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A Message From Douglas E. Maxwell
Imperial Potentate 2008-2009 Hi Everyone, Patricia and I both wish to say hello to all of you. To all we have already have had the pleasure and fun of visiting with this summer and fall, we say thank you for all the wonderful times you have shared with us. You have made us so very welcome within your shrine families and we have enjoyed every minute… (well, except for those few occasions where the airlines lost Patricia’s luggage). We hope you enjoyed the Imperial Session in St Louis, with the new format of the Imperial Potentate being elected in his hometown, versus going there as he ends his term of office. It lent itself to increased “media coverage”, as the media always identifies more with the “New Chairman” coming from their own area. And, everyone seemed to have definitely enjoyed our new format for “Representatives Night” with the “Beach Boys in Concert”. Mike Love called the next day and said…”You Shriners…you were really fun last night”. We have traveled to many locations since July and have found our Shrine Fraternity strong and indeed growing!! I attribute that to the hard work of our nobles and ladies who love the fraternity as much as we do. We love the stories we hear of our ladies joining their men, in recruiting new members and patients for our hospitals. It is a wonderful thing for all of us to work together for a common goal that is greater than ourselves. At the Mid-Atlantic Shrine Assn. held in Virginia Beach this September, they had their first MASA ceremonial that brought in new young shriners from as far away as South America. It was honor to be there and to give them the “Oath of a Noble”. But our shores were not the only place that we observed the shrine growing. On October 11th, in a palace in Vienna, Austria, as part of our International Development, Imperial Sir Al Madsen, the Imperial Chaplain Barry Todd, and I, again participated in a ceremonial. We now have new nobles across the Atlantic who hold our cause dear and sacred. It was an event I wish all of you could have shared. Shrinedom is growing in Europe and around the globe… obviously the good works, brotherhood and fellowship we all know, is sought after in other locations too. It makes me proud to know that others wish to join us in our shrine journey. Hopefully this past weekend, you saw the Shrine’s first annual “Justin Timberlake/Shriners Hospitals for Children… Las Vegas PGA Open”… golf tournament, on the Golf Channel, or perhaps even participated at the course as a volunteer. This tournament is sponsored by Shriners, to let more of our fellow citizens know, that Shriners are in the business of taking care of children… “At no cost to the families”…as we have been doing for the past 86 years. We are co-partnered with Justin Timberlake in this event. (If you don’t know who he is, ask your kids…maybe your grandkids!!) On Friday evening October 17th, before a sold out house of 7500 fans, at Planet Hollywood, Justin had a concert… “Justin Timberlake and Friends”… to benefit our beloved Shriners hospitals. A few of the guest performers were the Jonas Brothers, Boyz to Men, Rhianna, and a special guest friend of Justin’s, Lionel Ritchie, who was introduced as a Shriner. It was quite an event. Patricia and I…. may not have known all the current generation of “Pop Performers”, but the audience under 35 years of age certainly did. How wonderful it was to watch all those young people in attendance, appreciate what Shriners have been doing for children for all of these years. They had a first hand introduction to the Shrine philanthropy. The concert raised over $1,000,000.00 for the hospitals, but more than that it raised awareness. There were signs all over Las Vegas telling of this “Sold Out” Star Studded event for the benefit of Shriner’s Hospitals for Children. And this annual “Justin and Friends” concert will only get better each year. On Wednesday of the tournament, the “Celebrity/ Pro Am” portion was a great spectator event and will be a big draw again next year. Patricia really enjoyed seeing Josh Duhamel of the “Vegas” TV Series, the actor Greg Kinnear, professional pitcher Greg Maddux, Olympian Amanda Beard, and Ellen DeGeneres… a few of the celebrities who attended. This Celebrity Event, as the excitement of this years event becomes known, will also continue to grow each year. Our Golf Tournament even made it on “Entertainment Tonight” as Justin spoke so favorably about our hospital system. This weeks “Sports Illustrated” magazine, also had a wonderful write-up about our “Tournament” and Shriners Hospitals. If you have traveled through any airports with PGA Shops this past month, you would have also have seen large ads telling of the golf event. The public saw our name “Shriner’s Hospitals for Children” in a way we have never had before Even Bill O’Riley… under his section on “Patriots and Pinheads”, called Justin a patriot for supporting such a noble cause as Shriners Hospitals. All told, I’ve been informed that we have received more than $12 million dollars of publicity. The growth in Europe and beyond is so very positive for the fraternity… and our new golf event is so good, not only for promoting the fraternity, but allowing a window… for the world to look in and see our hospitals. I wish I could share with you the number of people who came up to Patricia and I, and all of the shriners who were volunteering and telling all of us… “Thank You for all you do”. Then they would proceed to tell personal stories of friends or family members who we have helped. This is what we do…this is who we are, and the world is seeing it too. This has been an exciting and wonderful fall for our fraternity and the hospitals. I look forward with excitement and anticipation to the future for both the fraternity and the hospitals. It is a great time to be in the shrine or to have a friend join. Our future looks bright on so many fronts. I invite you, to invite others to be a part of this adventure, we are indeed having fun with a noble purpose, so let’s be sure and spread the word. They can’t join…if we don’t ask!!! Fraternally yours, Your Imperial Potentate and First Lady Doug Maxwell & Lady Patricia |
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Shriners International Headquarters
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