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EL Mina Temple members need our help! Galvestone hit hard by hurricane IKE.
Comments below by Larry Winkle, Secretary/Treasurer
TSA President Sam Khoury has advised that the 2009 Ceremonial Session, presently scheduled for Galveston on June 4 - 6, 2009, can not be held at that location. The total infra-structure of the island has been damaged to the extent that it will be impossible to host the meeting at the location approved by TSA. For this reason, I have been requested to advise you of our problem and to seek the advise of the voting members of TSA in finding an alternative site to host the Ceremonial session. As you may recall, when the Time & Place Committee considered proposals to host the 2009 Ceremonial Session, El Maida of El Paso made a strong proposal to host the session in that it would be the 100th anniversary of El Maida's formation. Because of this fact, I have taken the liberty of contacting representatives of El Maida to see if they would still be interested in hosting the convention in light of the short time available. El Maida's divan will consider the proposal and will let us know shortly if they are a viable option. Even if they do desire to host the 2009 session, it is entirely possible that other temples may have the desire and ability to host the session. If any temple is able and willing to host the session, please let me know at your earliest convenience. I will get the information to President Sam and he can determine whether or not to call a special meeting of TSA to consider and approve the request. If only one temple submits a bid, I would think that we could handle the approval by either conference call or e-mail. We would then submit the change in location to Imperial for their approval.
I know that most temples have entered into contracts with hotels in the Galveston area. I would suggest that you immediately contact the hotels, explain the situation and negotiate yourselves out of your contracts.
President Sam Khoury lived in Bridge City, TX. That town was literally wiped off the map. Out of 10,000 people, only about 15 families had a place to live after Hurricane Ike. President Sam still has a smile on his face and will make it, as will all the other members of El Mina Shriners. As an association we should determine how we can best help our Shrine brothers in a real time of crisis. Any thoughts you may have on this matter would be appreciated.
Larry Winkle, Secretary/Treasurer