OKEECHOBEE — The Okeechobee Shrine Club has made the difficult decision to close the doors on their clubhouse and put it up for sale. President of the club, Keith Tomey said their membership has dwindled to only a few and the building is much larger than they need. Tomey has been a member of the Okeechobee Shrine Club since 1982. He said, “The Shrine Club is going the way of everything else. Everything is dying out now.”

Things had already been getting bad for the club, he explained, and when COVID-19 happened, it got even worse. “The virus shut us down in March, and the grand master of the state of Florida said no one could do anything until June 1 when he got out of office. We were basically totally shut down. Now, I’ve tried to get it back, but I can’t get anyone to come back. Now, there’s me and about three others running the place. I’m getting tired. I’m 78 years old.”

Tomey has served as president for seven years — not all consecutive, but he has been in office this time since 2017. “I’m just tired. I’m worn out. I can’t do everything by myself.” He would like to retire from his position as president but said he can’t get anyone to take his place, so he keeps going.

The decision to sell the club was difficult, because it has been an Okeechobee staple for so many years. “A lot of people got married out there. They’ve got kids now who want to get married there. We just can’t do it.”

The Shrine Club building and property is completely paid for, he said. They just don’t need that much room anymore, and the upkeep is difficult for them with so few active members. They used to get by with volunteer help, but in recent years, they have had to hire people to help out.

Tomey said normally Shrine Clubs get a lot of help from the local Masonic Lodges, but here, they get very little help, and that is usually from northerners who are used to helping the Shrine Club where they come from. In order to become a Shriner, you have to first be a Mason, he explained. “Why this club here does not support the Shrine Club, I have no idea.” He went on to say the community of Okeechobee is very supportive of the Shrine Club. Whenever they have a fundraiser, the people of Okeechobee give very generously.

Tomey believes the younger generation is different than those that came before. “They don’t join fraternal organizations like their fat did. Then the ones that do join the Masons are not interested in putting in the extra work to become a Shriner.”

They are hoping to sell the place for $1.2 million. As long as the club remains active, the money from the sale will be held in an account for their use. If the club completely fades away, the money would revert to the Imperial Shrine in Tampa.

Tomey said they plan to keep meeting, probably at local restaurants for the time being. After the sale, he would like to build a smaller place somewhere. The present clubhouse holds about 220 in the dining area, and they would like something that would hold about 50 people.

Tomey wanted to tell his story so when people see the for sale sign in front of the Shrine Club, they will not think the club itself has closed. “We will still be active in Okeechobee,” he said. “We just won’t be in that building anymore.” They will be using a real estate agent from Palm Beach, but only because they want to reach more people in that area, he said. “I don’t want local people to think for even a minute we thought they couldn’t handle it.” His thought is that maybe someone will buy the place to set up a mobile home park. “We have city water and are on septic tank there,” he said. “The property consists of about nine acres. There is about 600 foot fronting State Road 78 and almost the same on 53rd Street, so it’s not like it’s off in a pasture somewhere.”

"I hate to sell it though. It's like a baby to me," he said.

Until the building and property are sold, the club will be operating exactly as they always have, including their famous spaghetti dinners on Tuesday nights and dinner and dancing on Fridays.