I would like to begin this article by expressing our thanks from all of my staff to all the Masons who helped with the annual children’s Holiday Party. The children certainly enjoyed playing games, making crafts, and participating in the Magic Show. Of course, the highlight of the party was a special visit from Mr. Claus himself!

I would also be remiss if I didn’t thank all of you for the donations that we have received in honor of Dr. Bernard Rothman and also in memory of Mr. William Devilbiss. Both families are very near and dear to our hearts. Many of you know that Mr. Devilbiss served on the Brockman Fellowship Committee. He will dearly be missed. We would like to express our deepest sympathies to his wife, Carolyn and family. Carolyn has been very involved in the clinic, always volunteering to help us out in the office when needed and to help us with all our special projects.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to share a little story with you about one of our clients. His name is Tommy. Tommy is now 9 years old, but came to our Scottish Rite Clinic when he was 5. I was lucky enough to work with Tommy. At the time of his first meeting with me, he was so embarrassed by his speech that he refused to talk to me during his evaluation! After he realized that I would not judge him, but that I could help him because I understood how he felt, he asked me to please make him talk better. His mother had also recently separated from his father and was looking for employment. She was very stressed and did not know where to turn - or how to help Tommy. You see, Tommy was receiving group speech therapy in school but was not progressing. In fact, he wouldn’t talk in school because he was afraid the children would make fun of him.

We arranged for him to come to therapy twice a week. The mother was able to bring him and, through the generosity of the Masons, she was able to pay a reduced fee. Soon, he started to learn how to pronounce his sounds more clearly and, by the time he started first grade, most people understood him. However, he soon began having difficulty learning how to read. After a year of intensive therapy, Tommy learned to read. As a result of our work with him, we no longer see Tommy. His mother is very thankful to the Scottish Rite Masons and to the Clinic. Tommy is now in the top reading level in his class. He has changed from a very angry little boy to a happy, confident young man who is now achieving academic success. We helped Tommy become ready for school by providing him with the speech and language therapy that he so desperately needed but could not have received without the Masons’ support.

Thanks to your generosity, you provide the necessary financial support for our Hilgenberg Center. With your continued help, thousands of children have been evaluated and successfully treated by our nurturing staff. Please remember that your donations directly help your Scottish Rite Language Center. Your donations always directly benefit the children by helping defray their therapy costs and buying the materials that we use to work with the children. Please take a moment to fill out the enclosed envelope and join our Million-Dollar Club or Gold Club. Thank you!