By Dale Edwards

Jan. 1, 2010

To view or download the Club Newsletter in PDF format, click the link below:

http://elbekalshrine.com/index.php/docs/flyers/doc_download/121-nomads-january-2010-newsletter

The Nomads had no campout or dinner meeting scheduled in December since our annual Christmas party was the monthly event. Almost seventy Nomads and their guests gathered at the Shrine Center on the evening of Friday, December 18, for a wonderful party. It started with cocktails at six, and by the time Judy and I got there at 6:10 the merriment was in full swing. Jim Rice played his guitar and sang songs while everyone mixed and exchanged holiday greetings or wandered through viewing the almost completed kitchen facility. All evening long on the north wall of the room we had a slide show of photos from recent events as well as from campouts back as far as the 1980s. It was great to be reminded of all the fun times we have had.

Then about 7PM, President Mel Hetzel took to the stage and asked everyone to be seated for dinner. It was then that many people found out that the Potentate was in the room as he is pretty hard to see in a room full of standing adults. We enjoyed a delicious dinner of prime rib/chicken cordon bleu with all the fixings as the room quieted down as the mouths filled up. After dinner, President Mel Hetzel took to the stage again and welcomed everyone to the party and thanked the members for their help in making 2009 a great year for the Nomads. He introduced the Potentate and his lady and we presented him a check for $500 for the Shrine Transportation Fund which accumulated from a small portion of the fee for our monthly dinner meetings and 50/50 drawings.

As a supplement, we also contributed a check for $25 to the fund, which was the accumulation of fees that Sheriff Hank Fuquay collected during the year for forgotten name badges and other rule infractions that he concocted. Somehow the $25 seemed to be a low number, but then he missed coming to several campouts and most of the assistant Sheriffs were not nearly as aggressive as Hank normally is. After some vocal renditions of seasonal songs by a duet of JoPat and Darlene Williams plus a solo by Tom “Hugger” Cory along with some ballroom and line dancing by most of the attendees, we all helped to clear the tables and we drifted off into the night.

In February we will have our official Potentate’s Visit at the Sands RV and Golf Resort in Desert Hot Springs during the Indio President’s Weekend events. As in the past, it is a great Mexican brunch open to all Shriners and their guests, and is catered by the La Casita restaurant. Look for the notice elsewhere in the El Bekalan, and give a call to our Pote’s Visit Chairman, Bert Ekstrom at (714) 846-6551 for reservations. And if you ever decide to finally haul that rarely used travel trailer out from the backyard and join us for a weekend of fellowship at one of our campouts, give a call to our new President, Bob Lash at (949) 498-5013 or our new Vice President, Bob Martin at (714) 964-8503.