History
The Western Shrine Association of Shrine Campers was started in 1996 by
PP Merrill Putnam who was very active in the RV club of El Zaribah in
Phoenix, Arizona. He had this vision of creating a larger RV club to
encompass the Western United States. So he sent a letter to the Western
Shrine Association requesting approval to organize and create an RV Club
subservient to WSA. The approval was granted and the wheels started moving,
hurdles had to be jumped and volunteers had to be found. Merrill (Mel) sent
letters to all the temples in the WSA to inform them of this new club and
requested feedback from all the RV Clubs of each Temple.
Mel flew to California and met the soon to be, Charter President, Herb
Townsend of Tehran Temple in Fresno who was Wagon master of the Moble Nobles
at the time. Together they surveyed the Fairgrounds in Tulare California for
the first WSASC outing in 1997 and agreed that this was going to be the
first outing. Herb took the bull by the horns and started sending letters to
all the Temples and notified his own club “The Moble Nobles” who were
instrumental in giving the club the foundation it needed to grow. The first
outing was a huge success and a slate of officers were elected from three
different temples. Herb created the design and logo and began to make
arrangements for shirts and jackets for the club members to wear. Mel
designed the patch and chevrons and the birth of the WSASC was under way.
By-laws were drawn up and approved by all members.
So the ground work was done and the effort to recruit member Temples was
on hand and the paperwork started. The following Temples joined in 1997;
| Aames, Livermore, CA
|
Al Bahr, San Diego, CA
|
| Al Kader, Wilsonville, OR
|
Al Malaikah, Los Angeles, CA
|
| Ballut Abyad, Albuquerque, NM
|
Ben Ali, Sacramento, CA
|
| El Bekal, Anaheim, CA
|
El Zaribah, Phoenix, AZ |
| Hillah,
Medford, OR |
Islam, San Mateo, CA
|
| Kerak, Reno, NV |
Tehran, Fresno, CA
|
During the 1997 Tulare Outing, Herb Townsend, from Tehran Temple was
elected Charter President, Dave Snyder, from Al Bahr Temple was elected 1st
Vice President and Ed Jud, from Al Kader Temple was elected 2nd Vice
President. After the elections were made it was determined by President Herb
Townsend that the 1998 outing would be held in Laughlin Nevada in the month
of June.
It was also
determined that the date of the outing would also be determined by the
president as long as it did not interfere with the WSA Yearly Conferences.
It was determined through the by-laws that the location of the next outing would be
determined by the location of the President elected. The following is a list
of all the outings, the name of the President and the location it was held
at.
| Year |
President |
Location |
Secretary |
Treasurer |
| 1998 |
Herb Townsend |
Laughlin, NV |
Bruce White |
George Miller |
| 1999 |
Dave Snyder* |
Chula Vista, CA |
Bruce White
|
Bob Wetzbarger |
| 2000 |
Ed Jud
|
Astoria, OR
|
Bruce White |
Bob Wetzbarger |
| 2001 |
Danny Robinson |
Goodyear, AZ |
Bruce White |
Bob Wetzbarger |
| 2002 |
Kenneth Pattison |
Loveland, CO |
Andy Anderson |
Andy Anderson |
| 2003 |
Dave Knox |
Palm Springs |
Bert Ekstrom |
Bert Ekstrom |
| 2004 |
Thomas Crosby |
Tulare, CA
|
Herb Townsend |
Herb Townsend |
| 2005 |
Mervin Bauer |
Colorado Springs |
Andy Anderson |
Andy Anderson |
| 2006 |
Dan Moyer |
Portland OR
|
Cecil Hammer |
Cecil Hammer |
| 2007 |
Bill Steils* |
Chula Vista, CA
|
Fred Timm |
Fred Timm |
| 2008 |
Ed List |
Mesa, AZ
|
Ken Merrill |
Ken Merrill |
| 2009 |
Herb Townsend |
Mexico Cruise |
Unknown |
None |
| 2010 |
Greg Burton |
Ajo, AZ
|
Herb Townsend |
Herb Townsend |
| 2011 |
Fred Timm |
Chula Vista, CA |
Jerry McReynolds |
Jerry McReynolds |
| 2012 |
JB Dick |
Canyonville, OR |
Bob Timm |
Bob Timm |
| 2013 |
Ken Pattison |
Laughlin, NV
|
Herb Townsend |
Herb Townsend |
* Deceased |
