Exalted Rulers Message
Summer flew by and we have been busier than ever here at Lodge 1892. It has been a whirlwind of events, including District Vice President Visitations, our second District Deputy Clinic of the year, and a continuation of our usual popular events. As I write this message, I am reflecting on a tremendous week at the Lodge with a packed house for Bingo, a huge Burger Night with 111 burgers sold, a 50/50 winner receiving $175, the initiation of eleven new members, a huge crowd for a very popular Pork Chop/Trivia night, a successful District Deputy Clinic on Saturday morning, followed by a big crowd for the ever popular Fish and Shrimp.
Our Entertainment Committee is hard at work planning new events and entertainment with live music, Bar Bingo/Game Nights, and other events for the coming months to be announced, so stay tuned.
Our long-anticipated Dock Party is right here upon us! Come out on Saturday, September 2 at 4:00 PM and “Get Shipwrecked” with us! Enjoy the delicious feast prepared by our experienced Dock Party Crew and get ready to dance the night away to the music of “Top Shelf Band of JAX”, one of the most popular 5-piece bands in FL. There will be a 50/50 Drawing and a gift basket raffle to raise money for our Scholarship Fund to help deserving Clay County students go to college. In addition to the live music, there will be Corn Hole and other games for those wanting to play. It promises to be a highlight of our year! Officers and volunteers will be carpooling that day to create more parking. I encourage as many of you as possible to try to carpool as well. Our maintenance crew is hard at work with plans to prepare our parking lot to allow for more parking and we will have someone in the parking lot to assist with parking. Please join us for all the festivities and help us raise money for our scholarship recipients!
Many of our community projects are funded by grants received from Grand Lodge and many thanks go to our Grants Coordinator, Tracy Carroll for her hard work and efforts to get these grants. Our ENF quarters fundraising program helps us pay our required ENF per capita and in return, our Lodge receives grants to help with our charitable projects. I have entered our Lodge into the ENF Chairman’s Challenge and as the ENF Chairman for our Lodge, I would like to encourage you to actively contribute your quarters and you might just win the ENF parking spot for a month. Another way to contribute is to become a member of the ENF Fidelity Club by going to elks.org to sign up as a recurring donor. The link is enf.elk.org/recurring and there is also a form you can print out to mail in if you prefer. Our Lodge will get credit for your recurring donation and allow us to continue to help our community. In addition to our grant money, our Bingo provides our Lodge the opportunity to really make a difference. Recently, we gave $1,000 to Challenge Enterprises at our Vice President Visitation Dinner. On a recent Friday night, we invited K9s for Warriors with two of their dogs to visit, and they received a check for $2,500, paid in part from our Gratitude Grant and part from Bingo funds. That same night, we used our Gratitude Grant to present the GCS Senior Center with 25 patriotic bags filled with household products. Stay tuned to see the organizations in our community that will be receiving donations soon.
The Rock the Dock Casino Party will be held on September 30 in conjunction with the Green Cove Springs Police Department to benefit their “Trunk or Treat.” Watch for email Blasts, Facebook Posts, and our website for more information.
Last, but not least is the “Tiki Bar Stool” Project. We now have 25 stools that have been sponsored and refurbished and our Tiki Bar is looking better than ever!
Thank you to all who have contributed to make this project a reality. If you would still like to honor or remember someone by sponsoring a barstool, please see me or Eric Thorsen for a form. Thank you for all you do to support our Lodge and community and please continue to come out for our dinners, events, and Charity Bingo!
Best regards,
Lynn Elrod, Exalted Ruler
Secretary's Message
It’s that time of year again. Dues notices have gone out and thank you to those of you have already turned them in. It would be great if everyone could get their dues in before April 1. Your new Membership cards will be located on the table next to the pool table by the end of March. Spouse cards will be rubber banded to the Member card. When you pick up your card please be sure to take your spouse’s card with you. Also, please consider contributing to Bulletin Boosters in order to help the Lodge pay for our mailings, and you’ll get your name listed in the newsletter as a booster for the year. Postage has really increased, and printer ink is not cheap. Thanks for considering this. If you have questions about the dues process please see me.
Thank you!
Diane Watson, Secretary
Secretary's Message
We have finished the first 4 months of the new Elk year, and we still have 96 Members who have not renewed their Membership. If there’s a Member you haven’t seen around the Lodge lately, please reach out to them and encourage them to come back. Let’s do everything we can to strengthen our bonds of Elkdom so we can continue to work for the children and veterans in our communities.
Thank you,
Diane Watson, Secretary
- ENF Coin Jar Campaign
We continue our Coin Jar Fundraising Campaign to support ENF. If you wish to have a jar, please either send us an email or add your name to the notepad on the Secretary’s door. Remember that the funds raised for ENF help not only support our scholarships, but they also support our grant efforts which helps us fund the many projects we use to help our community.
- Don't Forget
Don’t forget to give the Lodge Secretary all address, email, phone, and name changes as soon as possible to makre sure that you continue to receive the bulletin and any other special notices.
New Lodge Members Initiated in August
- Wayne Royal
- Angela Hershkopf
- Cynthia Jennings
- Russel Frey
- Matt McCormick
- Greg Leidner
- Michael Harripersad
- Mike Morris
Donations for GCS Seniors and K-9 for Warriors Visits the Lodge
Florida Ladies of Elk
September has arrived and with it comes the Annual FLOE Conference. Hopefully everyone has completed registration, and we will see you in Daytona Beach on September 22/23. We will be reviewing all our accomplishments from the past year, and presenting upcoming programs for the next year. Saturday afternoon is an open meeting for all attendees and begins with our Memorial Service, finishes up the morning business meeting and concludes with the installation of our new incoming officers. Friday evening Banquet and Saturday Lunch is open to all, with a reservation. Go to flelks.org and make your reservations today, if you have not. If I can answer any questions, do not hesitate to reach out: Linda Rittenhouse, Past State President, 904-940-2830, or email at lindaritt1@comcast.net.
On August 12, Exalted Ruler Lynn Elrod accepted a Certificate of Merit for membership growth from PDD Scott Wilson. Our lodge does a great job showing that Membership Matters!
Thanks to all the members and guests who attended the Vice President Visitation on July 29. We had an amazing turn out to show support for VP Jimmy Dean and his wife Rosie, DDGER Dayna Miller and Monty Williams. That night the lodge presented a check from our PER bingo to Challenge Enterprise, who have wonderfully helped with our dinner service