For Shaun Lewellyn, President of the Minot Shrine Club, the idea of a dedicated flag memorial to POW/MIA veterans started about 9 months ago. Already to the east of the Minot Masonic Center in Minot located at 2524 Burdick Expressway East, are 3 flags that were just recently replaced. “We just put up new American, North Dakota and Canadian flags in the Masonic Park area” according to Lewellyn, and now we have decided there needed to be another, a flagpole that will fly the POW/MIA flag”.
The ceremony will take place on Saturday with a ribbon cutting ceremony and dedication at 11:00 AM, and a free will donation lunch at 12 Noon according to an announcement sent out to press rooms last week.
“The Minot Masonic Center is the home to all of the different organizations, including the Minot Shrine Club and the Minot Masonic Blue Lodge of the Masons” continues Lewellyn “they are all taking part in the ceremony. Also included are the Order of the Eastern Star, The Scottish Rite Free Masons, and the Prince Hall Masons.”
Music for the event is being provided by a local member that plays the bagpipes.
Lewellyn said that it started out as a simple idea “but it has grown a lot. We want to invite current Masonic members and their friends, along with those interested in becoming a Mason or a Shriner. You know it’s something we should be proud to do. My Dad was retired military, and as I look around the room at our meetings, there are a lot of active duty military, retired military and of course the friends and dependents.”
The financial arrangements for the flag pole and dedication is being handled by The Minot Shrine Club, “but we hope that we get some donations at the free will lunch that will follow the dedication to offset some of the costs…but this really isn’t about raising money, it’s about raising awareness” continues Lewellyn, “a lot of people think that Shriners only raise money through our circus, which of course is a big fund raiser for us, but we do so much more for our communities including the Children’s Hospitals and Clinics.”
More information about the Dedication Ceremony can be found on the group’s website, minotmasoniccenter.org.
