Volume Springfield, Massachusetts 4, Issue 2 February 2017 INSIDE SPECIAL INSTALLATION ISSUE MEET NEW LOW MAN P4, P5 TURRINI ELECTED POTENTATE FOR 2017 P1, P9 CHILI COOK-OFF GOES ON THE ROAD P1, P9, P13 “LEAVING THE CLOWN SHOES FOR THE CLOWNS” BY MEG MOORE P14, P15 SHRINERS NEWS NEW CHIEF OF STAFF, BURN AWARENESS WEEK P10 POTENTATE’S MESSAGE P2 FROM THE RECORDER, SHRINE LIFE CYCLES P3, P4 MELHA UNITS & CLUBS P6, P7, P8 MELHA LADIES P11 EVENT CALENDAR BACK PAGE The Chili Cook- off Goes On The Road By Michael Robinson Personal contact is what Shonn Monday, creator of the ‘Sportsman Chili Cook-off’, says, will bring more of the Continued on page 9 Raymond Turrini Elected Potentate For 2017 By Michael Robinson At the 2017 Annual Meeting held on January 6th, Ray Tur- rini was unanimously voted to succeed Ill. Brian Connor as Melha’s 107th Potentate. Anthony Langone and Jack Greaves were elected to new terms as Melha Trustees with Alan Couture as 2017 Chair. Jeffrey Gopin and Edward Shore III were both elected to new terms as Administrators. RAYMOND A. TURRINI BIOGRAPHY Raymond Anthony Turrini was born to the late Albert and Julie Turrini on March 25,1961 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He was raised and educated in in Agawam, MA graduating from Agawam High School and later attending Springfield Technical Community College. Continued on page 4 Bob Wool & Shonn Monday on Mass Appeal charming the audience and ‘hawking’ chili. Photo by Bert Krasner. The Turrini family: Illustrious Ray & First Lady Denise and sons Mario and Michael Turrini “All you need is love” issue Photo by Bert Krasner. Smile! One of the Camelha’s valuable assets.
Transcript
Volume Springfield, Massachusetts 4, Issue 2 February 2017
InsIdespecIal InstallatIon IssueMeet new low Man
p4, p5
turrInI elected potentate For 2017p1, p9
chIlI cook-oFF goes on the roadp1, p9, p13
“leaVIng the clown shoes For the clowns” by Meg Moore
p14, p15
shrIners newsnew chIeF oF staFF, burn awareness week
p10
potentate’s Messagep2
FroM the recorder, shrIne lIFe cycles p3, p4
Melha unIts & clubsp6, p7, p8
Melha ladIesp11
eVent calendarback page The Chili Cook-
off Goes On The RoadBy Michael Robinson
Personal contact is what Shonn Monday, creator of the ‘Sportsman Chili Cook-off’, says, will bring more of the
Continued on page 9
Raymond Turrini Elected Potentate For 2017
By Michael RobinsonAt the 2017 Annual Meeting
held on January 6th, Ray Tur-rini was unanimously voted to succeed Ill. Brian Connor as Melha’s 107th Potentate. Anthony Langone and Jack Greaves were elected to new terms as Melha Trustees with
Alan Couture as 2017 Chair. Jeffrey Gopin and Edward Shore III were both elected to new terms as Administrators.
Raymond a. TuRRini BiogRaphy
Raymond Anthony Turrini
was born to the late Albert and Julie Turrini on March 25,1961 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He was raised and educated in in Agawam, MA graduating from Agawam High School and later attending Springfield Technical Community College.
Continued on page 4
Bob Wool & Shonn Monday on Mass Appeal charming the audience and ‘hawking’ chili.
Photo by Bert Krasner. The Turrini family: Illustrious Ray & First Lady Denise and sons Mario and Michael Turrini
“All you need is love” issue
Photo by Bert Krasner. Smile! One of the Camelha’s valuable assets.
Forward UNIT EVENT information for advance publication and public news releases. ‘NEWSPAPER ENTERTAIN-MENT CALENDARS’ need info submit-ted 2 weeks prior to event.
all content [Articles, Event No-tices, Event Photos] for the CAMELHA must be submitted by E-MAIL OR HARD COPY on or before the 12th of the month preceding publication.
All Classified and Billboard Ads must be submitted by the 1st of the month.
note: edItor reserVes the rIght to edIt all copy.
shrIners hospItals For chIldren516 Carew Street - 413-787-2000Springfield, MA 01104Imp Ralph W. Semb P.P. ....Chair. Bd. of Trustees Emeritus.Melha bd. oF goVernor MeMbersGeorge Sachs, Joseph Surprenant, Edward Geoffrion, Craig Kazin, Gary SurprenantWilliam Faust P.P., Associate Memberemeritus Members: Robert W. Clarke, Raymond Kalita, Edward B. Briggs, Edward Shore Jr. P.P.chairmen emeritus: Allen Zippin, P.P, Charles Weaver, P.P., Philip E. Thomas P.P., David Burstein, Esq.shrIners burns hospItal-boston51 Blossom St. Boston, MA 02114-2699617-722-3000
Melha bd. oF goVernors MeMbersDean Whalen, Russel Mitchell, PPemeritus Members: Saul Michaelson, Robert Spaulding P.P.
mELha ShRinE BuiLding133 Longhill Street Springfield, MA 01108Tel.: ............................... (413) 736-3647Fax ............................... (413) 731-9572Philip E. Thomas, P.P. - Recordere-mail: .... [email protected] Collins .......................... Secretary
pay WiTh CREdiT CaRdMelha honors Visa, MasterCard and
Discover cards. Minimum amount charged must be $20.00. You may also pay online at our web site.
use it for: Dues, Melha Events, Fezzes, Melha
Trips, etc.
