Maine Elks Association

Public Relations Committee Newsbriefs -03/27/08

Maine Elks Association Newsbriefs

MEA Calendar Raffle Winners—March 2008

They Shoot, They Score!
Scarborough, ME to Host Elks "Hoop Shoot" Free Throw New England Regional Championship Saturday, March 29^th, at Scarborough High School, 20 Gorham Rd, Scarborough ME, 9:00 A.M.

On March 29^th, young free-throw shooters hailing from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont will descend on Scarborough, Maine to display their impressive skills as they compete in the regional championship of the Elks "Hoop Shoot" National Free Throw Contest. These net-stuffing boys and girls, who already have a local, district, and state championship under the belts of their warm-up suits, face their next challenge here in Scarborough.

With free-throw percentages that would make many in the NBA weep with envy, these talented youngsters have already proven themselves to be the standouts in a competition that started last fall with more than 3-million participants, ages 8 to 13. Now as the top free-throw shooters from six states gather at Scarborough High School, 20 Gorham Rd, Scarborough ME at 9:00 A.M. they will continue to make news as they take all their hard work, talent, and concentration to the line. At stake is a chance to advance to the national finals, where just 72-participants will compete April 24-27, 2008 at the birthplace of basketball, Springfield, Massachusetts.

Now in its 36^th year, the Elks "Hoop Shoot" National Free Throw Contest, sponsored by the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, has grown into the largest co-educational sports program in the country, allowing boys and girls to compete separately in three age-groups, 8-9, 10-11, and 12-13. Each contest consists of 25 free throws --10 in round one, 15 in round two -- with ties being resolved in 5-shot shoot-offs. The six regional winners from the competition at Scarborough will have a chance to stake their claim to one of six coveted spots on the Elks "Hoop Shoot" plaque in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame alongside the likes of past Elks "Hoop Shoot" champs and sports luminaries as Indiana Pacer Chris Mullin, former North Carolina State star Jennifer Howard, and former Chicago White Sox third-baseman Chris Snopek.

The Elks "Hoop Shoot" National Free Throw Contest is entirely funded by the Elks National Foundation, the charitable arm of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Last year, the Foundation disbursed more than $13-million in support of youth programs, Veterans’ services, drug education programs, college scholarships, and aid to people with disabilities. The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the United States of America is a patriotic and philanthropic fraternal organization with nearly 1-million members in more than 2,100 communities.

Elks National Foundation & Veterans Memorial Websites Updated

The Elks National Foundation and Veterans Memorial websites were recently updated, making access to information via the web easier, and more appealing to the eye. You can visit these sites by clicking on the following links:

Elks National Foundation

Elks Veterans Memorial

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