Eric Johnson - RI Shriners and Imperial Room at Rhodes Place

The
Rhode Island
Shriners
Newspaper
April/May 2015
Vol. 17
Issue 175
Bringing
Rhode Island Shriners’ News
to the Community
Since 1953!
Eric Johnson
Rhode Island Shriners’ 2014 Shriner of the Year
Check Out All The Exciting EVENTS IN THE
CURRENT AND UPCOMING SECTIONS, PGS 11-13
VISIT US AT: www.rishriners.com
2
SCIMITAR April/May 2015
Greetings Nobles and Ladies,
I hope everyone has stayed safe and healthy
this winter. I know it has been a very difficult
year for us all but we still need to come out of hibernation and support your Shrine center’s fund
raisers. Our survival depends on all of us working together as a team so we can keep your center
open for many years to come. Lady Kerrie and
I enjoyed our trip to the Florida luncheon with
the Grand Master and his entourage of officers.
Most Worshipful was a great host and we had
many laughs throughout our time together. Sahib
Temple was packed with lots of old friends and
we made a few new ones as well. For the first
time, we traveled across the state to Palm Beach
Gardens, Florida to Amara Temple and started a
new tradition there. A big thank you goes out to
WGM Richard Ault for being the catalyst in getting this up and running.
On April 10th through the 11th will be the
Potentates visitation weekend and I am sure you
will all come out and enjoy this wonderful event.
The Artisan unit is putting on the steak fry as
they have so many times before and as we all
know it’s the best steak in town. There will be
Sergio the Dj for your dancing pleasure along
with some karaoke. A little birdie told me that
Glenn and the teacups are going to make a special appearance that evening. Saturday night
Illustrious Potentate Glenn E. Medeiros, Sr.
will be the Potentates Ball and as always this a
black tie event and I would love to see as many
of you there as possible. Rhode Island has not
had a visitation in three years so our counterparts are very excited to come back to the Ocean
State and enjoy the best hospitality food in the
association. A few of them have never been to
our beautiful center and are truly ecstatic about
this opportunity to come visit us, so please come
out and greet our great friends from around the
Northeast. We will be looking for volunteers to
help work the weekend as aides and bartenders
along with anything else that you can do to help
make this once again the best event.
We have some great events just around the
corner, like the 5th Annual Chinese night and
Chopstick Auction on May 15th at 6PM. Please
buy your tickets early because if the past dictates
the future this just might be a sellout event. The
Adult Easter Egg hunt will be held on April 3rd
and should be a great success. Thank you to all
the contestants that entered a soup in the SoupA-Thon and to all of you who came out and supported us. This year we also offered appetizers
or dessert, not just soups. Chief Rabban Dominic
DiStefano and myself missed the event due to
the fact we were at the NSA mid-winter meeting in Lewiston, Maine but our wonderful ladies
stepped up to the plate and hit a homerun in our
absence. Speaking of the mid-winter meeting
Dominic and I had the pleasure of eating a few
meals with the Imperial Potentate Dale Stauss,
who was traveling with Past Imperial Potentate Douglas Maxwell and the Imperial Oriental
Guide Jeffery Sowder. This was a great honor to
experience the passion that they all have for our
fraternity and our hospital system. The dedication these gentlemen have is just incredible and
infectious to whomever they speak to.
This has truly been a great few months in office so far and I am looking forward to the rest of
this year. I would be remiss not to mention what
a wonderful office staff we have and commend
them on the phenomenal work they do everyday
for us all. Please remember to support the First
Ladies program and purchase one of her pins for
$5 to help support the Dyslexia center.
Yours in the Faith,
Glenn E Medeiros Sr.
Illustrious Glenn E Medeiros Sr.
Protecting
what matters most
since 1910
2014 Rhode Island Shriner of The Year...........9
Artisans Unit Report........................................5
Birthdays in April and May............................19
401.596.0146
www.thorptrainer.com
Westerly, Rhode Island
Calendars for April-June......................... 10-11
Current and Upcoming Events................ 11-15
home | auto | business | life | disability
Editor’s Column................................................3
Ladies Corner.................................................16
Legion of Honor Unit Report............................5
Pediatric Specialty Hospitals Report....... 6 & 8
Police Square Club Steak Fry..........................5
Potentate’s Message.......................................2
Scimitar-Free Copy Locations.......................20
Scimitar News Boosters..................................7
Shriners Hospitals-Springfield Report..........17
Student Awareness of Fire Education...........18
SCIMITAR April/May 2015
3
Editor’s Column
Award Winning Publication
Dromedary Awards
FIRST PLACE
2012, 2008, 2007, 2005, 2003, 2001, 1999
Honorable Mention - 2006, 2000,1998
SCIMITAR STAFF
Editor-in-Chief
Wayne E. Sutton
Photographer
Vacant
Advertising Manager
Wayne E. Sutton Tel: 461-0690
Editors Emeritus
Rene Boucher
George F. Coombs
Photographer Emeritus
George Doonan
The SCIMITAR is published bi-monthly for the
Rhode Island Shriners by the Rhode Island
Shriners located at One Rhodes Place,
Cranston, Rhode Island 02905. Subscriptions, are $2 of the annual dues.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
Rhode Island Shriners, One Rhodes Place,
Cranston, Rhode Island 02905.
