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FEZ SEZ

Al Azhar Shriners, 5225 – 101 Street NW, Calgary, Alberta T3L1S4 Phone: 403-239-0030 Fax: 403-239-4334 Email: office@al-azhar.ab.ca Website: www.al-azhar.ab.ca

FROM YOUR POTENTATE

Dear Nobles and Ladies, The Imperial Sessions in Indianapolis is completed. Our Imperial Potentate Imperial Sir John Cinotto will focus on increasing membership for 2013/2014. All Nobles should do their best to increase our membership in Al Azhar. One very important bylaw change was on the call and passed with great debate. Arkansas Shrine Temples (the only State) is allowed Non-Masons to join. This will remain until differences are mended with the Grand Lodge of Arkansas. These non-Masons will not be able to visit any Meetings/Ceremonials of the Shrine. If you travel in the States you may be asked to produce you Blue Lodge dues card. I thank all Units who participated in the Stampede Parade and the several parades in Alberta. We are well received when we go along the parade route; I wish we could get members from this exposure. Thanks to the Units who were on stage at the Stampede grounds. The PNSA 2013 in Lethbridge was a complete success. The organizing committee did a great job. Their total commitment for the last 3 years was rewarded by the many thanks from Shriners and their Ladies. They did this and paid their own way to be in Lethbridge. All I can say is thank you; I appreciate all the hard work. To my Aides who helped in the Hospitality room and other duties thank you. The highlight was the visit of Imperial Sir John Cinotto (Imperial Potentate) and Imperial Sir Jim Cain (Imperial Oriental Guide) and Lady Patty. To the Medicine Hat Shrine Club your reception at the Western Day parade July 25th for Imperial Sir John, Ill Sir Gordon and Noble Brian was tremendous. To Noble Ted Flemmer you organized a great event at the Shrine Club. We all enjoyed your hospitality. Thanks to all the Nobles and Ladies of Medicine Hat Shrine Club. The Summer Festivals and Air Show were well attended by Shrine Units in Calgary and Airdrie. Air Corps, Tin Lizzie, Director Staff and Membership thanks. What a great way to get our message out to the general public. Nobles we need your support to increase our membership. Invite a Master Mason or a Non-Master Mason to the Shrine Centre Friday October 18th for a great evening of fun and information. We will have a fun Casino with free money to start the evening, food will be served and libations available. Make sure you have a candidate for our Fall Ceremonial Friday Nov. 15 and Saturday Nov.16 2013 at Al Azhar. We have a Joint Installation on Saturday night. If you’re Club and Unit want to participate in the Joint Installation please contact the Shrine Centre of your intentions. We will require the number who will attend by the first week of November. (Cont’d p2)

Inside: Shrine Centre News – p2 Chaplain Message – p3 Recorder Ramblings – p4 SHC Canada News – p5-7 Upcoming Events – p10-11 Club/Unit News – p12-19 Stampede Parade 2013 – p20-22 Inspiring Iceland – p23-26 PNSA 2013 Memories – p27 Petition – p30

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FROM YOUR POTENTATE CONT”D I thank Queen Joan Pruett of Sakkara Temple No.115 for the invitation on the visit of Her Supreme Majesty Margaret Ann Risk Daughters of the Nile. What a great Lady to represent the Daughters of the Nile. Her address on membership and letting the 22 hospitals know about the D.O.N. was well received by all. She will visit 139 Temples and 22 hospitals in 8 months quite an itinerary. We will be doing more clean up at the Centre. An e-blast will be sent out when we require your help. Yours in the Faith Gordon Brewer

AL AZHAR SHRINERS SOCIETY OASIS OF CALGARY, DESERT OF SOUTHERN ALBERTA

STATED BUSINESS MEETING

AL AZHAR SHRINERS SOCIETY will hold its Stated Business Meeting

on Thursday, September 26th, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. sharp, at the Shrine Centre, Calgary for the transaction of business as follows:

1. Potentate’s Opening Remarks 2. Receive Petitions and Balloting

3. General Business 4. Other Business as per the Potentate

Wear your fez and a smile

(Also bring your 2013 dues card. You need it for admission!)

