Public Relations Committee
Newsbriefs -04/17/08
Gardiner Elks to
Hold 2nd Annual Candle’s for Cures Bowling
Event
The Gardiner Elks
Lodge #1293 will be holding their second annual Candles for Cures event at the
1-7-10
Lend your support and join us for a
fun-filled family day to benefit the Maine Children’s Cancer Program.
Date: Sunday, June
8th, 2008
Place: 1-7-10
Cost: $7.50 per
participant including shoes
Activity:
Create a 4 Person team composed of at least 1 Elks member, and 1 young person
less than 15 years old. Each team member obtains pledges for every point they
individually obtain bowling 3 strings of candlepin. Alternative minimum,
maximum, and flat-fee donations also accepted.
Agenda: 9:45
Registration (Lane Assignments, Shoes), 1-7-10
10:00 Bowling Begins, 1-7-10
12:30 Appreciation Cookout, Gardiner Lodge
1:30 Candles for Cures FAMILY
CARNIVAL**
4:00 Record fundraiser results per team/individual, Gardiner
Lodge
4:30 Awards Ceremony & Fundraiser Totals, Gardiner
Lodge
Notes: 1.
Team registration ends on June 1st, or when 18 teams have registered,
whichever happens first. (Register your team early - recruit your team members
after)
2.
Checks should be made payable to BPOE
#1293
3.
All collections must be submitted by June
22nd
4.
Questions??: Contact Dave Berry @
207-837-7036
This is the 2nd annual
Candles for Cures event, and we hope to exceed last year’s donation to MCCP of
$4,711, with everyone’s help. This year’s event will include candlepin bowling,
an Appreciation Cookout, and a FAMILY
CARNIVAL for children AND children at heart.
Team Registration form, and pledge
sheet packets are now available in the Gardiner Elks lounge - Ask the bartender
how to register a team. We need Elk involvement to make this a successful
fundraising event for a great cause. Its
not about the bowling, its about the kids! Help make a difference for the
Government
Relations Committee Update
From Robert
Drisko, MEA Government Relations Director
Below are comments from
Legislator Lisa Miller on two legislative bills one of which has been signed
into law and the other is before the appropriations committee. Lisa is a very
good friend of mine and for the most part has the best interest of non-profit
charitable organizations at heart. I would remind all that in the past, several
bills that sailed through the legislative process and ended up on the table at
the appropriations committee - died there. It will be interesting to see how the
"CRIBBAGE AND GAMES OF CHANCE BILL" fairs in the Appropriations Committee this
year.
Bob
Drisko
CRIBBAGE AND GAMES OF
CHANCE:
I thought it was
pretty ridiculous when a somewhat overzealous state trooper busted a friendly
cribbage tournament at a veterans' hall this past winter. He was, in fact,
enforcing current laws about games of chance. It is not an insignificant
issue--such games and tournaments raise $27 million each year among our
veteran’s organizations and
nonprofits (!), all of which goes back into our communities for
charitable purposes. And I understand from folks who have been around the
statehouse longer than I have that there has been some significant graft and
misappropriation in the past.
We passed a major
adjustment to the law, which some fear will open up the "industry" to more
opportunities for graft. This bill dictates
that organizations may conduct games of chance without a license unless they
collect more than $30,000 in entry fees, chances or wagers in a calendar year.
An unlicensed game of chance would be limited to $10,000 in entry fees, chances
or wagers at anyone event. An
organization conducting a game of chance without a license must still register
its name and tax identification number and the time, date and location of the
event. The registration fee is $30. Since this results a general
reduction in fees for the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations,
the bill now sits on the Appropriations "table" awaiting determination of
whether the state has the money to implement such a change.
SMOKING
BAN IN CARS - this bill would prohibit individuals
from smoking in cars in which children under the age of 16 are riding. This was
a tough one-how far are we going to let the long arm of the state enter into our
private lives and spaces? Where will it end? On the other hand, one role of
government is to protect vulnerable populations who cannot protect themselves.
The research on the
danger of secondhand smoke has been accepted for years, We have made laws to
protect adults from such smoke in public buildings, workplaces, restaurants,
even bars. We protect school-aged children through laws about smoking on school
grounds. The one group that lacks protection is the youngest group in our
society-preschoolers. Researchers at Harvard and Stanford have looked closely at
smoking in cars and found that smoke in a car reaches almost 12 times the level
considered unhealthy to children. Even if the windows are wide open, children
are exposed to more smoke than if they had been sitting in a pub or bar where
smoking occurs.
While cars are private
property, we as a state nevertheless regulate them and their drivers, demanding
insurance, registration, licenses, regulating drinking and driving, we've even
thought about regulating cell phone use. For these and other reasons, I voted in
favor of the bill, which was passed and
signed into law by the Governor.
This past Saturday, April 12th, the
Sanford MCCP Golf Committee held a “Men with Hearts” Bachelor Auction. The
event raised $4,023 for the Maine Children's Cancer Program. There were 13
bachelors up for auction and about 200 people showed up for the event. It was a
fun night for all.
Augusta Elks Host
District Boy Scout Seminar
Augusta Elks No. 964 hosted the Kennebec Valley
Central District Boy Scouts on Saturday April 12
Light snacks, coffee and juice were
provided to the group at check-in and throughout the morning and lunch was
served at the end of the presentations, all at no cost to the group. Current
lodge officer’s, committee members and past officer’s donated the food and their
time to make the event a success for all those in
attendance.
Health &
Wellness Fair to be held at Togus VA Medical Center
AmeriCorps Volunteers in
Service To America (VISTA) from the Togus VA Medical Center will be holding a
“Spring into Health” Health & Wellness Fair at the Augusta Armory on May 7,
2008 from 9 AM until 4 PM. The fair will be geared towards baby boomers,
seniors, and veterans, and will include a variety of exhibits focusing on
nutrition, senior activity centers, and various health issues.
For more information on this
event, contact:
Lindsey Jackson
AmeriCorps*
(207) 623-8411ext 4257
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
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information provided has been read and approved by the MEA State
President