During the Shriners' 2003 Imperial Council Session, held in Minneapolis, Minn., July 6-10,2003; M. Burton Oien of Mesa, Arizona, was elected Imperial Potentate of the Shrine of North America, making him the highest-ranking Shriner in the world. As Imperial Potentate, Burt will be serving his eleventh term on the Boards of Directors for both the Shrine of North America and Shriners Hospitals for Children. Oien was born in 1943, and raised alongside his brother and sister in the small farming community of LaMoure, North Dakota, where his parents owned a country store. For most of grade school, Oien attended a one-room schoolhouse, where his mother was even his teacher for a year. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in accounting at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, and became a licensed Certified Public Accountant in both North Dakota and Alaska. While working as a CPA in Anchorage, Alaska, it was evident that Oien preferred to be teaching, so he returned to school for his Ph.D. in Accounting, which led him to head the accounting department at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Oien served as Master of Tanana Lodge No. 3, F. & A.M. in Fairbanks, where he was raised in 1982. He has headed his three York Rite bodies and is a 33rd Degree member of the Scottish Rite. Oien is a Past Potentate of Al Aska Shriners in Anchorage, Alaska. Upon Oien's election in to the Imperial Divan in 1993, he retired as Professor Emeritus to devote more time to the Shrine. After 18 years, he left Alaska, and found a new home in the warmer state of Arizona. Oien chaired the first Oriental Guide Seminar in 1994, and these annual seminars have become the highlight of his years on the Imperial Divan. He is Past Chairman of the Endowment, Wills & Gifts Committee; Chairman Emeritus of Educational Seminars; Past Chairman of the Special Purpose Funds & Fund Raising Evaluation Committee; and Past Chairman of the Financial Study Committee. He has also served on the following Shrine committees: Investments, Information Systems, and Special Committee for the Future of the Shrine of North America. After meeting his Lady Sharon in first grade, the two dated in high school and college and were married in 1965. They have one son, who is a Shriner, and one grandson.

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