Maine Elks Association

The Maine Elks Association held its 6^th annual “Owie Box” Motorcycle event on July 19^th, attracting 120 motorcycle enthusiasts, and 200 participants overall, who collectively raised a total of $20,605 dollars for the Maine Children’s Cancer Program’s “Owie Box.” The "Owie Box Program" provides toys for children who have undergone a painful procedure to treat their cancer.

The ride began at the Augusta Elks Lodge at 10 AM, and followed a route that took the riders through the scenic parts of Central Maine. The riders first stopped at the Livermore High School, where the riders were provided with refreshments before heading off to their next stop at the Rumford Elks Lodge for Lunch, then on to the Farmington Elks Lodge, then returning to the Augusta Elks Lodge.

Upon returning to the Augusta Elks Lodge around 5 PM, the riders were treated to a barbeque dinner. Following dinner, the event concluded with a check presentation by Event Coordinator Skip Gay (Augusta Elks) and Maine Elks State President Robert Drisko (Augusta Elks) to representatives of the Maine Children’s Cancer Program.

The event began six years ago, with a modest group of 13 riders, who raised a total of $600 for the program. Over its six year history, the event has raised close to $100,000 dollars. Another ride is being planned for next year, with the hope of having even more participation and raising more money for children with cancer.

Over the past 24 years, the Maine Elks Association has been a major supporter of the Maine Children's Cancer Program, donating over $2.4 Million dollars during that time, including a record donation of $233,449 dollars to the program in May. Because of the Maine Elks generosity, MCCP has been able to grow from a small general practice serving only 25-30 patients per year to over 70 patients per year. In addition, MCCP provides new programs such as a post therapy wellness clinic, neurooncology clinic, hemophilia clinic, and the stem cell transplant program.

Pictured above are from left to right: Members of the Owie Box Committee pose with MEA State President Robert Drisko, MCCP Chairman Donald Richard, and MCCP Representative Carol Cooper in front of the MCCP Committee’s Raffle Trailer.

2008 GRAND LODGE CONVENTION FINAL RESOLUTIONS RESULTS:

There were 12 propositions in short form that were voted on at this past convention and the results are as follows:.

RESOLUTION 2008-1

To allow Subordinate Lodges sufficient time to present proposed resolutions to its membership for discussion and input prior to the Grand Lodge Session at which they will be voted upon.

This Passed.

RESOLUTION 2008-2

To allow Subordinate Lodges Sufficient time to present proposed resolutions to its membership for discussion and input prior to the Grand Lodge Session at which they will be voted upon.

This Passed

To distribute to a State Association, part or all of the net earnings of a Trust of a defunct Lodge to be restricted to the sole purpose of paying expenses incurred in connection with the efforts to form a new Lodge or Lodges in the same State.

The purpose of this statute is to allow Lodges to benefit from the active service of members who (a) relocate away from their home Lodge; (b) do not wish to relinquish membership in said home Lodge; and yet (c) wish to actively participate in a Lodge in the area of their new residence.

RESOLUTION 2008-5: Resolution was dependant on the passage of resolution 2008-4, which failed. Failed

The purpose of this resolution was a change to Section 14.180 to increase the amount paid to a Lodge for a Certificate of Release to more accurately reflect the costs.

RESOLUTION 2008-7:

This resolution was a change to Section 4.220 of the Grand Lodge Statutes to give the Board of Grand Trustees the authority to designate and direct all benefit programs for Grand lodge employees.

This resolution proposed a change to Section 9.170 of the Statutes to allow the same member Trustees for two or more Lodges to manage the assets of a defunct Lodge as one investment instead of being required to maintain separate investment accounts.

RESOLUTION 2007-9:

This resolution proposed a change in Section 4.370 of the Statutes to require that organizations allowed under Article III, Section 18 be approved by the Committee on Judiciary.