Attest: Yours in the Faith J. Garth Border, Recorder Gordon B. Brewer, Potentate There will be a dinner at 6:00pm prior to the meeting for those interested. Please RSVP to the Shrine Centre to allow us to provide the caterers with the number attending.

Your 2013 Divan POTENTATE GORDON BREWER P: 403 241-7713 E: brewpogo@telus.net CHIEF RABBAN BRIAN SHIMMONS P: 403 949-4490 E: bws195@telus.net ASSISTANT RABBAN ROBERT NEWMAN P: 403 948-6161 E: newtfam@telusplanet.net HIGH PRIEST & PROPHET BYRON NELSON P: 403 253-6659 E: byronwnelson@shaw.ca ORIENTAL GUIDE KARL FRASER P: 403-312-2545 E: karltfraser@shaw.ca RECORDER GARTH BORDER P: 403 239-0030 E: recorder@al-azhar.ab.ca TREASURER W.G. (BILL) MILLER P: 403 686-0801 E: wmiller10@shaw.ca JUNIOR PAST POTENTATE KENT GALBRAITH P: 403 217-6769 E: callkent@telusplanet.net

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CHAPLAIN’S MESSAGE Wasn’t that a party! The weather was incredible. Aren’t you glad it wasn’t held in High River as the original plans were made three years ago? Everything was perfect and one of my personal highlights was going to the Japanese Gardens in Lethbridge. To say it is tranquil is an understatement. Also, I really enjoyed the parade on Saturday. There was a Noble standing next to me on the parade route that must have had a connection to the Al Shamal fire engines. They put on a show in front of him and not only made his day but mine as well. If you can get a laugh out of me you are doing well! When was the last time you saw a fire engine blowing bubbles? Thank you to everyone for their condolences on the passing in June of Lady Doreen. Alzheimer’s Dementia is a terrible disease that also affects the family. I have been to grief counseling and learned two things. One is that if I get emotional talking to someone about Doreen never to say I am sorry. If this happens say Excuse me and turn away if necessary. Grief like laughter, joy or happiness is an emotion that is natural and part of life. There is nothing to be ashamed of. Secondly, I have been writing Letters to God. These are directed to Lady Doreen but are never mailed. I am not supposed to correct the spelling or punctuation on my computer but my perfectionist nature makes me do it. It has been interesting to go back and read the earlier letters just after her passing. I can see the progress I have made in dealing with my personal grief. These letters could also be done if you have an issue in your current life that doesn’t necessarily deal with grief and they are extremely therapeutic. In the Light of Grace, Noble R. Dean Cowan Chaplain 2013

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RECORDER’S RAMBLINGS

Nobles & Ladies,

The summer parade season this year has been busy, and from all reports the Shrine has once again been well represented at most of the parades throughout southern Alberta. One highlight was having our Imperial Potentate, Imperial Sir John Cinotto attend the Medicine Hat parade while the PNSA was on in Lethbridge. Imp Sir John was thrilled to be a part of the parade, and commented that it was one of the best parades he had the privilege of attending.

We must all continue to participate in our city and country parades to retain our recognition factor, which provides good public relations for us, and hopefully, gain members over time.

Our fall ceremonial is scheduled for November 16 here at the Shrine Centre. Let’s all work on getting some candidates for this event. We have an active membership committee, so if you need some help in approaching members of your lodge or chapter, do not hesitate to contact them.

Shrine Masons

I have been asked here at the Shrine office about the vote that was taken at this summer’s Imperial session in Indianapolis. This is referring to the vote, which was passed, to allow the Shrine to obtain members in Arkansas who are not Masons. The reason for this ballot was that the Grand Lodge Officers in Arkansas have made it virtually impossible for the Shrine members to perform any duties without losing their membership in the Grand Lodge. It is a very unfortunate circumstance, and, hopefully, at some future date, they can again work together for the good of all masonic bodies.