2017 diVanPotentate ..................... Raymond Turrini413-297-8111Chief Rabban .........................................
Asst. Rabban ............. Glenn Surprenant413-583-8991High Prst & Prophet .......... Daniel Smith413-531-3542Oriental Guide .................... Leo Plourde413-348-3889Treasurer ................Ronald Gagnon P.P.413-568-4402Recorder ..............Philip E. Thomas P.P.413-736-36471st Cerem. Master ........Jeffrey Hastings413-896-7548Chief Director ....................Alan Stratton413-323-02682nd Cerem. Master ........... Garth Parker413-265-9996Marshal .........................Randy Wessels508-344-4472Capt. of the Guard .............Michael Cote413-262-5105
Well, I can’t believe 9 years have gone by since Ill. Ron and Lady Sally appointed us to the line. What a honor it is to be Melha’s 107th Potentate. There are so many people to thank for all of the support over the years. The last month was a whirlwind of emotions. But thanks to Ill. Ron and Ill. Phil, they both kept me on track to get ready to take over the helm. To my Brother, Ill. Brian Con-nor, what can I say about 9 years of traveling across this great country - oh, it was fun.
It was definitely an experience I will never forget.
To the Directors Staff and Past President Dean Whalen - Thank you for presenting my Potentate’s Fez. Again, this was another huge honor for me.
To the newest member of my Shrine family - Mike and Wendy Cote - Thank you for being a great choice to bring the 2017 Divan to new heights. We look forward to watch-ing you grow and helping you along your journey to the top.
To our ladies groups, - the Daughters of the Nile and La-dies Oriental Shrine of North America - I am looking for-ward to being there to help you make a great year for your groups. Rainbow and DeMo-lay - I know that you represent our future; when time allows, I and Lady Denise will be there to make our future live on through you and your efforts.
To my Lady, Denise, you
have put up with a lot over the 9 years. I don’t think I would be where I am if it weren’t for you. I love you very much. I know your project - Casts, Kids and Fracture Care at Springfield Shriners Hospital - will make a huge difference at the hospital.
This year will be all about having FUN. I can’t do it by myself. I will need everyone’s support to make Melha attrac-tive to new members. Remind-er: We are all part of the Mem-bership Team. There are many very fun and exciting events planned throughout the year to drive membership as we cel-ebrate our 120 years of service to the community. Please par-ticipate is as many as you can and share the word with all of your friends and family.
I know I may have left some people out and I apologize for that. But I’ll catch up to you throughout the year and thank you for everything that you do
to make Melha a better place. Remember always to have
fun this year. I know I will be.
Thank you. Fraternally yours,
Ray
February 2017 3
FRom ThE RECoRdER
A new program is being cre-ated by Shriners International to create a membership direc-tory. This directory will help everyone stay up-to-date and connected. In time you will be contacted by postcard request-ing a phone call to the pub-lisher. You do not have to be in the directory, you can opt out. More info will follow. In 2017 the number one issue again is membership. Noble Andrew Clough Sr. is leading the pack, please help him out. Number two priority is to support the many events that are planned with your family and some of your friends.
I do thank you Nobles in giving room naming rights to Ill. Jack Bethel. The living room is now referred to the Ill. Jack Bethel Library. Ill. Jack supported both our hospitals as a board member along with many years of devotion to Mel-ha. His estate donation to the hospital EOG system and to Melha was extremely appreci-ated.
Let’s all work together to build on our great foundation laid by our brother Nobles.
paST poTEnTaTES oF mELha ShRinE
name yearCharles Miller * .................1897-1902William H. Titus * ..............1903-1904H. Leroy Woodward * ................ 1905Charles L. Young * ............1906-1907Robert P. Cunningham * ...1908-1909Fred R. Brown * ......................... 1910Frank E. Ladd * .............. 1911 - 1912Albert E. Taylor * ........................ 1913Hugh J. Buckley * ...................... 1914Fred A. Eldred * ......................... 1915Albert E. Lerche * .............1916-1917Franklin A. Latimer * .........1918-1919Walter H. Damon *............1920-1921Fred C. Smith * .......................... 1922Harry H. Caswell * ..................... 1923Charles F. Watson * ................... 1924Charles A. Frazer * .................... 1925John A. Webster * .............1926-1927Walter S. Pease * ...................... 1928George M. Hendee * ................. 1929Harry A. Spaight * ...................... 1930Carl P. Reilly * ............................ 1931Edward S. Chase * .................... 1932Arlan M. Spencer * .................... 1933Paul H. Hosmer * ....................... 1934Henry K. Fruch * ........................ 1935Walter E. Perry * ...............1936-1937John G. Rose * .......................... 1938Norman P. Dempsey * ............... 1939Alfred J. Bird * ........................... 1940George W. Streeter * ................. 1941William L. McCleary * ................ 1942George G. Carr * ....................... 1943William E. Grobe * ..................... 1944Earl C. Daniels * ........................ 1945Dr. George W. Gray * ................ 1946Donald H. Mudd * ...................... 1947Wesley G. Stephens * ............... 1948Otto C. Kuhrt * ........................... 1949Theodore A. Wiel * .................... 1950Donald A Bartlett * ..................... 1951James Matthew * ....................... 1952
