potentate's notes

Illustrious Sir Jeff Downing
and Lady Laura

Greetings Nobles and Ladies,
The Sportsman's Raffle is officially a wrap for this year! Illustrious Sir Phil Brack is still tallying numbers and hopes to have a financial report available for the May business meeting. But a "seat of the pants" estimate of the event tells me we did very well! I have been told we had over 1200 people show up to Circus Park for the Raffle. We were blessed with a sunny day with the temperature reaching nearly 80 degrees. That was a good thing, as it allowed the majority of our crowd to sit outside under two large tents and enjoy the fresh air. We had our best 50/50 raffle yet, paying the winner $3300. Next time you see Assistant Rabban Greg Cartwright, have him buy you a drink with his winnings! I can't thank our Events Committee and our Sportsman's Raffle Committee enough for putting on such an awesome event! Thanks to all the volunteers that showed up and helped out. Your hard work was greatly appreciated.

There is an addition to our calendar for May. We are going to have a Circus Park cleanup day on Sunday, May 15th. There are some limbs down on the property that need to be moved, flowerbeds that need attending to, and general outdoor maintenance that needs to be addressed. And if the stars align and everything falls into place, we may try to put our flagpole at the entrance up then and tend to a few lights that need some work. Those repairs will depend on the weather and availability of equipment. Regardless, if you feel like lending a hand, we'd be happy to see you there.

Don't forget our May business meeting on the 11th. Dinner will be served at 6PM and the meeting will start at 7PM.

June 4th we will be having our Shriners' Run 5K event at Circus Park. The event is open to runners and walkers, and participants that register before May 22 will get an official Shriners' Run shirt. Also, the first 200 registrants will receive a finisher medal! The best part, if you are busy that day and still want to support the Run, you can register for the Virtual 5K and run it at any time. As long as you register early, you will still get a shirt and finisher medal. Visit our 5K Run page on our website - www.ekshrine.com/shriners-run and register today.

June is also our next "Open" business meeting! We are excited to have Bob Conley, Past Grand Master of Michigan Masons, and his wife, Dr. JoNeil Conley as our guest speakers. If you haven't had a chance to hear them speak, you need to be at the June business meeting. And as an open meeting, everyone is invited - spouses, neighbors, friends, and anyone else! We will eat at 6PM and start the meeting at 7PM.

Keep our sick and shut-ins, military and first responders, and especially our Shrine kids in your prayers!

Fraternally,
Jeff Downing
Potentate - 2022

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