RHODE ISLAND SHRINERS
One Rhodes Place, Cranston, R I 02905
Toll free 1-888-A CHILD 5
Web Site: www.rishriners.com
Telephone: (401) 467-7100
Office Extensions:
Potentate/CEO, Glenn Medeiros, Sr.......#14
Recorder, Paul Healy ...........................#16
Secretary, Pat Deitch ..........................#10
Treasurer, Bryan Martin........................#15
Bookkeeper, Elaine Williams.................#18
Sales, Hillary Williamson......................#13
Restaurant, Christopher Kurtzo.............#11
Kitchen................................................#12
Chef Chris............................................#19
Charities (Leon)....................................#25
Noble Wayne E. Sutton
Dear Shriners, Ladies and Rhode
Island Friends:
Feels like the Winter is never
going to end. First day of Spring
with Snow? I hope that all of
this snow and cold weather will
open the door for a much needed warm Spring and beautiful
Summer. We have a lot of great
events planned here at the home
of the Rhode Island Shriners, so
good weather is key to our success.
month of April and the Scimitar rade Units, The Shriners Ladies,
has the exclusive and detailed The Potentate, The Editor and so
information for you to come out much more.
and join in the fun.
Enjoy the warm Spring and
Check out all of the exciting beautiful Summer days. Find
events taking place during the yourself a comfortable chair,
months of April and May. Catch click on our web site, sit back,
your breath and get involved. relax and enjoy all of the excitThe Shriners Calendars will ing articles, stories, events and
keep you up-to-speed with the a wealth of information that we
Unit Meetings along with dates have made available to you at
your fingertips in the “Award
and times for all events.
Winning” Scimitar Newspaper.
Take a few moments and read
the special article that appears
on Page 6 in this issue of the Fraternally and Sincerely Yours,
Scimitar. Directly from the President and CEO of the Shriners
Hospitals for Children offering
a comprehensive report of how
the Shriners Hospitals are doing today and where we are going in the future. As Shriners,
we all play a major role in our
membership to keep the Shriners
Hospitals for Children ready to Noble Wayne Edward Sutton,
take care of children and young Editor-in-chief
adults wherever and whenever
possible. That’s our oath, creed
and commitment.
This issue of the Scimitar pays
tribute to our 2014 Shriner Of
Year, Noble Eric Johnson. Read
more about Eric’s profile and offer a TIP OF THE FEZ to Eric
when you see him. Congratulations! Well deserved. The Potentate and his Lady will be There are many other great stocelebrating the Potentate’s Re- ries and articles for you to read
ception weekend during the and enjoy from our Shrine Pa-
ELECTED OFFICERS 2015
Potentate/CEO
Ill Glenn Medeiros, Sr.
Chief Rabban
Domenic DiStefano
Assistant Rabban
PP Frank DiMascio
High Priest/Prophet
Louis Sherman
Oriental Guide
Donald Williamson
Treasurer
Bryan Martin
Recorder
Paul Healy
APPOINTED OFFICERS 2015
First Ceremonial Master
Robert St. Jean
Second Ceremonial Master
Christopher DiIorio
Marshal
Timothy Culhane
Captain of the Guard
Norman Messinger
Director
Robert Chase
Public Relations Chairman
Wayne E. Sutton
All materials for the June/July 2015 issue
will be due by
Tuesday,
May 5, 2015
4
SCIMITAR April/May 2015
The torch has been passed, the
final race run, and the winning wisdom of Artery Jim has been archived
for posterity. Wrong! Good Ol’
Jim may be out of sight and basking in the sunny comforts of Fort
Myers but, as you’ll read below, his
pen and wit remains active and deliciously acerbic. Meanwhile, from
now on expect to get your quarterly
tidbits on Rhode Island Artisan activity from yours truly, Artisan Bob
(why break with the naming tradition?).
Calling All Volunteers! This
year has certainly started out with
a lot of promise. Our Temple’s finances are on the up-tic, we’ve already run some wonderful social
events, and our officers have been
very visible throughout New England in carrying forth the RI Shrine
banner. With this energy and enthusiasm in mind we will once
again hold a Potentates Weekend on
Friday, April 10, through Sunday
morning, April 12. Details to be
provided elsewhere.
