Rick Reyes III is carrying on a family tradition — helping children get medical care as...
“I came to the realization that I finally became my hero,” Reyes, 44, said at the Shrine, located at 901 N. Loop 1604 West. “It’s always been my dad.”As the new leader, he’s recruiting a diverse group of men from the community to join the fraternity that governs Central and South Texas. Reyes said the average age of a Shriner is 75. The average age of incoming Shriners is 46. He said the fraternity has 1,331 members.
“It’s not just me,” he said. “All the board members are a huge, integral part of the successes we’re seeing with the increase in membership and decrease in age. With any organization, we can’t do it without the support of our team, and I have the very best team out there. Our ladies are our biggest supporters and absolutely the reasons why we have our successes.”The potentate received high marks from David A. Olivares, 59, the Oriental guide of the Shrine.
James Gullette grandfather of current San Antonio Alzafar Shrine Temple Potentate, Rick Reyes III, was potentate in 1981.“He’s like a little brother,” Olivares said. “He can make sure that a goal is seen through. We’re able to bounce things off each other, agree to disagree, move on and stay friends. Not a lot of people can move on, and we’ve done it.”Reyes joined the fraternity after serving in the Navy from 1999 to 2007.
In 2008, Reyes took on the persona of “Tater the Clown,” painting makeup on his face and putting on colorful clothes to cheer up youngsters. Past Potentate G. I. Flores gave him the nickname after hearing Reyes say “Hey, Tater” to his daughter on a phone call. One weekday, Reyes visited children in the orthopedic and burn units at a Houston hospital. As he walked down a hallway, someone shouted, “payaso!” It was a little girl, transferred from a Galveston burn unit, who had called him clown in Spanish. Over 90 percent of her body was burned.
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