Happy New Year! To say that I am overwhelmed to write this as Potentate Elect is an understatement. To be honest, the honor isn’t for a position but to be part of such an amazing organization and to be given your trust to serve in this office.
Over the past several years, I’ve had the pleasure of serving with an incredible line of men, all dedicated to serving Al Bahr. We’ve worked on reopening the center, providing the membership with information necessary to make the decision whether to keep the property, and shoring up our contracts and business arrangements, but the real focus has been to make the temple better and membership more active. To sum it up, one of the most basic things we have been working on is to have the BOD work on the day-to-day “business” of the temple while we encourage the clubs and units to focus on the most important thing: the membership experience. We have so many resources at our disposal. This includes Past Potentates as well as many other Nobles that carry the legacy of Al Bahr’s history and strengths, which we can draw upon for strength while avoiding pitfalls. There are traditions of our Temple, Units, and Clubs that define us as Al Bahr Shrine Masons, which can help us grow our contributions to the Hospitals, renew activities, and engage and grow our membership.
December was packed with our activities! Our new Temple parade, the Fallbrook Nighttime Christmas Parade, brought us together, supporting the community as well as our Brothers at Fallbrook Lodge, who so graciously invited us to celebrate at their lodge after the parade. A week later, our Special Meeting saw our progressive line advance, along with the addition of Chino Torres being elected as our Oriental Guide. As a Past Master, Chino brings a wealth of proven Masonic leadership and is an accomplished businessman committed to embracing and adding to the direction your progressive line has embarked upon. Also, we celebrated the holidays with our Brother Nobles, Honored Ladies, our families, and friends on the 16th. What’s special about all these events is that they remind us of what the Shrine was originally created for fellowship beyond that of any single lodge. Remember, Brothers, Masonry unites those who might otherwise be kept at a perpetual distance. And Al Bahr stands at the heart of the Masonic Tennants of Brotherly Love and Relief.
As we look forward to 2024, we intend to have one primary event at the temple each month and support clubs and units with their engagements as well as help the local Lodges. Our focus will be on better communication among our members by continuing the ALBAHRoMeter, timely emails, a robust webpage, and a more interactive Facebook group among the members. When we open our doors and show our Blue Lodge Brothers what the Shrine holds, we will enhance the Masonic journey. Among those primary events (the biggies), the first few of the year include the Al Bahr Annual Dinner / Meeting and Installation on January 12th, the Nobility Ball on February 10th, and our Corned Beef & Cabbage on March 16th. In addition to those, we have some smaller happenings with no program, so just come and go as you will. Bring friends and brothers to these to break bread, share a glass of whatever it may be, and socialize with Nobles and Brothers. These are great places to share your ideas and help us all develop and refine plans for the clubs, units, and Al Bahr in general. A couple of these get-togethers include a pancake breakfast on January 21st and the Unit & Club Reception on February 9th. And don’t forget the Red Fez room will be open on occasion, and I want to encourage our Units and Clubs to use the Red Fez room (perhaps even partner with us to hold smaller events such as a Superbowl party?).
I’ve mentioned that we desire to enhance local Mason’s experiences. This could take the form of inviting Nobles, Brothers and friends to some of our events and parties, or the Past Master’s Club participating in degrees, or even our Legion of Honor assisting with flag presentations. Think about what we offer our Nobles: Units that support the best philanthropy in all of Masonry as special interests through our clubs, such as golf, cigars, recreational vehicles, cars, boating, and more. As we engage Lodges and local Masons, and they learn about what we have to offer, is it unreasonable to think we can grow by at least one member per lodge on average? And if even one Mason throughout our area knows a child in need of help and takes advantage of our Hospitals and Medical Centers, we will change their life.
A dear friend of mine and I served as our Lodge Master and Senior Warden and adopted the phrase: it’s amazing how much you can get done when you don’t worry about who gets credit. That’s how each Noble in the progressive Divan has been working. Each starts his goals as soon as he’s Oriental Guide, and we start implementing the steps right away. We each bring our own tone, but we are working in concert to bring harmony. You can look forward to consistency and communication from your Divan. And I am truly honored to stand before you and with these leaders of Masonry to help keep Al Bahr on course for a year of community, growth and supporting our Children.
We look forward to seeing you all in 2024 and serving Al Bahr. John and Phil and so many more. May the Good Lord watch over you and grace you with his love. Thank you all!
Fraternally,
Anthony McLean
Potentate 2024