Come Celebrate Cullie Tarleton Night

One of your Excelsior 261 brothers is a licensed auctioneer!

You can meet him and hear his great story after dinner May 5. He's Cullie Tarleton of Blowing Rock who has been representing Ashe and Watauga counties in the NC State House of Representatives since January, 2007.

He's a retired broadcast executive who served WBTV, WBT and WCCB here in Charlotte. He's a veteran of the NC Army National Guard with ten years in the US Army Reserve. His wife Sylvia will be with us, too. They have six children and six grandchildren. Check out his website photo gallery and you'll see him with Governor Mike Easley, Doc Watson, Joe Hackney and Beverly Perdue.

One of Brother Tarleton's most cherished Masonic memories was his being sworn in to the NC General Assembly on his Masonic Bible given him when he was raised at Excelsior. A brother at church addresses him as Hiram--and vice versa. One of Cullie's three brothers is also a Mason.

Come Celebrate Al Madsen Night

Doug Mayes will be here at Excelsior 261 Monday night, May 12. The people of Charlotte remember him as Mister Television and the Esso News Reporter from the earliest days of television until today, when Masonry is his full-time pleasure and he is our pride.

He's coming to help us honor and introduce our brother Alan Madsen, who is destined to become Imperial Potentate of the Shrine in a couple of years. That means he will soon be the top Shriner in the world, heading 400,000 Shriners/Masons in 191 temples throughout North America. His annual budget will be more than $700,000,000, almost all of which goes to research and care of crippled and burned children at 22 hospitals like ours in nearby Greenville, SC, that cost $1.7 billion to build. We look forward to having his wife, lady Janet, with him.

Brother Madsen served four years in the US Navy, including sea duty aboard the USS Shangri-La. He and Janet founded Corporate Personnel Consultants in Charlotte in 1975 and retired in 1998. He's a member of the Scottish and York Rites, and Oasis Patrol with duties as Captain of the Patrol Color Guard. He's been editor of Desert Dust, chairman of paper and plaque sales projects, and worked on the Oasis Centennial and Oasis Shrine Circus.

This year Alan is Director of Charlotte Court 109 of the Jesters. It's an honorary group within the Shrine. Many Excelsior brethren are Shriners and Jesters, too. And he's our member!

Excelsior Lodge Fundraiser

We are excited about raising funds for the Masonic Home for Children in Oxford, NC! We ask that all Excelsior Lodge brothers sell (or purchase for themselves) AutoBell car wash coupons for $10.00 each. This is a cost savings (regular price $12.95) to the consumer and will also help our local community cut down on water usage since AutoBell uses recycled water. Most importantly, the proceeds go directly to the Masonic Home for Children. To get your coupons, please contact either John McCracken at 704-608-5022 or John Maybury at 704-340-0252.

All the help possible will be needed to make this a successful event.

Brother Walter Klein is ambitiously promoting the Masonic history of Zebulon B. Vance by speaking at Masonic lodges throughout the Southeast. If you're interested in having Brother Klein speak at your lodge, you can reach him at 704-544-9575.