On Friday the 10th, as part of
the Pote’s Weekend, the Artisan
Unit will host a steak fry at the
by Artisan Bob St. Jean
Shrine for invited dignitaries, the ner and funfest. The cost is $14.95
Nobility, families and guests. An pp, and is payable at the restaurant.
event of this magnitude requires a Please send your reservation count
lot of help. Our formula for steak to me at bobstjean99@verizon.net
fries is tried and true, but we’ll need by no later than March 19. Dinner
unit help to pull it off properly. will begin at 6:00 PM starting with
Please offer your assistance and let drinks and good cheer.
the Chief know of your willingness
Game Dinner Update Once
to participate.
again our annual game dinner was
Aides – Aides – Aides! With a big success. We had an excellent
the many outside dignitaries visit- turnout and, as usual, the food was
ing our Temple during the Pote’s tasty and plentiful. Our net profit
Weekend an urgent call has been was approximately three thousand
put out for Aides. Many Potentates dollars, which was a healthy inand Chief Rabbans will be in need crease over last year. Thanks to the
of our courteous attention and assis- many Nobles and their wives who
tance throughout their stay. This is helped out. Your efforts made our
the Aides’ job. The work is light, Unit’s primary fundraiser for the
and the friendships developed over year an awesome event.
these few days will last a lifetime.
All Units Picnic
With the
Please let the Shrine Office know if blinding white of snow still around
you’re interested in helping out as us, I thought it would be an uplifting
an Aide.
diversion to mention our upcoming
Social Night at the Lemon- summer picnic. Plans are already in
grass On Saturday, March 21, our the works, so mark your calendars
unit will be holding another off-site for Saturday, July 18th at Buttondinner for members and family. woods. Once more Biff has negotiSince the last get-together of this ated the pavilion for our exclusive
type was a great success, we de- use, and we will also have access to
cided to go back to the Lemongrass the pool for our annual cardboard
for this “all you can eat” buffet din- boat regatta. No other details have
Local # 1261
A full-service
marina
serving the
Tiverton area
for some
sixty years.
1697 Main Road
Tiverton
Rhode Island
standishboat@yahoo.com
been decided at this time, but feel
free to pleasantly message your
mind with the visions of blue sky,
green grass and wet, warm water.
Tidbits from Artery Jim
West Coast Florida Luncheon
– the Artisan Unit was well represented on Friday, February 27 including none other than our Potentate Glenn Medeiros, Bob Allard,
Walter Jackson, Art Little, Don
Higgins, Dick Reilly, Mike Smith,
Dave Joly and yours truly. Oops, I
almost forgot to mention that our
Ladies were also there including
‘Potentatris’ Kerrie.
Honorary Bung Hole - Walter ‘Action’ Jackson was presented with the most non- prestigious
award an Artisan can ever receive.
Walter did not feel he was worthy
of this honor until I explained to
him that it was just the opposite.
Yummy, yummy – hey Pote,
the cockroaches that occupied your
motel room on the east coast should
have been nuked for two minutes
in the microwave and served with
onion dip. Hmmm, hmmm, good
according to the local folk! I am
surprised you did not find a snake!
SCIMITAR April/May 2015
Fellow nobles,
As you know this following year it has been an extremely cold and
snowy winter causing it to unfortunately cancel some of our meeting.
Now, it’s time to get back on top of things. The January installation success was the Legion did a fantastic job posting the colors, we were extremely represented during the banquet. In these upcoming months we
will be starting to begin a lot more activities. The following activities include the parades which as always we get a tremendous turn out when the
Legion is being represented to the public. Also, we will be doing our flag
burning retirement ceremonies and we encourage are young members
to attend these ceremonies because it’s a very good experience on how
to retire the American flag in a respectful and honorable way. It would
be very much appreciative if we have a better turn out this year for the
upcoming flag ceremonies. In addition, we will be having our annual car
show in September. Last year, car show was a tremendous turn out and
we hope to make progress in September. I am hoping we have more cars
this year to show off those young people how cars are supposed to look
like. In October we will be having our spaghetti dinner and we should
have a good turnout but let’s make this spaghetti dinner important and
let’s go out with a boom! Operation stand down needs our help and we
will be donating money to them as soon as possible, we want to help out a
little but more because their our Veterans out on the streets and don’t have
a home and we need to help them more and somehow get the community
more involved (AFJROTC 081St at Coventry High School helps them
out just of last night due to a steak fry in Smithfield, RI. Commander, LT.
Col Simas and Colonel Steve Buteau 401-822-9499). There will be furthermore upcoming events in this past month. Members, just a reminder
please pay your dues for this year, dues are $15 and you can mail a check
to ALBERT W. LARIVIERE JR. P.O box SALTERSVILLE DR 02876.
