SEPTEMBER 2009

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=82 BGCOLOR="#3300FF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFF00" FACE="Arial" ><B>VAN ZOR GROTTO</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Arial" ><B>    </B></FONT><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="VAN ZOR GROTTO"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>SEPTEMBER 2009</B>   |   <A HREF="id61.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="JUNE 2009"><U>JUNE 2009</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id63.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="MAY 2009"><U>MAY 2009</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id60.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="APRIL 2009"><U>APRIL 2009</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id59.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="MARCH 2009"><U>MARCH 2009</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id58.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="FEBRUARY 2009 "><U>FEBRUARY 2009 </U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FF0000" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Other Grottos or Craft Lodges that would like to have their events included in our events page or publications please forward them to our editor</B></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=398 BGCOLOR="#99FF66" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I><B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b701900000ff00.png" HEIGHT="27" WIDTH="27" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">SEPTEMBER 2009</B></I></div> <div> <B><U>MONARCH'S  REPORT</U></B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Dear Prophets</B></div> <div> <B>Hope that you all had a great summer and are well rested and ready for the rest of our year.  Let's close it with lots of enthusiasm and good-fellowship.  The Grotto for past 2 years has been following the same pattern as the economy if you know what I mean and we need to recover.  How can we do this?  Please ask yourself.  We need to bring up the good old days when we can't wait to go to our meetings and put our fez on and look good and speak freely and have our ladies right next to us.  Attendance coming to Grotto it feels good we wants the old days back.  Our next meeting is going to start one hour early we going to structure our officers for 2010 and plan for lots incoming prophets, which means we will have to practice our ritual. </B></div> <div> <B>There is a party for Halloween coming on October 31 2009, it's a Saturday night, hosted by my Mother Lodge Mount Lebanon.  We will have dancing, lots of door prizes and the big one it will be for best costume - just remember what we gave away for the Monarch's Ball.  We will have a 50/50 draw; it will be held at the Marpole Masonic Hall. I hope to see lots of Grotto members there spreading the word about Grotto to the Master Masons that are going to be there, tickets will be available soon.  I like to thank all the prophets that went to the convention I understand it was a good number.  I like to congratulate PM Bob McSween by being the Second Vice President of the NWGA.  I hope to see all next meeting. It is mandatory due to the Grotto Officer structure and other matters that need to be discussed.</B></div> <div> <B>In June, I attended Grand Lodge in Prince George.   A wonderful time was had by all, and I was happy to see many Grotto members in attendance with their Mother Lodges, spreading the word about Grotto.  There was only one small glitch with Grotto not being recognized as attending Grand Lodge, but we quickly rectified that, thanks to Most Worshipful Grand Master Prophet Glen Allen.</B></div> <div> <B>Finally, to Lady Pat Cassidy, I hope you are feeling better after your fall, PM Joe Cassidy after your car accident, and PM Harry Allen after your surgery.  I hope our members have kept in touch and offered you assistance with whatever you have needed during the summer.   Congratulations to Grant & Margaret Thompson on their 50</B><B>th</B><B> Wedding Anniversary - here's hoping you have 50 more!</B><B> </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Yours good in good fellowship,</B></div> <div> <B>Sam Elkabanny, Monarch</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>CHIEF JUSTICE REPORT</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I hope you all had a great summer. Unfortunately I have spent the past six weeks looking after Pat who fell on the way to Spokane. Eight of us attended the NWGA convention there - 5 Prophets and 3 ladies and enjoyed the fellowship with prophets from the other Grottos of the NW.  Some of us have already sent our reservations in to the CANGA convention in Laughlin in October</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>COMING EVENTS:</B></div> <div> <B>Sept 8th       Regular meeting (Ladies meeting tonight)</B></div> <div> <B>Oct 5-7     CANGA Convention at Laughlin Nevada (forms enclosed)</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>                                                                            </B><B>Yours in Good Fellowship,</B></div> <div> <B>                                                                            Chief Justice, Joe Cassidy, PM</B></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>SECRETARY'S DESK</U></B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>No report at this time.