To the Nobility of EI Hasa Shriners

To have been elected to serve our Nobility as the Potentate for EI Hasa Shrine Temple for the ensuing year of 2022 is humbling in so many ways. Two that stand out to me are first, the fact that 2022 will be both the 150th Anniversary of our Shriner Fraternity and the 100th Anniversary of our Shriner’s Children’s Hospital System. What began as an idea for a philanthropic arm of the Masonic Order, eventually led to the first chapter being Chartered in 1872. There are now more than 195 chapters in countries around the world.

Then, in 1922, construction began in Shreveport, LA on the First (1st) Shriners Hospital for Children. To address the needs of the overwhelming number of patients during construction, the first

physician saw patients at a small office in town.

Today, Shriners Hospitals for Children has served 1.4 million children.

The second way is viewed from the eyes of a parent of a child who has been treated at Shriner’s Children’s Hospital. Our son Nicholas has been a patient at Lexington Shriner’s Hospital for the last eight years. A heartfelt thank you goes out to every Noble with our wonderful fraternity, their ladies, and our community partners who continually support us and our Shriner’s Children’s Hospital.

Fraternally Thine,

Eddie R. Hazelett

Potentate 2022