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A Clinic Success Story
Eight years ago, Theresa Marisol Flores,
with the help of Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children
in Dallas,
began her athletic and academic success story.
When Teresa Marisol Flores started the
eighth grade at Driscoll Middle School in Corpus Christi,
Texas, she
learned she was five grade levels behind in her reading
comprehension and ability. Her parents, Manuel and Rosa
Flores, were disappointed but not surprised when Assistant
Principal Wendy Gainan and others informed them their
daughter may have a reading disability called dyslexia.
Dyslexia had been in the Flores family before, and they
were familiar with the pressures it brought to teen-agers
as they made their way through school.
Determined to help their daughter, the
family had a free professional diagnosis done by Texas
Scottish Rite Hospital
for Children in Dallas where it was determined Teresa
had developmental dyslexia, which would be with her the
rest of her life.
Teresa, at first, was confused and troubled.
She was told that without going back to the basics of
sounds
and words, she would not be able to keep up with her
schoolwork and college work would be nearly impossible.
She would have to be in special classes to help her catch
up with her peers, but there were no guarantees.
Unperturbed, Teresa headed toward Miller
High School her freshman year knowing that she would
have to make
many sacrifices in order to keep up with her classmates
and hopefully qualify for college. Each morning, she
would get there one hour before the other students and
take her special class.
Now, eight years later, Teresa is a success.
This past season she was named Division II third-team
All-America
by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and was
selected “Player of the Year” by the softball
coaches of the Lone Star Conference after a stellar senior
season at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas,
where she helped set or tie 30 records and earned that
university’s esteemed “President’s
Award” which recognizes outstanding excellence
in sports and the classroom.
That’s quite an accomplishment for a young woman
whose ability to complete high school was in question
just eight years ago. Clearly, the turning point toward
success was the timely diagnosis of Teresa’s dyslexia
by Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. Thank you!
The Dallas hospital is clearly a strong link in the nationwide
network of nearly 165 RiteCare Childhood Language clinics,
centers, and programs sponsored by members of the Scottish
Rite of Freemasonry across the Southern Jurisdiction.
The Flores family will be eternally grateful for the
Scottish Rite’s great work!
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Ill. Sizemore Pilots Classic Stearman Aircraft
This airplane is a Stearman, PT17, PT
meaning Primary Trainer, which was built by Boeing Aircraft
Company in
Kansas in 1941. This particular aircraft was one of those
sent directly to Canada for primary flight training with
its designation changed to PT27. It has a radial, 220
horsepower, Continental engine. Both the airframe and
engine were rebuilt in recent years, and since then,
have had about 50 flight hours. The Stearman aircraft
was used as a trainer during World War Two by both the
Navy and Army Air Corps and was the first aircraft flown
by thousands of flight students. The Stearman pictured
is owned and flown by former naval aviator, Rear Admiral
William G. Sizemore USN, Retired, who first flew and
soloed a Stearman PT17 in 1946. Ill. Sizemore, 33°,
Grand Cross (right in photo above), is the Grand Executive
Director of the Supreme Council, 33°. His son, Captain
William G. “Bill” Sizemore II USN, 33° (left
in photo above), also a naval aviator, often occupies
the other cockpit and is pictured to the right of his
father in the above photo.
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Cultural Tourism Meeting
Photo: Elizabeth A. Williams,
The Scottish Rite Journal
On Thursday July 15, 2004, the Library of the Supreme
Council hosted the monthly meeting (photo above) for
the Cultural Tourism of Washington, D.C., organization.
This summer the organization is focusing on discovering the city’s “hidden
treasures.” The Supreme Council headquarters building—with its impressive
ceremonial rooms, extensive Library, and diverse museums—certainly fits
that category. The guest speaker was Valecia Crisafulli from the National Trust
for Historic Preservation. Approximately 30-40 people attended, and after the
meeting, Joan K. Sansbury, Librarian of the Supreme Council, took the group on
a special tour of the building. Most of the guests had not been in the building
before, and they agreed that the Supreme Council’s headquarters building
is clearly one of the capital’s “hidden treasures.”
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Kentucky Brethren Hold 16th Annual Student Recognition
Program
On May 11, 2004, the Bullitt County, Kentucky, Scottish
Rite Club held its 16th Annual Student Recognition Program
to honor 42 students, selected by their teachers, to
receive achievement awards. These students attend special
classes for children with learning disabilities. One
outstanding student received a $500 scholarship to help
with college tuition.
The program was held at Bullitt Central High School
auditorium in Shepherdsville, Kentucky, and attended
by family and
friends of the students along with the nominating teachers.
The Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Michael Eberbaugh,
and Ill. John E. Moyers, SGIG in Kentucky (far left in
photo above), presented each student with a plaque and
certificate of accomplishment. Bullitt County Judge Executive
and Honorable Brother Kenneth Rigdon presented certificates
declaring May 11th as Student Recognition Day.
