Jun 17, 2024 | Potentate's Message
Happy June everyone! My year is halfway done, and I have had a blast so far. I am really looking forward to the next 6 months. On Friday May 10 we had our spring Ceremonial and welcomed 6 new Nobles into lsmailia. Let’s make them all feel welcomed when they are at the temple. As some of you may have seen the Silent Messenger statue is back and I would like to thank all those involved with raising him: Gary Crewson, Greg Wolf, Richard Mix, Donald Keipper, Mark Herle, George Herle, and our friend Steve. Thank you gentlemen for all your hard work and dedication. On Saturday May 18 our temple was “All Shook Up” by Terry Buchwald, as he performed all the Elvis favorites to almost 150 people. A big thank you goes out to all who helped put this event on: our crack bartenders David Cammarano and Kenny Beckwith, Patty Cammarano, the Directors Staff for doing the food, but most especially the,Caldwell family – Dennis, Bertie, Tammy Caldwell Patterson, and Ashley Kennedy for planning, organizing, and decorating the,temple for Elvis. Everyone had a great time.
There are a few upcoming events I would like to point out. First is Erie Hospital Day on June 2. Ismailia will be well represented by Nobles and their families. Second is St. Johns Day in Utica. Grand Master Rubin has asked the Shriners to participate in the parade the morning of June 22 @ the Masonic Care Community. June 29-July 5th is the Imperial session in Reno, Nevada, and lastly the potentate’s reception will be on July 20 and will be a casual Hawaiian themed party featuring a pig roast, brisket, smoked chicken and all the fixins. You can register by calling the office or going to the website and downloading the forms. This is a casual family-friendly event. Please wear your best Hawaiian clothes (Hawaiian shirts, shorts, Mumu, sandals, etc). In other words, no formal or semi formal attire. Prior to the reception on Saturday @ noon we will be having a corn hole tournament at Russells. All of the proceeds from the tournament will go to 2 different charities and there will be prizes awarded. Well that’s it for now. I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend – see you in July.
Fraternally, Mike P. Ferraro
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May 21, 2024 | Potentate's Message
May is upon us, and I am happy to say spring has finally sprung. I hope you all enjoyed the eclipse; I know for our family it was uneventful due to the cloud cover. April was a busy month. April 1 was the Dyngus Day Parade – thanks to those who were able to attend. April 9 I had the honor of attending the Gowanda Shrine Club meeting; the Divan along with PP Doug Blajszczak, PP Don Holben, PP Gary Crewson, PP Earl Knauss, & John Markuse traveled to Erie Hospital and presented them with checks totaling $5500.00 for their “Timmy’s Day Out” program. The donation was made possible thanks in part to the Directors staff, the Lockport Shrine Club, the Oasis, and the fish fry wait-staff tip money. The NYOSA conference was April 19-21 and was attended by Chief Rabban James Mirusso and Lady Sue, High Priest and Prophet Ted Clark and Lady Kary, PP Doug Blajszczak, Lady Janet Lachut, & PP Michael Hackford and Lady Kimberly. I unfortunately could not at- tend the spring session as I was recovering from oral surgery. I was however able to represent lsmailia by attending the Lockport Triangles Beloved Queens installation on Saturday April 20. It was an honor to be there and see our Chaplain Brian Ar- cand’s daughter Zooey get installed as Beloved Queen. Zooey chose Sleep in Heavenly Peace as her charity which provides beds and bedding to underprivileged youth across the country, so next time you see Zooey volunteering at the shrine whether it is bussing tables or helping at the Feztival of trees please be sure to con- gratulate her. April 26, I attended the OES Grand Matron and Patron visit to the Niagara Orleans District, and rounding out April was the Rameses Potentates Ball on April 27. Congratulations to Illustrious Sir John Domonkos and Lady Elizabeth. There are quite a few happenings in the coming month. May 8 is our stated session, May 10 is our spring ceremonial – please come and welcome our new nobles and bring your families if you are so inclined. May 18 is the Terry Buchwald concert, and lastly Memorial Day weekend looks to be an extremely busy one this year. May 24 and 25 – not only is there the Amish Relief Auction in the Conewango Valley but there is also the bluegrass feztival to benefit Erie Hospital at the Chautauqua County fairgrounds in Dunkirk. Please if you are able come and attend. Wear your Fez and show your support; the music will run from 5-10 on Friday and 1-10 on Saturday. That weekend is also full of parades across Western NY that our various shrine clubs and units will be participating in. One quick housekeeping item: please if you go into the back garage for any reason make sure the garage door closes before you leave. We have had way too many instances of late where the garage has been found wide open early in the morning, the last time being Friday April 19. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the amazing moms who read this a very Happy Mother’s Day. May your day be filled with love and relaxation. Lastly St. Johns Day weekend is June 20-23 and Deputy Grand Master Steven Adam Rubin has asked for Shriners to be there to march. Not only has he asked for Shriners but he is requesting anyone who has a mini car or is a clown to come and participate. Once I have more specifics I will let you know.
