President's Message - Barbara Ginsberg

​Hello ladies & Welcome to 2023!
When I accepted VP the position, I said I hoped to contribute to continuing the work of the organization & to continue the feeling of community & connectedness that I see in the group – especially in these times that have turned our world upside down. As president, I commit to furthering those goals.
It is shaping up to be another challenging year. In addition to pursuing fund-raising activities and maintaining our all-important social network with gradually decreasing membership, we must for sure find a new “home” as Shrine House has been sold and must be vacated the end of May.
Membership, fund raising & location are intertwined. We lost quite a few members in 2022 – and did not gain new members. We are a small group and none of us are getting any younger. There are a few things we can do. We can look within our immediate families and connections to find / identify potential new members and talk with them about KLA and our role in fundraising for the children. Invite them to come out to a meeting to see firsthand what we do. We will be making a concerted effort to raise our profile with posting information to the website. We regrettably missed the Jan. 14 installation of 2023 Khartum Potentate Illustrious Sir Klaus Knorz, but he has forwarded his contact information to me and telephoned me to introduce himself and express appreciation and support for KLA. He spoke of his intent to foster connection between all groups in the Masonic Family and the need to support each other. To that end, I will endeavor to attend Masonic Family events and raise awareness of KLA, starting with IOJD Bethel 9 installation of officers on Jan.26.I will make effort to attend Masonic Family meetings so KLA is represented, and we can promote our activities along with other organizations.
Ill Sir Klaus also spoke of our relationship with Children’s Rehabilitation Foundation and stressed that he considers it part of his mandate to foster such relationships that work to benefit the children. He has committed to meeting with me at some point when he is in Winnipeg- he will be here in February for a Nile event. I will follow up with him to arrange to meet.
Membership is linked to fundraising. We no longer have the major fundraising raffle due to the pandemic and it simply became impractical for our small group to carry out successfully. We had great success last year with sales fundraisers like Bothwell Cheese and Morden’s Chocolates and will likely look at doing them again. We have become very proficient at order forms and processing orders. These fundraisers can be run by a small group of ladies. We had a VERY successful card party last fall, albeit a huge amount of work related to food. We are contemplating pivoting to a Dessert Card party as opposed to a Luncheon Card party, but we have hit a snag…….
Which brings us to location. Shrine House has been sold with possession date end of May. We are secure for meeting dates thru May but April and May for sure will be in smaller room – either 123 or the lounge. The activity room is unavailable as it is being used as the collection center for furniture and other items for sale by Khartum. The significant impact for us is that we do not have use of Shrine House for Annual Dinner or Dessert Card Party. We will be discussing /deciding at February meeting what to do. The Annual Dinner can be at a hotel / alternate venue, but cost will likely increase. The Dessert Party likewise will require consideration of costs – it is counter productive to hold a fundraiser if profits are eaten up by costs.
2023 marks our 98th year. We have a long history of service to the Shrine and are poised to continue to survive and thrive going forward.         Stay Tuned!!
Barb Ginsberg
PRESIDENT KLA 2023