Public Relations Committee
Newsbriefs -06/19/08
On June 14, 2008, the Maine Elks
Association (MEA) held its annual Flag Day service at the
The ceremony was opened by Past
Exalted Ruler Anthony Gause, who introduced the current State President, Robert
Drisko of the Augusta Elks Lodge, who with fellow officers performed the
introductory exercises for the event. A history of the American Flag was then
presented by MEA Administrative Assistant Claris Ranger of the Farmington Elks
Lodge. Music was provided throughout the event by organist John Plummer of the
Augusta Elks Lodge.
During the reading of the Flag’s
history, Exalted Ruler’s from several of
Following the presentation of the
Flags, a response given by Past State President Phil O’Brion of Jay. In his
response, O’Brion paid tribute to the men and women who had fought to protect
our nation’s Flag; from the Revolutionary War to the Wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan, O’Brion gave recognition to the sacrifices made by so many of the
hospital’s veterans throughout the years.
Following the response, First
Vice-President Roger Normandeau explained the meaning of the folds of the
American Flag. This explanation is demonstrated at many military funerals to
describe the meaning behind each fold of the American Flag.
Following
this, an inspirational reading was given by President Elect Michael Powers.
Powers read portions of a stirring speech given by U.S. Senator John McCain at
the Republican National Convention in 1988. McCain’s speech referenced a fellow
prisoner of war, Mike Christian, who had created a makeshift American Flag, and
who had sewn it to the inside of his shirt. The shirt would be hung in the cell
at meal time, to which the prisoners would recite the Pledge of Allegiance. One
day, the North Vietnamese had searched the cell, and found the flag sewn inside
the shirt. Christian, who had created the flag was subsequently beaten severely,
but upon his return to the cell, though badly injured, had begun creating a new
flag. “He was not making that flag
because it made Mike Christian feel better. He was making that flag because he
knew how important it was for us to be able to pledge our allegiance to our flag
and our country,” said McCain. To remind those in attendance of the importance
of the principals for which the Flag
stands.
The Pledge of
Allegiance was then recited, followed by a reading of “Hello, Remember Me?” An
essay written several years ago by Maine Elks Association Past State President
John Paul Simard. The essay was read by Second Vice-President Wayne Cotterly.
The service was concluded with the singing of God Bless
Each year, Flag Day
is celebrated to commemorate the adoption of the Stars and Stripes by the Second
Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. This observance was made official in 1916
by President Woodrow Wilson, who declared the date as National Flag Day. In
1949, President Harry Truman signed an Act of Congress proclaiming that the Flag
of the
Pictured
Above are L-R: Maine Elks Association Sergeant at Arms—Anthony Gause,
Secretary—Philip O’Brion, 1st Vice-President—Roger Normandeau, State
President—Robert Drisko, President Elect—Michael Powers, 2nd
Vice-President—Wayne Cotterly, Chaplain—Albert Ingraham, and Administrative
Assistant—Claris Ranger.
Elk honored as
Skowhegan-Madison Elks “Father of the Year”
SKOWHEGAN – Edward “Ned” Goff Jr. joined dozens of
Skowhegan-Madison Elks Lodge members on June 13 as they gathered in the
recreation yard for the announcement of the fraternal organization’s “Father of
the Year.”
But Goff had no idea that he was
the recipient.
The Skowhegan business owner,
father, grandfather and former lodge trustee was accompanied by his sons Nathan
and Eddie; his wife, Ann; Jill Davis, Nathan’s fiancée; and Eddie’s wife, Jen.
“This is something I’ll always treasure,” said Goff. “I’m really
honored.”
A plaque and special “Father of the
Year” baseball cap was presented by Susan Horsman, chair of the Veterans’
Service Committee which hosts the annual Father’s Day weekend
barbecue.
Goff joined the Waterville Elks
Lodge in 1987 and transferred to the Skowhegan-Madison Lodge in
1996.
“Since his arrival, he has become an
active and very generous member of our lodge,” said Horsman, citing Goff’s
service on the Board of Trustees and other contributions to the
organization.