Chester W. Haynes * ................. 1953V. Frank Greis * ......................... 1954Fred S. Conkey * ....................... 1955Ralph F. Beaudry * .................... 1956Wayne H. Latham * ................... 1957Bennett W. Benson * ................. 1958Norman R. Vestor * ................... 1959Jule Kaufman * .......................... 1960Robert E. Samble * .................... 1961Richard C. Zoller * ..................... 1962Elliot Anderson * ........................ 1963John Baird * ............................... 1964Carl B. Martin Jr. * ..................... 1965H. Edward Baker * ..................... 1966Harold E. Kjoller * ...................... 1967George Aronson * ...................... 1968Maurice M. Chaffin * .................. 1969Dr. Kenneth E. Nicholson * ........ 1970Robert W. Nothacker * ............... 1971Jean R. LaCroix ......................... 1972Phillip E. Taylor * ....................... 1973John M. Samson * ..................... 1974Maurice H. Baitler * ................... 1975William G. Kavaney * ................. 1976Edward W. Bock * ...................... 1977John R. Lundgren * ................... 1978Robert D. Davis * ....................... 1979Kenneth E. Emery * ................... 1980Robert A. Meffen ....................... 1981Jack A. Butterfield * ................... 1982Allen G. Zippin ........................... 1983John E. Bethel* .......................... 1984Joseph A. Harrison* ................... 1985Donald J. Lohnes * .................... 1986Imp. Ralph W. Semb ................. 1987Gordon J. Smith * ...................... 1988Clyde O. Hooper Jr. * ................ 1989David Skolnick * ........................ 1990W. Douglas Spingler ................*1991Richard C. Bewsee .................... 1992Norman T. Maagero ................... 1993Arthur E. Hastings ..................... 1994Edward W. Shore Jr. .................. 1995Sheldon M. Titcomb ................... 1996Charles H. Weaver .................... 1997Philip E. Thomas ....................... 1998Robert G. Spaulding Jr. ............. 1999David J. Gates ........................... 2000Edgar W. Gelinas ...................... 2001Edwin A. Os * ............................ 2002Robert H. Marshall .................... 2003Anton E. Koss ............................ 2004James W. Marceau .................... 2005Tom D. Fielding ......................... 2006Kirk E. Burkins ........................... 2007James H. Blevins ....................... 2008Ronald R. Gagnon ..................... 2009Jeffrey S. Goodless ................... 2010Russell D. Mitchell ..................... 2012Edward F Griffin ........................ 2013William Faust ............................. 2014David F. Butterfield ................... 2015E. Brian Connor ......................... 2016*deceased
adminiSTRaToRSNick Creanza (Chr.) ......... 413-596-2577 Cary Miller ....................... 413-567-0514 Jeffrey Gopin ....................774-452-2110Ron Gagnon .................... 413-568-4402Edward W. Shore III ........ 413-746-6442
Life CyclesmiLLion
doLLaR CLuBIn Memory of Joyce Moore
From Noble Jeffrey & Patricia Pryor
In Memory of sverre Maagerofrom Noble Jeffrey & Patricia Pryor LOH
In Memory of rodney richardson
From the Melha Military Band
In honor of william dupreWith Grateful Appreciation
of Playing Bagpipes at the Deskavich Funeral
BLaCk CamELwalter c. goodspeed 12/30/16
howard c adams 2/10/15James L. Duffman 3/3/15
Special Election for CHIEF RABBAN Feb 1
Special Order No. 6 issued by Chris L. Smith, Imperial Potentate, states that due to a challenge of the last ballot, the election of Chief Rabban at the January 6, 2017 annual meet-ing is hereby declared to be null and void and a new elec-tion for the office of Chief Rab-ban is hereby ordered.
There will be a special meet-ing on February 1, 2017 at 7:00 PM for the purpose of electing the Chief Rabban of Melha Shriners for the ensuing year. All Melha Nobles are encour-aged to attend. Your vote is im-portant. A 2017 Dues Card and a picture ID will be required as well as your Fez.
mELha ShRinE
4 Melha shriners
2017 Installation of OfficersturrInI potentateContinued from page 1
Turrini became a police officer at Springfield Technical Com-munity College in 1983 and has been employed there for over 34 years.
Ray married Denise, nee Boissonneault, in July 1985 and started their family in West Springfield. Ray has three sons Anthony, Mario and Michael and two grand-daughters Ravyn and Scarlet. The Turrinis attend Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Springfield, where Ray once served as altar boy.
In 1996 Ray started his Ma-sonic career being raised in Elm-Belcher Lodge in Aga-wam, MA. III. Russ Mitchell recommended him in 2004 for membership in Melha Shrine and Ray was Fezzed on Dec. 3, 2005. In 2008 during his year as Potentate, Ill. Ron Gagnon appointed Ray to be his Cap-tain of the Guard (Low Man).
Ray is a member of the Di-rectors Unit and served as their Secretary, the Melha Riders and Melha Clowns. He is also a member of the Royal Order of Jesters Court 144 and a proud member of West Springfield Assembly 79 International Or-der of Rainbow for Girls.
Interestingly Ray’s two youngest boys are past patients of Shriners Hospital for Chil-dren Springfield.
Photos by Bert Krasner & Carla Wessels
mELha ShRinE
February 2017 5
Meet ‘Low Man’ Mike Cote
Michael Raymond Cote was born February 21, 1963 in Woonsocket RI. Moving to Foxboro, MA., Mike attended public schools and graduated from Foxboro High School in 1981. On May 2, 1988 he applied for and was hired as a firefighter for the City of Springfield, MA where he still is employed today. Michael also worked part time as an EMT for Charter Ambulance from 1990 to 1994.
