Just came back from our Divan Mid-Winter meeting and wanted to touch on a few things we spoke of during the Stated Meeting. The first big change is there can not be any 50/50 drawings during our Temple functions. I believe this comes from our Federal Tax exemption as a 501-C-10 rating that classifies us as a Fraternity rather than a Non-Profit. True we are not a for profit Fraternity, but the tax laws are different for our 501 C-10 and the 501 -C3’s. This is the way the IRS classifies us and Imperial has always been. Am asking for clarification on our clowns 50/50 because the money goes to the Transportation Fund. We will see. The second large one is our raffles. We have been informed that they must be approved through Imperial and we just were told there can only be 4 per year. We were not told what was magical about the number 4 but that is a solid number. That 4 will include any unit having raffles also. I am sure we are not finished with this issue. Will keep all posted. The rest of the meeting was dedicated to housecleaning and membership. Imperial has hired another membership support person that will make a visit to our Temple as soon as he can work it in his schedule.
The next event that we all need to support is our Potentate’s Ball, February 28 at our Temple. The theme is Sock Hop with dancing, dining, cash bar, and all the bad conversation anyone can stand. This should be very relaxed and a very fun event. If you haven’t reserved your tickets yet, please call Cathy in the office as soon as you can. Please come out and enjoy the evening with our new Potentate and his lady. See ya there!!
The OG Trip is coming soon. We depart from the Temple March 5th at noon and will return March 8th late in the afternoon. We have a Hospital tour, Top Golf and a course game, gambling, lots of food/drink and fun. The hotel is Margaritaville again. We are selling raffle tickets for a 0-turn lawn mower to help fund the bus expense. Need 30 people going to make this work. Call Cathy for additional information.
Speaking of the raffle of the lawn mower. Tickets are being sold currently and we need lots of help with this. We can give you some to sell and sell you some. $50 each for a new 2025 John Deere Z530m 48″ cutting deck. Please grab some tickets and help us push these.
The next event is our annual Easter Egg Hunt held at the Hatton Road land on April 4th. This is a totally free event with hot dogs and hamburgers served with chips and water. Lots of eggs for the kids and this event is open to Non-Shriners as well. So invite some friends, family, and neighbors and showcase what the Shrine is all about!!
The Shrine Golf Tournament is May 1 st at River Creek Golf Course. We need hole sponsors and players. If flyers are needed contact Cathy. This is one of our largest fundraisers of the year and one of the most fun. Again open to anyone, and we need to make this a success. We are gathering up door prizes and team prizes for the first 3 teams in each flight. Food will be served after the Tournament is complete. This is a lot of fun so let’s really get behind this event. Call the office for additional information.
Happy Hour is at the Temple March 19th. We usually come up with some snacks and a lot of “good” conversation. Please join us for some Fun and Fellowship.