exalted ruler's MESSAGE
Paul Slater, PER
Howdy!
WOW, what a fantastic couple of weeks for our lodge! Obviously our 25th Anniversary celebrations were the highlight! From a fantastic dinner that Ann Girvin and her awesome team put together. The week kicked off with the visits from our AZ Elks State President, Larry Carver and his wonderful wife Michelle, as well as AZ Special Deputy to the Grand Exalted Ruler, Jerry Grimes and his lady, Linda. They let us know that it was one of the best events they have ever been to at an Elks lodge!!!
The following week the PER Association provided “fall back” pricing on drinks as well as delicious special priced food. Special shout out to Doug who did most of the cooking for the week.
The next week was the AZ Elks midyear convention, where our lodge won several awards, which I will be sharing during our lodge meeting on 13.Nov. But the highlight of the meeting was the meeting that was held with our AZ state sponsors, Past Grand Exalted Rulers, Louis Grillo and Robert Duitsman. During this meeting Jack Baillargeon, Alane Asp and, myself presented our plan to expand our lodge to them, looking for support for us to take the next step in gaining approval to build our vision of an expanded lodge. Jack and Alane did a magnificent job in clearly laying out our plan and how we will pay for this project. We left the meeting being told that this was one of the most well thought out project that they have seen and received the approval!! You will start to see information on our fundraising projects for our new home, as we still have a lot of work to do to make this vision a reality for our lodge. There are preliminary drawings in the lounge and lodge room for the proposed new building. If you have not yet checked them out, come in and take a look!
By the time you get this letter, we will have held our annual Hoop and Soccer shoots. Mike Ross has been working hard, with a lot of support from Gloria, to make this year’s shoot the best ever. Have a great Thanksgiving, and 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
LEADING Knight Message
Kim McIlonie, Leading Knight
Hi Friends!
Whew! October was a busy one!! What a fabulous 25th Anniversary party we had. Kudos to all the PERs who made this happen. Huge shout out to Ann Girvin & her crew and for Chef Adam for the fabulous meal – YOU ALL WERE AMAZING. I was so proud to be part of that event.
Iron Elk took place on October 18 with Butternut Squash being the ingredient. Jan Trudeau and Chris Boladeres tied for first place with Jan’s squash soup and Chris’s squash lasagna. They donated the winnings to AEMP. Thank you both!! Our next Iron Elk will take place in January 2026 as we have no space on our calendar for the next couple of months.
I attended the mid-year AEA Convention in Tempe October 17-19. There were many great things that were discussed, it always amazes me what wonderful things our organization does for the state of Arizona. For the first time ever, we had 100% participation in the Clothe-A-Child grant process and every single lodge in Arizona receives a $1000 grant for this event. Our lodge ALWAYS participates and received this grant because of the dedication of our very own Leslie Huerta. This event is coming up quickly, so if you would like to volunteer to escort a child, please see her around the lodge. As usual, my favorite part of the convention was the AEMP session and the opportunity to hear from Dr. Gishan from the Steele Children’s Research Center. His stories are incredible and the dedication he has given to saving the lives of children is nothing less than amazing. We presented him with a check from the Arizona Elks Association for $250,000 for the Research Center. His appreciation of the Elks makes the heart feel good. During this session, there was also an ER March, silent auction of baseball memorabilia and, of course, the lost and found fines, which generated a total of $143,962 for AEMP. IT’S GREAT TO BE AN ELK!!!
November is another busy month with our Hoop Shoot & Soccer Shoot on November 1st , Veteran’s Game Day on November 8th , Veteran’s Day breakfast on November 11th , Spaghetti Western on November 15th , check your calendars for more events. I hope to see you all at these events as we continue to support our Veterans, children, and our community.
Fraternally, Kim McIlonie Esteemed Leading Knight
SECRETARY’S CORNER
Mimi Wittenborn - Secretary
From the Secretary’s Desk:
I hope everyone had a “spooktacular” Halloween.
If you missed it, the 25th Anniversary Dinner & a weeklong celebration, was a fantastic time. Thank you to the PERs that organized the event, who cooked the food each night (which I took full advantage of), and for the special prizes and prices. Thank you, Ann, and team for a great meal.
I hope you have seen our new banner showing our community contributions. This number comes from the event reports that each committee chair turns into me after each event. Thank you to those who are very diligent in getting them in promptly. Keep up the good work.
Kathy and I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!!
LODGE STATS YEAR-TO-DATE
Membership to Date ...............624
Candidates................................ 18
Delinquents ............................. 50
Life Members ......................... 48
Average Age ............................ 69.89
Something to think about:
“What you do today can improve all your tomorrows.” Abraham Lincoln
“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” -Jimmy Dean
**As a reminder to all committee chairs, please get your activity reports into me ASAP after an event.
Past Exalted Ruler Association
Past Exalted Ruler Association - Douglas Harpold, PERA President
Hello Everyone.
I hope you all enjoyed the 25th Anniversary party and week of specials. Our PER Association all worked extremely hard to make sure our members who were able to join us for the party and week of throw back pricing on food and drinks knew that they were all appreciated for being part of our great lodge. Thank you to Jim Buel and Al Skorupski for putting together a beautiful brochure for the event which will be a great keepsake of the evening, and also a special thanks to Jack and Gail Baillergeon and Steve and Alane Asp for taking such great care of our visiting dignitaries! Ann Girvin, Chef Adam and everyone who helped serve , clean up, set-up and cook did an amazing job. I would also like to thank Whiskey and Bad Decisions for our entertainment following the dinner. They were kind enough to let State President Larry Carver join them in singing a little Elvis and helping us to dance the night away! If I forgot to thank anyone, I am sorry. So many people did so much work to make this celebration amazing!!
Beginning October 1st, 2025 All Queen of Hearts tickets will be required to have your name and Phone number on them, as is required in the rules. ANY TICKET THAT DOES NOT HAVE BOTH WILL BE DISCARDED AND A NEW TICKET WILL BE DRAWN—NO EXCEPTIONS.
Douglas Harpold, PER
ENF Report - Ron Starjnski, PER
Hello Everyone!
Hello Everyone!
Veterans are the backbone of this country. They put their lives on hold and risk everything to ensure that Americans can remain safe, secure and free. However, when veterans return home, they don’t always get the support they deserve. Not in our communities. Chattanooga, Tenn., Lodge No. 91 is working to address this issue. Using an Impact Grant worth up to $10,000 from the ENF’s Community Investments Program, the Chattanooga Lodge makes minor home improvements for local veterans, completely free of charge. The Home Sweet Home Impact Grant project has been making a difference in the community for five years. If members of our Lodge are ready to jump into action too, we can apply for CIP grants! With Beacon, Spotlight, and Gratitude Grants, Lodges can receive up to $11,000 to prevent veteran homelessness, help fight hunger, or address other specific needs of the community. Applications close January 21, 2026; don’t delay!
For 2025-26, the Elks National Foundation allocated nearly $18 million to fund the Community Investments Program. Lodges meet local needs through CIP grants that offer Elks opportunities to serve their community in ways that will raise the Lodge’s profile, energize the membership, encourage former members to return to the fold, and gain the notice of people who want to be part of an organization that’s doing great things. To learn more about the Community Investments Program, please visit elks.org/CIP. Our Lodge, Catalina Mountain Lodge # 2815, is currently 11 th in the state for both donations and per member, $5,324 and $9.132 respectively. Donate today and let’s try for top 5 by the end of the year. Thank you all and if you have any questions my email address is rstarjnski@gmail.com
I will see you at the lodge.
Ron Starjnski PER, ENF Chairman
