INTERNATIONAL SHRINE KEYSTONE KOP ASSOCIATION

Here is the latest, most up-to-date information that we have available!

To go to the ISKKA website click here

August 2004 - The second annual ISKKA meeting was held during the Imperial Session in Denver on July 5th, 2004. A spirited Board of Governors meeting preceded the regular meeting. Several items were discussed, including, an international skit competition. A committee was assigned to discuss possible rules to be voted on in Baltimore. Also, how do we improve our visibility in Shrinedom? If you have an answer, let us know! And, we are going to send all donations to the Golden Pie Fund directly to the hospital, so that there is no way they end up in the general fund. Not that that is bad, but we want to make sure we supporting "our" philanthropy. Our banquet was nice, a little crowded, but well attended. We wish to thank our junior Past President Bob "Turf" Dukes for his work this year. And we certainly want to wish our new President Don Tarrance (Zamora) the best for the coming year. Our other officers are: Rich Bales, 1st VP (Sesostris); Tom Rombach, 2nd VP (Egypt); Lance Walker, 3rd VP (Moila); William Wheeler, 4th VP (Hella); Past President Billy Ray Smith, Secretary (Moila) and Lance Walker is again the treasurer. We wish you all the best. Next meeting will be in Baltimore, hope to see you there.

May 2004 - The second annual ISKKA meeting at Imperial will be held on Monday, July 5th at the Ramada Inn Hotel in downtown Denver at 2:00 p.m.. There will be a Board of Governors meeting at 1:00 (all officers and past presidents). The hotel is located at 1150 E. Colfax Ave, just of I-70. We hope to have some serious discussion about possible competitions. If you have other agenda items contact President Bob Dukes . The final details for the banquet are being made and when they are completed, we will update everyone. We will be hosting a hospitality room at the Ramada Inn as well. Thanks to Bob and his lady for putting up with us! See you in Denver.

September 2003 - We wish welcome Noble William Wheeler and all of the Keystone Kops from Hella Temple of Dallas, Texas, our newest members. They were at Branson, Missouri for the CSSAKK competition and decided to be the lucky 13th unit to join our association. Again, welcome to all of you, hope to see you in Denver next July!.

June 2003 - ISKKA President Rick Roberts has all of the details about the meeting and banquet. They will be on Monday, July 7th. E-mail Rick at we4r@earthlink.net for the exact times and locations. We still would love to have any Kop unit out there that would like to help us help the children.

March 2003 - Our annual meeting will be held for the first time during the Imperial Session of the Shrine, in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Monday, July 7th. There will be an executive board meeting at 1:oo p.m. with the regular meeting to follow at 2:00 p.m.. The place has not yet been determined. The banquet will be the evening of the 7th, the place will be announced. We sure would like to see more units join our association. See you in Minneapolis.

September 2002 - Our annual meeting was held in Omaha, Nebraska on September 12, 2002. We had 7 units represented, including our newest Kops Abou Ben Adhem from Springfield, Missouri. Our new officers were elected and they are; President, Rick Roberts (Akdar); 1st Vice President, Bob Dukes (Midian); 2nd Vice President, Don Torrance (Zamora); 3rd Vice President, Rich Bales (Sesostris) and 4th Vice President, Tom Rombach (Egypt). The officers were installed at the banquet on Saturday evening by Imperial Sir Gary Dunwoody, Deputy Imperial Potentate. We enjoyed having him and his lady Wanda spend some time with us. We we able to present Imp. Sir Gary with a check for $1500.00 from our Golden Pie Fund. The minutes of the meeting should be coming out shortly.

July 2002 - A visit to Imperial was just what the doctor ordered. I had a great time visiting with all of the nobles who attended our "little" get together. We would also like to welcome our newest members from Abou Ben Adhem (Springfield, Missouri), Noble Frank Keyes got this new Kop unit up and running and they will be joining us at the September Meeting. We now have 12 units and we are still looking for more. Here are a couple of pictures from Vancouver:

ISKKA Kops from right to left are Ken McKenzie (Gizeh), ISKKA President Billy Ray Smith (Moila), Ellis Lindsey (Tunis) and Past ISKKA President Gene "Shave" Holman

Ladies Sheryl Smith (left), Marilyn Lindsey (center) and Brenda Holman

October 2001 - We wish to welcome the Nobles from Kerbela Temple in Memphis, Tennessee as our 11th unit. Noble George "Mr. Bob" Pope is the Secretary of that unit. Again, we welome all the Kops from Kerbela to our still growing association.

