Greetings Nobles and Ladies,
The year is passing by so quickly. We are already into May and it has been an exciting year so far.
During the past month, we were finally able to get a new roof on the Temple. A big shout out to Mark Weeks and his crew for all their hard work We also had our Potentate’s Trip to the Galveston Children’s Hospital. It was an amazing tour.
We had the opportunity to meet the specialists in the different fields of service, from the orthopedics to burns to the children’s teacher. Yes, as a patient, they still have school work to do. We met several patients in the halls and elevators as well as a few grateful parents.
We also had the annual Easter Egg Hunt at the Land. Although the weather was not optimal, we still had a great turnout. The sun almost broke through and the rain held off. We had 30-40 children this year, and most were in the 5 to 6 year old class. They had a wonderful time, collected a ton of eggs and we all enjoyed watching them.
As May approaches, remember we still have a few events scheduled. Our stated meeting is on Tuesday, May 13. The following Saturday, May 17th, we will be having our annual Ceremonial. Finally, on Saturday, May 24th, Maskat will be hosting the Shelomi Temple Ladies of the Nile Queen brunch. Please refer to the calendar for more information.
As always, Everything we do is for the Children.
Will and Angela
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Greetings Nobles,
It’s hard to believe how fast this year is passing and everything we have accomplished so far. We would like to thank everyone that came out to support the Ladies of the Nile at their installation. Welcome to their new Queen Christina Bennett. We also had a good turn out for the OG trip this past week.
We still have a lot of activities coming up this month. The Potentate’s trip is scheduled for April 10-13. We will be going to Galveston for a Red Carpet tour of the Children’s Hospital. We also have the annual Children’s Easter Egg hunt on April 19th at the Hatton Road land. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend with all friends and family. And finally, we will be having a Shrimp Boil on April 26th. from 2pm till the food is gone. Be sure to place this on your schedules.
As always, remember, EVERYTHING we do is for the Children.
Fraternally,
Will and Angela
Greetings Nobles and Ladies,
January and February were both great months. We had a great turn out for the Happy Hour in the Oasis. I encourage everyone to come out on the third Thursday of each month and partake in the camaraderie and fun.
We also had over 30 people show up for the East !West Shrine Bowl watch party. We enjoyed great food, better drinks and the best fellowship. The game was great to watch and several Nobles were even able to make it to Jerry’s World to partake in the live event.
Our Super Bowl party was a hit with a lot of people in attendance. We had the bounce houses set up for the kids along with popcorn and cotton candy, and a ton of food and drinks for the adults. The game kept everyone on the edge of their seats yelling and screaming at both teams and the referees.
Just a few reminders of the events coming up in March: First, we have our stated meeting on March 11. Then we will host the Nile Installation of Officers on the 15th. And, finally the annual OG trip takes place March 2Oth-23rd. If you have not signed up yet, please contact the office as soon as possible if you are interested in attending.
In closing, I want to remind everyone of the Potentates Trip on April 10. We are having a Red Carpet tour of the Galveston Shriners Hospital for Children. It is open to everyone. Please invite your family, friends, neighbors or anyone interested in what we do. Reservations must be made by March 10 to ensure the block rate for the hotel.
Always remember: It’s all about the children
Will &Angela
Greetings Nobles and Ladies.
Angela and I consider it a pleasure to serve as Potentate and Lady this year. We have a lot of exciting activities and events planned for everyone, the earliest being the annual Superbowl party held at Maskat. Please come out to watch the game, socialize and enjoy the fun, food and fellowship. There will be games and activities for the kids, potluck food for the family and lots of boards of varying prices.
Also on February 22, we will be hosting our Potentates Ball. Doors will open at 6:30pm for socializing with the party beginnjng at 8pm. The theme this year is 80’s, Hair Band. We have a cover band from Dallas playing music from Bon Jovi and Def Leppard to Tommy Tutone and The Cars. Feel free to dress the theme or not. We just ask that you come and enjoy the evening.
We also want to announce the Potentates trip for 2025. It is a three-night trip to Galveston to visit the Shriners Hospital for Children. We will depart on April 10 and have a Red-Carpet tour on the 11th. Saturday will be a fun day to just play on the beach or just sit in the hospitality room. We have opened it up to ANYONE that wants to attend; friends, family neighbors or anyone interested in what we do as an organization. We are planning to rent some vans and ride together if there are any that want to attend and are unable or even unwilling to drive down. At the moment we have reserved two 12 passenger vans. A block of rooms has been reserved at a discounted rate.
We are also looking at trying to host a monthly or bi-monthly “Night on the Town” gathering open to all Shriners and their family. We want to increase our public exposure by visiting various venues available in our area. More information will be forthcoming via email, text,
phone calls and here in the Wildcat.
Fraternally,
Will and Angela
Wow, last article, dang I’m gonna miss Billy’s call.
The very first thing I want to do, is give so much thank you and love to my bride Kathy Hammack. There is no way I could have done the last five years without her by my side. Love you so much honey. Our daughter and son-in- law Manya and Brian Gaylor when we needed them.
If I start to list all who I need to thank I know I’ll leave someone out. So bear with me when I say thanks to all who helped. Jody Miller and her crew – the Christmas decorations were great. Thank you so much.
Thirty-four years. I never dreamed I’d do this. I’m glad I did, and I’m glad it’s over. Everyone, we need to give all the support we can to the current Divan. It takes a lot of support.
The Festival of Trees was better this year than the last, it takes a lot of work, and I think it can work into a good money maker, and it takes a lot of help. We can do it.
Well, I’m gonna close. Thanks to all for your trust in me. And I’ll still be around.
For the kids,
Bill H
Here we go Billy, One more time.
