Event News

LODGE ACTIVITIES By Jan Trudeau

As I sit here at home, I’m trying to point out the lodge activities during the month of April. Well, I don’t know-because none of us really knows how long the lodge and all of the stores and restaurants will remain closed. It’s been a tough one-but we all need to remain healthy and safe. I’m sure when we re-open, we will post information via e-mail so we can all get back to a semblance of normal, whatever that is. I know I miss everyone. I miss the friendship and good times we all have here at the Catalina Mountain Lodge. Hope to see you soon!

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

I want to once again THANK all the volunteers who helped with the Stuff-A-Bag project on February 24th. 47 hardworking Elks and friends stuffed 550 bags. As I promised last I would include their photo this month. (see below) The bags were filled with canned chicken, 2 cans of soup and a box of crackers. The total weight of the food came to 2,530 pounds! Wow! As they say, many hands make light work. We were finished with all the bag stuffing in less than a half hour. Thanks to all who helped pick up the food items, stage them and deliver to the local food bank-Impact of So. AZ. This project was made possible through a Beacon Grant from our grand lodge and contributions from the PER’S. Great job Elks!

HOUSE COMMITTEE

By Paul Slater

Howdy!

I hope that this month’s letter finds everyone doing well adjusting to the new rules to help reduce the spread of the Coronavirus. Please make sure that if you need anything and don’t feel safe going out to ask for help from family friends and Elks. I am more than happy to help out any of our members that need any help during these unique times.

By now, everyone should know that the lodge is closed by order of Pima County. Just this week the shutdown has been extended to 10.April. We are keeping our hopes up that things can get back to normal soon. Please look for updates in your email and on our website, as we will continue to update everyone as this situation evolves.

For this month’s shout out, it goes to the hard-working members of the house committee that came to help clear out the refrigerators and scrub them clean. In particular: Betty, Jan, Pat and Cheryl who are always there to help with anything that is needed, no matter the task. I can only hope that I will enjoy the energy these ladies have when I get to their age (God willing!!)

Well this will hopefully be the shortest article I write as the House Committee chair and pray that things will slowly go back to the way of life, in the near future. In the meantime, stay safe and healthy.

Take care,

Paul

ARIZONA ELKS MAJOR PROJECT NEWS

Katie Murdoch, Executive Director

I would like to personally thank each and every one of you for your generous donations during the Mid-Year Convention! This has been our most successful year EVER for Arizona Elks Major Projects. That is because of each and every one of you and your dedication to bettering the lives of children across our great state and beyond. I am in awe of how generous the Elks are! When people ask me who the Elks are, my first response is “they are the most charitable people you will ever meet”.

At the Mid-Year convention, I set a goal of reaching $250,000 in donations from lodges by the end of our fiscal year in March. I am excited to announce that the lodges have now donated over $250,000 and exceeded our goal! The vehicle raffle had a record-breaking year by raising over $70,000. This is entirely because of you.

We have already begun our next vehicle raffle and I am excited to see what records we can break next year through the ticket sales. We will be raffling off a Honda Pioneer 1000-5 Deluxe and posters with raffle tickets will be sent out to your lodge very soon.

Let’s finish out the year better than we ever have and continue saving and changing the lives of children in Arizona!

Katie Murdoch, Executive Director katie@azelksmp.com 520-326-556