April, 2019 VOL. 87, NO 04

HOT TOPICS

7811 Rockwood Lane

Austin, Texas 78757

512-480-0812

www.benhurshrine.org

The office needs your current email !

TSHBA Mid Winter

Ben Hur Celebrates

The Chariot is being expanded. Units can now publish pictures of their

events.

April 5 - 7, 2019 at the Crowne Plaza in Austin

April 2019 2

BEN HUR SHRINE

CHARTED AUGUST 16, 1892

7811 Rockwood Lane

Austin, Texas 78757

Phone 512-480-0812

Fax 512-479-4060

www.benhurshrine.org

secretary@benhurshrine.org

recorder@benhurshrine.org

BEN HUR OFFICE HOURS

Mon - Fri 9:30am to 3:30pm

Closed on Major Holidays

ILLUSTRIOUS SIR JEFF CLARK

2019 POTENTATE

ROMEO DENGHEL……….……...CHIEF RABBAN

PAUL PENNINGTON…....ASSISTANT RABBAN

DENNIS MOTLEY….HIGH PRIEST & PROPHET

CHUCK “FESTER” JONES…..ORIENTAL GUIDE

BILLY J JAMES………………………..TREASURER

SAM STIMSON, PhD…………………..RECORDER

STATED MEETING

Ben Hur Shrine meets on the 3rd Thursday of the

month. The next stated meeting will be April 18,

2019. YOUR 2019 DUES CARD IS REQUIRED!

Entertainment Chair

Gene & Bridgette Payne

Entertainment Committee

Brazia Payne, Starlynn Payne, Bruce & Liz Lewis

Ruth Ramirez, Ted & Charla Robertson,

Shelbie Reiswig, Craig Reiswig, Brenda W Sholin,

Russell Jones, John Cooper, John Wood,

Travis & Amanda Powell, James & Janet Heineman

Mac & Laura Cutler, Lana Stone

Insurance Chairman

Gerald “Jerry” Carruth

Insurance Committee

Ill Sir Jeff Clark, Potentate, Chief Rabban Romeo

Denghel, David Caylor,

Recorder, Sam Stimson, PhD

Legal Counsel

Gerald C. “Jerry” Carruth

Masonic Relations

Danny Kleen

$100 Million Dollar Club

John Blair

Parade Marshal

Anthony DeFrancisis

Parliamentarian

Gerald C. “Jerry” Carruth

Photographer

Gene Payne, Ramon Reyes

Public Relations

Fred “Buddy” Funderburgh

Sickness & Distress

Nobility

Transportation Chairman

Vance Brown

Webmaster/Designer

Brett M. Chandler-Finch

APPOINTED STAFF

Administrative Potentate’s Aide

Ill Sir Ed Whitmore, PP

Administrqative Aide-de-Campe (Protocol)

Ill Sir Ed Bromstad, PP

Administrative Assistant for Office

Lisa Hollon

Building & Grounds Manager

Stanley Anderson

Chaplain

David McBride

Colonel of Units

Ill Sir Silas Powell, PP

Donor Relations

Dennis Motley, H.P. & P.

APPOINTED STAFF (Cont)

APPOINTED DIVAN

Temple Director - Jim Kinley

Captain of the Guard - Ferril “F.C.” Smith, MD

Outer Guard - Robin Shannon

1st Ceremonial Master -

2nd Ceremonial Master - Russell Jones

Marshal -

April 2019 3

POTENTATE’S MESSAGE

Well here we are in April and what a line up for this month. We have

the beginning of Baseball Season with the Round Rock Express

(Triple A affiliate of the 2017 World Series Champion Houston As-

tros) starting play, Parades in Burnet and Georgetown, Easter, TSA

Brew Unit Mid-Winter, Grand Masters Conference and the Interna-

tional Convention of the Legion of Honor where Eddie Daffern will be

Elected to International Commander.

The parade in Burnet is April 13th and the Georgetown parade is April

27th. Information on the 2 parades will follow with EMMA Blasts, so

pay attention to your email. Easter is coming up so prepare your house for the arrival

of the Easter Bunny! Easter falls on the 21st this month.

The Biggy this month is the TSA Brew Unit Mid-Winter Convention on April 4th-7th,

where we are the host Temple. Registration forms are in the office. Please contact our

Recorder Sam Stimson for information. Also that same weekend, we are hosting the

Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Texas in a Grand Master’s Confer-

ence on Saturday, April 6th from 2pm till 4pm.

