Dear Nobles,

It's FEZTASTIC to be elected as your 122nd Imperial Potentate at our 136th Imperial Council Session in Toronto! We had an outstanding time and made a lot of memories during this fun-filled week. It is such an exciting time in the history of our fraternity and I am privileged to serve as your leader.

The new Imperial Year was kicked off with a lot of energy and excitement thanks to Illustrious Sir Barry McQuillan, the Director General of the Session, and his committee members. These gentlemen really know how to WOW the crowd! I would also like to express my appreciation to the staff at Shriners International Headquarters and the Oshawa Shrine Club, as well as the rest of the nobles and ladies of Rameses Shriners, for all of their dedication and support. These people put a lot of time and effort into making the Imperial Council Session a great success and I could not be more thrilled with the result.

Through the years, many of you have witnessed my enthusiasm for increasing membership in Shriners International. I am overjoyed to be taking on this role at a time when we are accepting two new temples into our organization, growing from 191 temples to 193. I truly believe that we can solve our membership dilemma, and feel that global growth will play a big role in turning things around. I am very excited about the prospect of adding a 194th temple, Emirat Shriners of Heidelberg, Germany, next year.

I am also ECSTATIC about the launch of modern new tools designed to make membership in Shriners International more enriching, such as Shriners Village, and more enticing, such as beashrinernow.com. With all of these wonderful new developments, I thought my long-time slogan, "Isn't it great to be a Shriner? It's Feztastic!" would carry over and be a great theme for my Imperial year. I plan to share this theme with the world every chance I get, in hopes I can motivate others to become more involved. With enthusiasm and hard work, we can expand our fraternity and continue our good deeds for many years to come.

As we move forward, I encourage you to continue doing everything you can to help the patients and families of Shriners Hospitals for Children®, and to keep having fun and enjoying the brotherhood you joined. As Imperial Sir Jack Jones would say, "UNITY WINS, and together we can achieve our goals." I also ask you to carry my theme with you everywhere you go, and help me get everyone on their feet and excited about who we are and what makes membership in this organization so FEZTASTIC!!

And it is a GREAT DAY TO BE A SHRINER.

Sincerely,

George A. Mitchell
Imperial Potentate, Shriners International