EXALTED RULER’S MESSAGE

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Greetings fellow Elks. The hot summer is finally gone and Fall is here. Hopefully it will cool down soon. I hope this finds you all healthy and happy in spite of all the Covid 19 restrictions we all are enduring. I know I look forward to getting back to some sense of normalcy and I’m sure you all are too. Not much new in the Lodge this last month. 

We did have a nice turnout for bingo last month and should have a good one again this month. It is a fun couple of hours and there is room in the Lodge room for distancing. I know several family groups were close to each other, but the other tables were spread out We did celebrate the POW-MIA Remembrance Day ceremony on September 18 th . The Elks have determined the third Friday in September as the day to do it and it is a mandatory ritual to perform. The ritual is a solemn ceremony with all the Lodge Officers participating by completing the setting of the Place of Honor table. That table is permanently in place in the Lodge room. If you haven’t seen it, you should check it out next time you are in the Lodge. 

October 14th is the 20th anniversary of our Elks Lodge and we are going to have an “Anniversary Picnic” outside under the canopy we use for Night Under the Stars. Unfortunately, we had to limit it to the first 50 people who signed up and it is sold out. We will have the Arizona Elks Association President Rich Botkin and his lady JoAnn as guests for the event. We also want to honor the charter members of the Lodge. We have special coffee cups made for all the Charter members and those in attendance will get theirs then. All those who could not attend can pick up their cups at the lodge after the 14th . 

I’m thinking about a plan to raise some funds to offset the cost of publishing our monthly Bugle. Even with bulk mailing, it costs us over $90. per month to mail our the Bugle, not to mention the costs of paper and copying. Other Lodges have groups of bulletin supporters who donate a small amount to help pay expenses. My thought is to ask members for just $10. a year to become a “Bugle Booster”. They would all be listed in each publication, plus, we would have a drawing from all the names to win 20% of the funds brought in. I’ll let you know more when plans come together. 

Till next time, stay safe and hope to see you soon. 

Steve.

As Leading Knight, the theme of my monthly article is Charity. This month I have been having a difficult time coming up with an idea to write about. That does not mean charity is not alive and well in our lodge or in the community. Read Jan Trudeau’s community activities article to see how generous our members were for September 11. We had many members come help us raise and lower 39 flags on both Labor Day and September 11. The PERA made a $100 donation to Arizona Elks Major Projects at fundraiser held at Tucson East Elks Lodge #2532 on September 13. The Major Projects fundraiser started small by a few members of the lodge wanting to support a fellow member who is losing her hair because of chemother- apy. The members created a fundraiser and Arizona Elks Association President, Rich Botkin, requested donations from lodges all over the state. President Rich ’s fundraising goals were met, and his head was shaved by AEMP executive director, Katie Murdoch. The lodge and President Rich raised about $12,000 for AEMP. I wonder what President Rich will look like on October 14 when he comes to our lodge for our Anniversary Picnic. 

Our lodge is will be twenty years old on October 14. To celebrate a member has donated a new light-weight quilt to raffle. The quilt is beautiful and even features elk and will fit on either a queen or king bed.  Raffle ticket will be available on October 7th. Tickets will be 7 for $5.00 or 20 for $10. We will also be raffling a Catalina Mountain Elks Lodge Jacket. Proceeds of the raffles will help the lodge offset some of our losses incurred due to the Covid virus. 

Alane.

Here we are another month has gone by, where is the cooler air? Would someone please tell the weather man it is Fall. As long as the air conditioner does not quit here in the office, I guess I can be a somewhat happy camper. Please help me congratulate Catalina Mountain’s newest lifetime members. The  following members were balloted on and approved at the September 24, 2020 Lodge meeting: Nick Giordano. Dennis Hampton, Joe Palmer, Neal Patronsky, and Carl Williams. To become a life member, you are required to have 30+ years as an Elk and be 65+ years old. Way to go !! for doing the charitable works for that many years. 

Please help me welcome our newest members to our Lodge. William McIlonie, Kimberly McIlonie and Claudia Holzemer were, Initiated into our Order at the September 24th lodge meeting. If you see these new members at the Lodge, introduce your self and make them feel welcome. 

In these trying times every corner cut would be a savings for the Lodge. You can help in a couple different ways with the monthly newsletter to save on costs for the supplies, printing and postage. 1. If your house hold is getting more than one copy, please let me know so, I can cut down on copies printed and mailed. 2. You can start receiving your newsletter via email. If you chose this option send me an email with your name and email address and I will get that info to our Web Master, Jim Beregi. Send email to RDanie4344@aol.com. Thanks in advance for your help. 

Reminder: If you are one of the 45 members who have not yet paid your dues, please do so as soon as possible. Please note: you can call me at 825 -0893 or call me at home 825 -3300 I would be glad to do this via credit card. The bartenders take credit cards for dues also. You can also go to the Lodges web site and do it via pay pal.  

STAY SAFE AND HEALTHY!!!!!!! 

Lodge Stats 

Membership 557 

Initiated 16 

Affiliated 7 

Transferred out 1 

Deaths 5 

Delinquents 45 

Average age 70.82 

Life members 84 

Happy October from the Past Exalted Ruler’s Association. The Queen of Hearts is still not in the plans for restarting yet due to the existing COVID health concerns. The PERA voted to donate $100 to an Arizona Elks Major Projects (AEMP) event held September 13th at Tucson East Lodge. The event was hosted by Arizona Elks President Rich Botkin, and among other events, about 13 people shaved their heads (including the President) as part of the fundraising effort. It was reported that about $12,000 was raised! Great job! We will keep you posted on upcoming fundraising events that are being discussed for our Scholarship program. Keep safe and hope to see you soon!
Gloria Cisneros, PERA President