Michael’s Masonic career started October 16, 2000 be-ing raised as Master Mason in Elm-Belcher Lodge. He served as Worshipful Master in 2004.
Mike, having two daugh-ters, got deeply involved with supporting the Rainbow Girls organization and was installed on the Advisory Board of the
2017 Installation of OfficersPhotos by Bert Krasner & Carla Wessels
West Springfield Assembly Rainbow Girls in January of 2004. Mike donned the Fez as a Melha Shriner in March 21, 2001. He joined 21-45 Club and played for the Melha Shri-ners Softball team from 2001 to 2013. Mike joined the Rid-ers unit and served as its presi-dent in 2015.
Currently, Michael is mem-ber of the Melha Riders, Past Masters and plays the Bag-pipes as a Highlander.
mELha ShRinE uniTS & CLuBS
6 Melha shriners
Shrine UnitS
CLoWnSBy Jerry “ Fix-It” Ducharme, Chief Clown
February is here and so is your favorite clown article so read and enjoy. As you read in last months article I was to be-come chief clown for the year 2017 and guess what, it hap-pened, I am excited and ner-vous and overjoyed along with a plethora of other emotions. If you missed the clown instal-lation it is to bad because not only were you invited it it was amazing. We had great food and an even better installation of officers by non other than Past Chief Tony Leroux as-sisted buy Imperial Sir Ralph Semb who made a surprise visit to help out. I can not tank these gentlemen enough for a memorable time.
We are well underway in the new year and are planning great things in your clown unit. Circus stuff is starting to flow and so are the gigs. for all you guys that may have not put on your clown in a while I urge you to dust off your nose and get out there. We are striving to be the best we can be and look for your help in doing so. So lets see you and be ready to have some fun.
We brought in a new asso-ciate/apprentice member last month by the name of Mike Knuerr. Join me and welcome him when you see him. He re-cently had surgery on the 13th of January and believe it or not
got a ride and showed up to our installation the very next day. I call that commitment to broth-erhood and the unit. He wanted to be there and support the unit so lets all take a page from Mike and get back to the fun and brotherhood in clowning.
Well that’s all I have for now. Lots of stuff going on and com-ing up so get up get made up and get out there. Until next month, Bump-A-Nose.
dRum CoRpSby Jim Marceau,PP
I can’t even begin to express how I feel after the annual meeting this year! All I know is that we will all have to show true character, man up, and move forward, I congratulate Ill. Ray Turrini on his election. He has a mammoth task to deal with right from the start. I wish him luck.
On the Drum Corps scene, we had a successful ensemble performance at the Daughters of the Nile holiday get together. We all managed to eat without dropping food on our shirts, and in public, too! First time for everything. Talking about food, our thanks go out to Avi and Nancy for stuffing us to the max with some wonder-ful dishes. We appreciate the effort. Wasn’t it great to just get together without having to rehearse? Even President Ron was mellow. Of course some-one spilled food and drink, but I won’t mention Wally’s name so as not to embarrass him.
Enjoy the slow time right now, guys, but don’t forget to sell your circus ads and gather names for our jewel page. Let’s
build on what we had last year, all right? Our new Potentate promised us fun this year, so start having fun already, and don’t forget to Rock that Fez!
FLyERSBy Lance Whitcomb
I escaped to Florida! I left on the last day of 2016, flying out of Bradley. We left 15 minutes early as all were on board and ready. We arrived 30 minutes early, after a smooth flight. My ride had just entered the cell phone parking lot, when our arrival flashed on the board. He picked me up at 5:30, 15 minutes ahead of the scheduled arrival time.
I went to a Masons lunch on Monday over at Brother-hood Lodge in Spring Hill, sitting next to a brother from Vermont. He lives near the Canadian border and has been a Mason for over 50 years. On Tuesday, I attended a Shrine Club meeting at the Hernando Club, visiting with old friends. Next Thursday I will attend Siloam Lodge to see an E. A. degree. It is always interesting to see different ritual and floor work in these Lodges.
Don’t forget to visit your lo-cal Blue Lodge. They are al-ways happy to see you and per-haps you can assist them during the meeting. Unfortunately, we are not getting younger, and an extra hand helps them and you!
highLandERSBy Saul Michaelson, Junior Past Chief
I have been so honored to serve as your Chief for 2016. In all honesty becoming a High-
lander is clearly one of the ma-jor highlights of my 57 years as a Melha Noble. I want to thank all of you for the support you gave me during my year as your Chief. I want to congratu-late Noble Garth Parker as he becomes our Chief for 2017 and Ill. David Butterfield, P.P. for becoming our Assistant Chief. One of our newest members, Noble Jeff Gopin, has accepted the position as our Chaplain for 2017. Noble Jeff is also an Administrator of Melha. He gave us a great financial report at the Annual Meeting. I know that all of us will give our 2017 officers the kind of support that we are known for.
What an honor and show of respect it is for the Highland-ers to now have three of our members on the Divan with the appointment of Noble Mike Cote as the new Cap-tain of the Guard. Before we know it the time will be here for the Worcester and Holyoke parades which I know will re-mind all of you that rehearsals will continue every Monday night and I assume you will be there.
