Current Interest: Omaha’s 3rd Annual WalkRite for RiteCare a Great Success!

Right: Beth Hughes, RiteCare clinician and honorary team captain, and her 2-year-old son Kit

Omaha’s 3rd Annual WalkRite for RiteCare was held on September 11, 2011, at Lake Zorinsky to benefit the RiteCare Speech and Language Clinic through the Scottish Rite Foundation of Omaha, Nebraska. This year, over 150 families, walkers, and participants raised $12,000 for RiteCare programs and services while raising awareness about speech and language disorders which affect 14 million Americans. Elizabeth Charbonneau, representing the wives of Scottish Rite members, presented the RiteCare clinicians with 17 backpacks filled with crayons, coloring books, and back-to-school supplies for RiteCare kids.

Culinary Masters, Scottish Rite Masons, and Past Potentates from Tangier Shrine, Ill. Bros. Thomas K. Brummett, 33°, and James B. Parks, Sr., 33°Left: Culinary Masters, Scottish Rite Masons, and Past Potentates from Tangier Shrine, Ill. Bros. Thomas K. Brummett, 33°, and James B. Parks, Sr., 33°

Honorary Team Captain Beth Hughes, a RiteCare speech pathologist and Patty Kircher, WalkRite committee member and RiteCare parent, welcomed guests and cut the ribbon to inaugurate the Walk at Zorinsky Lake. Clowns from Tangier Shrine entertained the children. Omaha Steaks donated hamburgers, and the “Culinary Masters” from the Scottish Rite Masonic Center prepared burgers, hot dogs, and side dishes for the participants. “This has been our best year ever for WalkRite,” said Beth, “and our families are here to thank Scottish Rite Masons for funding these services and to show their appreciation for what RiteCare has done for their children.”

“My daughter has absolutely thrived thanks to her sessions with the RiteCare clinicians,” said Patty Kircher. “As a RiteCare parent, it has been overwhelming watching my daughter progress from pointing or grunting for things she wanted to being able to express her needs with full sentences.”

—Submitted by Micah Evans, 32°