Papyrus Magazine April 2020

April 2020
Volume 41 Number 2

POTENTATE’S MESSAGE

Illustrious Sir William C. “Bill” Sweet
Potentate

I have been told many times by people with experience that time will fly by in your Potentate’s year. I can now confirm that statement to be unequivocally true. The first quarter of 2020 will be in the books by the time you read this.

It was a fine first quarter! Lady Barbara and I presided at thirteen Installations during that time. Some nasty weather kept our travels a little too interesting but with some help with driving all was accomplished without any misfortune. Everywhere we went we were met with outstanding generosity, kindness and smiling Shriners. It makes one feel great pride in our fraternity. Way to go everyone.

January can never be complete without the “Whitefish Curling Bonspiel” held by the Sheba Shrine Club in Barrie. The word is tilting toward a resumption of a Friday evening curling start. That would be fantastic. In the meantime, the Sheba Nobles have been making excellent lemonade from the lemons they have been given. There is always ample high-quality food on the menu, not a stale drink served to any participant and a fine banquet on Saturday evening. This is a must-attend event Nobles. Start preparing your teams for next year now. You can find some great instructional programs on TSN Season of Champions.

We had a good Finance meeting on February 29 at HQ. Everyone should have a financial statement report and an Oasis Green coloured 2020 Directory by now. We had an envelope stuffing party on February 17 to be sure the mail was not late for the meeting. Even some drudgery can be fun at times. Ill. Sir Robert McGregor P.P. filled in as Recorder on the meeting day and proved that he has still got it. The afternoon was completed after the close of the meeting with a presentation to the assembled Nobles by “Social Know How”, the professional company we have engaged to carry out our social media campaign for membership.

The social media campaign timeline began in early January when we signed the contract. Research about the Shrine and development of marketing strategies proceeded until February, and then Social Media Accounts were created. In the first week of March, content was created, such as videos and a landing page, and the Websites were launched. The campaign will run through March to August, gathering potential Shriners info. Internally, Rameses will have to convert these interested Masons into Shriners with personal contacts. There is a lot of work to be done. Please volunteer some of your time to assist in this important campaign.

The last issue to deal with is one of great concern. The COVID-19 pandemic. I have issued a statement and some guidance material regarding this important issue. Even if we govern ourselves well, there are severe consequences occurring that are out of our control. We must continue to be resilient and stay calm.

Remember to . . .   Focus On Our Future