This year has flown by. It has been a tough year with the things that have happened with my knee & my knee tendon, it was hard to
get around. But with a lot of extra help we have made things work.
Feztival of Trees will be happening when you get this. As of right now we have about the same number of trees as last year. We will
need help setting up and working the booth. If you are able to help, please come to the Ag Building at the MPEC. It will be Dec. 7th &
8th. Come visit & help.
Election for new officers will be held at the December stated meeting. If you don’t come to the meeting, in my way of thinking, you don’t have a right to gripe if things aren’t going the way you would like for them to. And I know a lot of you like to gripe. Besides we want to see your smiling face.
I was down last Stated Meeting with a kidney stone & wasn’t there, but I heard the fact that we have to do something about our roof was brought up. I understand we had a lot of good feedback & the Divan is gonna take them & run to have this happen. Thanks guys.
We still need an OG to step up. I know it is a big commitment, but what you get out of it makes it all worthwhile.
For the kids,
Bill H
OK Billy here we go. As you all know we had to call the Halloween party off. We could not get enough yesses to be able to figure out the food and other things. After it was cancelled we started hearing people say they were wanting to come to it. Folks, it takes time to put these things together. PLEASE respond quicker next time.
As far as I know we are still looking for an OG. Com on guys step up and do it. You will be glad you did. You will get to meet some really good folks.
Well we had an equipment break down and lost all of the ribs we were going to cook. If you haven’t got your money back, check with the office sometime in the next couple of weeks.
Everyone send out prayers for Cathy S; she had a hip replaced and is having some troubles. Keep her and Greg in your prayers.
Well, here we are again Billy, this will be short & sweet, hopefully.
First thing, Halloween Party, Oct 26th. Food and DJ. Grazing starts at 6:30 and music starts at 7:00. Best costume wins a nice prize, you don’t have to wear Halloween costume if you don’t want to. Come one come all. Bring adult friends and family. $30 a couple. I remember the last one we had, it sure was a lot of fun.
Terry Martin and all of his crew will be cooking ribs Oct 19th. Come help or come listen to the bs. It will be great. Be sure to get your ribs ordered. They must be prepaid. Let Cathy Stockton know how many you need.
Alright guys, it is getting to be that time of the year where ya’lI will kick me out and vote someone new on the line, OG I’m talking about. Please be thinking about it and step up to help keep Maskat alive. Remember this is a five year commitment that you and your lady will be stepping up to, believe me you will need your lady’s support. This is a lot of work but in the same breath it’s a lot of fun. You will have the
opportunity to meet so many wonderful people and Shriners from other areas besides just Texas.
The stated meeting in Oct will be ladies night, Kathy & Bev Sloan will give a talk about the Hospital trip to Sacramento. There will also be drawings for the ladies to win. Make sure your lady comes to hear all the new great things our hospitals are doing.
For the Kids,
Bill H
I must be getting mellower, it only took one call from Billy to get me started, so here goes.
Summer is about over, hopefully cooler days are ahead. We had Happy Hour both July & August, and had a fairly decent turn out both times. We are still sending out birthday cards to all for their birthday months, haven’t got as large a turn out as we hoped for, but sure glad to see those who came. My bill for the first drink (your birthday month) hasn’t broke me yet, so you better come on out. Besides, we need some new lies told.
We tried Puzzles, Pizza & Pitcher, several teams showed up, and every one talked about how much fun it was. Many thanks to Ford Swanson, Jr at McBride Steakhouse for the 4 $50 gift cards for the first place team. As in everything you do, you need to look back and see what needs to be changed. We have done that and when we do it again there will be several changes.
One of the things Kathy and I have wanted to do this year is try to get us back together to socialize. Most things have worked, some better than others. Nobles, looking hard at the shape we are in if we want Maskat to survive we have to pull together. Please come to stated meeting, Happy Hour, let us know what you want to see us do. As small as we are we ALL have to work together. We can do it. Ok I’m off my soapbox.
Rib cook will be Oct 19th 180 ribs will be cooked @ $25 a rack. Terry Martin & his crew will do the cooking. Call the office to order and ALL orders must be prepaid. You ask why prepaid? In past years we have had people order multiple racks and we saved them, a lot of times we would have people call and we would tell them we were sold out, then, when they came to pick up their order they would tell us they decided not to take as many as they ordered. That was leaving us with racks we could have sold if we only knew. Come help us out. Come Visit and BS.
October will be ladies night, I know Beverly Sloan, Annette Priddis, & Kathy are planning a program about the Hospital they visited while at Imperial. Just listening to them visit it will be a good eye opener about what they can do now.
Alright, Billy I’m finished rambling, I’ll stop now.
For the kids,
Bill H
Ok Billy, got back to the house so here goes. Hope everyone is having a great summer. The trip to Reno for Imperial was pretty good. When we first got there, finding where we were gonna shoot was a chore. We got to visit with the folks on the range and it turned out fine. Made it through Texas Breakfast and on to the meetings. PETA showed their rear a couple of times, but we ignored them and they did not get anything done. The parade was held in front of the Casinos and was one of the better parades I have seen.
My Potentate’s pin went over size large. I had people come up to me and ask for a pin. I had a little over 100 left from the original 600 when we got there and within 3 days they were all gone. Got some more ordered.
If you get to go to Imperial, make the trip and visit with everyone you don’t know. Kathy and I met so many new friends. All the way from the west coast to the east coast and from all over the world. The only thing that didn’t work out good was that almost everyone brought back Covid or a sinus infection. Not just us but almost every temple in Texas. All in all it was a great trip.
Make sure you are at the September meeting to find out what else is on for the rest of the year. The Puzzles, Pitchers & something else is the 17th of August at 6 pm. Contact my Kathy for more information.
For the kids,
Bill H