Meetings are being held the second Monday of each month.
Fraternally yours,
1st LT commander Leroy L Corbin
RI Shriners Legion of Honor
5
Friday May 8, 2015
JAMIEL INSURANCE AGENCY, INC.
ALL LINES OF INSURANCE
Licensed in RI, MA, CT & FL
Hirum A. Jamiel, II
HIRUM A. JAMIEL, II
President
Certified Insurance Counselor
Tel. 401-245-8900 • Fax 401-245-8494
Tel. 401-245-0900 • Fax 401-245-8494
429 Main Street • P.O. Box 405
Warren, RI 02885
hjii@P-Day.com
Serving the community since 1961
429 Main Street • Warren, RI 02885
hjii@jamielinsurance.com

contact@alphabetsoup.us
p:(401) 295-2955
f:(401) 295-0955
1130 Ten Rod Road
Suite F101
North Kingstown, RI 02852
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When a child succeeds in speech
and language therapy, he is finally
able to communicate, to say what
he is thinking and be understood.
6
SCIMITAR April/May 2015
Shriners Hospitals For Children
Pediatric Specialty Hospitals
Douglas E. Maxwell
President and CEO
Subjects:
• A Successful Leadership
Seminar
• The Question…
“What is the next “Un-met
Child Care Need” for Shriners to
help Children”
My Dear Fellow Representatives,
We have just recently concluded this year’s leadership
seminar. As mentioned in past
years, the attendees were each of
our 22 hospital’s Administrators,
Chiefs of Staff, Heads of Nursing, Directors of Fiscal Services,
Directors of Research, and our
Chairman and Vice Chairman.
This is the annual conference relating to the “Operations of our
Medical System”.
The comments of those attending indicated that this was
the best and most informative
seminar they have attended.
We believe we understand
why they felt this way.
For the last six years, we
have been asking all of our 22
“Shriner’s Hospitals” leaders
to be re-inventing the hospital
system…
This is from the low position
all of us found ourselves in that
Summer of 2009.
• During that fall of 2009, every area of our organization began analyzing the cost of those
operations versus the clinical
needs we were accomplishing at
each hospital.
• In the beginning of 2010,
we began the extensive process
of starting the “Third Party
Payments” process. This was
monumental and required a lot of
work from both the hospitals and
Tampa’s staff. Many contracts
had to be negotiated. Many Medicaid Agreements needed to be
worked out. This whole process
later became known as “Revenue
Cycle”. In 2014 it brought us a
much-needed additional $130
million to help towards balancing the budget. We hope to increase that annual sum another
$40 million in the near future.
• During the Fall of 2010, we
began a Task Force group that
visited each hospital, working
with them to see if a more efficient way of operating could be
done there, and…
• During the Fall of 2013, we
rolled out individual Strategic
Plans for each of the 22 locations with certain goals to be accomplished.
For these last 6 years they
have been working very hard to
not only reach this new strate-
gic goal but to exceed it. Each
of these events have taken a lot
of time and hard work from both
our headquarters’ staff and each
hospital.
This past year, 2014, we have
begun the fine-tuning of all of
these changes.
Whereas the past seminars
needed to be “pushing hard”…
this years 2015 “Leadership conference” could be and was…
more positive and motivating.
One of the highlights of this
years Leadership Conference
was each hospitals “presentation to everyone” of their “Success Story”.
Many comments related to
this.
They indicated, “How good
it was for everyone to be able to
see how differently each hospital
delivers the mission.
Now in 2015….we are able
to be doing the fine-tuning of
the hospital system into the best
it can be.
Shriners Hospitals...continued on page 8
warwickmall.com
SCIMITAR April/May 2015
Rick & Patti Baccus
Jake & Rita Bedrosian
Ken & Sandra Bogosian
Rusty & Kathy Booth
Mike & Barbara Christopher
George & Carol Cicma
Edward & Janet Dyer
Stu Eddy
John Edes, Anah Temple
Robin Moone-Edes
Eileen Ennis
Peter Frageorgia
PP Biff & Bev Gallagher
Joe Gonsalves
PP William Hall
David & Judy Hart
PP Andrew & Jan Hencler
Don & Gloria Higgins
Al & Ruth Hollingworth
Phil & Barbara Lundgren
Bryan & Denise Martin
Herb & Joan McGuire
David McKay
Dorothy Prest
PP Allan & Barbara Reynolds
RI Shriner Clown Unit
Dino Soscia
Robert & Deb St. Jean
Wayne & Lois Sutton
Charles & Elma Tweedly
Richard & Nancy Urquhart
In Memory of PP Roy E. Wareham
*Asterisked booster names are advised that their one-year booster
membership expires with this issue. If you are interested in renewing your News Booster membership for another year, please complete the cut-out registration form and forward it with your payment. Thank you in advance for your kind and continued support.