</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>CHAPLAIN'S REPORT</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>There have not been any reports of anyone recently ill or injured so we hope all are well. If you know of anyone that should be mentioned, please call me (number listed on the page 1) </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>                                                                                  Yours fraternally,</B></div> <div> <B>PM Jackie James, Chaplain</B></div> <div>  </div> <div> <B><U>TREASURER'S REPORT</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Pyramid attendance draw is now $ ???? to the lucky Prophet who is in attendance at the next meeting</B></div> <div> <B>when his name is drawn. There is no change in the prize because there was no November meeting.</B></div> <div> <B>Yours fraternally,</B></div> <div> <B>PM Ron Stunden, Treas.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>From your editor:</B></div> <div> <B>Summer is over, where did it go? I hope all is well with everyone and that you had a great summer. This issue may be a bit late. We have had a lot of things going and have been up to our arm-pits trying to get every thing done. Marg & I will not make it to the Sept. meeting. We will be in Osoyoos BC, attending our annual 3 day retired police officer's get-to-gether and will be back late Fri. </B></div> <div> <B>I have enclosed the news from the NWGA June meeting and information about CANGA's meeting in Laughlin Nevada for those that are going.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Our dear Pat Cassidy had a fall while in Spokane and broke her hip. She went the whole convention in pain and finally went to the hospital here and found that she broke it. She is getting by very well with the aid of a walker and has been out to our Sunday morning coffee klatch.</B></div> <div> <B>This also brings up one of the problems for us north of the boarder travelling into the USA. Due to the age of most of us, travel health insurance is very expensive and if you have any pre-existing health issues or are over 70, forget it. So going to the USA is a gamble at best and could result in financial problems for any of us venturing south. </B></div> <div> <B>      </B></div> <div> <B>The Stundens & the Cassidys flew off to the June Convention in Joe's new Ford van and I understand that they had a discussion with a Washington State Trooper, something about flying to low I think.</B></div> <div> <B>Those that went to Spokane report that they had a good time and enjoyed meeting the members of the new Hassan Grotto. Our PM Bob McSween is now 2</B><B>nd</B><B> Vice President of the NWGA.</B></div> <div> <B>Is there anyone out there that can step up and stand for this office? I have been at it for 11 years and need a break. I will gladly work with who ever and help get them up and running. I will be stepping down at the end of my term in any event but I will maintain the web-site if so desired.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>And finally, Marg & I wish to thank all of our Grotto friends who came out help us celebrate our 50</B><B>th</B><B> anniversary, you made our day and we hope you had a wonderful time. There were almost 100 people there. We all must be getting older, at our Wedding there were over 200 guests and we went through an incredible amount of booze and had to send out for more. Fifty years later I laid in 10 flats (20 doz.) of beer and 2 cases of wine and I worried that this would not be enough. After all was done I had to take 5 flats and 1 case of wine back, times are a changing.</B></div> <div> <B>(PS if any of you took any photos there, I would like to include them in a scrape book for Marg. Please get them to me and will I pay the cost, thanks)</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>PM Grant Thompson, editor</B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>DON'T FORGET THE </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>September 8</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>th</B></FONT><B> MEETING IS AT </B><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>7:30 PM</B></FONT></div> <div> There was <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><B>$????</B></FONT> in the <B><U>Pyramid</U></B><U> </U><B><U>draw</U></B></div> <div> <B>I don't recall whose </B><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#3300FF" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><B>name was called but</B></div> <div> <B>!!! HE WAS NOT THERE SO HE DID NOT WIN !!!</B></div> <bR> <div>                                   Grant Thompson's E-mail  <tugger@telus.net></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#3300FF" FACE="Arial" >                           Have </FONT><B>VISIT YOUR WEB SITE  </B>< www3.telus.net/vanzorgrotto ></div> <bR> <div> <B>Words of wizz-dom:</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The 50-50-90 rule: Any time you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90%</B></div> <div> <B>likelihood you'll get it wrong.</B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>