But nearly everyone in the
746-member organization with young children or grandchildren knows Goff as the
lodge Santa Claus at the annual Christmas party, said Horsman. “More than one
youngster has even tried to pull off his beard, only to find out that it’s quite
real,” Horsman quipped.
Goff is also an honorary founder of
the Elks National Foundation, the organization’s major charity fund, and has
sponsored his two sons and son-in-law, Scott Libby, into the order. Goff and his
wife, Ann, also have one daughter, Danielle.
The raffle and barbecue raised over $1,000 for the
Veterans’ Service Committee, said Horsman, and the money will be used to assist
a local World War II veteran and his spouse with home repairs this
summer
Pictured (left to right) are Jill Davis, Nathan Goff’s fiancée;
Nathan Goff, Ann Goff, Ned Goff, Eddie Goff; and Eddie’s wife, Jen. Absent from
photo: Daughter Danielle Goff.
Incentives Offer a Means to Boost
Membership
By Bryan Klatt,
Grand Lodge Committee member
From the Grand Lodge
Newsletter
In this day and age, incentives are tied
to everything, and the Order of Elks is no different. Incentives are designed to
entice a prospective member into joining or giving current members a reason to
recruit. Listed here are the “Lucky 7” incentives:
Incentive No. 1:
Lodge charities
and programs. A lodge that works the program, promotes its accomplishments and
is visible in the community will have a steady membership. To attain membership,
what better way is there than to show that: they help those in need, offer
scholarships to students, assist local veterans in nursing homes and participate
in Drug Awareness clinics and Flag Day ceremonies. When people see this, they
receive a whole different understanding of what the Elks are
about.
Incentive No. 2:
Lodge activities, the No. 1 reason why a person joins the
Order. On the other hand, this is the main reason our lapsation is the way it
is. All too often, someone joins for the social aspect of the lodge, never
seeing the charitable side. He or she becomes tired of the events and drops. A
lodge’s first duty during indoctrination is to inform these new members that
there is more to the Order.
Incentives
No. 3: Lodge awards. For attaining a certain number of new or
reinstated members, a lodge can offer a variety of different options. Prizes
range from free dinners, to special drawings for those who qualified, with
prizes being weekend get-aways, a trip to Grand Lodge, DVD or VCR players, TV’s,
you name it. Just do not offer free year’s dues; that’s a no-no. Be
imaginative.
Incentive
No. 4: Pins, watches and clocks. Grand Lodge
offers a lapel pin for three new and/or reinstated members, a wrist watch (male
and female) for 11 and desk clock for 33. These are small tokens of appreciation
to those who are recruiting for the Order.
Incentives No. 5:
Cruises/anywhere
trips. Grand Lodge offers four trips for those who participate in Incentive No.
3. For each pin that a member receives, his or her name is placed into a drawing
, from which two names will be drawn for two of the trips. For the third trip,
this will be for those members who receive a watch and/or clock. The final trip
will be drawn from the lodges that showed a gain for the year. It will be
presented to the exalted ruler of that year.
Incentive
No. 6: Recruiter of the Year Award. The member
who recruited the most new initiates and/or reinstatements from each of the
eight areas, will be invited to the following year’s Grand Lodge convention.
Travel and hotel accommodations for four nights will be paid by Grand Lodge,
with special recognition during the Membership Committee Report during the
convention.
Incentive
No. 7: Just being a part of the greatest
fraternal organization dedicated to helping others.
