Maine Elks Association

Public Relations Committee Newsbriefs -05/01/08

Maine Elks Association Newsbriefs

Maine Elks PER Ritual Team takes Regional Contest



For the second year in a row, the Maine Elks Association Past Exalted Ruler's Ritual Team, led by Coach Phil O'Brion of Farmington, won the Area I Interstate Relations Past Exalted Ruler's Ritual Contest. This year, theMaine team beat out second placeVermont with a score of 96.402 out of 100. The team dedicated its win to long time Coach Phil O’Brion who is retiring as the MEA Ritualistic Director.

The Area I contest was held on April 27, 2008, at the Nashua Elks Lodge inNashua,New Hampshire. Six teams competed, representing states from across New England andNew York. The purpose of this contest is to promote excellence in the performance of the initiatory ritual of the Elks, and to foster better relations between State Elks Associations.

This particular contest, open only to Past Exalted Ruler's, is particularly difficult, as each state typically sends only their best ritualistic teams to the competition to compete for the coveted title. During the contest, five judges evaluate each team's performance based on the following Criteria: Impressiveness, Pronunciation, Word Accuracy, Movement (Deportment), and Appearance.

Several members also received recognition for winning their individual chairs. The individual winners were: Tina Williams performing as Exalted Ruler, John Hill Jr. as Esteemed Leading Knight, Wayne Cotterly as Esteemed Lecturing Knight, and Rick Williams as Esquire.

Below are the final standings:

Pictured above are: (L-R) Dan Cashman-Tiler, Gail Howes-Candidate, Rick Williams-Esquire, Floyd Howes-Inner Guard, Wayne Cotterly-Lecturing Knight, Tina Williams-Exalted Ruler, Tim Donohue-Chaplain, John Hill Jr.-Leading Knight, Robert Drisko-Loyal Knight, Frank Ricker-Coach, and Phil O’Brion-Coach

Raffle Winners for April 2008

An Act to Amend the Game of Cards

Governor signs into law  “An Act to Amend the Game of Cards".  The new law will allow nonprofit organizations to charge a $5.00 daily entry fee and sets the annual license fee paid to the State of Maine at $30.00.

Last week it appeared that the Governor would not sign the bill, however a change of mind by the Governor allows the law to go into effect on July18th. The biggest downside to the law is that it limits the number participating in any one event to 20 players.

Bob Drisko
MEA Government Relations

MEA State Convention this Weekend

The Maine Elks Association will be holding its annual convention this weekend at Sugarloaf Ski Resort. The event will begin on Friday evening with a nominating committee meeting, followed by a social hour and awards banquet. On Saturday, the day will begin with the MEA PER Association meeting, Trustees Meeting, and General Meeting which will include election of officers for the coming year. That afternoon, there will be a pre-Grand Lodge Convention meeting, followed by the incoming State President’s Reception (Invitation Only), Social Hour, and Banquet.On Sunday, there will be the Memorial Service, followed by the Installation of Officers for 2008-2009.  Hope to see you all there.

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