Fraternally, Mike P. Ferraro
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Apr 21, 2024 | Potentate's Message
Well, it’s now April – where has the time gone? The year is moving at a fevered pace, the fish fries were a success and as always it takes a lot of volunteers, and I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all those who have volunteered in the kitchen, dining room, and selling basket raffle tickets. All your help is greatly appreciated by all. This past weekend was the sportsman show at the Erie County fairgrounds and we sold close to 100 tickets. A special thanks goes out to Michael Hackford, Don Holben, Richard Mix, Greg Wolf, Christian and Dick Henderson, Tim Noll, Ted Clark, and my wife Lady Suzanne for manning the booth and selling tickets. Tickets for the sportsman raffle are currently available in the shrine office. Tickets for our annual jewelry raffle are also available in the shrine office. This year there are 23 items on the ticket including 2 gift cards one of which is for $500 donated by Robertson and Bach Jewelers; thank you Bob Robertson and Roxanne O’Malley for your donation. On May 18 Terry Buchwald will be performing at lsmailia and the directors will be selling food for the event. July 20 is my potentate’s reception which will be a Hawaiian themed party that will be a casual affair featuring a pig roast, brisket and some smoked chicken. Now onto some housekeeping: after consulting with our insurance agents, it has been determined that the use of shrine vehicles should be reserved for official shrine business and the transportation of patients to and from the hospitals. With that said we are always in need of “roadrunners” to trans- port our patients. If you have some spare time and are interested in doing so please get your name, date of birth, and drivers license info to the shrine office and Charlie Turner so your name can be given to our insurance company. Thanks to the tips that were received from the fish fries we purchased 2 changing tables for the bathrooms, 1 of which has already been placed in the ladies room, the second will be placed in the men’s room before you read this note. Also, I was notified the other day by the chairman of the Erie hospital board that April 17 the board will be recognizing lsmailia at their monthly board meeting. I plan on attending the meeting – hopefully we can have a good showing from lsmailia. Lastly, I would like to wish PP Ron Bigger and Lady Rita good fortune as the embark on their next chapter and relocate to the St. Louis Missouri area later this month; God speed and good fortune Ron and Rita.
Fraternally, Mike P. Ferraro
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Mar 21, 2024 | Potentate's Message
First I would like to start off by congratulating out- going LoH commander Robin Gradle on his successful year and congratulate Ill. Sir Doug Foss on his installation as commander of the lsmailia Legion of Honor. The Passing of the Gavel was held on February 3 and we had multiple dignitaries in town for it including the IALOH commander, 1st Lt. Commander, and the GLSA 2nd LT commander. Also in attendance was a LoH contingent from Mocha Shriners in London Ontario Canada. The food, camaraderie, and the installation were excellent. Secondly some of you may have seen that during our last snowstorm, the weight of the snow destroyed our shelter over the BBQ pit. All the metal roofing has been salvaged by Richard Mix and we will start looking to see what parts of the structure can be salvaged so we can rebuild it better and stronger than before. The meat raffle was held on February 24 and I am sure as always a good time was had by all.