I am working on getting a trip to the Houston Hospital in either April or May, which will

coincide with our Spring Ceremonial. I am also working in throwing in an Astros Base-

ball Game at Minute Maid Park if feasible.

Shrine Mason night at the Dell Diamond will be on May 13th @7:05 pm. Tickets are in

the Temple Office. Please call 512-480-0812 to reserve your tickets now. They are

$13 apiece. Good seats, Section 121-which is between the 3rd Base Dugout and Home

Plate.

Last but not least, Eddie Daffern, Past Potentate(Khiva), and an associate member of

Ben Hur, will be elected to the office of Commander of the International Association of

Legion of Honor on April 27th in Dayton, Ohio. Let’s wish him the best on his new post.

That should be if for this month. Please keep an eye on you emails, Facebook and

other forms of social media for dates and times of events to come. See you in the

Funny Papers!

I

H

O

P

April 2019 4

Chief Rabban Ladies and Nobles,

The circus is coming! The 2019 Circus Kickoff Party is on April 10th

at 6:30 PM at Ben Hur Shrine Temple. Come join us as we kick off

a new circus season! Pick up an ad packet and enjoy some food.

The 2019 Ben Hur Shrine Circus is on Labor Day weekend at the

HEB Center in Cedar Park. It’s never too early to let us know that

you would like to volunteer to help your temple raise the money

needed to keep the doors open. We need your help even if it’s

just for a couple of hours.

The Murder Mystery Dinner Fundraiser originally scheduled for October 26th has been

moved to October 19th due to early voting taking place at Ben Hur Shrine Temple.

Tickets will go on sale this month. There has been a lot of interest from the nobility in

this fundraiser, and I expect tickets will sell out.

Last but not least, the 2020 Ben Hur Shrine Nobility Ball was originally scheduled for

April 4th. That same weekend, the Grand Master Conference will be in Austin. I believe

it is important to maintain good fraternal relations with the Grand Lodge of Texas, so

the ball has been rescheduled to February 29th. Since this is the April issue, I thought

about including an April Fools joke in my article. Luckily for everyone reading this arti-

cle, Lady Holly vetoed my idea about including a sonogram and announcing she is preg-

nant. Maybe next year… You’ve been warned! YITF, Romeo Denghel

ASSISTANT RABBAN

All,

It is hard to believe we are already a third of the way through this

year! It seems like a long way off but I have been working on plans

for 2021 at the local, state, and international levels. A lot of obser-

vation and bouncing ideas around has taken place and I can assure

you WE WILL HAVE FUN!!!!!

To that end I have been working with several Nobles and Brother

Master Masons to put on a Festive Board right here at Ben Hur. Several more experi-

enced members of Ben Hur told me that events like this use to be common place but

slowly faded away over the years. So, we decided to give it a shot! There will be food,

drink, traditional toasts, swag, and education. It will be on Friday April 26th and there is

a flyer in this edition of the Chariot. If you have any questions reach out to me.

YITF,

Paul Pennington

April 2019 5

ORIENTAL GUIDE Howdy all,

Oriental Guide School in Tampa was great. Three days of great in-

formation and Pam and I met a bunch of great Shriners. We toured Imperial Headquarters and met the great folks running the opera-

tions. They all told us that it was our building and we built it. Met

several of the Imperial officers and they made us feel at home. Ten out of the thirteen of Texas OGs and ladies were there and got to

sneak out for supper one night. Texas Shrines have some dedicated folks coming up in the Divan this year.

The conference covered everything from membership, finance, budgets to fundraising and law. Everything including the class time was built around FUN. Some of the classes

were Nobles and Ladies together and some were split up, but we were both impressed on how much the ladies were involved in the same information the guys got. They

stressed how important the ladies are to our great organization. One of our speakers was Riley, a Hospital Ambassador. He is 17 and has been treated since about 3. I had a

chance to talk with him after and he is a nice young man and very inspirational. Pam and I came away with a completely different outlook.

Ben Hur Shrine was well represented this year and we met up for a photo. Imperial Sir Jim Smith and Lady Alice, Illustrious Sir Charlie Farnham and Lady Betty, and Pam and

I. Then Imperial Sir Jim Cain jumped in and photo bombed us. It was a fun time.

IHOP Pancake days was a fun day. We got to work with our brothers and sisters to raise some money. Pam and I had fun raising money and met several folks that were

touched somewhere in life by the Shriner’s Hospital. Thanks to all that helped.

