Fred Maynard

August 2023

Late June and July has been a busy Shrine month for me and Lady Traci. We ended June with a trip to our home in Kentucky, while there we had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Potentate’s Ball celebration at El Hasa Shrine Temple in Ashland, KY. Illustrious Sir TJ Toler & Lady Tina had a wonderful weekend full of events that even included having a live camel at the Saturday afternoon luncheon before the Arabian Nights themed ball. We had the opportunity to meet and hangout with some of our OG counterparts from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio.

We followed this up with an amazing trip to the Shiners Imperial Session in Charlotte where we met Shriners from all over the world.

Sitting in on the Imperial session business meetings was interesting and gave me some insight into how Shriners International operates. I attended two membership seminars, both of which dealt with how to form new clubs and units to meet the needs and wants of our membership. I attended a seminar on branding for Temples, Units, and Clubs. We also had the pleasure of attending the International Association of Legions of Honor meeting that was held during the Imperial session. If you have never had the opportunity to attend an Imperial Convention, you should make a plan to get there. There is so much fun and fellowship to have with our Shrine Brothers and their Ladies. It is always the first week in July so get out of the Texas heat and take a vacation. Next year’s convention will be held in Reno, NV so it should be a great time.

Fred Maynard

Oriental Guide

"Stay Ben Hur Proud"