exalted ruler's MESSAGE

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W ow! I cannot believe March is already here. It seems like just yesterday I was starting my second go

around at Exalted Ruler. Here we are though heading into my final month. It has been an exciting year for me. I am proud to say that, through all the hard work that our members have put in, we are going to have a growth in membership this year. We may be the only Lodge in the South District to accomplish this 

feat. I am proud that we not only have some great members, but also that our members are proud of our lodge and share that with people who might not know too much about us and recruit them into our membership. I have met a lot of great new people this year and started many new friendships within the lodge. That is what makes it great to be an Elk for me.

The second thing that has happened this year that genuinely excites me is the formation of a New Home

Committee. We have been meeting often to discuss our plans moving forward. The committee hired a

General Contractor and has gotten quite a bit of valuable information. Getting water to our property no

longer seems to be a problem and he has found that water to our property is already in the plans with

Tucson Water. That news was a great relief, as we had been getting the run-around from the water

company up until this point. We have also determined that the best plan of action is going to be to add

on to our existing building. The contractor believes that this will save us money and allow us to stay

open as the construction is taking place. The addition will include a larger dining room that would be available to be rented, a larger bar, and a game room. Plans are far from carved in stone, but even having a rough plan gives me much to smile about. 

I would like to again thank everyone who has helped me through this year and helped to make our lodge

the best in the South District by far, and one of the best in our state. You all make me proud to be an Elk!!

Doug

Happy Spring!

It is hard to believe this will be my last article as your Leading Knight. I am looking forward to my year as the ER, and I hope that I can continue the excellence that those who came before me did for our lodge.

Hopefully, you have started to see some of the progress on the bar renovation. We are especially thankful for everyone who has contributed to this project, especially those who have purchased the ceiling tiles. Thank You! 

A big thanks goes out to Lisa Chavez and all who helped her with the Have a Heart event on 15 February. AEMP (AZ Elks Major Projects) is an amazing example of what Elks mean to their communities. AEMP supports Steele Research and the AZ Elks Youth Camp. The work that is done at both sites is far-reaching and meaningful. If you are looking for a way to support AEMP, you can set up a recurring donation to the Diamond Club on the AZ Elks website.

One of the biggest charitable things one can do is to share their time. As we approach the new Elks year,

there are several committee chairs that I will be looking to fill. So if you have been wanting to be more involved, please reach out to me, or any of our officers and let us know! There are over 40 different committees, so there is something for everyone.

As always, if you have questions or concerns, you can always reach out to me via email

(pslates1987@gmail.com) or phone (520.268.2375)

Take care,

paul

I want to wish everyone a Happy St. Patrick’s day!! We are coming to the end of this fiscal year and we have seen some changes in the Lodge and experiencing growth in membership. I want to welcome our new members.

Dues are coming in and I thank you for that. Your cards will either be mailed to you or in the box in the

Lodge. Unfortunately, those that still have not paid for this last year will be dropped the end of March.

Committee chairs and those that do special volunteering please get you event reporting forms in to me ASAP after the event. Grand Lodge clears the report on March 31, so I can not enter anything after that.

Thank you for being great members.

Please check the calendar as we have some fun events coming up.

LODGE STATS YEAR-TO-DATE

Membership to Date ............581

Candidates................................   21

Delinquents .............................   18

Transfers In ..............................      8

Life Members .........................    53 

Average Age ............................   70