Maine Elks
Association
Public Relations Committee
Newsbriefs -05/31/07
Maine
Elks Association Newsbriefs
Waterville Elks Participate in Memorial Day Parade
The Waterville Elks
Lodge #905 recently participated in the annual Memorial Day Parade in Oakland.
The Lodge provided a float, and used the new Maine Elks Drug Awareness trailer.
During the parade, the kids handed out drug awareness brochures and candy. The
volunteers, including Dave & Sandy Anderson, Becky Theriault, Jim Robertson,
and ER Randy Gerry and his wife Barbara, had a great time, and look forward to
doing it again for the parade on July 4th.
Sebasticook Valley-All American
Lodge Article
By
Mike Lange, MEA PR-Central District, Sebasticook Valley
Weekly
Reprinted from the Sebasticook
Valley Weekly
PITTSFIELD - Of all the honors
awarded by the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE), the All-American
Lodge is considered the most prestigious. It means that the lodge is going the
extra mile to ensure that programs endorsed by the fraternal organization are
being implemented and supported - not just financially, but with volunteer
hours.
For the second consecutive year, the
Sebasticook Valley Elks in Pittsfield was honored as the All-American Lodge in
its membership category (301-500) at the Maine Elks Association annual
convention held earlier this month.
The local Elks also picked up
first-place honors in the lodge bulletin contest and drug awareness program and
a third-place plaque for their memorial service brochure.
According to Past Exalted Ruler or
lodge president Kenneth Hennessy, the Sebasticook Valley Elks will also receive
a third-place Community Service and Image award at the national convention to be
held in Charlotte, N.C. in July. "When you consider that there are more than 600
Elks Lodges in our membership category across the nation, this is quite an
honor," said Hennessy.
Nevertheless, the outgoing exalted
ruler emphasized that it was a team effort that earned the Sebasticook Valley
Elks the All-American Award. "The officers and committee chairs made it happen,
despite the financial setbacks we endured last year," said Hennessy.
The local Elks had to spend more
than $30,000 on a fire suppression system to meet current safety codes. This
meant closing the members club room in the basement of the Central Street
building for several weeks and opening up a temporary lounge in the upstairs
function hall and meeting room.
Revenue dropped significantly during
the changeover, Hennessy noted, but it's slowly improving. "We were still able
to do what was needed to meet our charitable commitments and support activities
like drug awareness, youth programs, veterans service and other programs. We
always seem to get enough members to step up and get things
done."
The local Elks have also been major
contributors to the Elks National Foundation, the major charitable arm of the
order, and the Maine Children's Cancer Program (MCCP). The 22 Elks Lodges in
Maine contributed more than $188,000 to the MCCP last
year.
Hennessy's successor this year,
Spencer R. Havey, was one of the founders of the Sebasticook Valley Lodge and
recalled the early struggle to get the organization running. "We started at the
old Wright's Emporium up on Hartland Avenue in 1986. Then we met at the Cianbro
training center for about a year, rent-free, thanks to Chuck Cianchette," said
Havey. The late Alton "Chuck" Cianchette was the CEO of Cianbro Corporation and
a strong supporter of the local lodge in its early days.
Havey, a former Pittsfield police
chief and Somerset County sheriff, joked that the Sebasticook Valley Elks didn't
always do things by the book. "We'd find a bargain somewhere on furniture or
kitchen supplies, pick them up and hope the trustees would reimburse us," said
Havey.
Eventually, they moved into the
former American Legion hall on Central Street, turned the dirt-floor basement
into a comfortable members lounge and embarked on a membership
drive.
Today, as Havey takes the reins for
the fourth time as exalted ruler, the lodge has more than 400 members with more
applications pending. "My goal is to stabilize the lodge financially, stay
focused on our programs and continue the legacy that these hard-working folks
have started," said Havey.
The next major event on the Sebasticook Valley Elks lodge is a father's day cookout on Sunday, June 17. All dads are welcome to eat free, although donations are welcome and proceeds will go toward kitchen renovations.
GER Encourages
Elks to Further Assist Greensboro Disaster
Victims
From
Elks.org
Just a brief update on the Greensburg, Kansas disaster. The town is still under a curfew with the National Guard patrolling the streets. Survivors of the storm, continue to pick over the remnants of their homes and possessions looking for anything that is salvageable, still dazed by the twister's strength and scope.
The loss in Greensburg is just as significant to the residents there as the loss was to the victims of Katrina. I again ask for your help and support so that we might lighten the burden and lend our support to those families who are the victims of this terrible disaster.
I know several Elks have already responded with monies and supplies for which the residents of Greensburg thank you. I encourage each of you to raise and donate whatever you can to the Greensburg, Kansas Emergency Relief Fund so that we may continue to live up to our motto "Elks Care - Elks Share."
Tax deductible contributions should be addressed as follows:
Greensburg,
Kansas Emergency Relief Fund
5441 N. Porter Avenue
Wichita, KS
67204-1801
Sincerely and fraternally,
Arthur H. Frost
III
Grand Exalted Ruler
Value of
Volunteer Time Set at $18.77 Per Hour
From the GL Government Relations
Newsletter
The value of volunteer time has reached $18.77
per hour, according to Independent Sector, a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of
some 575 charities,
foundations, and corporate philanthropy programs. The estimate, used to help organizations quantify the value of workers who serve as volunteers, is based on the average hourly wage for all non-management, non-agriculture workers as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 12
percent increase to estimate for fringe benefits. The new estimate increased from $18.04 per hour in 2005.
Maine Elks to
Honor Flag at Togus VA
The Maine Elks Association will
be holding its annual Flag Day Services at the Togus VA Medical Center in
Augusta on June 14, 2007. MEA State President Bruce Brunelle, and other MEA
Officers will be conducting the service for veterans at the hospital. The
service will be conducted in the chapel, and will begin at 10 AM. For those
veterans who cannot attend in person at the chapel, the service will be
broadcast over the medical center’s closed circuit television
system.
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.