There are definitely no present plans by Shrine International to change the basic requirement in any other jurisdiction. Many of us work very hard to encourage cooperation among all the masonic groups, and we will continue to do this.

Nobles and ladies, as the fall notices and summons come out from the Shrine and your various lodges and chapters, be sure and mark your calendars for some of them, as we do need your participation to ensure our many groups continue into the future and are flourishing.

Garth Border

Your Recorder

CALL FOR DIVAN NOMINATIONS The Election of Al Azhar Divan members will be held at our AGM in January 2014. Those with an interest in letting their name stand for any Divan position, particularly Oriental Guide, are encouraged to let the Recorder know as soon as possible. A strong Divan means a strong Al Azhar

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SHC CANADA NEWS In 2011, Al Azhar Shriners committed to donate $300,000 to SHC Canada over a 5 year period to support the Capital Campaign and the Francis Glorieux Chair. To date, Al Azhar has donated $238,000 with an additional $66,000 awaiting ALGC approval. Therefore, our original commitment should be fulfilled this year. However, there is no need to stop there.

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SHC CANADA NEWS – PATIENT UPDATE

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We thank our SHC partners. Please support them

NOBLES, WE DO GREAT WORK!

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DAUGHTERS OF THE NILE

Sakkara Temple No. 115, Daughters of the Nile Invites you to attend their

Autumn Brunch and Bazaar

Home Baking, Preserves and Crafts

Sunday, September 29, 2013 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Al Azhar Shrine Centre Tickets - $20.00 available from Pr. Lorna McLaughlin – 403-254-0994 and Pr. Helen Owen – 403-282-2514

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Upcoming Events

STATED BUSINESS MEETING September 26 SHC OPEN LAS VEGAS, NV October 14-20 OPEN HOUSE October 18 PROP CLUB DINNER October 19 OKTOBERFEST October 26 SHRINE HOCKEY CHALLENGE November 3 FALL CEREMONIAL & JOINT INSTALLATION November 16 STATED BUSINESS MEETING November 28 CHIEF RABBAN MEETING November 30

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Specially priced Shriners and Shriners friend/relative tickets ($12) will be

available in early September for distribution and purchase

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Unit/Club Meeting Dates & News

Al Azhar Units Al Azhar Shrine Clubs Athletic Club (Rutters) contact the Ramses for dates Air Corps 7:30 p.m. 2nd Wednesday Clown Unit 7:30 p.m. 1st Thursday Directors Staff 7:30 p.m. 4th Thursday Greeters As called Legion of Honor 10:00 a.m. 2nd Saturday Mounted Patrol 6:00 p.m. Wednesday Oriental Band 7:30 p.m. Thursday Provost Corps 9:00 a.m. 4th Saturday Sabre Patrol (Call Swordmaster for date) Shrine Patrol 7:00 p.m. Mondays Tin Lizzie Corps 7:30 p.m. 3rd Tuesday Vintage Cars 7:30 p.m. 3rd Tuesday

Alpine Shrine Club 1st Tuesday Big Country Shrine Club 4th Tuesday Calgary Shrine Club 2nd Friday Foothills Shrine Club 4th Wednesday Lethbridge Shrine Club 1st Wednesday Medicine Hat Shrine Club 3rd Wednesday Red Deer Shrine Club 3rd Wednesday Wild Rose Shrine Club 1st Wednesday