I want to encourage all of you to keep Noble Tony Langone in your thoughts and prayers as he awaits a date for his surgery. I spoke with Tony on the Sun-day afternoon after the Annual Meeting. Remember what an honor it is to be a Highlander and remember always to pres-ent the most positive image possible as a Shriner and as a Highlander wherever you may be. We also want to thank and congratulate Past Chief Jack
Continued on page 7
mELha ShRinE uniTS & CLuBS
February 2017 7
shrIne unItsContinued from page 6
Burns for becoming our Trea-surer. He said that he has too much free time on his hands which is why he is now our Treasurer.[EDITORS NOTE: We apologize to
Saul for the omission of his Jan. ar-
ticle]
Feb 2017 By Corey LaCrosse, P.C.
Hello Bro. Nobles. Here we are in February already. An-other great year behind us and looking forward to the one ahead. Our new Divan have been duly installed, with Illus-trious Ray Turrini at the helm, and are ready to lead MELHA into the greatness we all know we can achieve.
Soon to be P.C. Saul Michel-son did an outstanding job this year as Chief and I think we all owe him a great deal of grati-tude for a job well done. As many of you know claiming the title of Chief Highlander is both rewarding and exhaust-ing. It is a labor of love and at times can be a full-time job. For the last 3 years Saul his ris-en to the challenge of being a Highlander officer and has exceeded expectations every time. I have no doubt that Saul will impress us just as much this coming year as he writes our newsletter. Thank you Saul for all you have done and will do.
The new line of Officers will soon be in place and have some pretty big shoes to fill, but I know that Worthy Chief Garth Parker is ready for the task…again. And just like ev-ery Chief before him he will be looking for the assistance of all
of us to help him accomplish this.
In closing I would just like to thank all of you for allowing me to be your Chief and Chief correspondent but mostly for allowing me to be your broth-er and your friend. I am very proud to say that the most in-fluential and inspiring men I have ever met, I have shared a drink with in the Highlander unit room and the friends I’ve made there have changed and enriched my life. Thank You All.
I want to remind all Melha Nobles that the Highlander unit room is open every Mon-day night and all are welcome. So, come on down, have a drink, see some old friends or meet some new ones. Support the Shrine center and our units. MELHA is our HOME, let’s keep it vibrant.
LEgion oF honoRBy Michelle Greaves
‘ATEN HUT!Dick Marceau is very busy
planning and organizing this year’s Melha Shrine Veterans Day Washington Trip as part of the Shriners International Le-gion of Honor Veterans Memo-rial event. Because he will be away from Jan. to Apr. he has asked me to keep you informed on his plans. Those who wish to join us can make their res-ervations and not have to wait until May, when Dick returns. I will not be taking any depos-its but only reservations. Dick will handle the finances when he returns.
Here is the itinerary as of now: 11-2 Thur., meet at Melha at 7:30am,
dinner at the D.C. Hotel at 7pm,11-3 Fri., White House and Capital
Tours (trying to arrange), 5pm dinner (restaurant TBD), 8pm “Sheer Madness” show at Kennedy Center
11-4 Sat., 9am Memorial Service in hotel banquet hall, then a bus trip to Arlington National Cemetery to place wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, back to hotel for full course turkey meal, 2pm bus tour of FDR, WWII, Korean, and Vietnam Memorials. Return to hotel for a pizza party in our hospitality room
11-5 Sunday 8:30am load the buses to head home, midtrip home we stop at an awesome restaurant for a meal
As you can see it is a fun filled weekend but also patri-otic and sobering; if you have ever attended this event pre-viously you will agree. If you have never been it is an awe-some weekend that you will never stop talking about.
Seating is limited so don’t hesitate to reserve your spot now. This weekend is a time when we honor our fallen he-roes and is truly a memorable event.
If you have any further ques-tions and or to make reserva-tions please contact Michelle Greaves at c 413-427-9178 or [email protected].
paST maSTERSBy Richard A. Poudrier
Greetings nobles,By the time you read this
article, Ill. Ray Turrini, his di-van officers and appointments would have been installed for 2017. As well as all the unit heads and their officers. Con-gratulations to all who will be serving Melha in the coming year.
At the annual meeting I per-formed my final duties as
Continued on page 8
mELha ShRinE uniTS & CLuBS
8 Melha shriners
shrIne unItsContinued from page 7
Outer Guard. I had served 27 Potentates beginning with Ill. Clyde Hooper and culminating with Ill. Brian Connor. It was a pleasure not only serving the potentates but coming in con-tact and conversing with the nobility. No more will I have to utter those immortal words, “Got your dues card”.
Our unit acknowledges the efforts of our Joe Wescott dur-ing his term in office as presi-dent of our unit for 2016. Our newly elected president for 2017, Kenneth White, asked me to enclose the following message to our unit members. “During my year as unit presi-dent I want to see more par-ticipation of our unit in parades as this is a prime opportunity for us to highlight the connec-tion of the Shrine to Freema-sonry. In our ongoing efforts to increase membership in the Shrine we must not only be ambassadors of the Shrine to our Lodges, but we must also make the Freemasonry-Shrine link more visible to the public.” He also encourages all unit members to sell circus ads. Forms are available at Melha.
At this writing, our nomina-tion committee is still trying to find a replacement for Sec-retary/Camelha Correspondent for our unit. If you would like to serve in this capacity. Con-tact Kenneth White at 413-567-4240.
The Past Masters Unit be holding a raffle for box seats. Raffle tickets will be $10 each and will be for a whole box of 7 seats at the 7:30 pm, Saturday, April 30th circus performance.
These are prime viewing seats. Contact Ken White to obtain tickets at [email protected]. For tickets for all other performances contact the box seat chairman, Neil McElwey at 413-534-5515.
