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POTENTATE’S MESSAGE

Welcome to the summer of 2017 everyone! It must be summer; our unofficial start of the season, the fantastic Land O’ Lakes and Tay-Clyde BBQ has come and gone! This promises to be the busiest summer Tunis has had for quite some time. As I type, the Hillbillies Chow Down and initiation has just been held, the inaugural Tunis Shriners’ Motorcycle Poker Run was successfully completed and Parade Season is underway with two Canada Day Parades in Merrickville and Kemptville being held at the end of this week! Upcoming, we have the inaugural Wayne McGarvey Memorial Golf Tournament at Smiths Falls Golf and Country Club on the 21st and the 2017 Shriners International Imperial Sessions in Daytona Beach; but the largest event will of course be our hosting the Northeast Shrine Association in August as an official part of the Ottawa 150 celebrations of Canada’s sesquicentennial birthday.

As we have mentioned in the past, on August 17, 18, and 19 we will host the fifteen Shrine Temples in the northeast region in a series of business meetings, friendly competitions and family friendly social events featuring an extensive ladies’ program. Most importantly for the Tunis family is our Annual Ceremonial on Friday August the 18th. For any of you that have not come out to see our wonderful Ceremonial Cast and Director’s Staff perform in a while I earnestly suggest this maybe the year to do so! One doesn’t want to firmly project the number of new Tunis Nobles that will be created at that event; but based upon information I received from Tampa we might just exceed the numbers of 1985 and 1986! An outstanding achievement by our whole team of Nobles!!! I am pleased to be able to announce Noble Doug Dockrill is the winner of the Tunis Shriner of the Quarter award. Doug serves as one of this year’s Potentates Aides, a member of the Directors Staff, and one of our talented mini bikers. Additionally, for several years Noble Dockrill has co-ordinated the Tunis Shriners’ Degree Team that represents all of our Nobility, performing third degrees for Lodges

TUNIS NEWS July, 2017

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throughout the Tunis catchment area. This year he continues to do so, despite some challenging health issues. Thank you Doug for the job you and the Degree Team do! Before I close, I mentioned the Tunis Motorcycle Poker Run above. It was well received with participants coming from as far as Barrie and west of Toronto; who indicated they would be back. We are already beginning the planning for the Second Annual Poker Run for next year. I bring this event up for a single reason; it is to assure the Nobility and our participants from the Widow’s Sons and the Harley Owners Groups that participated in the event that everything was totally on the up and up! By way of proof I am willing and totally embarrassed, to publically reveal my scorecard from the Poker Run. I wouldn’t have come close to winning anything if I had had ten cards…. One might expect that the organizers might cut your poor Potentate (who rode 110 miles up to Ottawa the night before the event in a rain of biblical proportions) a little slack. I guess not! As mentioned at the end of our last Newsletter, if you like the way this Newsletter is evolving please let those that have taken their time to supply an article or given their time to put it together a word of thanks. If you have a comment or suggestion, please direct them to me.

And last, with summer being here on behalf of the Divan, Lady Deb and myself we wish you a safe and happy vacation season and remind you all to watch your pets in the heat; even when walking them during the daytime on pavement…..

Ill. Sir Dave Wood Tunis Potentate, 2017

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FROM THE RECORDER’S DESK Hi Nobles, just something I read lately and now I posted it on my door in the Shrine Office. It

reminds me that when I am

sending out emails or making phone calls from the office to look for volunteers

to help out somewhere in our jurisdiction that we all

should remain active in some way or another in order to keep this fraternity alive and well. Going to club or unit meetings, selling calendars, sponsoring new candidates, playing golf and having fun are all part of the original idea of what Shriners are all about. If we stay involved at the Temple then our Shriners Hospital for Children will flourish and our “kids” will benefit. With the Northeast Shrine Association field days fast approaching this August here in Ottawa it will be a great opportunity to dust off your FEZ, gather up the family and friends and “mingle with the flock”. If you don’t know where to start then give me a call or send me an email and I will do my best to suggest something to keep you busy.