THE PATROL

It has been a busy summer for the Patrol, we participated in the Canmore Parade on Canada Day. The Calgary Stampede Parade on July 5th, we performed a demonstration at the PNSA in Lethbridge and cooked breakfast on the Saturday morning. We were well received in the Vulcan parade celebrating their 100th Anniversary and we even rode our Segways’ in the rain during the Nanton town parade on Heritage Day. The last parade of the season will be in Cochrane Parade on Labour Day. I wish to thank all the members of the Patrol who helped, you all did a great job and showed why our unit is amongst the best in Al Azhar. Look for the pictures of the guys preparing for the Stampede Parade and the pictures from the PNSA in Lethbridge. We will start the fall schedule with our quarterly meeting on Monday, September 9th, dinner is at 6:30 and the meeting will start at 7:00p.m. Our Annual General Meeting and election of officers is scheduled for Monday, October 7th and the Captain’s Party and Installation will held be on Saturday, November 2nd. And a reminder that Christmas is just around the corner, and we will have our annual Children’s Christmas Party and Breakfast with Santa Claus on Sunday, December 1st, reserve your tickets early. If you are interested in learning to ride a Segway, we practice most Mondays at 7:00p.m. ----------------à

In the downstairs Banquet Room. Also the Al Azhar Shrine Centre is having a Masonic Open House on Friday, October 18th with a free fun casino; if you know any Masons who are interested, please invite them to attend. Yours Fraternally. Noble David Hochman, Captain 2013. LEGION OF HONOUR

Just a quick note of thanks to Al Azhar Shrine and especially to Noble Omar Giroux for making his room available to us as a 'hospitality lounge' for the legion of honour. Noble Omar went beyond his duties in making us all feel welcome. Not only did his enthusiasm shine through so did the well-stocked dressing room table, which was appreciated by all! It was a great chance to meet and greet and have new friends that we never thought we had? On behalf of the new elected adjutant and myself, PNSA Commander, I would like to express my feelings for making our stay etc. at Lethbridge a memorable one.... well-done. Yours in the Faith. Stan A. Grenda, CD PNSA Commander,2013.

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SABRES So far 2013 has been an up and down year for our Patrol. In early spring we once gain combined forces with the Legion of Honor and supplied manpower (and women) to assist them in their casino. Although the two days appeared to be slow (people wise) the dollars did roll in and soon we will have the results. Hopefully we all benefitted through our efforts. The parade season kicked off in High River. We are happy we were able to participate give the following tragedy mother nature unleashed on Southern Alberta in late June. The balance of our parade season has not been as successful as in past years due to driver shortages or car malfunctions. The months of July and August have taken their toll on several of our members. On July 4 Noble Kevin Walker (Chief Mechanic) underwent a kidney transplant in Mexico. All went very well and he returned to Calgary prior to July 30th. Also in July Noble Keith Leaper (Treasurer) had surgery to remove a portion of his lung as a result of cancer and has been undergoing treatment since. Our Christmas host with the most Noble Sean Staddon made several trips to emergency and many stays in hospital until doctors could finally pinpoint his diagnosis. Things were very touchy for some time. However the GOOD news is that all three are well on the mend due to the excellent attention provided by “Caregivers” Alice, Barb and Jackie. Well done Ladies. I almost forgot to mention my Lady’s hip replacement on July 17th which has kept me on overtime ever since. It has been a challenging summer but we did have our regular bright spot. Once again Lonnie Rodgers (and his family) along with several Sabres hosted the Holstein Cattle Auction in Bearspaw on July 17th. We provided a BBQ Luncheon and the Association in turn “Auctioned” a calf to raise money for our Montreal Hospital. Wow they seem to get better each year. Soon $15,200/00 will be presented to the Hospital on behalf of the Sabre Patrol. Lonnie and family are to be congratulated as this brings their total close to $50,000 over the past four years. We are hoping to have a good showing at Cochrane where we can impose upon the Shrine Patrol and drink their beer. See you there. Regards Crawford Caswell, Swordmaster PS By the time you read this edition of the Fez Sez our illustrious “Parade Marshall” Noble Art Foss will be happily married. Congratulations Shirley, you have snaffued a great guy. Welcome to the fold.