June
Raffle Calendar Winners
|
Day |
|
PRIZE
|
FIRST
NAME |
LAST
NAME |
|
1 |
1863 |
$ 50.00
|
Patty
|
Arnaudin |
|
2 |
1354 |
$ 25.00
|
Dana &
Mary |
|
|
3 |
914 |
$ 25.00
|
Dennis |
O'Leary |
|
4 |
1993 |
$ 25.00
|
Kimberly |
Ritchie |
|
5 |
271 |
$ 25.00
|
Herbert |
Cotterly |
|
6 |
1365 |
$ 25.00
|
Michael |
LaFrance |
|
7 |
625 |
$ 50.00
|
Bill |
Brown |
|
8 |
1561 |
$ 50.00
|
Mike |
Timberlake |
|
9 |
407 |
$ 25.00
|
David |
Fitzpatrick |
|
10 |
1433 |
$ 25.00
|
Janie |
Greenleaf |
|
11 |
1898 |
$ 25.00
|
David |
Vosburgh |
|
12 |
1089 |
$ 25.00
|
Laurie &
Darrell |
Works |
|
13 |
285 |
$ 25.00
|
Wayne &
Kathleen |
Cotterly |
|
14 |
446 |
$ 100.00
|
Donald |
Richard |
|
15 |
1509 |
$ 50.00
|
Emily |
Blair |
|
16 |
914 |
$ 25.00
|
Dennis |
O'Leary |
|
17 |
1102 |
$ 25.00
|
Paul |
Brigham |
|
18 |
690 |
$ 25.00
|
|
Drisko |
|
19 |
1251 |
$ 25.00
|
Lucien |
Guay |
|
20 |
358 |
$ 25.00
|
Joe |
|
|
21 |
1360 |
$ 50.00
|
Alan |
Harding |
|
22 |
86 |
$ 50.00
|
Brooke |
Green |
|
23 |
868 |
$ 25.00
|
Michael |
|
|
24 |
532 |
$ 25.00
|
Jimmy |
Peters |
|
25 |
1261 |
$ 25.00
|
Rose |
Bowden |
|
26 |
148 |
$ 25.00
|
John |
Theriault |
|
27 |
1476 |
$ 25.00
|
Donna |
Dube |
|
28 |
977 |
$ 50.00
|
David |
|
|
29 |
867 |
$ 50.00
|
Philip |
Doughty |
|
30 |
1104 |
$ 25.00
|
Al |
Kallis |
Grand Lodge
Announces Public Relations Awards
The Grand Lodge Public Relations Committee
has announced the following winners in the Best Image of Elkdom Contest, Focus
on the Community Contest, Best Single Event Contest, and the new Golden Mike
Award, and will be presenting winners with their awards at the Elks National
Convention in
The Best
Image of Elkdom Award is given to an Elk who captured a special Lodge happening
in the community in a photograph which tells a story without words which
possesses the elements required for media publication, thus capturing the
attention and imagination of the observer The winners of the Best Image of
Elkdom Contest in the country are:
The Focus on
the Community Awards are presented to Lodges with the most impressive and
effective newspaper articles exemplifying charitable and benevolent works
performed for the community
The Best
Single Event Contest recognizes Lodges with the most impressive and highest
quality brochures completely covering a single external activity in the
community conforming to Grand Lodge Public Relations objectives and awareness
campaigns
The new “Golden Mike” Award
is presented to State Association Public Relations Chairmen for Distinguished
Performance within a Grand Lodge Area. The following are the winners of their
respective Grand Lodge Area:
Area 1 –
Millinocket Elks
Hold Flag Day
From John Nicholson, Millinocket
Public Relations
Millinocket Elks
#1521 held their Flag Day Ceremony on June 14th. Members of the Lodge conducted
the service with the assistance of the Royal Rangers from a local church. The
Flag Day Ceremony Participants Front Row: Don McInnis, Harold Plourde, Adam
Reece, Richard Moscone, David Van Dine, Tom Little and Louis Pelletier. Back
Row: John Nicholson, Zach Stanley, Jesse McLaughlin, Ethan Beaulieu, Kaleb
Spearey, Derrick Stanley, Harley McLaughlin, Aaron Day and
From Peter
Baker, 
On June
7th Sanford Lodge 1470 hosted their fourth annual MCCP Poker Run.
Seventy-two motorcycles and twelve autos took part in the event that left the
Lodge and had stops in
From Carol Spellman, 
On Saturday June 14th
Sanford Lodge 1470 conducted the Flag Day ceremony in
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