Perry McConnell, P.P. Recorder, Tunis Shriners 179 613-729-2296 (office) 613-724-0795 (cell) mpj.mcconnell@bell.net (home)

MEMBERSHIP

Nobles & Ladies I am very pleased & excited to tell all of you that 2017 is proving to be a banner year for membership at Tunis Shriners. You have taken on the Membership Committee’s challenge to recruit 40 new candidates and thanks to your collective efforts we have already reached our goal with time to spare prior to the August 18th Ceremonial. Even more exciting is the fact that we will most probably surpass our initial target of 40 new candidates and this feat has not been achieved since 1991. On behalf of our Membership Committee I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank every one of you for having answered the call to increase our numbers such that Tunis will continue to be a pillar within our communities and a beacon of hope for all the children & families in need of our services. I must however mention & caution that it is equally important for us to retain & engage our new Nobles after Ceremonial day is over as it was to recruit them in the first place. Recruitment without retention & engagement will prove counterproductive. As sponsors we have also committed to mentorship & guidance. This way Tunis will remain strong & vibrant for the future. In closing, I would like to invite all Tunis Nobles to come out on Friday, August 18 to attend & witness the initiation of a record number of new Tunis Nobles designated as the John Diefenbaker Class 2017. Fraternally

Peter Rippstein P.P. Chairman Membership

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HILLBILLY MOONLITER CLAN 149

Our Hillbilly year started off with a very successful Sommelier Guided Wine & Cheese Pairing event organized by Maws Sandra and Sue. It was held on March 25th at the Royal Canadian Legion in Kanata and was almost completely sold out. There is talk that this may become an annual event and if you haven’t attended, you really should consider it for next year.

Hillbilly Moonliter Clan 149 held their Annual Family Reunion Chow Down and Hillbilly Degrees on Saturday June 24th at the Rabban of the Clan’s shack in Kinburn. We had 16 new Paws and Maws initiated and the Clan just keeps on growing. The

most fun part of the day was waiting for the Pig-Go Bingo and hanging out with all our cuzzins.

Now that we have the initiations of new cuzzins out of the way, we will be getting our fancy duds out to start our parade season: Merrickville Canada Day – 11:00 a.m.; Kemptville Canada Day – 4:00 p.m.; Lansdowne Fair Parade in July 22nd; Ogdensburg International Seaway Festival, July 29th, Brockville Railway Tunnel Parade August 12th. We will also be parading at the NSA in Ottawa. Any new cuzzins, old and new, wanting to join Clan 149 in the parades, let Cuzzin Lyle know so he can get his tractors and floats ready. If anyone has their own tractor, get it decorated up and come on out and have some fun.

Plans are in the making for our 2nd Annual Hillbilly Gala on September 30th, 2017. Mark your calendars, tickets will be available soon.

TUNIS HOSPITAL DADDY PROGRAM TUNIS AUTOMATIC DONATION

SYSTEM – TADS

The Tunis Hospital Daddy Program is a fundraiser for Shriners Hospital for Children – Canada. The program supports the Tunis commitment to the Capital Funding Campaign for our Hospital. This year Tunis is adopting a new approach to the Hospital Daddy program. The Tunis Automatic Donation System (TADS)

WHAT IS TADS

TADS is an automatic donation program that is designed to afford Nobles, their spouses, family members and friends the opportunity to make donations to Shriners Hospital for Children – Canada on a repetitive basis. The most important feature of TADS is that the program is automatic. It does not require constant attention to your donation commitment since it is automatically deducted from your bank account. The full amount of your Donation is Tax Deductible. All donations/pledges are confidential. As Shriners we are committed to support our children who benefit from the exceptional medical care and research activities of our Montreal Hospital. TO MAKE A DONATION For information please contact the Tunis Hospital Daddy, Noble Wayne Keech at 613-592-5069 or keech@rogers.com or Noble Lionel Rowe P.P. at 613-290-9651 or lwrltd@gmail.com. Information packages are also available from the office. All donation/pledges will be thankfully received and faithfully applied.

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BROCKVILLE & DISTRICT S.C. The second quarter has been a huge success, eventful and informative for the Nobles and their Lady of the Brockville and District Shrine Club. Thursday morning coffee club has been a great success; Illustrious Sir Roland Card from Mazol Temple and Master Masons have attended and enjoyed themselves immensely; all thanks to Noble Pal Perkins.