AIR CORPS

As you read this installment of the fez the Air Corp is just finished up its parade season with its last outing in Cochrane. We had a very busy July with the Stampede Parade then during the Stampede We went to the Hull House Breakfast which we saw about 4000 people, then to the Kids day breakfast at Stampede park which had ~22000 people. The last weekend of Stampede found us at the Airdrie Air Show which had ~40000 people attend. We went to the Sun and Salsa with the Lizzies for the 1st time on the Sunday after Stampede which had ~70000 people attend. So within the communities we had the exposure we wanted this year. Thanks to the members of the Lizzies and the Wild Rose shrine club for their help. After Stampede we went to PNSA in Lethbridge which we put on a show for the guests as well as provided transportation for the attendees. (Special thanks to Larry McCook, Larry Mckinley, Lisa Sceviour and Gary Bain for being drivers for this event). After PNSA we had a little breather ‘til Family Day weekend which we went to Nanton and got rained on oh well. The Fall will be on us very soon and that’s when our Prop Club Dinner is to be held on Saturday October 19th at the Calgary Tower. Dinner is at 730pm with all Shrine Attendees to be installed in the Royal Order of the Prop right after dinner (it should be good fun) Tickets are $85.00 per person and includes parking in Palliser Square. Tickets can be purchased from any Air Corps member or by calling me at 403-283-1714. They are selling fast so get yours. This winter we are planning to re-skin the large trailer and update it with pictures and logos. The Air Corp has had a great time this year with many exciting things to come next year (Boise PNSA) Fraternally Ron Down Captain

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Jim Scott Commercial Sales & Lease Consultant Cam Clark Ford Sales Ltd. Bay 1, 925 Veterans Blvd Airdrie, AB. T4A 2G6 jim.scott@hotmail.ca Bus: 403 888-9311 Having the Right Vehicle For Fax: 403 948-4503 Your Business Is Our Business

Summit Award Winner

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Tin Lizzie Commander Robert Sceviour is seen above playing with the OB at the Vulcan Centenary Parade after an

early breakdown. ORIENTAL BAND We are more than halfway through the parade season and the Band is getting better week by week. In particular the Vulcan and Nanton weekend had the trailer full to capacity. PNSA was a huge success for us particularly as we were the only OB there. Competition was fierce, but we managed to win despite ourselves. The weekend was enjoyed by all and was set off to a great start with a very enthusiastic Tong Degree on the Thursday evening. Thanks to all. Excellent news for the Band is that Noble Chris Tsaros has been elected as Sergeant at Arms to the ASOB. This puts Chris in the line to be the President of the ASOB of North America in 5 years. This is great news for Al Azhar Shriners and will put Al Azhar in the spotlight. No one has held this title in Al Azhar since Ill Sir Charles Duffin held that post in 1998-99. We wish him well and hope that all of Al Azhar will support him. -------------------------------------------------à

The Oriental Band always has room for aspiring musicians, no experience necessary, and will welcome anyone wanting to have fun on our Thursday night practices. George Lister, Sultan 2013

SUPPORT YOUR CRAFT LODGE THAT’S WHERE SHRINERS ARE BORN

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VINTAGE CARS

As you all know, Mother Nature threw a hissy fit this past June and so our 8th annual Show and Shrine was all washed up. Our Vintage Car Club members did a great job selling raffle tickets for the radio controlled BMW, so the draw was made the following week. The winner was none other than the Noble Marc Levine, President of the Vintage Car Club. Congratulations Marc! Eric Skagen Treasurer Vintage Car Club CLOWNS Hi every one, well the Clowns have been very busy this last little while and we have more parades and functions to go this summer. We were very busy during the stampede with a few early morning pancake breakfasts, tying balloons and entertaining kids. One of these was the one at Cardel Place, where we worked for about 4 hours in the morning heat (ha ha), as seen in the picture below, from the left, Garry (PYRO) Saunders and Rob (Poindexter) Martin

The Canmore and Banff Canada Day parades were attended by five members of the Clown Unit this year. With the recent floods we felt was important to show our support to these communities and put on a good show. The crowds at Canmore were not as big as in the past, probably due to Highway #1 only recently being re-opened, but they were very enthusiastic and appreciative of the support. The weather cooperated with the event this year as it was sunny, but very warm. By the end of the parade, a hotel temperature sign registered 32 Celsius at 12:30pm.

