The Imperial Divan is the international governing body of Shriners International. The governing body works as a corporate Board of Directors and consists of 12 officers, each of whom is elected to the lowest position on the Divan and moves up one position each year, with the exception of the Imperial Treasurer and Imperial Recorder.
The highest leadership position within Shriners International is Imperial Potentate. The Imperial Potentate is both president and chief executive officer of Shriners International, and is elected for a one-year term. He spends his year in office visiting many of the Shriner temples (chapters), attending regional meetings and visiting Shriners Hospitals for Children® locations. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for both Shriners Hospitals for Children and Shriners International.
A similar organizational structure is followed at the local level within each temple around the world.
2022 Divan
Welcome Letter from Jim Logan, Potentate
January 9, 2021
Greetings to the Nobles of Calam Temple,
It is with greatest humility, and a small dose of trepidation, that I accept the call to serve as your 2021 Illustrious Potentate. I am truly excited for the future of Calam Temple, but only by working together we will be able to create positive change, growth, and greater successes in our efforts as a both an exceptional Fraternity, and the World’s Greatest Philanthropy.
After a year, truly like no other, we are now more than ever poised to step boldly into a future where our actions are defined by our determination to support our fraternal and charitable endeavors.
To that end, I have chosen a theme of “Champions of Change”. This theme will resonate in many of the programs and events that are offered in 2021, but please let me assure you I do value and appreciate many of our traditions and will do all that I can to make sure those traditions continue well into the future.
The first big change, is that I want to welcome our Ladies and Families into all of our events, First Lady Joan will endeavor to have a Ladies program to complement every program that is on our calendar, and most of our programs will be joint programs. The Ladies will even be “invited in” for a portion of Quarterly Meetings. Please consider this a notice for an open invitation for all Ladies and Families to join us for Fun in ’21.
First Lady Joan is going to have a program to support the Imperial First Lady’s program “Rising Stars” and I will be having several programs throughout the year to help raise Fraternal Funds and awareness of the presence and mission of Calam Shriners. Be on the lookout for more information about these programs at events throughout the year, in Temple communications, and the Clarion.
The 2021 Potentate Trip will be to wine country of Wenatchee with day trips into the Lake Chelan area and Leavenworth. The tentative dates are May 20th – 23rd, 2021. This trip will be open to both members of the temple and our friends. Our Ceremonial Weekend is tentatively scheduled for weekend of April 24th to coincide with the Asotin Days Parade. The 2021 Potentate Party will in Moscow on August 14, 2021.
For Club/Unit Leaders, I need the information on your annual events, parades, and community celebrations. I will make it a priority to attend, so please send me event information as soon as it is available. After being forced to stay home for most of 2020, it is critical we reengage with our local communities as quickly and strongly as possible.
This summer the Pacific Northwest Shrine Association summer conference will be in Mt. Lake Terrace (Seattle) Washington, so it will be EASY for our Temple Parade Units to attend to compete in the unit competitions and to join in the FUN and FELLOWSHIP with 18 other Temples. PNSA is scheduled for July 29 to Aug 1, 2021. I am asking ALL UNITS to please make a concerted effort to attend Summer PNSA.
At the time of the writing of this letter, we are planning to see a return of our annual Vidalia Onion Sales and Famous Jordan Circuses. Onions will be around early May, and then tentative dates for the Circus are June 10th and 11th and in Coeur d’Alene on June 12th.
To aid in all of these efforts it is critical that we have solid lines of communication, to that end I implore you to make sure all of your contact information is up-to-date with the Temple office, and for the 58 members that don’t have email address on file, we are going to start mailing out the monthly Clarion to your homes, for the 215 members that have email address on file, PLEASE make sure you are getting the monthly notice for the Clarion and other communications from the Temple office and your club/unit leaders.
After doing some data-driven research between the Grand Lodge of Idaho and Shriners International, it was determined that only 36% of Master Masons, who live North the 45th Parallel are Shriners. I had always assumed this % would be much higher, as for years I have always heard “every Mason I know is a Shriner… so who can we recruit…” That line of thinking is incorrect, there are MANY Master Masons who are not members of Calam Temple, and now is the time to make they are aware of the amazing opportunities and fun that is enjoyed by the Shrine. To aid in this effort, I have implemented a Blue Lodge Ambassador program, so that each Blue Lodge within our jurisdiction as an official Shriner to help spread the word about the efforts and events of Calam Shriners. I also give to each Noble the following charge: Attend your local Blue Lodge, for without the amazing foundation of Free Masonry, we cannot build a successful future.
I would like to extend a special thank you to Bucky Finley and Murray Myers for agreeing to serve as my Capt. Of the Guard and Outer Guard, these two esteemed Nobles have accepted this one year appointment, and I am very glad to welcome them to the 2021 Divan. We hope that by shortening the traditional “progressive line” by a few years, it will be less intimidating for members to serve on the Divan.
Finally my friends, I want to say THANK YOU, to all of the amazing people that have supported me in the last 10 years as I have served on the Divan, and who have promised to help in the future. This is truly an amazing organization, and I am so very excited to see us work together for a better future.
In the Faith and Most Sincerely,
Jim Logan
Illustrious Potentate
Calam Shriners
www.calamshriners.com