Maine Elks Ritualistic Director
Bruce Brunelle
(Sanford Elks #1470)
The Elk Rituals can be very inspirational, but only if they are done properly. The Ritualistic Committee is responsible for promoting excellence in the rituals of the Elks here in Maine. To accomplish this, the Ritualistic Committee hosts clinics and seminars to educate Lodge Officers and others on the finer points of ritual performance. It also holds an annual ritual contest to determine the top Lodge in the State of Maine. That Lodge would then represent the State at the Grand Lodge Convention in the national contest.
The State Ritual Contest is held in February each year. This year (2008), the contest was held at the Houlton Elks Lodge #835. Here are the final results:
- Sanford Elks Lodge #1470
- Biddeford-Saco Elks Lodge #1597
- Augusta Elks Lodge #964
- Houlton Elks Lodge #835
- Bath Elks Lodge #934
Maine Elks Ritual Champions 2008
Sanford Elks Lodge #1470
In addition to the State Ritual Contests, the Ritualistic Committee, in cooperation with the Area I Inter-State Relations Committee, sponsors three regional contests. These contests are: The Area 1 Ritual Championships (Lodges), the Past Exalted Ruler's Contest, and the Roulette Contest.
The Maine Elks State Ritual Team has recently won the following Championships
| 2001 | Area 1 Interstate Relations Roulette Contest | Waterville, ME |
| 2002 |
Area 1 Interstate Relations Roulette Contest |
New Britain, CT |
| 2003 |
Area 1 Interstate Relations Roulette Contest |
Nashua, NH |
| 2004 |
Area 1 Interstate Relations Roulette Contest |
Leominster, MA |
| 2005 |
Area 1 Interstate Relations Roulette Contest |
West Warwick, RI |
| 2006 | Area 1 Interstate Relations Roulette Contest | Watervleit, NY |
| 2007 | Area 1 Interstate Relations Roulette Contest | Burlington, VT |
| 2003 |
Area 1 Interstate Relations PER Contest |
Woonsocket, RI |
| 2004 |
Area 1 Interstate Relations PER Contest |
Colonie, NY |
| 2005 |
Area 1 Interstate Relations PER Contest |
Hartford, VT |
| 2007 | Area 1 Interstate Relations PER Contest |
Danielson, CT |
| 2008 | Area 1 Interstate Relations PER Contest | Nashua, NH |
The Past Exalted Ruler's (PER) Contest, is open only to PER's, and is held in the Spring of each year. For the past two years, the Maine Elks Ritual Team, which includes PER's from several different Lodges has won the Area 1 Contest.
The Roulette Contest is held in the fall, and is unique in that the four chair officers (Exalted Ruler, Esteemed Leading Knight, Esteemed Loyal Knight, and Esteemed Lecturing Knight) draw for their part only five minutes before the contest. This means that these officers must know all four parts extremely well. For the past four years, the Maine Elks Ritual team has won that contest.
Copyright (c) 2004-2008 Maine Elks Association. All rights reserved.