One of our members has been appointed the District Deputy Grand Master of the 27th Masonic District, R.W. Tyler W. Seavey. His first fra-ternal visit will be at Mount Holyoke Lodge on Thursday, February 2, 2017 at 8 PM sharp. I’m sure he’d love to see you there.
I was informed that Tony Langone, Sr. is having health issues. I think it would be nice to contact him, or, send him a card wishing him well.
Our next scheduled unit’s quarterly meeting will be held on March 23rd, 2017 at Melha 7:30pm.
VinTagE auToSBy Ken Taylor
Many thanks for those who took part in the Feztival of Trees. Coming up on the 24th February is the Melha Night at the Thunderbirds Hockey game. Watch for more details. This is a Shriner Night event. Plan on being there to take part in the Melha Shriners Parade before the game. The next pa-rade is the Worcester / Auburn parade on the 12th March (I think!). Followed by the Saint Patrick’s Day parade in Holy-oke on the 19th March. Pray for good weather for both events. Watch for more details and see you there.
Save the 7th March date for our annual Hot Dog Night.
Don’t have supper, bring your appetite for a free meal of hot dogs with all the fixings. We are working on getting coffee available. Come to the meet-ings and give us your ideas on how to make our show bigger and better than earlier. One thought that came up was to do more advertising. What else can we do?? That is all for now, speed safely.
Shrine clUbS
pionEER VaLLEy ShRinE CLuB
by Michelle GreavesSawasdeeka (hello) the holi-
days are now behind us. I hope everyone had wonderful times with family and friends, I know I did. Now it is time to roll up our sleeves, put on our think-ing caps and get to work plan-ning the 2017 year of events.
Now it is your turn and op-portunity to take part in this decision planning. Come one come all to the annual PVSC “get together”. Put this on your calendar and join us February 11th at 6:00 pm at Melha. After the open meeting we will have lasagna, salad, garlic bread and dessert, yummy.
Some suggestions already on the table are; Exit 7 (The Pro-ducers), bus trip to Mohegan Sun, dinner at Tokyo House, Family Picnic, Salem Bus Trip, New Years Eve Party. We are very open to more ideas from you all. We would like you too to put on your thinking caps and offer suggestions at this “
get together”. So come join us to share ideas, eat and enjoy fellowship.
The PVSC is a social club sharing fun and fellowship among Shriners, wives, wid-ows, significant others and of course friends. So come join us, let your hair down (for those that have it) and have fun with a whole bunch of friends old and new ones. Hope to see you on February 11th at 6:00 pm
One event already on the cal-endar is Sunday April 30th at 2:00 pm is at Exit 7, “The Pro-ducers”. This theater group is composed of all local outstand-ing talent. If you wish to book your reservation please call Michelle Greaves 1-413-427-9178 or tell me at the Feb. get together. La Kxn (good bye)
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public into the hall. The public is where our
future financial growth will come from. Shonn said, “I’m in sales. My customers buy from me on a one to one level. I have a relationship with them. It’s personal.” Shonn went on, “I’m bringing the same idea into the Shrine. I had new graphics designed for the club and made over 300 color flyers. Then I planned, with a few of the other units (Clowns, Rid-ers) to go to “Stop and Shop” and hand out flyers to the shop-pers. I’m thinking next year to add Big-Y too”
The ‘Sportsman Club’ did 3 publicity events at 3 locations and the response reported was overwhelming. The people were enthusiastic; they saw the Fezzes and related stories about their experiences with our hospital, the parades and even the circus. For the first
time the club used the same visual theme and placed ads in the Reminder Press, a free weekly shopper which reaches the city of Springfield and sur-rounding areas. We blitzed Social networking, sharing the Facebook event page with over 20 different group pages both Shrine and Masonic. These reached throughout West-ern Mass. and North Central Connecticut. We also tweeted about the event on our Twit-ter account. The Chili cook-off was featured our Monday Blog and was aired on WMAS AM (My wife heard it com-ing home from work). Last week Bob Wool and Shonn (co-founders) made a personal appearance on ‘Mass Appeal’ on WWLP TV and wowed the TV station personnel by bring-ing freshly made chilly for them to sample on air. You can see the video on Melha’s You-Tube page as well as the front
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Shriners Springfield Welcomes New Chief of Staff
James F. Mooney, III, M.D. joined Shriners Hospitals for Children in Springfield, MA as the new chief of staff. Dr. Mooney succeeds Dr. David M. Drvaric, who retired on January 6, 2017 after 24 years of dedicated service to the hos-pital.
Dr. Mooney is a highly re-garded orthopedic surgeon with an interest in general or-thopedics, pediatric spinal de-formity, pediatric trauma and the orthopedic aspects of ce-rebral palsy. Areas of special interest to Dr. Mooney include pediatric spinal deformity, pe-diatric trauma and sequelae and orthopaedic aspects of ce-rebral palsy.
The staff and Board of Governors Shriners Hospi-tal for Children - Springfield welcome Dr. Mooney to their medical team and look forward working under his leadership to continue transforming the lives of children each day.
Burn Awareness Week February 5 - 11 2017
Burn Awareness Week is Feb. 5-11, 2017, and Shriners Hospitals for Children will use the week to kick off a year-long campaign focused on teach-ing adults and children to “Be Burn Aware,” especially at home.
Shriners Hospitals for Chil-dren and Shriners Interna-tional are committed to raising awareness about burn preven-tion and reducing the number of pediatric burn injuries. The Burn Awareness Week pro-gram is part of that effort.
Resources and promotional aids are available from your PR Chairman.