Lenten Fish fries kicked off on Ash Wednesday which also happened to be Valentine’s Day and will continue every Friday through March 29. If you are looking for a way to get involved, volunteering at fish fries is a good way. We have multiple fundraisers starting up again including a quilt raffle and daily numbers. Sportsman raffle tickets are also available in the office. This year we are trying something new – the tickets are still going to be $20 each, but we are also offering 6 for $100.00. Tickets for the $10,000.00 drawing are still available and the drawing will be held on March 23. March 8-10 is the WNY Sportsman expo @ the Erie County fairgrounds and we could use some help there selling sportsman raffle tickets as well as raffle tickets for a crossbow. April 19 – 21 is the spring NYOSA conference in Saratoga Springs, NY and lastly if you have young boys in your family ages 12-21 please con- sider involving them in DeMolay. There are currently 5 chapters in WNY (Lockport, Fredonia, West Seneca, Olean, and Amherst). If you have younger boys age 9-12 they can be involved in the DeMolay Squire program and don’t worry if you have young ladies in your household – there is the Organization of Triangle which is for young ladies ages 10-21 and they have a “Rosebud” program for girls under 10.
Also you will see an ad in this month’s Smile for DaPinchy’s landscaping. DaPinchy’s is owned by Jeromy Michael Stacey. Jeromy is one of our Shrine patients who lost his hands in August of 1998 when he was 9 years old. He was electrocuted by high voltage wires. He spent 3 months in the burn unit in Cincinnati before being able to go home. Now Jeromy runs a business and is an avid outdoorsman. This year he harvested a trophy buck. So if you have any landscaping needs please consider giving Jeromy a call.
As always thank you for your support and thank you for being a Shriner!!!
Fraternally, Mike P. Ferraro
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Jan 1, 2024 | Potentate's Message
Nobles, Ladies, Families, & Friends:
I would like to start this off by thanking and congratulating Illustrious Sir. Ron Bigger and Lady Rita on a very successful year and wish them well with all their future plans. I would also like to thank the love of my life, Lady Suzanne and my pride and joy, my son Joseph for all their love and support because, without our significant others and our families we wouldn’t be able to do the things we do to help our Shrine kids. I also want to congratulate our elected Divan Chief Rabban Noble Jim Mirusso, Assistant Rabban Noble Jay Godios, High Priest & Prophet Noble Ted Clark, Oriental Guide Noble Justin Brown, Treasurer Ill. David Freund, and Treasurer Ill. Joe Hoerner.
This year is going to be about doing “more in ’24” and what I mean by that is more fun, more fellowship, more family, and more growth with an emphasis on fun. There are quite a few events planned for this year and I am hoping most of them will be family friendly. The Potentate’s reception in July will be casual and we will have activities and food for the kids, so please bring them.
To our newer Nobles and your families, if you are looking for a way to get involved, please consider coming and helping out in the Oasis. Our Lenten fish fries are fast approaching. They start on February 14, 2024 and will continue every Friday through Lent. We could always use help in the kitchen and in the dining room there is always plenty to do. Also consider coming and helping at our chicken or rib BBQs. The fellowship is second to none. Same goes for one of the many raffles that we have going on throughout the year, the first being the meat raffle on Saturday February 24. Please reach out to anyone of the Divan or the office if you are interested in helping. If you are looking for a way for your kids to get involved in our greater Masonic family, please consider enrolling your sons ages 12-21 in a DeMolay chapter. There are 5 currently in WNY: Olean, Fredonia, West Seneca, Amherst, and Lockport; or for your daughters ages 10-21 there is Triangle and there are 2 of those chapters in WNY: 1 in Amherst, the other in Akron. Both are fantastic. DeMolay offers the Squires program for boys ages 9-12 and Triangle has Rosebuds for ages 5-9.
In conclusion I would like to thank the Nobility, the Divan, and all our Shrine Ladies and families for all their support and encouragement over the last few years. It has been greatly appreciated. A special thank you to the Lockport Shrine Club for all their support, especially to Joe Daniels, Peter Stein, and Richard Lugo who started me on my Shrine adventure.
Fraternally,
Mike P. Ferraro
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