Three Rivers Shrine Club installs officers, names its Shriner of the Year

The Three Rivers Shrine Club recently installed its officers for 2020 and named its Shriner of the Year.

An installation of officers is held every January, and Russell Georgen, Molaah Shrine potentate, swore in the new officers Jan. 18 at The Grotto.

“The line (of officers) basically moves up, but you’re voted in,” said Bobby Wicker, the club’s new president.

Also voted in were: Mikhail Stith, first vice president; Corey Christian, second vice president; Aaron Morris, third vice president; and Jimmie Sanders, secretary/treasurer.

The nine-member Board of Governors, which consists of past presidents and other members of the club, also was initiated, Wicker said.

“At the installation of officers, Danny Phillips of the Three Rivers Shrine Club got Shriner of the Year,” Wicker said. “He has been a member of the Three Rivers Shrine Club for about seven years.”

Wicker said Phillips is retired from the U.S. Army, and he has “worked tirelessly and endlessly to promote the Three Rivers Shrine Club.”

As Wicker takes over as president, he said, he is “looking forward to the year. I’m looking forward to promoting the Three Rivers Shrine Club and Shriners Hospital for Children.

“That is what we are working for, our main goal” of the club is the hospital.

Wicker also wants members to have fun as they raise money for the club and Shriners Hospital.

“We’re pretty much all our fundraisers we’ve had in the past, we’re still doing,” Wicker explained. “Our two biggest ones are the poker run, which we have on Current River at Doniphan, and our rodeo that we have here” in Poplar Bluff.

New this year, Wicker said, will be a “kids day/hospital awareness” event that is open to the public on April 25 at The Grotto.

Wicker said there will be activities for the children, and information will be available for the parents to learn what Shriners Hospital offers and “what we do for the kids.”

Hamburgers and hotdogs will be served, said Wicker, who indicated more information will be released at a later date.