falls.
All the Nobles who participated in the Pote’s Golf Tournament also had “Fun in ‘21” on the course at Rocky Ridge in Garretson, SD. Congrats to the winning team of Rick Gordon and Bill Thompson! Second place honors went to Charles Brown and Josh Brown, (no relation, must not be from Dell Rapids) for those of you who may not know Josh, look at the June/July Cactus edition on page 31, which shows the new Nobles that became Shriners at the Spring Ceremonial. Josh had not signed up for the golf tournament, but thought he would show up and maybe be able to play. Fortunately for Charlie, whose partner had cancelled last minute, Josh was there, and able to not only fill it, but to help bring the team to that second place finish! The lesson here is that just “showing up” increases your chances of having fun at El Riad Shrine!
Your voting Divan delegation made the trek down to Houston over the 4th of July for the Shriners International Convention. While there are a lot of positive things happening in the Shrine at the International level, the one sobering statistic is that the number of Shrine members has dropped below 200,000. We have fall ceremonial coming up on November 6. I know you have heard this before, but, would you take the time to ask someone you know, to consider becoming a Shriner? Thank you!
Some more fun was had by the 30+ volunteers who worked the Sioux Empire on Tap on July 17. Their “work” consisted of pouring beer samples to thirsty patrons. A noble deed, indeed! And the Temple got paid for it!
The next day, Nobles continued to have fun at the Ski Club’s picnic and trap shoot, at the Isaac Walton League grounds. FYI, there was no beer poured until after the trap shooting was done!
The rest of the summer will be busy with various parades including the Pote’s Parade on July 31 (more on this in next months Cactus). MSA summer session in Sioux City August 12–14 with parades in Moville, IA and South Sioux City, NE. The Monster Truck fundraising event will be taking place on September 10–12. Please buy a ticket and take your family out to this event. .
We are continually feeling blessed at El Riad Shrine as the opportunities to “Shrine” come back to us. Don’t sit around, letting the summer pass you by, it’s time to “Have Fun, in ’21!”