Minot Shrine Club

     

It has been a long time or maybe it never has happened, that a Midwest Shrine clown has won five 1^st place awards in the Clown Competition during the annual Midwest convention held this August in Sioux City, Iowa. Minot Shrine Club's own Ken “Dizzy” Gillespie did just that, and became the first “Ace” that anyone can remember and possibly the only one that will ever be awarded five top awards at one competition. “Dizzy” took first place in the Makeup and Costume category, first place in the Parade Ability event, first in the One Man Skit, first place in the Single Balloon Tying event, and first place in the Multiple Balloon Tying contest.

Ken Gillespie, Dave Witter, Jim Clifford, Ken Rotter and Orren Anderson were in Sioux City representing Kem Temple and the Minot Shrine Club at this annual event.

To see photos from the Midwest 2010 event, click Shrine Album 2010.         

The Best Shrine Clown in North America!

     

Minot Shrine Clubs’ own Ken "Dizzy" Gillespie was awarded the most prestigious honor presented by the International Shrine Clown Association (ISCA), the "Clown of The Year" award, at the recent MidWinter convention in Indianapolis. If you were to think that this Honor comes easy, just take a look at just a few of the things Ken was doing to achieve this recognition.

Ken was a very active Shrine Clown. During 2009 he served as Kem Temple’s Hospital Chairman, third Vice President of the Midwest Shrine Clown association, Director of the Minot Merrymen unit, President of the newly formed Kem Clowns, Keeper of the Cob for the Hillbilly Clan 172, Minot Shrine Club’s Hospital Representative, and the I.S.C.A. Red Sneaker Fund ambassador for the Merrymen Unit. Ken worked 12 shows for Shrine Circuses at Minot, Williston, and Grand Forks. He was a clown for Kem’s evaluation clinics for the Twin Cities Hospital at Williston, Belcourt, and Grand Forks, ND and at Thief River and Bemidji MN. He was active in Nobles Hospital day and taking the ND Shrine Bowl players to the Twin Cities Hospital. Ken won 1st Place in Parade ability and a top 5 patch for Clown Extraordinaire at the 2008 I.S.C.A. Clown of the Year competition in Atlanta. At the Imperial in San Antonio TX, he won 3 top five patches and at the Midwest in Rochester MN he won 3 top awards in the clown competition. Ken also won 1st Place in Multiple Balloons, 1st Pace in Most Humorous entry, and partnering with his wife, won 1st Place in the Group Skit at the ND State Fair.

He participated in 43 Shrine events as well as 109 public events, 56 birthday parties, 11 picnics, 12 circus performances, and 15 parades.

We do not believe there is a more deserving person than Ken "Dizzy Gillespie to receive the Clown of the Year award, nor one who would represent Minot Shrine Club as well. Ken is truly a Shrine Clown who is a credit to his Unit, his Shrine Club, Kem Temple, his community, his state, the International Shrine Clowns Association, and the United States of America.