Jacksonville Ali Temple to hold annual charity ball this weekend, will award scholarships

Update: Friday, July 1

After a two year stop of public gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jacksonville's Shriner temple held its annual charity ball weekend.

Ali Temple #257, Oasis of Jacksonville, Desert Of North Carolina honored illustrious Potentate Lorenzo Jones Sr. on June 24-25. The festivities began last Friday with a fish fry and ended with a comedy show and dance held at The American Legion.

On Saturday Ali Temple #257 awarded scholarships and the noble of the first and second quarter to Noble Ray Lynn. Guests attended from cities throughout the country, as the Shriners hosted 650-700 guests.

Jones, a retired Master Gunnery Sergeant who served thirty years in The United States Marines Corps, was recognized for utilizing his leadership philosophy to improvise, adapt, and overcome during the pandemic, while continuing charitable assistance to the community of Jacksonville and Onslow County.

Original Story

Jacksonville's Shriner temple, founded four years ago, will hold its annual charity ball event this weekend.

Ali Temple was founded on January 13, 2018, under the leadership of Jeff Barrett, the Temple's first illustrious potentate, or leader. Honorary Past Potentate James Smiley said the temple came to be due to many members driving over 40 miles to attend Shriner meetings at Arabian Temple #42 in New Bern, leading to the need for a Jacksonville Temple.

Smiley said Ali Temple currently has a membership of about 57.

"But we're still growing, and I'm quite sure we will grow much larger than that," Smiley said. "I think COVID slowed us down a lot, because we couldn't do the things we normally do, but we still worked in the community."

Previous coverage: Shriners celebrate new Ali Temple

Working in the community is a big part of what the Temple does, and Ali Temple was even awarded the Temple of the Year award for the Desert (state) of North Carolina, after only being in existence for one year. The award is given to the most active temple, with community service and volunteerism being the most important factors.

Smiley said Temple members have done everything from partnering with the CHEW program, holding school book drives with Clyde Erwin Elementary, sending bookbags full of supplies, reading at elementary schools, donating toiletries to nursing homes, to doing Thanksgiving and Christmas Cheer.

"We will do what we call Thanksgiving and Christmas Cheer, where, sometimes we get with DSS (Department of Social Services), I would say it's a combination, but we also take recommendations for families that are in need and we provide them with turkey and hams and nonperishable items, that way they have a suitable Christmas feast and Thanksgiving feast," Smiley said.

He said the charity ball is the Temple's largest fundraiser, which helps raise the money needed to give back to the community like they do.

"We bring people from all over," Smiley said about the event. "I would say, all up the eastern seaboard, from Florida all the way to Connecticut, Jersey, places like that. For the ball weekend, we usually bring about a total of 800 people that fills up about four hotels."

He said it's a formal, elegant event, and everyone who attends gets a meal, and gets to see members from other temples across what they call their domain.

"They get to get, not only a good show, but they get to hear about and see some of the charitable events that we do," Smiley said. "One of the biggest things during that weekend is scholarships. We usually give away about $3,000 in scholarships over that weekend to deserving students that have been accepted into a college, and I mean, for us, that is the highlight of that weekend, being able to give those scholarships out, but also some of those proceeds that comes from the charity ball with it being our biggest fundraiser."

The event will take place this weekend, Friday, June 24 through Sunday, June 26, at both the Hampton Inn & Suites, and the American Legion Building. From 4-7 p.m. on Friday, attendees can enjoy a fish fry at the hotel, followed by a party at the American Legion Building from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., complete with a cash bar, and BYOB.

Saturday will start with the scholarship luncheon at 1 p.m., followed by the charity ball at the American Legion Building with doors open at 7 p.m., dinner served at 8 and the ball starting at 9.

Dress includes summer dress/regaled for nobles, regaled for daughters, semi formal suit and tie for male guests, and semi formal tea length dress for female guests. Those interested in attending can still get tickets, which is an $80 donation that covers the entirety of the weekend.

After a two-year halt to public gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic Ali Temple #257, Oasis of Jacksonville, Desert Of North Carolina held their annual charity ball weekend honoring Illustrious Potentate Lorenzo Jones Sr on June 24 -25. The festivities begin on Friday, 24 June with a fish-fry and ending with a Comedy Show and Dance held at The American Legion. On Saturday Ali Temple #257 awarded scholarships to the scholarship recipients and the Noble of the first and second quarter to Noble Ray Lynn. Saturday night the Charity Ball was held at the American Legion with guests attending from cities throughout the United States of America. Ali Temple #257 hosted 650-700 guests that resided in five hotels here in the city of Jacksonville, NC. Although the COVID -19 pandemic halted public gatherings Illustrious Potentate Lorenzo Jones Sr a retired Master Gunnery Sergeant who served thirty years in The United States Marines Corps utilized the leadership philosophy instilled in him while serving in The United States Marine Corps to improvise, adapt and overcome the COVID – 19 pandemic environment to ensure Ali Temple #257 continued to meet virtually each month and provide charitable assistance to the community of Jacksonville, NC and throughout Onslow County.

Reporter Morgan Starling can be reached at mstarling@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on The Daily News: Jacksonville Ali Temple holding annual charity ball this weekend