J. Fred Loofs *

Illustrious Sir J. Fred Loofs

Potentate - 1996

On January 15, 1996, in an open installation, Illustrious Sir J. Fred Loofs, the Divan and Officers of the Units and Clubs were sworn in by Past Potentate Buddy Baccus. Our goals for 1996 were to have fun and get the job done.

The Inaugural Ball, held on January 20th, was well attended and we danced to the music of the Aubrey Tucker Orchestra. On the weekend of January 27 and 28, we had the International Gem and Jewelry Show.

The Conroe Parade had to be canceled on February 3, 1996 due to snow and ice. The Divan Mid-Winter was held in League City and was very nice. Arabia hosted the T.S.A. held in June for Galveston. We were told by several other temples that this was the best one they could remember.

In March, several of our units participated in mid-winter meetings and the Divan attended most of them.

During 1996, we built the New Annex which was approved in 1995, and a major remodeling project of the temple offices was completed, along with new furniture.

April was a busy month with the circus and the Potentate’s trip to the lower Caribbean cruise which was a fun time for all who went.

We had four ceremonials during 1996 and brought in over 100 new nobles. A new program was started to identify the new nobles so that we could make them feel welcome when they came to the temple.

The temple units participated in several parades during 1996, one of which was the T.S.A. parade held in downtown Houston. Our Shrine Clubs were very active, and the Baytown Shrine went to Imperial, which was held in New Orleans, and paraded with the temple. The International World Famous Horsey Patrol (Arabian Knights) attended their first Imperial and won first place.

The year was filled with dances, parties, parades, Casino night and another Potentate trip, a fall foliage cruise which started in Canada and ended in New York.

All of the major goals were met during 1996. It was a very successful year for Arabia Temple and Peace and Harmony prevailed.