EXALTED RULER’S MESSAGE

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One of my favorite Elk’s ceremonies that our Lodge performs every year is Flag Day. There was always one part that I always looked forward to and it will be missing this year. Norm Beasley’s rendition of God Bless The USA always got the crowd coming together in the spirit of song. To see him in his really tall patriotic hat always brought a smile to our faces as we sang along with him. He will truly be missed and I thank him for all the wonderful memories. 

Speaking of ceremonies, we have a very important one happening May 12th, The Mother’s Day Ceremony. Our Lodge Officers will be paying a very special tribute to Mothers beginning at 1pm. This ceremony does a wonderful job of reminding us what impact these women have had on each and every one of us. If you are a Mother, and whether your Mother is living or passed on, we invite you to attend this ceremony in honor of Mothers everywhere. We will have a short ceremony and then a light meal that is free for Moms. There will also be a few prizes given away in special “Mom” related categories. We are also going to have a very fun game of Bingo to wind down our afternoon. Please plan on attending with your family and/or friends and let us show you our appreciation. 

There is a sign-up sheet in the Lounge so we can get an idea how many will be attending. There is another event on May 4th that I am really proud of. This one is the Youth Awards luncheon. All of the winners from youth events and contests we held during Past Exalted Ruler, Bob Kielsa’s year, are recognized on this day. These events are all organized and executed by our amazing members throughout the year. I had the pleasure of being the Hoop and Soccer Shoot Chairman last year. To see so many caring people come together to make fun and memorable events happen for kids is so heartwarming. We are always looking for new people interested in participating with youth orientated happenings so please let me know if you would like to be a part of one of them this year. 

Thank you everyone for your patience as our parking lot was chip sealed. This is a great step forward in the improvements to our Lodge. 

Thank you also to everyone who assisted with the District Deputy Clinic that was held at our Lodge since our very own Lee Cook has this very prestigious title. Congratulations on a job well done! 

I am very proud to say that our Officers have completed their first Initiation last Thursday night and everyone did a wonderful job. These Officers have worked so hard and have had many practice sessions so they would be impressive for our incoming members. This group is very dedicated to giving their all for this important ritual that we perform. When I was Initiated, I was amazed by the ceremony and I fell in love with Initiation right then and there. As most of you know, it is difficult to focus on all the words being said to you when you are going through the ceremony, so I urge old and new members to please come to witness another one as an observer. The stories that are given by each Officer are great messages and represent what Elkdom is all about. Thank you to all of Officers to making our Lodge proud!  

Well, as I mentioned in my last message that I was looking forward to learning more about what we do for Charity, I started doing some research, and all I can say is WOW!!! I knew that Charity is "the cornerstone of every Elk structure", but until I started trying to list all that we do I didn't really have a grasp on all that our Lodge does to support our Charity work . I'm going to try to put it out to our members what I came up with. It's pretty impressive and I hope that it grabs you as much as it did me. 

The Elks National Foundation, Arizona Elks Major Projects, Scholarships for youth, Dictionary project for children, Children's books for the Steele Research Center, Monthly clothing drive for Veterans, Toiletries and underwear for Veterans, Support for the Paralyzed Veterans of America Olympic team, Field trip for Blind Veterans, Adopt-A-Family for Christmas, Children's shopping spree for Christmas, Easter children's shopping spree. How about small things like Pull-tabs for the Ronald McDonald House, and "Box tops for kids"? What about over a ton of food packed into 500 grocery bags and delivered to Impact for needy families in our community? Don't forget the turkey dinners cooked and delivered to the 10 Golder Ranch fire stations on Patriot's Day. Then there's the PER Association, who just quietly go on their way and provide funding and time to assist those in need. 

I can only hope that this, which is only a small part of what we do, shows what an impact we have on the lives of those who are not as fortunate as we are, and who may be in need of a little financial support or simply a friendly face and a kind word to relieve some distress. 

We are Elks, this is what we do. 

Our Queen of Hearts funds grow each week through your continued participation. The funds the PERs collect is available for charitable purposes, lodge maintenance and/or improvements. The following are a few examples of your contributions at work. 

Each year May is an exciting month for the Catalina Mountain Elks Lodge PER Association because its the month we provide money for scholarships . This month I’m pleased to announce that your lodge PER’s have funded $4,000 in scholarships for five high school students. 

Unfortunately our lodge did not receive the grant we normally use for the support of our Paralyzed Veterans group this year. Not wanting to miss an opportunity to support this veterans group, we have contributed $1,000 for this years trip. 

With respect to our Queen of Hearts game, I’m happy to report that our total pay out is at the $16,000+ level as of 4/25. We have 19 cards remaining with 3 percentage cards and 4 $100 cards remaining in the hunt for the Queen. Good luck to all you players!   

I would guess that summer is almost here with the higher temperatures. I for one don’t look forward to the hundred and gazillion degrees that lie ahead. 

The last couple of months have been very busy with the old Lodge year ending and the new Lodge Year starting and all the member ship cards to get out. Our Lodge has also Initiated (yay!!) a bunch of new members. At one point between Candidates and incoming transfer, we had approx. 27 in various processes. We have Initiated all those new members between the middle of March, with the remaining ones on the 26th of April.  

Here Is how last year’s stats ended up: 

Started with 507 

Initiated: 49 

Affiliated: 22 

Reinstated: 3 

Deaths: 13 

Absolute Demits: 16 

Dropped for non- payment: 35 

Ended Lodge year with 517, for a gain of 10 Current Stats: (as if April 1) 

Active members: 525 

Initiated: 8 

Deaths: 1 

Average age: 70.53 

There are still 80 Members who have not paid their membership dues for the 2019-2020 Lodge Year. I understand that sometimes our busy lives can make us put things aside on that “to do” list. If you are one of these, I encourage you to take that off your list and stay in good standing at the Lodge.