Additional materials de-signed for fraternity members to promote the awareness cam-paign are available also from your PR Chairman
If you have any questions, please contact the public rela-tions department at Shriners International Headquarters at [email protected] or 813-281-8162.
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ahLEm TEmpLE 84By Audrey Millgate
Melha Shriner’s Hockey Night with Springfield Thun-derbirds vs. Lehigh Valley Phantoms will be at the Mass Mutual Center at 7:05 pm on February 24. Ahlem ladies have been invited to set up a ta-ble with information about our temple. Betsy Beaulieu PQ can be contacted if you want more information or to volunteer your help at the table. Tickets are available at the Melha of-fice or at Shriners Hospital. We will be sporting our green shirts to make a showing of solidarity and receive well de-served recognition for all of our efforts on behalf of Shri-ners Children.
Patrol Unit is providing an opportunity for all to make a donation with the possibility that one of you will receive a 10 pound ham for Easter; get your tickets at session or from a Patrol member. The drawing to be held at April Session.
North East Days will be hosted by Ahlem Temple on September 6 – 9, 2018 at the Windsor Connecticut Marri-ott. Heads of committees are
needed now to start plans for the event. If you want to head a committee or just work on one, make your choice known to Robin Johnson PQ. We need everyone’s input to make this a success.
The date for the temple’s Shriners children’s party has changed; get more information at February session or by con-tacting Pr. Maureen Mclain.
FoRgET-mE-noTSBy Edith Sweeney
This is the month for Val-entines with love to share and remember. Our next meeting will be on Friday, March 17th at noon, destination to be an-nounced nearer to the date. Please keep the date open, and contact any of us for more in-formation. Look forward to getting together and wearing GREEN!!!
hELma CouRT 64By Anita Tetreault
We will be having election of Officers at our February monthly meeting (Thursday, February 9 at 7:30 pm). Lady Estelle has requested that offi-cers wear their gowns.
The Traveling Ladies will meet at the home of Lady Linda Calvanese on Saturday, February 11 at 2:00 pm. Please remember that yearly dues in the amount of $5.00 are due.
The PHP Club will meet at Cal’s, Riverdale Rd, West Springfield, on Wednesday, February 15 at 6:30 pm.
High Steppers will meet on Thursday, February 16 at Mount Moriah Lodge.
We hope everyone enjoyed their cup of tea on our meet-ing night, January 12. And,
we hope that you all were kind enough to send a check in sup-port of Helma Court #64. As Lady Estelle said, “Our Court is still struggling to keep active and alive”. Your help is much needed.
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of our web site. The Video re-ceived dozens of likes on Face-book.
With this fresh new approach our Marketing and Advertising we increased our contestants by over 10% over last year which almost paid for out print advertising. With the Mayor
of Springfield, Dominic Sarno coming, I can’t even imagine how much we might increase our attendance this year. As Shonn said “We really have to think out of the box now and do something different; Maybe just take it on the road.”
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By Margaret Moore“Have you ever considered
taking Meg to Shriners Hos-pital for Children? My dad is a Shriner and...”
It all started on a baseball field, during my brothers’ game. At that point, five years had passed since we had visit-ed Shriners. I had been receiv-ing quality care at local facili-ties for the past few years, but it was not long before my broth-ers’ friend’s mother’s advice about Shriners scored a home-run for me. The inning began in the stark white examination room of my orthotic supplier. As I looked down at the new purple, butterfly-printed brac-es that the orthotist was in the process of putting on my feet,
I could feel a wave of puzzle-ment flow through my brain. Normally, new braces are sup-posed to fit one’s feet to a tee, ending just past the tip of the big toe. In these braces, my big toes reached only about three quarters of them and I would practically need clown shoes to wear over them. My mom vocalized the same question that I was thinking.
“Why are they so big?” “We make them for growth so that they last the year. We can only make each client one pair per year.” “But won’t they hurt her feet?”
When he said no, he was com-pletely and ut-
terly wrong. As he assured My mom that they would be fine, she still wore a very skeptical look. Sure enough, I devel-oped a severe limp just days after. They had injured my feet to the point where I could not bear any weight regardless of whether or not I had them on.
My mom had already phoned the doctor when my therapists suggested doing so. My doctor, seeing no obvious injury, sent me to the hospital for x-rays. Upon our arrival, we decided to use a hospital wheelchair since it was all set up and ready to go. Feeling like an ant com-pared to the humongous chair, I shivered at the thought of a hospital (I have an unexplain-able fear of hospitals that, look-ing at my back story, makes no sense). My brother Brian saw my scared state and looked at me with concern.
“Want me to sit with you?”Sheepishly, I nodded and slid
over to make room. Settling himself into the chair, he put his arm around me and he and our brother Sean told me that it was going to be okay. They proceeded to tell me hilarious
jokes that filled me with laugh-ter all the way down to the x-ray wing.
The x-ray came back as clear as freshly shined glass, leaving us wondering what to do next. It was not long at all before my mom phoned Shriners Hos-pital for Children in Spring-field, Massachusetts. Able to schedule an appointment immediately, we soon found ourselves in the van, driving for what seemed, to me, like a lifetime. My mom had ex-plained to me a thousand times that we were going to another hospital, but never once during the commute did it hit me. My mind was occupied with other things—joking around with my brothers Sean and Brian and Brian’s best friend Ed, who had come along for the jour-ney, and excitedly searching for a familiar house outside the window to satisfy a burning inquiry that was persistently poking at my brain—Homer Simpson and his family live in Springfield, would we get to meet them? (Before I could vo-calize this question, it occurred to me that, first, the Simpsons live in Springfield, Illinois, not Springfield, Massachusetts! Secondly, of course, they were a fictitious family.)