Pam and I want to thank everyone at Ben Hur for the opportunity to attend the Oriental

Guide School. We hope to use some of what we learned to serve all of you. We left in-formed, respected and inspired. Everyone treated us like family.

Thanks Again

RECORDER

Here we are and it’s already April. SXSW is gone and hopefully eve-

ryone enjoyed Spring break. You might notice that the format of

the chariot has taken yet another turn. We have decided to edit it

in house. This will give us the opportunity to include more informa-

tion that is of interest to you. Going forward I would like each unit

to start taking pictures during your events and send them to me.

We will include all club and unit information as well as pictures. Re-

member this is your publication. This month there are 4 extra

pages in the Chariot. I hope you enjoy. Also, let me know if there is something I

missed, I’ll take care of in next month.

April 2019 6

April 2019 7

April 2019 8

The Capital City Carboys are busy brewing special beers for competition at TSA this

summer. There is always Craft Beer available at the Temple, come on out and try

some.

April 2019 8

News from Ben Hera Court #91 LOS

A big thank you to everyone who came out and supported the Ben Hera LOS Dinner and Murder on March 2. It was a great success. Seems we learned some of the Divan

members’ ladies are a little more sinister than we thought (not mentioning any names Lady Pamela!)

LOS would like to recognize our Lady Luda Voskov, now PHP, for a wonderful year as High Priestess of Ben Hera Court #91 and congratulation Lady Marie Dickson on her in-

stallation as our new High Priestess. Best wishes for a fantastic year Lady Marie. Ben Hera Court sends out a special thank you to all the ladies who helped raise money

to support our hospitals this past year. 2018 court year donations announced at our March meeting include the following: from the LOS Court - $1,000 to be split between

the Houston and Galveston Shrine Hospitals, $500 to the Ben Hur Transportation Fund and $250 each to the Incoming and Outgoing Grand High Priestesses’ Special Projects

for the Shrine Hospital for a total of $2,000 ; from the LOS Jokheras Unit - $100 to the Incoming Grand High Priestess’ Special Project for the Shrine Hospitals and $900 to the

Outgoing Grand High Priestess’ Special Project for the Shrine Hospitals, $975 to be split

between the Galveston, Houston and Shreveport Hospitals and $100 to the Ben Hur Transportation Fund. Our Demo Unit which is folding at the end of March after many

years of generous service and contributions to the Shrine Hospitals donated $827.52 to be divided between the Houston and Galveston Shrine Hospitals.

And that’s not all. We would also like to say thank you to the ladies who help out Ben Hur by working various IHOP locations in March for the IHOP National Pancake Day

supporting the Shriners Hospitals. Ladies you were well represented and we thank you (and your Nobles) for your efforts on behalf of the children. March was a great

month!

Upcoming news – please add Sunday, June 23, 2019 to your calendar. Jokheras will be hosting a Bunco Party at the BHS with net proceeds benefiting the Shrine Hospi-

tals. Pricing and further details to follow next month.

You never know who you are

going to meet when you go to

OG School.

April 2019 8

April 2019

31 1 2

3

BHS BOD Mtg

Jokheras

Rental

Scottish-Rite

4

LOH

Rental

5

TSHBA

6

TSHBA

Grand Master

Conference

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

7

Sons of Herman

8 9

Mini B’s

10

BHS Circus

Kickoff mtg

11

Provost Guard

Highland Lakes

12

LOS Stated

13

Burnet Parade

14 15 16

Directors Staff

PG - Practice

WILCO SC

Scottish Rite

17

Nile

York Rite

18

Transporters

BHS - Stated

19

Rental - Tango

20

BHS - Pending

21 22

23

Trailblazers

24

Clown - Std

25

Golf Midwinter

TSGA 2019

Carboys - Off

TSRVA

26

Golf Midwinter

TSGA 2019

BHS Festive

Board

27

Golf Midwinter

Georgetown

Parade

Rental Pending

28 29 30 1 2 3 4

BE SURE AND CHECK WWW.BENHURSHRINE.ORG FOR LATEST DATES AND

TIMES. CALENDARS CAN CHANGE.

