John S. (Jingles) Gordon *
Illustrious Sir John S. “JINGLES” Gordon
Potentate - 1989
The last year of the decade of the 1980’s began with a pledge to promote Shrinedom through “Fun and Fellowship”. The “Fun” was evident from the beginning, with a “Celebration” of fun at the annual Potentate’s Ball, with music by “Ronnie Renfrow Big Band”. This was just the beginning of many dances to be held at Arabia Temple. In addition to the dances hosted by our units and clubs, the temple sponsored 4 “Free” dances for the nobility.
Among these free dances were dances to honor our new nobles for 1989, and the first “First Lady’s Appreciation Dance” to honor all the ladies of our temple. A dance was also held to add to our “Temple Repair Fund”. All totaled, 20 dances took place during 1989.
The temple also sponsored four “Free” “Jingo” nights. The final one was sponsored by our nobles and their ladies.
Our unit and clubs participated in many events to put the “Shrine on Parade”. Parades from Conroe, Texas to Thornton, Texas gave us opportunities to present ourselves to the public. “Shrine Day” was held at the Astros vs Phillies baseball game at the Astrodome. National television coverage of this event spread the word of our philanthropy.
During 1989, several new programs were begun. The “Breakfast of Champions”, made up of all Silver and Gold Medallion Nobles, was held to promote our membership drive, and became an eagerly anticipated event. The “21-51” Club was formed this year to encourage participation in our Shrine fraternity by nobles between the ages of 21 to 51. The response was great, and the membership rolls of the “21-51” Club grew at a steady rate.
Other activities during the year kept the members and their families very busy. The First Lady’s Luncheon was held in the fall at the beautiful Inn on the Park, with a very special program by a musical comedy group called “My Friends and I”. The large number of ladies in attendance thoroughly enjoyed the delicious food and the great entertainment. Families participated in the annual family picnic, where everyone enjoyed country western music by “The Walking Beats”, and the good food.
Our first temple sponsored “Fish Fry” was also held in the fall. This was the first time our temple had promoted this type of function on a temple wide basis, and it was considered a success, both financially and fraternally.
The Divan and temple members were also kept busy attending annual conventions. The annual Divan Mid-Winter meeting convened in Wichita Falls, where the temperature fell to 3 degrees, accompanied by lots of ice and snow. Association mid-winters were held statewide, including here in Houston. We all spent a busy spring preparing for the Texas Shrine Association in El Paso, Texas, where many of our units won awards. Plans were also underway to carry the banner of Arabia to the Imperial Council Session in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
1989 was also the year of an official visit by Imperial Potentate Edward G. McMullan, C.D., Al Azhar Temple. He was entertained by the units and clubs at “Units on Parade”, where Arabia’s talents were ably displayed.
This year saw our temple mark its 74th birthday. A birthday party was held, and all thoughts turned towards Arabia’s upcoming “75th Birthday”.
As 1989 drew to a close, the “Ronnie Renfrow Big Band” reappeared to help Arabia celebrate the beginning of a new decade.
In keeping with tradition, the annual “Past Potentates’ Ball” was held on January 13, 1990, with a new sponsor, the “Arabia Temple Greeters”. These nobles and their ladies planned, organized and promoted this dance with the enthusiasm of “True Fraternal Spirit”. Their efforts resulted with one of the largest crowds for a dance during the year.
1989 was truly the year of “Fun and Fellowship”, and “The Shrine did Shine in ’89”. The Illustrious Sir was proud to serve as your Potentate during the year and to have observed the enthusiasm and spirit which are so representative of our membership and our great temple.
