VOLUME LIV - April 2008 - NUMBER 4
"The Magazine for York Rite Masons-and Others, too"
PDF Format


Knights Templar Eye Foundation, Inc.
1000 East State Parkway, Suite I
Schaumburg, IL 60173-2460
Phone: (847) 490-3838
Fax: (847) 490-3777
www.knightstemplar.org/ktef


A Message from Sir Knight T. Jeffery Conquest, KCT
General Chairman of the 40th Annual Campaign for the KTEF,
Trustee of the Board of the KTEF, and P.G.C. of Indiana

    Greetings, Sir Knights:
    At a couple of Department Conferences, it was brought to my attention that many Sir Knights are unaware of how to sponsor patients for eye care. In response to several requests, I began in December this article, "How to Sponsor a Case Through Your Foundation," and have continued it in January, February, and now in the March issue. The article in its entirety can be obtained from the office of the KTEF.

          The following is a good example of a successful sponsorship from Niagra Commandery No. 64 in New York State. There is still time to contribute to the Campaign, which continues through April 30, 2008!

          Letter from Sir Knight David E. Shire, E.G.SW., KTEF Sponsor for Niagara Commandery No. 64 of Niagara Falls, New York
    (copy appeared in Masonic Times, Rochester, NY, in January 2008)

    I am pleased to make the following progress report about Kim Baugh's cataract eye surgery that Niagara Commandery No. 64 helped sponsor through the Knights Templar Eye Foundation.
         This is my first experience with a sponsorship process. I personally found it a rewarding experience, but I now know that I will do some things differently if I get another to do.
         On May 29, 2007, I received a phone call from Brad Baker at the Knights Templar Eye Foundation offices in Schaumburg, Illinois, asking me to contact a lady, Kim Baugh, who had e-mailed him asking for help with cataract eye surgery.
         After I phoned her on June 4, 2007, Sir Knight David Martin and I found out where Kim lived, and my wife Carol and I then phoned Kim and went to her home in Niagara Falls, New York. We met her husband and filled out the necessary papers. I, then, took the papers to her eye care facility, Fitka Eye Care, for them to fill out their part and return to me.
         After numerous phone calls between Fitka Eye Care, Brad Baker at the Eye Foundation, and Kim Baugh; we finally got the papers signed and sent to Schaumburg, Illinois, for approval. After their approval, I took Kim for her pre-op exam. The doctor said she had high blood pressure and needed to make an appointment with her clinic doctor to get this checked out before he would do the surgery. She got this done and took medication for a week to get her pressure down.
         We finally got her left eye operated on November 19, 2007. I took Kim the next morning for the post-op checkup. All went well, and now Kim goes for surgery on her right eye. So far Kim has had no complications and is elated with her new-found sight.
         Kim is employed at a fast food establishment and had a dangerous crossing of a busy road in order to go from the bus stop to work. She was fearful of needing to quit her job because of her sight.
         She and her husband are not on welfare and did not want to go that route, but she had been turned down for assistance from social services.
         Her relatives helped her get on the internet and found the Knights Templar Eye Foundation, so they are thrilled at her progress and don't have to worry about her work problems.
         We have been blessed for the opportunity to assist her as the representative for our Knights Templar Eye Foundation and to get her the aid she needed! We hope the next surgery continues to see her sight renewed without any problems.
         She is so grateful for our help and has said the same many times while enduring the trials of getting this surgery completed. She weathered the difficulties and complications with getting the papers signed, etc., and is pleased to receive our help! (This report was received at the KTEF office on January 10, 2008.)
              THANK YOU, SIR KNIGHT DAVID E. SHIRE, E.G.Sr.W.!
                T. Jeffery Conquest, P.G.C.
                General Chairman of the Campaign
                Trustee of the Board of KTEF
    Sir Knight Conquest resides at 1903 Somersworth Drive, San Jose, CA 95124.