September 2001 - Our First Annual meeting was held in Kansas City, Missouri on August 30th, with six of the ten units represented. We have chosen to support research in the Spinal Cord Regeneration program being done at the Shriners' Hospitals with our Golden Pie Fund. We presented Imperial Sir Ken Smith a check for $1200.00 as our initial donation. New officers were elected, President - Billy Ray Smith (Moila); 1st Vice President - Rick Roberts (Akdar); 2nd Vice President - Bob Dukes (Midian); 3rd Vice President - Lee Arceneaux (Zamora); 4th Vice President - Rich Bales (Sesostris); Treasurer - Lance Walker (Moila) and Secretary - Howard Miller (Tangier). A full recap of the meeting will be forth coming. However, I must say that Imperial Sir Ken, sure made sure the as the officers were sworn in, the obligation certainly "SOAKED" in! Next year's meeting will be in Omaha, September 11th, 2002.

June 2001 - Two more Keystone Kop units have notified me that they will be joining the International Shrine Keystone Kop Association at the Annual Meeting in August. First, we welcome our second Canadian unit, Gizeh Shrine Keystone Kops from Vancouver, B.C., Noble Ken McKenzie is the Kash/Kommunications Officer for that unit. And Sesostris Temple from Lincoln, Nebraska, Noble Rich Bales is the Chief of this BRAND new Kop unit. They have 9 members and are very anxious to join our association. Welcome Gizeh and Sesostris. This makes 10 total units that belong to the ISKKA. We have doubled our size in the first year, keep up the great work.

May 2001 - The International Shrine Keystone Kop Association is happy to that the nobles of the Egypt Shrine Keystone Kops, from Tampa, Florida have decided to join our organization. Noble Tom Rombach is the Chief of this unit. We have also been in contact with the Kops Kamloops, British Columbia, they are with Gizeh Shrine Temple in Vancouver, B.C., where the Imperial session will be held next year. Noble Tom Rombach is the Chief of that unit.

April 2001 - The International Shrine Keystone Kop Association is PROUD to announce that the Al Malaikah Koppers from Los Angeles, California have decided to join our ranks. Noble Dick Price is the Top Kop of that unit. Welcome Al Malaikah Koppers! Remember, your unit could be the next unit to join this fast growing association of fellow Keystone Kops! Contacts are listed below.

January 2001 - We would like welcome the Nobles of the Tunis Shrine Keystone Kops as our newest members of the ISKKA. Noble Ellis Lindsay is the Top Kop of that unit. Welcome again, Tunis Keystone Kops!

Here is what is required to join the International Shrine Keystone Kop Association:

a) You must be a Shrine Unit. Imperial law prohibits clubs from joining associations.

b) You must have written permission from your Potentate to join the association.

c) An updated roster of members in your unit must be given to the Secretary of the association.

d) Dues of $5.00 (U.S.) per member is required. Each member will receive an ISKKA patch to wear on their uniform.(The patch have not yet been designed). Also there may be a pin in the future.

All petitions for membership will be read at our regularly stated meetings.

As of 11/26/00

The Imperial Potentate Robert Turnipseed and the Imperial Executive Board have approved our request and we are OFFICIALLY formed. I received the notification from Charles Cumpstone, Saturday, November 25th.

As of 11/19/00

As of this moment we are still awaiting word from the Imperial Council. If I do not receive something from them this week I will contact Charles Cumpstone Jr. and see what is happening with our request. I will keep you informed as soon as I know something.