BDSC Thursday morning coffee club; left to right Joe Maggio, Brian Valley, Tunis Potentate Illustrious Sir Dave Wood, Illustrious Sir Roland Card from Mazol Temple, Howard Hanna, Gary Tristram, Ken Baker, Pal Perkins, Gary Murphy, Rob Davis and Wally Adamson

Nobles of the BDSC presented a 100 Million Club certificate to DDGM R. W. Bro. Richard Denison and Masonic Association President W.

Bro. Michael Humes for their $1,000.00 donation to the Shriners Hospitals for Children.

Illustrious Sir Lionel Rowe received an Honorary Life Membership to the BDSC.

Our Master Masons night was a successful evening. There were 40 attendees; Nobles, Ladies and Master Masons; and applications were received for the 2017 Tunis Shrine Ceremonial in August.

Our May meeting was very informative; Dr. René St-Arnaud of the Research Centre of Shriners Hospitals for Children in Montreal was

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guest speaker. Dr. René St-Arnaud spoke about the new facility, the many opportunities the research centre has and have provided both functionally and technically. The centre focuses its research on bone tissue. BDSC held a fundraising BBQ at the Downtown Brockville Sidewalk Sale on May 27; this event proved to be financially successful; hanks to Noble Chef Joe Maggio and all Nobles who helped out. Our annual Street Fair was successful; thanks to Noble Joe Maggio and Noble Pal Perkins for organizing the event.

Nobles of the BDSC presented a 100 Million Club certificate to W. Bro. Gary Code and Lyn Lodge #416 for their $1,000.00 donation to the Shriners Hospitals for Children. BDSC made a $100.00 donation to the Shriners Hospitals for Children in the name of St. James Lodge #74 for the gratis use of their banquet hall and wonderful old building for our May dinner meeting, and Nobles of the BDSC presented a 100 Million Club certificate to W. Bro. Brian Henderson and St. James Lodge #74. Have a great summer. Sincerely & Fraternally Noble President Rob Smith

OTTAWA VALLEY S.C.

On Saturday, June 3rd, the Tunis Shriner Units including the Klowns, the Hillbillies, the Airforce and the Kops, all participated in the Renfrew Masonic Lodge’s celebration of the 300th Anniversary of the creation of the Grand Lodge of England, from which all our North American Masonic Lodge’s evolved. The day started off with a parade led by the Renfrew Highland Pipes and Drums followed

by Ottawa District 2 Masons and the Sterling Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. After

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the parade there were many free family oriented activities including a BBQ lunch, Jumpy Castles, face painting, Little Ray’s Reptiles, a bike rodeo (including prizes) and guided tours of Renfrew Lodge in the O’Brien Apartment building. Immediately following the parade, all the Shriner parade units and their participants gathered for an Oasis and some social interaction at Noble Jack Ledger’s home. From all reports it was very successful fun day. TUNIS SHRINE KLOWNS HE SHOOTS … HE SCORES!

There were plenty of goals scored at the sledge hockey tournament held in Stittsville on April 8 and 9. This was a tournament for kids and adults, with lower body paralysis, positioned on sledges

fitted with skate blades. It was organized by the Eastern Ontario Sledge Hockey Association with some financial support from our Tunis Shrine. Teams from as far away as Edmonton and Rhode Island competed in a range of categories with trophies awarded to the winners. Many thanks to

John Jacobs and Brandy of the EOSHA for allowing us to participate. Tunis support was very much appreciated by the organizers and the participants, who numbered about 125. Our support for these paraplegics is fully consistent with our 1922 mandate to support and treat kids with orthopaedic injuries and illnesses. Many TUNIS Nobles participated including our famous KLOWNS. This is an activity, which we can continue and even expand in the coming years. It’s another example of Nobles having fun with a purpose and sharing our positive attitudes with others less fortunate. Reported by Tin Cup, April 2017

TUNIS SHRINE DIRECTOR STAFF

Seven members of the Tunis Director’s Staff travelled down to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in April to attend the Shrine Director’s Association Convention of Shriners International. Tunis was honoured when our very own Ill Sir Dennis Saikaley was elected and installed as the President of the Association. He is only the 5th Canadian to hold that title in the 100 years of the Associations existence.

Also of note, Ill Sir Perry McConnell was elected to the board of the Association as Governor at Large, Noble Bruce Ricker was elected to the Board as Governor of Region 1, which includes the North East and Noble Kosta Hatzis was elected to fill a vacancy as Governor of Region 3, which is New York State and Ontario.