The Bullitt County Scottish Rite Club, presented each
student with a $50 government bond and each teacher a
small gift. The club, chartered through the auspices
of the Valley of Louisville, takes pride in offering
this opportunity for the community to recognize the achievements
of students who otherwise might have been overlooked.
It is gratifying to see students who have been honored
raise their goals and become honor roll students or return
after college and teach in our public schools.
The first program in 1989 awarded students attending
middle schools only. Now, the program includes all middle
and high schools in the county. At the beginning of the
last semester, applications were delivered to each Learning
Disorders teacher in the schools to make their selections
of students most improved during the school year. These
applications are then sent to the club chairman to complete
the process and secure the items for presentation.
Bro. Glenn H. Gray, KCCH and club Treasurer, has chaired
this affair every year since 1989. Brother Gray, being
a school principal, knowing the need for such a program,
and understanding policies in the school system, has
been instrumental in making the program a success. He
has since retired from his job as principal, but is still
working in various positions for the Bullitt County Board
of Education.
The program has been passed on to other Scottish Rite
Clubs around the Louisville area and has become a dynamic
project for them as well. It is a proven fact that when
we help children through any type of encouragement, our
communities, schools, and fraternity prosper. The companionship
between our schools and fraternity only strengthens our
society, and everyone is a winner, not only the children.
We urge every Scottish Rite Valley and club to get more
involved with their local schools to encourage, promote,
and recognize our youth when they achieve.
Thanks to the Louisville Bodies for their continued
support in this and any other projects sponsored by the
Bullitt
County Scottish Rite Club and also, to our club officers
and members who keep Scottish Rite Freemasonry alive
in our community.
Submitted by Claude L. Lane, 33°, Charter
Club President
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25 Masonic Videos Now Available on DVD
Capstone Productions, Inc., announces
that 25 professionally produced Masonic TV documentaries
and informational programs
are now available on DVD. "All these TV programs
are still available on VHS tape, but with requests for
videos on DVD coming from all over the continent, it
was clear we had to create DVDs of these popular Masonic
TV programs," said Jackson Polk, Executive Producer
of Capstone Productions Inc.
Masons and Masonic friends are invited to review the
online catalogue at www.masonictv.com and find out more
about these classic Masonic documentary and interview
programs. Any one of the videos would make the perfect
addition to a Lodge program, and all are suitable for
viewing by families, candidates, and the public. No ritual
work is included in the programs.
The 25 programs now on DVD can be purchased at www.masonictv.com by credit card, PayPal account, or mail order. Each DVD
program is priced at $22 (plus tax in Texas) and $5 shipping
per order. The Masonic videos are also available on VHS
tape for $20 each, plus tax and shipping.
The online catalogue at www.masonictv.com includes
a wide variety of programs. Some examine the history
of
the Masonic Fraternity over the last three centuries
while others answer its contemporary critics through
the words of legendary Mason, Illustrious John J. Robinson.
Five programs feature cornerstone ceremonies at the
White House and U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. A three-video
series examines the early influence of Masonry in the
United States, with an emphasis on Washington, D.C.,
and the U.S. Capitol. Another program takes viewers to
a lecture before the U.S. Capitol Historical Society
as an author uses visuals to make a compelling argument
that the U.S. Capitol Building represents, in stone,
the Blue Lodge Degrees of Freemasonry.
A popular program, "George Washington and the Temple of Democracy," re-enacts
the events of Sept. 18, 1793, when the country's first President helped lay the
cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol. The video follows President Washington as he
journeys by horse-drawn coach from Mount Vernon, boards a boat to cross the Potomac
River to Georgetown, then leads a procession of Masons up Pennsylvania Avenue
in the capital city. Two hundred years later, five cameras catch the action of
this colorful and historically accurate reenactment, including the firing of
U.S. Army cannons. The 24-minute program is an educational and entertaining way
to present an important day in Freemasonry’s history.
A ten-program series called "Masonic Conversations" features
the thoughts and insights of ten Masonic scholars. Each
half-hour TV programs includes one
Masonic scholar and the topic of his choice. Recorded live on location at
the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria,
Virginia, the conversations
cover a wide range of topics relating to Masonic history and philosophy.
All the Masonic programs now available at www.masonictv.com were
recorded and produced by professional broadcast journalists.
Their high-quality TV
production
is enhanced by the stunning clarity of video on DVD.
Masons and friends are encouraged to forward this Internet
news item to Worshipful Masters, Lodge Program Chairmen,
and others who may be interested
in these
programs. Masonic publications are welcome to reprint all or portions
of this news release.
Feel free to post a copy of this e-mail at Lodge. For those who prefer
to receive a Masonic video catalog by mail, please reply to this article
by
e-mailing
to jpolk@elp.rr.com or send a written
request to Capstone Productions Inc., Box
221466, El Paso, TX 79913. Printed catalogues can be mailed to one or
more addresses in the United States or Canada. For more information,
please
go to www.masonictv.com.
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