Maine Elks Association

Maine Elks to Annual Hold Knight’s Seminar Next Month

The Maine Elks Association will be holding its annual “Knight’s Seminar” next month at the Millinocket Elks Lodge. The annual event features speakers who will cover each of the Grand Lodge Programs. This is a very informative event! Registration for the event will take place on Saturday, February 10, 2007, from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM. The Seminar will run from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM on Saturday, and from 9:00 AM until Noon on Sunday. A Lunch and & Continental Breakfast will be served on both days. Total cost for the lunch and breakfast will be $5.00 dollars.

For those arriving on Friday, the Millinocket Lodge will be holding a Casino Night for your entertainment. On Saturday night, MEA State President Greg Daniels and First Lady Barbara will be making their official visitation to the Millinocket Lodge. Dinner will consist of a choice of Prime Rib or Turkey. Cost for the Prime Rib will be $15.00 per person, and for Turkey, it will be $10.00 per person. Karaoke will follow dinner. An information packet, including meal reservations is available for download from the Maine Elks website at: http://www.maineelks.org/knightsseminar.pdf

Grand Lodge Auditing & Accounting Committee to Hold Seminar in Maine

Joseph A. Petriello of the Area 1 Auditing and Accounting Committee will be conducting a clinic which will be of benefit to all Secretaries, Treasurers, and the Lodge Auditing Committee in the proper way to prepare and submit monthly and annual reports. All officers, committees and interested members are encouraged to attend.

The seminar will be held at the Augusta Elks Lodge #964 on March 11, 2007. The seminar will commence promptly at 10:00 AM. There will be a light lunch available at noon and the seminar could run after lunch dependent upon participation.

Hotels/motels available in the local area are listed with telephone numbers and the rate for a double room.

Holiday Inn                                                                    Comfort Inn
110 Community Dr.                                                        281 Civic Center Dr.
Augusta, ME   04330                                                     Augusta, ME   04330
Tel: (207) 622-4751                                                        Tel: (207) 623-1000
Rate: $95.00                                                                  Rate: $92.00

Super 8 Motel                                                                Econo Lodge
395 Western Ave.                                                          390 Western Ave.
Augusta, ME   04330                                                     Augusta, ME   04330
Tel: (207) 626-2888                                                        Tel: (207) 622-6371
Rate: $55.88                                                                  Rate: $59.95

If you plan to attend this event, please contact Phil O’Brion

Back L to R: Shawn Stacey, PER, Northern District Hoop Shoot Director, Cody S., Abby P., Kaitlyn D., Gregory Hall, Exalted Ruler Bangor Elks Lodge

Three boys and three girls, ages 8-13, won the second round of competition in the Elks “Hoop Shoot”^® free throw contest at the James Doughty Middle School in Bangor and have been named Champions of the Maine Elks Northern District.

Boys Name	Age Group	Sponsor Lodge	Girls Name	Age Group	Sponsor Lodge
Cody S.	12-13	Bangor	Kaitlyn D.	12-13	Bangor
Tyler T.	10-11	Bangor	Abby P.	10-11	Bangor
Andrew P.	8-9	Presque Isle	Lauren R.	8-9	Houlton

First, Second, and Third Place Trophies were awarded to one boy and one girl in each of three categories: ages 8-9, 10-11, and 12-13. The six champions will now advance to the State competition to be held at Brewer High School on February 4^th where they will compete against winners from the two other districts in the Maine Elks Association. The Bangor Elks Lodge hosted the event holding a luncheon and awards ceremony for over 100 attendees including the contestants and their families.

The Northern District of the Maine Elks Association consists of lodges in Presque Isle, Houlton, Millinocket, Old Town, Ellsworth (Greater Ellsworth), Bangor, and Pittsfield (Sebasticook Valley). The Maine Elks Association is a non-profit organization consisting of 22 Lodges comprising three districts with over 12,000 members state-wide.

The Elks “Hoop Shoot”^® began as a local program by Corvallis, Oregon Elks in 1946 and is in its’ 34^th year of national competition. Over three million boys and girls are expected to participate this year.

The Houlton Elks Lodge held the annual Hoop Shoot foul shooting contest on December 17^th at Alumni Gymnasium in Houlton. The winners advanced to the district contest.

