Greetings everyone:
WOW, what a fast couple month this has been. I’d like to give everyone a little update so far this year. First, I need to go back to December where ILL SR. Mike Pickett and the Divan replaced the van that was damaged in an accident with a brand-new Chrysler Pacifica, which is all wheel drive. This van should make a nice van for years to come.
In January we accepted a bid from Ace Signs for a programmable digital sign for the building, which should be here in March. Along with that, the existing sign on the building with the logos is being redone and will go up at the same time the digital sign goes up. This digital sign is there to advertise ourselves and to let the public know what we have going on in the Temple on a weekly basis. We also have decided to purchase our own tablets to operate the Square card readers. They will be used for the circus, for the parade of trees and any other function we may hold so people will be able to use debit or credit cards if they want.
I know there have been a lot of questions as to the web page. I have been in contact with the web designer, and I believe he and I are on the same page now. I and the office are getting him the rest of the information he needs to get this updated and running so you should start to see some improvements on the web page. On February 14th we hosted the 2nd annual Valentine dinner. Peggy and I cannot thank everyone enough for taking part in this. We served about 66 dinners that night and every lady that was there was given a chocolate rose. The proceeds from this event are going to the Ladies Auxiliary for the Kids Christmas Party and the SMC. We would also like to thank the Abu Bekr Chefs Unit for preparing the fabulous dinner that night.
Well at the end of February we head to Alexandria, MN for the MSA winter business meeting and we will have a report after that on what the plan is for this summer. Along with our burger night every Wednesday night, the Abu Bekr Foot Patrol is having their annual spaghetti feed on March 4th at the Temple and on March 18th the WHMP Stablemates along with Divan members will be hosting their annual St. Patrick’s dinner party and auction at the Temple. Both of these events are a great time and offer a lot of great food, fun and fellowship.
The Circus may seem aways off, but it’s not. It is coming up fast and Chief Rabban Colin Ross and his team are working very hard to make this another great success for our Temple. Remember it takes all of us to make this work and as our main fundraiser it is very important. If you can only be there for a couple performances, your help is greatly appreciated.
First Lady Peggy’s cookbooks are available for purchase at the Shrine office or give Peggy a call. There are over 400 recipes in the cookbook and the work that Peggy and Jean Plummer did on this is fantastic.
Till next month, be safe and have fun and remember: “Be all that we can be in 2023.”
Yours In Faith,
Rich Porter, Potentate