As for Tunis - we had our best outing ever! Proudly the Tunis Director's Staff were able to come away with some serious hardware! You see, the convention has an element of competition where all the Temples across Shrinedom compete by bringing new and exciting stunts to perform in front of a panel of judges. By bringing stunts, this allows us to share

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new ideas and constantly evolve our 2nd Sections back in our home Temples.

So how did we did Tunis do? Clearly the team did OUTSTANDING - we ended up winning both 1st and 2nd place Awards for Top Stunt Competitions!! Winning 1st and 2nd is not something that happens normally as the competition is fierce but truly the team stepped up to the occasion and the results where there for us!

So in just the past three years, Tunis' Director's Staff have had two 1st Place Awards, 1 Presidents Award, a 2nd and 4th place Award. Clearly all of Tunis should be very proud of our Director's Staff and how well they represent us across all of Shrine

In a personal note from the Director Noble Kosta Hatzis, he wanted to take the time to recognize and thank the team

that traveled down to represent us; Ill Sirs Perry McConnell and Dennis Saikaley, Nobles Bruce Ricker, Mark McLean, Danny McLean and Eric Owen. These Nobles took not only the time out of their personal lives but money out of their own

pocket to travel down and represent Tunis. Also prior to the team going down, many other things have to be in place to be able to achieve this kind of success so kudos goes out to the whole Unit for the team efforts in envisioning, planning, and support! Including our Assistant Director, Noble Doug Dockrill, who could not make the trip down with us as planned and to whom which the Director's Staff dedicate these wins!

LAND O’LAKES S.C.

The ladies attended the Land O' Lakes meeting in May with a great turnout. A presentation plaque from the Shriners Hospital for Children in Montreal was presented to Lady Barb Rotar for her continued promotion and support of Shriners. As co-owner of GT Signs she has generously supported area clubs and given Shriners in the area higher visibility. A proud Shriner Lady.

NSA 2017 Nobles & Ladies: We are now less than 2 months away from our Tunis hosted NSA2017 Fall Field Days. Our NSA2017 Committee has been diligently working toward this August 17-20th weekend since 2014 and we all share with great confidence the notion that Tunis will put on an impressive & memorable itinerary that will be

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enjoyed by all in attendance. As you are all aware, this NSA2017 will also feature our Tunis Visitation & Ceremonial events. I cannot say enough about our NSA2017 Committee having the foresight, knowledge & confidence to pull this combination of events together in one weekend. We all look forward to sharing in the fellowship and company of our fellow NSA temples who appear to be looking forward to our event as much as we are. There will be good food & drink, spirited competitions, Ladies programs, a good old fashioned Shrine parade and above all lots of fun. I sincerely hope that you will all make every effort to take part in some or all of the events being offered for this much anticipated weekend. You have all been previously sent a copy of the NSA2017 registration form & schedule. Come on out, make Tunis proud and enjoy some fun & fellowship with your extended Shrine family. If for some reason you have misplaced or do not have a registration form & schedule of events please call Barb at our Tunis Shrine office at 613-729-2296. See you all In August! Fraternally

Peter Rippstein P.P. Director General NSA2017

UP-COMING SHRINE EVENTS July to October 2017 July 9th – 14th Imperial Sessions Daytona Beach, FL July 21st Wayne McGarvey Memorial Golf Tournament Smiths Falls Golf & Country Club August 6th, 1:30pm SMART Cirque du Soleil - VOLTA Ottawa - ZIBI site (Eddy Bridge) August 9th Pre-NSA Divan meeting & Tunis Stated Meeting, Shrine Temple, Ottawa August 13th, 12:00pm SMART BBQ Noble Martin Dorner residence in Kanata August 17th – 20th NSA 2017 Field Days & Tunis Ceremonial/Visitation, Ottawa August 22nd Tunis Annual Golf Tournament Canadian Golf & Country Club

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August 30th Hillbilly Harvest Ball Carp Agricultural Hall September 6th Divan Meeting September 10th Shriners Hospital for Children – Canada Montreal Bus trip September 30th Hillbilly Harvest Ball, Carp Agricultural Hall Please submit any articles, pictures etc. for publication in future newsletters to Barb Seabright, Administrative Assistant, Editor, by mail to 2140 Walkley Rd., Ottawa, ON., K1G 3V3 or by email to admin@tunis179.org