As of 07/03/00

The organizational meeting of the International Shrine Keystone Kop Association was held at Moila Temple in St. Joseph, Missouri, on June 24, 2000. There were 5 Keystone Kop units represented, from Alabama, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma. We approved our By-Laws, which still need to be approved by the Imperial Shrine Juris Prudence Committee and we still need the approval of the Executive Board and the Imperial Potentate. This should happen the first week of November, when the board meets. We created the Golden Pie fund, for those that don't know, we in the CSSA Region like to think that "Pies Happens". The Golden Pie fund will be used to support one of the Shrine philanthropies. We have set up a committee to determine which cause would most benefit from our support. We did collect $500 to start the fund, thanks to all the units for their support. Our officers are:

President - Gene Holman (Tangier)

1st Vice President - Billy Ray Smith (Moila)

2nd Vice President - Rick Roberts (Akdar)

3rd Vice President - Bob Dukes (Midian)

4th Vice President - Dennis Jackson (Zamora)

As of 02/16/00

***** ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING ****

An organizational meeting for the International Shrine Keystone Kop Association will held on Saturday, June 24th, 2000. The meeting will be held at Moila Temple in St. Joseph, Missouri and will be hosted by the Moila and Tangier Shrine Keystone Kops and their ladies. You may fly into Kansas City International Airport and if we are made aware you airline and arrival time we will have someone there to pick you up. Hotel accommodations will also be available, contact Billy Ray Smith, the Chief of Moila's Kops at djbilray@ponyexpress.net or Gene Holman at gbholman@novia.net . Here is the agenda for the weekend:

Friday, June 23rd Arrival. At 7:00 p.m. Moila and Tangier will host a hospitality room at Moila Temple.

Saturday, June 24th, 9:00 a.m. the organizational meeting will begin. We will discuss and determine the by-laws and constitution of the organization, elect officers and take up any other business that is deemed necessary. At 5:00 p.m. we will adjourn. At 6:30 p.m. Moila will host their annual Patio Party, a NY (or KC) Strip dinner, the cost is $15.00 per person. A DJ will then provide music for the evening.

Sunday, June 25th, 9:00 a.m., Moila will host their golf tournament.

Any unit that wishes to join will need to bring a letter from their Potentate stating that they have his permission to join. Also, they will need bring money to cover whatever dues are decided upon by the membership. Please plan to attend this very important meeting!

As of 12/19/99

*** WE NEED TO GET THE BY-LAWS AND CONSTITUTION DONE***

We are currently in the process of developing the By-Laws and Constitution for our assocation. Once everyone sends their recommended changes to Gene, they will be compiled and then back out to the members for an unofficial OK from everyone, them we can begin to plan our first meeting. That's it for now!

As of 10/27/99

***IMPERIAL POTENTATE RALPH SEMB HAS APPROVED OUR REQUEST***

On 10/26/99 received a letter from Charles G Cumpstone, who is the Executive Vice President of the Imperial Council, saying that the Imperial Potentate was "intrigued" by our interest in starting an International Keystone Kop Association. Each unit will need to have a letter from their Potentate stating that they have his permission to join our organization. Gene will collect those and once we have all the paper work together we will submit it to the Imperial Potentate for his review and action. I also received a copy of the Articles of Incorporation, By-Laws, Annotations and Appendix of forms. This contains the forms that we need to submit! I will be communicating this information via e-mail as well.

As of 10/23/99

At this time, the letter requesting permission to form this organization has been sent to the Imperial Potentate Ralph Semb for his approval. During the Central States Shrine Association's Annual Convention in Tulsa, Oklahoma, one of our supporters had a chance to speak to Imperial Sir Ralph about this endevor. After that conversation, we feel that the Imperial Sir will grant us permission.

There are currently nine (9) Keystone Kop units that are very interested in going forward with and many of them believe that the time for this type of organization is long overdue. The units that are currently involved are:

Ben Ali Temple - Sacramento, California; Tunis Temple - Ottawa, Ontario; Tangier Temple - Omaha, Nebraska; Bahia Temple - Orlando, Florida; Midian Temple - Wichita, Kansas; India Temple - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Zamora Temple - Birmingham, Alabama; Moila Temple - St. Joseph, Missouri and Blue Goose Lodge #19 - Mayville, North Dakota

A copy of the Central States Shrine Association Keystone Kops has been sent to these units. We have permission from that association to use them as a foundation to build what will become this new organization's constitution and by-laws. It is not too late for other Keystone Kop units to get involved and have a say in how this new association will be operated. We will be putting these together, while we await Imperial Sir Ralph's OK. Once we receive that we will need to go full steam ahead and hopefully have our first official meeting in Boston next year during the Imperial Session, in July.

That's where we stand at this time. This page will be updated as often as there is new information to put out there. And please, if your Keystone Kop unit is interested in joining us, please e-mail us at the address on the previous page.

Thanks