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Banff was a little better attended by the crowds, although still smaller than normal. As usual there were a lot of tourists, many of whom could not speak English, but all understood the antics of the clowns and smiled and laughed a lot. By the end of the Banff parade we were all very hot, very tired and very, very thirsty but a satisfied bunch of clowns.

Canmore and Banff Parade, from the left, Gary Long, John Bronius, Rob Martin, Arnold Murray and Rod Duncan We then had a small contingent from both Calgary and Medicine Hat at the PNSA, and the PNSCA, competing, Don (Chuckles) Rigby, Garry (PYRO) Saunders, Leonard (Holler) Helfrich, and Angus (Cookie) Gordon, also Rob Martin and John Maloney PNSCA officials. We did well in the competitions taking many firsts and seconds. Garry (PYRO) Saunders also took Top Clown and won the Top Banana Award for this year. We still have lots more to do this year so we will see you at the parades. Garry (Pyro) Saunders WILDROSE SHRINE CLUB

Hello Nobles and Ladies, On July14/2013 the Airdrie Wildrose Shrine Club held a golf tournament at the Crossfield Collicutt Siding Golf Club. We had a wonderful turnout this year, doubling our tournament attendance again this year with a total of 40 golfers in attendance. Edith Guenther was on hand along with Airdrie Wildrose President Ken Campbell and 2nd Vice President Bryan Williams to award the Larry Guenther Shriner Golf Tournament trophy to the winning foursome of Jerry Guenther, Wes Wiwcharuk, Mike Guenther and Rachael Guenther. Second place went to Wildrose President Ken Campbell's foursome, third place went to Assistant Rabban Bob Newman's foursome and Fourth place went to Nobles Al and Gary Long's foursome. In all, we had a lot of fun and laughs with Assistant Rabban Bob Newman who acted as MC for the dinner and the festivities following the tournament as you can see with him fooling around in the picture above. Please come out and join us next year for a great time and some fantastic golf! Yours Fraternally President Ken Campbell

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Gina Buchanan (Acme Cubs), presenting plaque from Cubs for Wild Rose Shrine Club's assistance in the Kub Kar Rally (accepted by Peter Proudlock 1VP, Clay Baily Sec, Bryan Williams 2VP)

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Wildrose Breakfast 2013 – Your Assistant Rabban burning everything!

SRCF LEARNING CENTRE CALGARY NEWS The Scottish Rite Charitable Foundation Learning Centre Calgary was established in 2012 with seed money from Al Azhar Shriners and the Scottish Rite Charitable Foundation of Canada. The Learning Centre provides tutoring to children with dyslexia using the proven Orton-Gillingham methodology. Currently, the Learning Centre has accepted 3 children and is training 5 tutors. Tutoring of the children will begin in September of this year. The Learning Centre is in desperate need of operating funds to continue its good work and would welcome any donations from Shrine Clubs/Units as a “local charity”. If your Club or Unit desires more information regarding the SRCF Learning Centre Calgary, contact Noble Brian Shimmons, Noble Bob Newman or Ill. Sir Gordon Berard

SRCF LEARNING CENTRE CALGARY 103, 2915 – 21st Street NE SRFLCC@gmail.com 403-288-1111

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STAMPEDE PARADE 2013

The AMP and Provost lead the way

The Patrol doing their thing and nobody fell over

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Some camel dung on the street

The Tins amaze the crowds with their movement