“Let's Do It Again In 2010”
I would like to thank everyone for electing me to the honor of being
your Potentate for 2010, and to Ill. Robert Levinson, who had faith in
appointing me his Second Ceremonial Master.
What a Ceremonial and Installation we had on January 23, 2010. We had
the pleasure to welcome the Howard Family to our Shrine Center for a magnificent
presentation. Brian and Shana are two wonderful young adults who inspired us by
showing what we really do. Brian and Shana are twins who were involved in a
house fire and severely burnt when they were just 2 years old. While they were
being treated at a local hospital, a Shriner approached them and suggested they
be taken to Shriners Hospital for Children- Cincinnati. The rest is where dreams
began for recovery. What a special song Brian sang for us while telling their
story. Their parents, Ralph and Pamela, are very special for enduring what their
family has gone through. Noble Ralph Howard became a Shriner this past year.
Thank you for the new friendship between your family, the Aleppo family and
mine. We hope you enjoyed your visit to the North End and the trip to the
Causeway Restaurant in Gloucester for fresh seafood.
The Potentate’s Ball was magnificent. Friday night’s Country Western
Night was fun for everyone who attended. On Saturday, the Potentates of the
Northeast were taken for a tour of Shriners Hospital for Children-Boston. After
lunch, Lady Lynne Eriksen taught us how to waltz. Everyone was tentative about
coming out onto the dance floor, but within five minutes, the dance floor was
full. Thank you, Lynne, for making the lesson so much fun and naming our waltz,
“The Courtship of Lori and Jeff.”
It was a pleasure to see all of our counterparts from the Northeast
Shrine Association, the Potentate of Syria Shriners and his guests to share the
wonderful night with our Aleppo Family and guests.
Chief Aide Robert Brown and Lady Ilene Wolfman, Assistant Chief Aide
Noble Matt Macdonald and Lady Beth did a spectacular job. Thank you to the
personal aides, and aides who assisted you.
I think everyone enjoyed the suite, and did not really want to leave.
They all felt so comfortable and have asked me to thank you.
Congratulations to Ernest “Rollo” Pearlstein on receiving the
much-deserved Wilson Medal. Ernie takes pride in Aleppo, is always there when
needed, and represents Aleppo locally, regionally, and throughout Shrinedom.
Some of the goals I have set for this year at Aleppo are Membership,
Communication, Hospital Transportation Fund, and Fun for everyone.
Of these goals, membership has to be one of our biggest. The TRAC
program that we started three years ago is working, and three years into our
five-year plan, we have gone from a downward slope to almost even, though we
still have a lot of work to do. Our members are passing away faster than we can
make new ones, so it is incumbent upon everyone to bring in new members. By each
of us sponsoring a friend or acquaintance, we can reach this goal. This year I
am hoping to start the upward move with membership. We will be keeping the
membership goal of “5K no way,” with the addition of “Let’s Do It Again In
2010.” Even if we can have a single positive over the losses that we entail each
year, I will be happy. The foundation for membership has been set over the past
few years, and we hope to see our number stay in the positive over the next 2
years.
Communications is one of the biggest goals we need to work on, and the
Aleppo News is our biggest and best means of communications. There is also the
E-leppo news, which Illustrious Steve Eriksen started. A monthly email is sent
out to those on the list to keep them up to date of what will be going on during
the current month. If you are interested in joining this email news group,
please send an email to seriksen@microsemi.com. Don’t forget to share our
upcoming events with your family and friends.
The Aleppo Shriners Children’s Transportation Fund – I want to thank all
the Units, Shrine Clubs, and volunteers who go out and do “canning” collections
and pull-tabs. In the first month of being Potentate, I have accepted four
flights for children who needed to be airlifted to the Shriners Hospital for
Children in Boston, totaling just over $50,000. Please continue your hard work
so that we will always be able to bring the children who need us to our
hospitals.
Fun for everyone: we have been attracting many younger men who have been
joining the Shrine. We need to keep them excited and have programs for them and
their families, along with programs for our seasoned Shriners. The next Rockin’
Nobles Night will be Friday, April 16. This has been proven both a fun evening
and a great membership program for our Nobles, friends, Brothers, prospective
Masons and Nobles. Please invite a friend and their lady who you would like join
our fraternity.
I would like to welcome Colonel Jack Demirdjian as the new head of the
Uniform Units. On the same line, a hearty thank you to Colonel Emeritus Charles
Rivers for his 25 years of service to the Uniformed Units Staff.
Congratulations to Wes Tucker who received his Chief Emeritus Fez for
his many years of service to the Fire Brigade and Aleppo Temple.
A special thank you to our Recorder, Peter Stone, Treasurer, Bob Keogh,
and our office staff; Maribel DeLuca, Sheila Bissett, Tom Friberg, Jorge
Rodriguez and the many volunteers who are always in our office and work hard so
that we can do so much.
I welcome our new Second Ceremonial Master, Noble Theodore “Ted”
Polonsky, who is also our new Masonic Relations Chairman. He will be setting up
dates for the divan to go and visit each others’ lodges as a group. I have also
been traveling with the District Deputy Grand Masters to their Fraternal Visits
and talking about who we are and the Shrine Hospital System. We are now listed
as a speaker’s group for the Lodge of Instruction. If you are interested in
becoming a guest speaker, or would like us to come to your lodge to speak,
please contact me and we will make arrangements.
The Heritage Fund is being set up through the Membership Committee for
those Nobles who are having hardships to help them out with their dues. There is
also the Aleppo Bus Fund, which each Potentate for the next three years needs to
raise donations totaling $15,000 to pay off the loan. For more information for
these please check out pages 24 and 26 in the March/April edition of the Aleppo
News.
Es Selamu Aleikum
Illustrious Jeffrey Arnold
Potentate Aleppo Temple - 2010