It was only when we were passing through the second set of sliding glass doors did my mother’s words hit me like a ton of bricks. Without even glancing at my surrounding environment, I lowered my head to my clear-plastic wheel-chair tray and framed my face
Leaving the Clown Shoes for the Clowns with my folded arms. This was another hospital, a place where people linger for a very long time, a place with needles and creepy beeping machines and IVs. “I want to go home!” I sobbed. “Please! Let me go home. Please, let me go home. ” A very friendly nurse joined my family and my brother’s friend in trying to cheer me up. They begged me to look up, to see where I was, assuring me that it was perfectly fine. Af-ter some serious persistence, I obliged, lifting my head and wiping away the tears. It was confusion at first sight. Bright colors, toys, Lego statues of firefighter clowns and Mickey Mouse filled the scene. There had to be some sort of mis-take—this was not a hospital; this was a kid’s wonderland!
It seemed as though the boys and I had hardly scratched the surface at uncovering the gold mine of toys and games in the enormous, rectangular waiting room when we heard “MAR-GARET?” shouted from the wide entry way at the far right corner. We returned the toys to their bins and followed a kind, smiling nurse through the hall-way of the clinic section of the hospital to an exam room. My eyes widened at the multicol-ored carpet, the Big Bird and Sully life-sized figures, the flu-orescent light covers that de-picted colorful hot air balloons floating across a baby blue sky, and, most of all, the genuine, gigantic smiles of the
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Continued from page 14entire staff. It was astonishing that such a warm, kid-friendly environment could be classi-fied as a hospital. I soon found myself in my walker, hobbling down the hallway toward Big Bird and back to my new doc-tor, who was squatting in the center, telling me how great I was doing as he observed. I did this a few more times, first barefoot, then with shoes and braces.
After consulting various physical therapists and occu-pational therapists, the doctor sent me to the Orthotics and Prosthetics Department, locat-ed on the opposite side of the waiting room. I was cast for new braces (which is the same process as casting an injured leg, except it comes off after only a few minutes). I noticed that the orthotist had put a tube in between my legs and the casts—a precaution that I had never seen taken. She said that this was to protect me from the scissors when she cut them off. Finally someone had realized!
She released my feet from the stifling hot casts and handed me a ring with several samples of uniquely patterned plastic dangling from it. As she filled out paperwork, I flipped through each plastic piece as one might look through swatches of carpeting. I de-cided on a psychedelic pattern, one with thin stripes of every color imagined. As she prom-ised a rushed creation of the braces and scratched my name onto her appointment book for a few weeks later, we waved good bye and made our way
through the maze of colors and toys to the doors.
A few weeks later, we re-turned to the inviting atmo-sphere of Shriners. My or-thotics specialist revealed a pair of eye-pleasing braces that displayed stripes of every color of the rainbow, topped off with royal purple velcro straps. From the second she fastened them on, I noticed the differ-ence—they fit like a glove, molded to the precise shape and size of my feet. We went out into the vacated waiting room where the real test was administered. My mom helped me to transfer from my chair to my forest green walker. For the first time in months, I stood, getting acclimated to the gait trainer once again. Then, as if I was an astronaut taking a step on the moon, I lifted my foot and let it fall ever so slowly. After pausing briefly to assess the situation, I took off like Usain Bolt at the be-ginning of the Olympics. My family and orthotist observed as I ran laps around the room. Amused, they concluded that the correctly fitted braces had been the cure. When my mara-thon had gradually slowed to a stop, we thanked the staff and traveled home, where I would continue to enjoy my renewed ability to run around.
[EDITORS NOTE: Ms. Moore has cerebral palsy and was a patient at Shriners Hos-pital for Children as well as serving as a Child Ambassa-dor. Meg is now a student at Fairfield University where she wants to be a creative writer.
melha Calendar of Events
MELHA SHRINERS133 Longhill StreetSpringfield, MA 01108-1499
Non Profit OrganizationU.S. POSTAGE
PAIDSpringfield, MA 01152
Permit No. 211
February 2017Wed, Feb 1 7:00 PM ..............Melha Special Election for Chief Rabban.
2017 Dues Card, Picture ID and Fez [BA]
Thu, Feb 2 6:00 PM ........................................Daughters of the Nile [BA]
Feb 2 Groundhog Day
Sat, Feb 4 6:00 PM ............... Oriental Band CW Valentine’s Dance [BA]
Thu, Feb 9 ............................................................... Two Unit Dinner [BA]
Sat, Feb 11 6:00 PM .........................................PVSC Get Together [BA]
Feb 14 St. Valentines Day
Feb 20 .......................................................Presidents Day. Office closed
Mon, Feb 20 6:00 PM ....................................Board of Directors Meeting
Wed, Feb 22 7:30 PM ......Melha Stated Meeting. 2017 Dues Card [BA]
Thu, Feb 23 10:00 AM ......... Game Supper Prep - bring a potato peeler
Fri, Feb 24 .................................................................. Game Supper Prep
BA = Butterfield Auditorium SHC = Shriners Hospitals for Chil-dren - Springfield
Fri, Feb 24 5:00 PM ......Melha Night at Thunderbirds. Mass Mutual Ctr.
Sat, Feb 25 6:00 PM ............................Uncle Milty’s Game Supper [BA]
Mon, Feb 27 6:30 PM ....................................................... Circus Meeting