WEBSITE: www.qmcemetery.org
238 Robinson Street
Wakefield, RI
7
8
SCIMITAR April/May 2015
Shriners Hospitals...continued from page 6
We have all just concluded
the 1st part of the
Renaissance of Shriners
Hospitals for Children.
So what’s next….
Where do we go from here?
What will be the next Care
we provide?
As you will remember….
In 1872, 13 Masons decided
to form a new “Fun Loving”
group of Free Masons.
They called themselves the
“Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles
of the Mystic Shrine”…Shriners.
During the next 50 years, this
group of Shriners had great fraternal fun. It grew quite quickly
from coast to coast during those
years, in both the number of
Temples and members
In 1922, the fraternity decided there was an “Un-Met Need”
for someone to help children
who had been afflicted with Polio. During the next 5 years, 14
of our Temples began hospitals
around North America to help
these children.
In the 1960’s, the Shrine
fraternity again became aware
that children who got burned or
scalded didn’t do very well. They
would be admitted into the general population of a adult or general hospital. A child with a 50%
burn usually did not survive.
Another “Un-met Need”.
Shriners accepted this challenge and began 3 Burns Hospitals. The first one opened
in Galveston Texas on March
20, 1966.
In the 50 years since 1966,
Shriners have greatly improved
the survivability of children that
have this tragedy befall them.
Now a child with a 95%
burn has a 95% probability of
surviving.
During those same 50 years,
our 22 hospitals have continued
to evolve into some of America’s
greatest Children’s Hospitals.
Shriners have helped more than
1 million children in our 92 years
of care.
In addition to the “Burns’
Children”, we have been providing great medicine in the
fields of
Orthopedics,
Cerebral Palsy,
Scoliosis,
Spina Bifida,
Cleft Lip and Palate and
Spinal Cord Injuries.
We can all take great pride in
how our Shrine fraternity has
stepped forward and led the way
to helping children through these
years.
But where do we go from
here? What is the next great
“Un-met” need of Children?
This was one of the main subjects discussed at the seminar.
Is there “A next” pressing
un-met need for Children….
A “Game Changer” to use a
popular sports metaphor.
A question you might have…
“Why now?”
Why can’t our 22 hospitals
continue on “as they have been
for the last number of years.
The
Answer….
“Most
can”…. but a few of our hospitals need an additional new
path.
Why is this?
Markets are shifting:
A few of our current locations
that have had plenty of families
needing our care in the past, now
have a different demographic.
Our mission of orthopedics has
been slowing there.
We still have a great facility, with a highly skilled medical
staff, but just not enough children needing this discipline of
the “orthopedic medicine” we
provide.
And…
Competition is increasing
& “Referrals” from our affiliates are slowing:
The “Affordable Care Act”
in 2015, is continuing to affect
us. It is pushing some of our affiliates to admit more children to
their own facility and not refer
them to us as they have done in
the past.
They now need those children’s “Billings” to cover their
“growing cost of operations” at
their hospital.
So what can we do to help a
few of our hospitals increase the
amount of care they provide?
As our predecessors did in
the 1920’s and 1960’s, we are exploring… what do todays children need the most.
Here are some of the “Unmet Needs” of this generation
of Children…
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Early Childhood Development
• Autism
• Rehabilitation and Subacute Care
• Additional “General Surgery” and
• Sports Medicine
So Why aren’t the above
being handed by the other
Children’s Hospitals?
There are two other facts that
we have found …
• Even though there are becoming more families with “Insurance” provided through the
“Affordable Care Act”, many of
these families are substantially
“Underinsured” or have huge
deductibles.
• And much of what children
need in the year 2015, is not
covered by the insurance they
have…
or the insurer doesn’t receive
enough re-imbursement…. so
thelarger hospitals won’t provide
the care.
Let’s do a quick review of the
needs.
Obesity…Digestive Health.
Needs: In the last 30 years,
childhood obesity has more than
doubled and in adolescents, it
has quadrupled. This continues
into adulthood causing severe
health complications and quality
of life issues.
A premier digestive health
program could also lead Shriners
Hospitals into a robust “collaborative research environment”
to improve the general health of
children.
Diabetes…
Needs: Childhood and adolescent diabetes is becoming one
of the most important
health problems in the United
States. 1.93 cases/1000 children
and growing. It is the 7th leading cause of death and has a
high propensity to lead to severe
adultcomplications. This discipline could also lead to a robust
research program to improve
lives.
Early Childhood Development/Autism…
Needs: The community need
is at an “All time high” with the
needs having increased 17.1%
over the last 12 years.
