Ismailia Shriners

Hello Nobles, ladies, and families, it’s that time of year again where weather is a concern to all of us here in WNY. This cold and some of these snows have not been seen in a few years. The lake may freeze for the first time in quite a while. That having been said, we have had an occurrence where we closed the office early or didn’t open one day, at all. It is always good to check before heading out to Ismailia as the weather by your house may be completely different than that 3-4 miles away. Be weather safe and use caution everyone. The Installation of Officers was January 11th, and it was a nice afternoon event. Many braved the cold weather and joined us. I’d like to thank Divan members from Damascus in Rochester for making the trip. It was great to see members of the Allegheny Shrine club make the trip as well. A big thank you to Judy Murdoch, Janet Lachut and Jan Freund for their assistance with making the event go off smoothly; their help was gratefully appreciated. Thank you to Noble Dave Cammarano, again, bartender extraordinaire. It was great to hear the wise words of MW RJ Kessler as our guest speaker; thank you for your support Grand Master. And finally, our faithful, diligent director of the event P.P. Dan Walther, as master of ceremonies. January and February are a little quiet this year, but we will be getting very active very soon around Ismailia. We will have a Feztival of Trees recap of 2024 and a strategic planning session of the 2025 Feztival on Feb. 6th at 6pm. The Legion of Honor will have its passing of the Gavel February 8th and P.P. Ill. Sir Bill Adam will be installed as Commander; see their article for details. The Nile has bingo on Saturday the 15th. The Famous Ismailia Meat Raffle is on February 22nd; this is one of the premier events on the calendar and a great deal of fun. The Meat Raffle takes many hands to work. I thank you all for your past support and we’d love to see you come out and if possible, help where needed for this large event. As lent approaches we will be back at the Friday Fish Fry. We will not do Ash Wednesday this year as in the past, just the Friday events. See the Chief Rabban article for details on a Lent Fish Fry organizational meeting coming up. I am proud to inform you that Ill Sir Michael Ferraro is now on the board at Shriners Hospital, Springfield, Ma. He has taken on a post we have been remiss in not filling for years. Thank you Illustrious Sir. That having been said we are in the process of having a representative from Springfield come to the May 14th Stated session to let our Nobility and ladies know about the activities and care options at their hospital. Details will follow – watch next month’s Smile. Finally, this year’s Imperial Convention is in Atlanta, Ga., in July. This event is relatively close and is a drivable destination. It will be in the heart of the city near Peach Street and offers great entertainment and regional attractions. We have entered with Ziyara Shriners and are running a joint Hospitality suite for the event as well. Please express interest with Wende in the office and a full package detail will be out by mid-February. If you have never been to NYOSA (open to all nobles) the Imperial Convention, or one of our wonderful medical facilities, you are missing out on some of the reasons we exist as a fraternity – people, working together to further a cause. That cause is Shriners International and our charity Shriners Hospitals for Children. Let’s continue to Thrive in 2025!

Fraternally, James Mirusso

 

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