On June 21st, expanded board day, at Philadelphia Shriners Hospital for Children, Illustrious Sir Fred Imler Sr., Emeritus Member of the Board of Governors, was honored to have members from the Knights of Columbus to present a check for $4500. Accepting the check on behalf of the hospital were Noble Robert DeCastro Chairman of the Donor Relations Committee for Philadelphia, Noble Jon Swartz Chairman of The Board of Governors for Philadelphia and Stephanie Herron, Head of Donor Relations for Shriners International Tampa FL.
This is the 20th year the Knights of Columbus have made a donation to Philadelphia. In their 20 years of supporting the hospital, they have donated over $100,000.
To all nobles, ladies and friends of Jaffa Shriners, I hope you all had a happy holiday season with friends and family.
With the election now behind us, it’s time to get down to business. You may have heard me say that no other corporation changes its CEO every year and a major corporation like Jaffa should be no different. However we must, therefore the Divan
has been meeting on a regular basis during the past year to begin planning for 2018 and beyond. We’ve developed a 5-year strategic plan so that we can consistently continue the direction and focus of Jaffa Shrine.
We will need the help of every noble in order to achieve our goals: physically, administratively and financially. Many hands will help to lighten the workload. Over the next couple of years, we are looking at many structural improvements to preserve the beautiful and historical facility that we call “home.” Membership is the foundation of our fraternity and bringing in new members is very important as well as preserving our current membership. Within your units and clubs, please make sure all feel welcomed and needed.
Our divan has been busy helping plan many events for 2018. A new event—the Mountain City Beer and Wine Festival—was held January 20. We hope to make this first time event an annual fundraiser for Jaffa. Other events to keep in mind are the annual Sports Show February 23-25, The NEW truck raffle, with the winning ticket to be drawn on the last day of the Sports Show, the Potentate’s Reception on March 24 and the 79th Annual Jaffa Shrine Circus April 9-15. I will keep you updated with information about these events and those that will follow in upcoming Jaffa Journals.
My lady Sue and I have some fun trips lined up. The first is an all inclusive trip to Punta Cana June 3-10. We’ve got an exciting year planned and I hope to see many nobles and their ladies come out and join the fun. Together, we can make Jaffa great!
My motto: FUN FAMILY FRATERNITY
Bob and Sue
The Jaffa Kiddies Christmas Party has been a long tradition at our shrine facility. As a new member of Jaffa in 1969, I remember the large turnout of shriners and their families sitting down to a full course turkey dinner with mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, and filling, with a slice of ice cream and a thumb print cookie for dessert.
Previous to my membership, the Christmas party was held for the benefit of several orphanages in Central Pennsylvania. Those children were brought in for the big dinner, with Santa’s arrival in the auditorium in a sleigh drawn by two reindeer – formerly employed in the 11th Avenue windows of Gable’s Department Store in Downtown Altoona during the yule tide season.
With the disappearance of the orphanages in the area, the dinner was then put on for the children, grandchildren and friends of shriners covering the entire jurisdiction from the New York border to the Mason Dixon line and from Blairsville in the west to Lewistown in the east.
Various menus have been utilized after the traditional feast was no longer favored. Too many children were not interested in a full course dinner, but more interested in going up to the auditorium floor and running around with their new found friends in anticipation of Santa’s arrival.
One potentate’s son had a pizza business and we could get a good price on pizza, but that didn’t work out as well as anticipated. Then somebody suggested that all kids like spaghetti, and that has become the standard fare recently.
At one time the bag of gifts presented by Santa and Mrs. Clause and their helpers, included a large rubber ball, a slinky toy, numerous other toys, a pop corn ball, and apple or orange, and an assorted box of candy from Boyer Brothers.
Recently it was discovered there are numerous needy families in the area who could use some help at Christmas, and our new chairman for the Christmas Party, Lanny Edwards and his wife Lynn have assembled a hard working committee that get the names of those we could help. That committee is now working to get the invitations out to those we are hosting and assess their needs.
Last year’s party was a great success, and Lanny and his committee are to be commended on an outstanding event. We’re looking forward to this year’s party. Bring your family, add to and enjoy the festivities. Santa will be looking our for you. He’s making a list and checking it twice.
Usually at the ceremonial prior to the Christmas Party, there is an opportunity for nobles to contribute to the fund at dinner before the ceremonial. Give generously. It’s a worthy cause.
Submitted by Ray Nycum, Jr.
The purpose of the JYN Club is to assist new Nobles of the Jaffa Shrine in activities, Masonic and Shrine education, networking, and fellowship. We are also here to aid in Nobles who are not sure which Unit to join. Too often Nobles are lost after their Ceremonial, and the idea is through this Club we will hopefully maintain a better communication and relationship with them so they may become actively engaged and involved at Jaffa. This club is for new Nobles of ALL AGES. Upon completion of the new Noble’s ceremonial they will automatically become a member of this club. We will reach out to them by gathering their contact information on the day of their ceremonial.
In the future the club would like to have on hand applications for all of the Units at Jaffa. We will then educate new Nobles on all of the Units at Jaffa during our meetings. This will be a good way for new Nobles who are undecided about a Unit selection to become informed on all of the Units and obtain an application for whichever unit they decide to join.
Secondly, as you may or may not be aware, the 23rd Street Lounge is presently being updated for the better use of our Nobility. This project will unveil a new ‘Oasis Lounge’ for all Nobles, their Ladies and guests, to enjoy within our mutual home. The project is being spear-headed by The JYN Club, but is open to all Nobles for ideas, input, and work relations! Please note: this is not our room; it is for everyone to utilize.
We want, and need, your advice, assistance, connections, and expertise in this matter. To date, the old carpet has been ripped up and the old glue scraped off of the floor. We are in the planning stages of electrical, plumbing, and painting. If you, or your Unit, would like to assist, please let us know!
To this point, and as part of the decor of the new Oasis Lounge, we are asking that each Unit donate one (1) item, preferably of historic note, to the Lounge. We are also asking for one Jaffa Unit Fez. We will proudly display these, so all who walk in are inspired by our 112+ years of Shrinedom and the family within our walls. By readily displaying your Unit’s heritage and history, we hope to answer questions from new Nobles as well.
We provided all of the units a letter similar to what is stated in this email at a recent Unit Head Meeting. Therefore, all units should have the information to provide to their members who may want to provide input for the lounge room. The idea as of now is to equip the Lounge room with items such as a pool table, television, furniture etc.
We do not have all of the answers yet, but we are open to questions, ideas, and concerns. Thank you, to all of Jaffa’s Units, for allowing us to aid and assist in the betterment of our Nobility.
Robur et Furor,
The JYN Club
Vince Finochio, President
vincent.finochio@gmail.com (814) 932-8505
David Dodson, Jr., Vice-President
ddodsonjr@atlanticbb.net (814) 932-0571
Dave Bithell, 2nd Vice-President
DBithell@centurylink.net (814) 660-1716
Tim Brinkmeyer – Divan Rep.
trbrinkmeyer27@gmail.com (317) 903-6013