In 2012, the prevalence rate
rose to 1 in 110 children, a 600%
increase over the past two decades.
Rehabilitation and Sub
acute Care…
This is currently Shriners
Hospitals largest service provided by volume. It could be
referred to as either a Skilled
Nursing focus or a Specialized
Surgical Hospital focus. It can
help provide us greater “Brand
Identification, Identity, and Image”.
Sports Medicine…
Shriners Hospitals could perhaps have a single Hospital location that would attract the major sports injury problems from
all around the country. With the
right staffing and surgical teams,
it could become known as the top
“Sports Injury Care Center”
of the United States.
And an expansion of our
General Surgery procedures….
Because of where some of
our hospitals are located, the
area might be lacking a “General Children’s Hospital” with
“Specialty Care”. Our Shriners
Hospital could provide those
additional surgical specialties
because of our financial wherewithal and expertise.
This would be very complimentary to what we currently
do. Some of our hospitals during
these last 6 years of the Renaissance have successfully already
expanded their Surgical Lines.
These and the other medical issues of “Our Times” may
become the next part of the Philanthropy that we have become
known for.
What will be the next “Care”
for the greatest Philanthropy
the world has ever known…
Shriners Hospitals for Children.
Before I close this “Winter”
message….
Patricia and I just watched
our latest television commercial.
This is the one with “our
Shrine kids” doing the speaking and telling our “Shiners Hospital” story.
I hope, when you see it, you
have the same “chest swelling”
and “sense of pride” of our philanthropy that Patricia and I experienced.
Yours in the Faith,
Douglas E. Maxwell
Chairman of the Board
of Trustees
COBT@shrinenet.org
Shriners Hospitals
for Children
Profiling
SCIMITAR April/May 2015
9
ERIC JOHNSON
2014 Shriner of the Year
Eric David Johnson has been a Shriner for
many years and he belongs to the Artisian
Unit of the Ri Shriners. He is a member of
the Marharba 100 Club. He is also an Associate of the Legion of Honor. He also belongs to the Ionic Lodge of Masons, Scottish
Rite which he is a member of the Wardrobe
Committee. Odd Fellows Harmony Lodge,
the Encampment of Odd Fellows. The Rebekah’s Mizpah Lodge. Vasa the Swedish
Organization of America. He also belongs
to the Patrichs Militant Canton Providence
Number 1. He also belongs to the Order of
Eastern Star Signet Chapter he is a Past Patron and a Grand Representative. He was a
member of Byron Northup Chapter order
of Demolay and has the Chavala Award for
Demolay. He was a past Advisor for Demolay. He is a member of Emanuel Lutheran
Church in West Warwick RI. He is a member of Roger Williams Rumford Grange. He
is very close with his Family. He is a wonderful person and especially a Great Brother. Glenn E. Medeiros Sr. Potentate Rhode
Island Shriners
10
SCIMITAR April/May 2015
S
SUNDAY
hriner Calendar
MONDAY
TUESDAY
April
WEDNESDAY
1
2015
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
2
SATURDAY
Good Friday
3
4
5th Annual Adult East
Egg Hunt 8pm Sharp!
5
6
Easter Sunday
6:30 Divan Meeting
Easter Sunday Brunch
10:30am-3pm
Ladies Meeting
12
13
Potentate’s Reception
Weekend
7
8
9
Ladies Luncheon
11:30
14
15
10
11
Potentate’s Reception
Weekend
Potentate’s Reception
Weekend
17
18
16
Legion of Honor
7:30
19
11am Temple Guard
20
21
Directors Staff
Meeting 7:30
26
27
22
Earth Day
23
24
25
Artisans/Motor Corps
7:30
28
29
hriner Calendar
May
30
9:30am
Clown Meeting
SUNDAY
S
MONDAY
TUESDAY
3
4
6:00 Divan Meeting
Ladies Meeting
10
Mothers Day
11
WEDNESDAY
5
6
12
13
Cinco de Mayo
Legion of Honor 7:30
24
31
9:30
Clowns Meeting
18
25
Memorial Day
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
1
2
7
8
9
14
15
16
50th Annual Gaspee
Days Celebration
Begins
Ladies Luncheon
11:30
Mothers Day Brunch
10:30am-3pm
17
2015
Chinese Chopsticks
Auction 6pm
11am Temple Guard
Armed Forces Day
19
20
21
22
23
26
27
28
29
30
Directors Staff
Meeting 7:30
Artisans/Motor Corps
7:30
Winner Winner
Chicken Dinner 6pm
SUNDAY
S
11
SCIMITAR April/May 2015
hriner Calendar
MONDAY
TUESDAY
1
June
WEDNESDAY
2015
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
2
3
4
5
6
9
10
11
12
13
18
19
6:30 Divan Meeting
Ladies Meeting
7
8
Ladies Luncheon
11:30
14
15
Legion of Honor
7:30
Flag Day
21
22
16
23
24
25
Artisans/Motor Corps
7:30
