Tuesday December 14, 2010

No matter what the calendar says, it is officially winter in SE Michigan. the last 48 hours have been dreadful, which directly led to one of the poorest turnouts in Shrine election history. Only 149 Nobles were able to attend the Annual Elections, due to the severe driving conditions. However, those who braved the icy roads were welcomed by hot delicious pizza and camel's milk to warm them up while awaiting the beginning of the Elections.

I conducted a very brief business meeting and went directly into the Elections. This is the first election in 5 years that I was not running for any office, how do I feel? Relieved? Happy? Sad? I believe that I ran the gamut of emotions last night, however, predominantly Happy to see that new Oriental Guide will join a group of dedicated, unselfish, future Potentates of Moslem and continue the successes from this year.

If you were not aware, our Shrine Temple is one of a very, very few that actually elects an Oriental Guide, who has not been previously appointed to a non-voting Board of Directors (Divan) position. The Imperial By Laws call for 10 Board Members, along with Treasurer/Recorder. The top 5 Board members are the Potentate, Chief Rabban, Asst. Rabban, HP&P and O.G. These are the voting members of the Board, followed by the Appointed non-voting members which are the 1st and 2nd Ceremonial Masters, Marshall, Captain of the Guard and Outer Guard. Many Temples actually have this 10 year line, while the majority have somewhere inbetween. The usual guidelines tend to have the Potentate-elect appoint the lowest member of their line, and that person will have so many years to serve until he reaches the Oriental Guide office, whereby he must then be elected. At that point, after serving at least one year, and possibly up to 5 years, the membership will know whether he is worthy of being an elected leader, and also whether he would want to continue. Sometimes I feel that one of these methods would be better than running for Oriental Guide, it would eliminate electioneering and popularity contests. You may think that a Potentate-elect would just elect a friend, however, from the majority of my counterparts around Shrinedome, this choice becomes their legacy. Therefore, the burden of choosing a Noble that will one day become Potentate is not taken lightly and each Potentate usually reflects a long time prior to choosing. I know that if I had been given that responsibility, I would not be able to make a decision in a short period of time.

Enough of the lesson of the day. Moslem Shriners have a new Potentate-elect, and I cannot be happier. I am so proud of the upcoming future Potentates on the Board, they made me look good and I hope to return the favor by helping them in any manner.

This may be my last post for a while, we are entering the holiday period of the Shrine, awaiting the Installation of Officers on January 9, 2011. The Units and Clubs are ceasing their activities until the new year. I hope that all enjoy the holidays, proving them with the love of family and friends.

I hope that this Blog allowed a little glimpse into the time and commitment involved with being Potentate of Moslem Shriners. A lot beleive that it is all bells and whistles, that we just stand and receive accolades and enjoy unlimitless resources. I believe that is the major reason I wanted to begin this blog, to shed light on what the average day, week, and month holds for a Potentate. All in all, I believe that I have relayed the general life that a Potentate leads, the sacrifice of time to external sources, and the joy of perceived successes and sorrows of mistakes. Moslem Shriners is 130 years old and we have had 116 Potentates, out of tens of thousands of members throughout our history. That in itself is an amazing figure, but more importantly one that should provide a sense of pride in membership, honor to serve your organization and above all to teach the lesson that a Potentate serves only for one year, he serves as a Past Potentate the rest of his life. I cannot believe that 5 years have sped by in a blink of an eye. I re-examinied a list of goals that I wrote down while in "Shrine Camp" during the first months of my Oriental Guide year. I am proud to say that many of the goals took shape and succeeded in becoming reality. It is a different Shrine than 5 years ago, and if I had a little to do with assisting in our successful future, I am proud and thank the Supreme Architect with providing that bright light, that illuminated the path for me since my journey began.

Yours in the Faith