Worthy Grand Matron Sister Trudy Riddle, and Worthy Grand Patron Brother Jim Billings welcome you to the 2009-2010 Grand Chapter Year! Hello, from your Worthy Grand Matron, hope you have been enjoying this summer and energizing yourselves so we can start the fall with great enthusiasm and ideas to help our beautiful order grow. Brother Jim and I have had a great year so far. We have enjoyed meeting new friends and see old ones at the Grand Officers Receptions, Pins presentations, Official Visits, Sewing Day in Emporia and especially at the Summer Charity. With the help of all of you our special projects are growing but we need to not only buy the pins, but buy tickets for the raffle items’ Which are the GPS, a hand painted Rose Picture, Quilt and Quilt Rack and Entertainment unit, so keep up the good work. Hope all of you are talking up the Order and are bringing in new members. I have Lady Bug pins for the ones of you that sign the petition, just let me know and I will get them to you. The Membership team in your chapters and District Representative should be having a meeting with you to come up with new ideas to make the meeting more interesting and fun. Hope some of you were able to be in Topeka to get Ideas from Brother Dean Wyant, PGP, General Grand Chapter Appointment Vision Quest South Region Coordinator seminar this August. We still have Grand Assembly for International Order of Rainbow for Girls in Wichita, the Multi-State Exchange in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Kansas/Nebraska exchange August 28th and 29th. Then the 1st of September we start out on the rode again, with Official Visits/Pins, Grand Chapters of others States and especially our 15 District Schools which our District Aides have been working on very hard this summer. So let make them a success with great attendance and with hope of 100% attendance from the Chapters in the District. Dates to remember to help make the “Stars Across Kansas” even greater, starting with District Schools of Instructions: DeSoto D/S Sat. 9-5-9 Baldwin City N/S Fri. 9-11-9 Hiawaitha D/S Sat. 9-12-9 Atwood N/S Fri. 9-18-9 Almena D/S Sat. 9-19-9 Anthony N/S Fri. 9-25-9 Dodge City D/S Sat. 9-26-9 Gridley N/S Fri. 10-2-9 Coffeyville D/S Sat. 10-3-9 White City N/S Fri. 10-9-9 Manhattan D/S Sat. 10-10-9 Ft. Scott N/S Fri. 10-16-9 Lyons N/S Sat. 11-13-9 Wellington N/S Fri. 11-20-9 Wichita D/S Sat 11-21-9 Grand Officer Degree Work: Pittsburg Sat. 10-17-9 Liberal 11-14-9 Grand Chapters other States: Colorado 9-16 thru 9-18 Missouri 10-11 thru 10-13 Oklahoma 10-18 thru 10-20 Iowa 10-23 thru 10-24 General Grand Chapter in Tulsa, Oklahoma 10-31 thru 11-6 – Your Secretaries have all the information needed. We hope you will check your itinerary for meetings in your district and any Chapter within driving distance. It is a cheaper form of entertainment and socializing enjoying great friendship with your Sisters and Brother, plus making the Chapters Worthy Matrons who work hard to have a great meeting and Grand Officers feel good *****TO ALL OUR GREAT STARS ACROSS KANSAS ***** Star Love – Trudy Riddle WGM Hello to all from your Worthy Grand Patron Jim Billings. Firstly I need to thank everyone who has attended the various events across the state these last few months. I especially want to thank you for attending the receptions for Trudy and me and for our appointive Grand Officers. The encouragement and Eastern Star love and hospitality shown to all of us is very much appreciated. In July we had a successful Summer Charity event in Emporia. This event helped to raise money for our Charities which are the Kansas Masonic Cancer Research Institute and Heart research being done at the KU Medical Center in Kansas City. I can tell you that at this event we enjoyed a “live” auction and a “silent” auction and I thank everyone who contributed items for these auctions. A special thank you goes to our Auctioneer Wayne Lee from Americus, KS. who very generously donated his time and talents to this event. Our Summer Charity Committee members Nancy Ritter, Elizabeth Robinson, Jana Goebel, Judena and Joe Lewis along with Barbara Say and her daughter Emily really did a wonderful job and deserve our heartfelt thanks. The auction items brought $2560 and the donations from around the state are still coming in at this time. As we get ready to resume labor in September I hope that everyone will come back renewed and enthusiastic for the months and year ahead of us. I hope that you will support your chapters and District Aides with participation in local chapter meetings and the District meetings that will be held this Fall. Participation and Enthusiasm are two things that every member of our Order can contribute with the only cost being TIME. I mention this as your Worthy Grand Patron for a specific reason. As we travel around the state it is very apparent that we, as an Order, are not lacking for fraternal love, friendship and hospitality. This is certainly as it should be. However, it is also more evident that the use of the Ritual in both closed and open meetings is becoming more prevalent. If we believe the instruction we received and give at our initiations, this should be alarming. I know and have used most of the excuses about not having time or not being able to memorize, but every Time Management course or class that I have ever taken stresses and teaches that you will take the time or find the time to do that which you want or wish to do. I encourage every line officer and appointive officer in every Chapter to “Take the Time” to become proficient in the work for your station and more. You will be surprised and pleased at the level of satisfaction you will feel at this accomplishment. I hope to see you soon. James W. Billings Worthy Grand Patron ************************************************************************** If you have a picture that you would like to see on this site, please e-mail it to me at chard@southwind.net Thanks! Christy Hard--Webmistress ****************************************************************************************************** ** **Please join our Kansas Order of Eastern Star Group on Facebook! ****************************************************************************************************** ** WELCOME to the Official web-site home of the Grand Chapter of Kansas, Order of Eastern Star. Be patient with us as we explore this exciting NEW FRONTIER! Thank you to the Board of Trustees for authorizing the establishment of this site. We hope that it becomes a valuable resource for all of our members. Check back often, as we'll be growing and changing! Christy Hard-Webmistress (chard@southwind.net) **************************************************************************