Summer Begins
29
30
9:30am
Clown Meeting
THE 50TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION GASPEE DAYS
MAY 7- JUNE 14, 2015
Arts and Crafts Festival May 23 & 24 /10 am - 5 pm
May 25 / 10am -4:30 pm
Allan & Edna Brown 5K Road Race - Saturday June 13 / 9:30
am
50th Annual Gaspee Days Parade - Saturday June 13 /10 am
For a complete calendar of events visit gaspee.com
The Gaspee Days Committee is thankful
for the continued support of the R.I. Shriners
20
11am Temple Guard
Directors Staff
Meeting 7:30
Fathers Day
28
17
Gaspee Days Parade
10am
26
27
12
SCIMITAR April/May 2015
Current & Upcoming Events
SCIMITAR April/May 2015
13
Current & Upcoming Events
Free
Breakfast
for
all
Donors
All
Others
Donation
of
$7.00
SPRING
BLOOD DRIVE
&
BREAKFAST
FOR
DOWN SYNDROME
1515 Ten Rod Road
Washington Masonic Center
North Kingstown, RI 02852
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Blood Drive 9 am to Noon
Breakfast 730 to Noon
MT VERNON
LODGE #4
IS
HAVING
A
All
Breakfast Money
Goes
to
Down Syndrome
14
SCIMITAR April/May 2015
SCIMITAR April/May 2015
15
16
SCIMITAR April/May 2015
Ladies Corner
The Ladies of the Rhode Island Shrine
are off and running in 2015 under the
leadership of our new First lady, Kerrie
Medeiros.Under Kerrie’s and our Divan
Ladies leadership,we are looking forward
to working hard, having fun and planning
some very successful fundraisers to help
support our Nobles and the Rhode Island
Shrine.
As I’m sure all of you, as I am, are
ready for Spring! As I write this, there
is still way too much white stuff on the
ground! What a Winter!!! I’m sure we are
all looking forward to warmer weather,
longer days, and the many events that
the Shrine is planning! No more winter
coats!!!
At the first Ladies meeting in February
the ladies did a huge mailing and sent out
letters to businesses of all kinds requesting donations. As the say, “The Early
Bird gets the Worm.” Knowing from past
years many businesses reach their quotas
for donations very early on, we wantd to
get our name out there and hopefully the
mailing will be a huge success.
Our two major fundraisers this year
will be the 3rd Annual Chopstick Auction
and our 2nd Annual “Fez”-tival of Trees,
both which were very profitable last
PATRIOT
DISPOSAL CO., INC.
2208 Plainfield Pike
Johnston, RI
(401) 647-7499
year!Our Ladies Bazaar, although not the
same, will have many of the great tables
incorporated into the “Fez”-tival of Trees.
It will be bigger and better than last year
so we need help! Last year it was held on
a Sunday afternoon, this year it will run
over the 3-day Thanksgiving weekend.
So plan on getting out to our meetings
and see what you can do.
Some of our events coming up are;
Adult Easter Egg Hunt - April 5th
Rhode Island Shrine Visitation - April
10-12
Chopstick Auction and Dinner - May
15th
As in the past we will be having several Potluck Suppers for our Shrine family
throughout the year. This is a fun, relaxing, inexpensive way to get together and
enjoy each others company. So cook up
someting you like and join us. We’ll be
glad to be the tasters!
The attendance at our February meeting was low. I, myself was sick with that
cold/virus thing that was going around
and couldn’t make it.Also many of our
Ladies are lucky enough to be wintering
down South. We welcome and encourage
all our ladies to come out to our meetings
which are held the first Monday of each
month at 6:30 PM. We hold our meetings
downstairs in the Ladies Activity room.
Our new Shrine Ladies, we especially
look forward to meeting you and getting
to know each and every one of you. As
a group of Ladies we have many talents
and together we can accomplish great
things working together.
Again congratulations to Ill. Glenn
and Lady Kerrie. I know they have been
very busy since January! The Installation Banquet was beautiful and was such
a great evening. I know Glenn and Kerrie, along with some of the Divan, have
attended visitations at Aleppo and Melha
Shrine. It’s important for them to travel
and represent our Shrine, Not only do you
meet the most wonderful Shriners and
their Ladies but it is a time to share ideas
and learn ways to enrich your own Temple. They attended the Luncheon down in
Florida and although cool I’m sure it was
better than here. So let’s continue to give
them our full support and Rhode Island
Shrine will continue on in it’s mission of
helping and changing the lives of Children who need us!