Passed

RESOLUTION 2007-10:

This resolution amends section 7.020 of the Laws of the Order by clarifying the Grand Forum’s jurisdiction to include reviewing compliance with the procedural provisions of Section 12.130 which were amended in 2007.

Passed

RESOLUTION 2007-11:

This resolution amended section 16.010 of the Laws of the Order to require Lodge Secretaries to send their annual reports to the Grand Secretary in the format and manner prescribed by the Grand Secretary.

Passed

RESOLUTION 2007-12:

This resolution amended Section 15.070 of the Laws of the Order to require all Lodges to meet at least twice a month, except in July, August, and December.

MEA State President Visitation to Sebasticook Valley Elks

On Saturday, August 9, 2008, the Sebasticook Valley Elks Lodge will be visited by Maine Elks Association State President Bob Drisko and First Lady Myra. The Lodge will also be hosting the MEA State Meeting on Sunday August 10, 2008. Below is some information regarding the weekends events.

The block of rooms that was reserved at Lovely's Motel in Newport 368-4311 for the evening of Saturday August 9, 2008 has been released to the general public if reservation were not made prior to July 3rd. The standard rates are $89 Queen, $79 Double, $54 Single. The Maine Elks State President will be visiting the Sebasticook Valley Lodge on August 9th; an itinerary of the evening is attached below. The Maine Elks Association Trustees Meeting and General Meeting will be held on Sunday August 10th.

5:00 p.m.: Social Hour in the Clubroom

6:00 p.m.: Dinner in the Function Hall *
                -Barbecue Chicken
                -Assorted Salads
                -Vegetables
                -Rolls
                -Various Desserts
                 - $10.00 per person

*Pre Register with the Bartender @ 487-6300 after 3 pm prior to 8/1/08 to ensure head-count

7:00 p.m.: Karaoke with John Clark in the Clubroom

Sunday August 9, 2008

9:00 am MEA Trustees Meeting
10:00 am MEA General Meeting

CLMS System to Become Mandatory

To Lodge Secretaries:

As announced at Grand Lodge Convention in Anaheim, use of the Chicago Lodge Membership System (CLMS) will become mandatory on 10/31/2008. Download information can be found on the Grand Lodge web-site at http://ChicagoLMS.NET. You will also find helpdesk contact information and a listing of State and District Coordinators to assist you at elks.org.

We currently have over 700 Lodges from 49 states using CLMS and the list is growing daily.

There are some important changes coming to the CLMS program. One topic that has received a lot of discussion is the meeting minute's option within the CLMS program. This was reviewed at the IT Sub-Committee meeting in Anaheim. It is the consensus of the committee that there are other programs available that would fulfill this need more efficiently than CLMS. MS Word (as well as others) have forms and spell check available. Removing the minutes and other non-membership tracking information from CLMS will free up server space. This change will take effect on October 1, 2008. We will be placing sample MS Word meeting minutes forms under the Secretary tab for those of you who are interested in using an electronic format.

The consolidated data base should be completed by mid August. Once this occurs then the Lodge Secretary will not have to mail copies of the monthly membership reports or Annual and Semi-Annual Reports. This will be true, as long as, the Lodge is using the current version of CLMS and the Lodge Secretary is completing the offsite backup at least once a month. This CLMS membership information will be available to the State Membership Chairman, State Secretaries, DD's, and PGER's through the CLMS data base. The only exception will be if one of the above does not have web-access to Chicago and requires it sent to them by mail.

I want to thank all the Lodges and individuals who have supported and accepted the challenges with making this new program a reality.

As a reminder, the CLMS program is free and so is the use of the helpdesk.

Fraternally,

Roger R. True, PGER
Chairman, Information Technology Sub-Committee

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

2009	July 5th - 9th	Portland, OR
2010	July 4th - 8th	Orlando, FL
2011	July 17th - 21st	Phoenix, AZ
2012	July 1st - 5th	Austin, TX
2013	July 14th - 18th	Reno, NV