April 2019 8

May 2019

28 29 30

1

BHS BOD Mtg

Jokheras

Rental

Scottish-Rite

2

T/C TSRVA

LOH offsite

3

T/C TSRVA

4

T/C TSRVA

Rental

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

5

T/C TSRVA

Quetzalcoatl

6

7 8

Patrol

9

Provost Guard

Highland Lakes

10

LOS Stated

Rental

11

Rental

12 13 14

MiniB’s

15

Golf

Nile

York Rite

16

Transporters

BHS Stated

17

Rental - Tango

18

Pflugerville

Parade

Rental

19 20 21

PG Practice

Directors Staff

WILCO SC

Scottish Rite

22

Clown Stated

23

T/C Brazos V

Carboys Offsite

24

T/C Brazos V

25

T/C Brazos V

Rental

26

T/C Brazos V

27 28

Trailblazers

29

30 31

Membership

Pending

1

BE SURE AND CHECK WWW.BENHURSHRINE.ORG FOR LATEST DATES AND

TIMES. CALENDARS CAN CHANGE.

April 2019 12

Meet your Texas OG’s They went to school, and ate the books.

April 2019 13

April 2019 14

Ben Hur Shrine Festive Board

Friday April 26, 2019

6:00 - 9:00 PM

The Psychology of Initiation

Presented by Dr. David Hill

Ticket cost: $45 per person

Limited seating available, tickets must be

purchased by April 19, 2019.

For tickets and more information contact

Paul Pennington

512-567-6920 or plpennington@gmail.com

This is a formal event for Master Masons

7811 Rockwood Lane, Austin, TX 78757

April 2019 15

2019 CHARIOT BOOSTER CLUB

April 2019 16

BLACK CAMEL REPORT

John David Baylor 11/28/2018 William J Pascoe, Sr 12/30/2017

Hubert W. Cook 03/12/2019

WILCO SHRINE CLUB (Williamson County) formerly Sun City Shrine Club. In keeping with our Potentate Illustrious Sir Jeff Clark's efforts to make Ben Hur Shriners an enjoyable time for all, WILCO Shrine Club is on a mission to have

fun and follow his lead. Our Ladies and Shriners meet on the Third Tuesdays each month at Berry Creek Golf and Country Club, 30500 Berry Creek Dr, Georgetown, TX 78628. Social at 5:30 Dinner at 6:00. Our dinners with desserts are reasonably priced at $17 (including tax & tip) and are always delicious. For our April dinner, we have author and country western singer Johnny Hackmann, as our special guest. Join us and enjoy. RSVP with our Secretary Jim Crawford at crawf@ala.net or Text our President Ron Speaks at 813-365-0101

Williamson County Shrine Club (WILCO)

April 2019 17

April 2019 18

April 2019 19

Ben Hur Shriners

7811 Rockwood Lane

Austin, TX 78757

(512) 480-0812

NON PROFIT ORG. U.S. Postage

PAID Permit 1120 Austin, Texas

TIME DATED MATERIAL

DO NOT DELAY

BEN HUR NOBLES WITH BIRTHDAYS IN APRIL

4/2

John C Preece

4/3

James H Lewis

John F Blair

Arthur L Bartley

Jeffry R Pryor

4/4

Wilbert H Else

4/5

James P Wardle

4/8

Gerald C Carruth

Craig A Hammons

4/9

Bennie L Hudson

4/10

Joe D Beaver

Johnny L Kabella

4/11

Margarito R Sosa

4/12

Collie L. Murray

Derek M Shires

4/13

Michael D Owens

4/14

Jiles W Jackson

4/16

John C Casey

Romeo V Denghel

4/17

Curtis J Schoen

Brett M Chandler-Finch

4/19

Steven M Orme

Charles D Hutson

4/20

Brant R McClelland

Raymond B Merrill

4/21

Douglas H Watson

James D Allen II

4/22

Antonio F Moreno

Raymond T Williams

William J Pascoe, Sr.

John K Jackson II

4/23

David B Ferguson

4/25

Donald H Lively

Edward G Bromstad, PP

Curtis S Young

Bruce D Lewis

4/27

Charles L Allen

Charles J Farnham, PP

4/28

Kenneth R Rosenblad

Randall T Stiles

4/29

Basil R Willis

Fred A Sternberg

4/30

Clarence B Kloppe, Jr

Douglas J Freyburger