Fondly,
Janet Hencler
P.P Lady - 2011
17
Shriners Hospitals-Springfield Report
SCIMITAR April/May 2015
H. Lee Kirk, Jr., FACHE has been lines in that community. Previous em-
hired as the administrator for Shriners ployers include Methodist Health SysHospitals for Children — Springfield. tem in Memphis, TN and Lee MemoKirk brings over 30 years of progres- rial Hospital in Fort Myers, FL.
sive experience as a senior healthcare
Kirk received his undergraduate de-
executive. Most recently having served gree from the University of Tennessee
as president and CEO at Culpeper Re- and a Masters in Hospital Administragional Health System (CRHS) in Vir- tion from George Washington Univerginia, which is comprised of a 70 bed sity in Washington DC.
acute care hospital, a cancer center, a
He is the proud father of 3 adult
multi-specialty clinic, an ambulatory children and has relocated to Western
surgery center and several other service Mass with his wife Kim.
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Christopher Reed - President
Craig Viens - Vice President
Joseph Tougas - Treasurer
Sandy Robinson - Secretary
Jason Renchan - Trustee
18
SCIMITAR April/May 2015
Student Awareness Of Fire Education
In an effort to support National Burn Awareness Week February 1-7, 2015, we were fortunate
to have local firefighters, from
the S.A.F.E. (Student Awareness
of Fire Education) program visit
Shriners Hospitals for Children in
Springfield, Mass. This visit has
been an annual event for 20 years
with many firefighters teaching patients and families lifesaving burn
awareness tips in a fun way.
On February 3, thirteen firefighters and Sparky the Fire Dog
interacted with patients in the hospital’s outpatient department by
teaching them about fire safety.
The firefighters handed out bright
pencils that change color with the
heat of your hand, mini coloring
books and even quizzed patients on
what to do in case of a fire or if their
clothes were on fire. Each patient
was also given a bright red firefighter’s hat to take home as a reminder of the tips they were taught
to stay safe and be aware.
Throughout the week, a burn
awareness display was set up in
the hospital lobby, and each day a
new tip was featured. The display
provided complimentary burn prevention materials including age-
appropriate activity books, posters
and fact sheets for visitors, patients,
their families, and staff to take
home with them.
For more information about
our year-long Be Burn Aware campaign, please visit our website:
http://www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org/beburnaware.
SCIMITAR April/May 2015
For
Shriners
Born In:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
11
12
13
Daniel Lecht
Donald Dwares
Joseph Gonsalves
Charles Katsanos
Russell Manchester, Jr.
Henry Delovio
Charles Angell
Harold Greiner
PP Robert Williams
Kenneth Hilton, III
Dennis Cipriano
Wylie Dassie IV
George Cicma
William Crowther
Ronald Slocum
Simon Der Muksian.
Donald Thornton
Paul Healy
PP Terrell Parker
Paul Vento, Jr.
Terry Clark
Robert Allen
Frank Gallo
Peter Giarrusso
Anthony Pirri
Richard Enegren
Gary Place
David Ryone
23
24
25
Robert Bjerke
Samuel Grayson
William Cooper
PP C. Wilbur, Jr.
21
14
Thomas Irons
20
Chester Barrows
PP Andrew Hencler
Carl Berghman
11
David Dagostino
Peter Fusco
Wyman Hallstrom, Jr.
Everett Corscadden
Ernest Pappas
Francis Kay
18
19
Leon Resnick
Harvey Davies
Russell Davis, Sr.
Robert Eddleston
Normand Ouellette
Wayne Wunschel
Vincent Faraci
17
Craig Shaw
10
PP Leon Knudsen
James Desmarais
Robert St. Jean
16
William Morgan
Michael Trudell
George Mihailides
John Spicer, Jr.
15
27
28
29
Arthur Boyanowski
Hirum Jamiel II
Kenneth Tait, Sr.
15
1
Frank Dobson
David L. Feinman
Robert Smith III
Steven Eng
John Weschadlo
Edward Grossman
Robert Hoffman
John Beebe
4
5
6
7
Charles Tweedly, Sr..
Gregory Hajder
Gerald Peloso
David Goldberg
Alvin Hey
Richard Duckworth, Jr.
Anthony Marcello, Jr.
Robert Correia
Peter Allen
Ronald Reed
Ronald Dezeil
Thomas Piscopio
8
9
19
20
21
23
24
25
26
27
30
31
Robert DiCicco
James Isherwood
Albert Peterson
David A. DiCecco
Robert Ogg, Jr.
David Congdon
Norman Bailey
Dino Soscia
Williston Chace
Burton Goldstein
Donald Reilly
Norman Messinger, Jr.
April & May 2015
19
20
SCIMITAR April/May 2015
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