MAGIC (Masonic Action Group In the Community) was founded in 1994 to assist all Masons and widows in obtaining help when needed by supplying the name of local tradesmen of good reputation to undertake repair work at a fair price for them, when and if they had a problem.
Fundraising activities such as the Sportsman’s Evening provide finance to meet running costs, including the mobile phone used as an emergency 24-hour line. Any residual monies accrued during the year are donated to charity both Masonic and non-Masonic.
Sportsman’s Evenings are an annual event which is organised by MAGIC’s Vice President, Peter Wall, who was ably assisted by the MAGIC team of; Trevor Verncombe, Alister Sainter, president, Colin Jenkins and Eddie Thompson.
The evening attracts a large number of both Masons and non-Masons and quite a few enquiries for membership have originated over the years from this event alone. This year over eighty sat down to dine at a fabulous, three-course meal
Fundraising begins with an icebreaker tradition, in which half of the room is pitted against the other in a good-natured singing-off, competition. The half judged to be the worst singers are fined £3 by the principal guest however, the successful side do not get away lightly as they are also fined for the same amount! The main guest for 2023 was Saint Helens and England Rugby League legend, Paul (Scully) Scunthorpe, who entertained his audience with many entertaining anecdotes about his career in rugby and his many successful fund-raising physical challenges.
This was followed by a very entertaining comedy act by Dom Woodward, which was full of jokes, gags, banter, stories and a bit of daft comedy magic that involve the audience and kept everybody in fits of laughter.
During the dinner, stewards came around to sell raffle tickets for a host of donated prizes. One of the highlights is an autographed caricature of the main guest, which was drawn by Southport Group Secretary, Paul Hardman, a professional cartoonist by trade, and this year, the caricature of Paul Sculthorpe, raised in total, £220. The grand total for the night was an amazing £1,500!
A very comprehensive booklet is supplied to each guest for the event, and this also contains information on the guest speakers and on MAGIC and Freemasonry in general. Also, it has, within its pages, adverts from many generous sponsors, whose inserts have also benefited the funding for this exceptional Masonic endeavour.