During the months of November through April, the Houlton Elks Lodge opens its’ doors every Saturday morning from 9:00 AM to noon to the children of it’s members. During those hours, the children have access to the entire lodge; from the bowling alley and lounge to the 4^th floor gymnasium. The lounge is open to the youth where they can watch competitors bowl while enjoying a soda. Each week, the lodge tries to have a different theme, pajama party, Hawaiian party, sports costume party or bring a friend. The youths are always served a meal at 11:00, ranging from hot dogs, pizza, hamburgers, tacos to spaghetti. The attendance varies from 15 to 35 children each week. Exalted Ruler James Bledsoe, his wife Nancy, and Leslie Ross run the program.

The Houlton Elks Lodge, on Sunday December 17^th, hosted a Senior Citizen’s Dinner. Seniors from all of southern Aroostook County were invited to the annual event. A turkey dinner was served, complete with all the fixings.

A total of 609 dinners were served with 362 dinners delivered by volunteers to people who were unable to come to the Lodge and 247 meals that were served at the Lodge. The diners were treated by a soloist trumpet player, playing seasonal music. Approximately 50 volunteers, members, their spouses and children worked for two days to ensure the success of this event.

On December 13^th, the Houlton Elks Lodge held its annual Children’s Christmas party. It was attended by approximately 60 children. The bowling alley, pool tables and air hockey table were used by the children. They were served Shirley Temples and soda in the lounge. The children and their parents were treated to hot dogs and hamburgers before the arrival of Santa Claus. The parents bring a present with their child’s name on it and it is placed under the Christmas tree. Santa then makes his appearance and gives out the presents. It was a great night for all.

Grand Lodge Government Relations Committeeman Reappointed

Due to the untimely death of Grand Lodge Government Relations Committeeman David Rajaniemi; Grand Exalted Ruler Arthur H. Frost, III has issued an Executive Order (06-133), ordering that Past Government Relations Committeeman Donald Chesnel of New Hampshire be appointed to fill the vacancy on the Committee until July 2007.

One of the Elks National Foundation Board of Trustee’s goals is to maximize the income generated by our endowment fund while protecting its buying power against inflation and providing for its future growth. To this end, the Board adopted a new asset allocation strategy two years ago. We've gradually implemented the new strategy and will be fully invested by the start of the new fiscal year.

In addition to diversifying the portfolio and reducing overall risk, the new strategy will generate approximately $1.9 million more in gross income than the old strategy would have generated. That means we will have more money available for national programs like Veterans Service and the Hoop Shoot; we'll be able to give more money back to the state associations through our grant programs; and we can pump more money into our Community Investments Program, which directly benefits local Lodges.

We're especially excited about the CIP enhancements. We're planning to expand the program in two ways. First, we want to increase the dollar amount of the reimbursement grants available through the Gratitude Grant and Promise Grant components. Gratitude Grants are available to all Lodges that attain the GER's per-capita goal; Promise Grants are available to the first 250 Lodges that pledge to hold events that build the character and competence of local youth. Each component currently offers reimbursement grants of up to $300.00 dollars. We expect to increase the dollar amount to $400 dollars for the 2007-08 fiscal year.

Second, we hope to introduce a pilot component called Impact Grants. Through the Impact Grants component, Lodges will be able to compete for grants of up to $10,000 to meaningfully address unmet needs in their communities. Possible programs include establishing a lunch program for those in need or taking students on an educational field trip. The possibilities are endless! We anticipate funding the pilot with an allocation of $200,000, which means we'd be able to award a minimum of 20 grants in the first year.

So, it's an exciting time at the Elks National Foundation. Thanks to prudent management and a sound strategy, the return on investment for your gift to the Foundation has never been better. Stay tuned to www.elks.org/enf/community for the latest news about the CIP.

If you have news or information of interest to the members of the Maine Elks Association, please send your articles to Public Relations Director Wayne Cotterly at meapr@fairpoint.net for inclusion in the MEA Calendar, Newsbriefs, and/or Website. Also, if you would like to be removed from this mailing list, please send an e-mail to Public Relations Director Wayne Cotterly at meapr@fairpoint.net. In addition, if you know of someone who would like to be added to this list, please have them forward their e-mail address to the same address. All information provided has been read and approved by the MEA State President