Rick LaCrosse
Contact
- Inner Guard
ER's Message
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Happy August! Hard to believe summer is half over already. Before the normal start to the ER Message, I want to take a moment to highlight a couple of things. First is that Fair Parking starts August 29th and goes thru Labor Day. I cannot state enough how important this is to our lodge; both from a financial perspective and from an image one as well. From the financial side, parking provides revenues that we put back into the Northern Columbia community. From the image side, parking allows us to have a booth to provide a message to the community of what Elkdom is.
So, once again, we have a table/booth at the fair, which gives us an opportunity to show people what we do in the community and of course membership. If all members of our lodge could help in some manner, whether parking or booth, that would be so good for us. Sign-up sheets for shifts are on the bulletin board at the Lodge.
The second item is the expansion of the pavilion building. As this project nears completion, I want to thank the crew for their fast and diligent work on this project.
During this past July, the Lodge was once again busy. Besides the usual breakfasts, Wednesday dinners and Friday meals, which so many people help with, we had a few activities. First, from June 30th to July 4th, the National Elks Convention was held in San Antonio, Texas. Wendy and I, along with PSP Jerry and Abby Shook, attended. It consisted of three-and-a-half days packed with meetings, workshops, ritual competitions and such. The four of us, along with the Exalted Rulers of the other lodges in the North Hudson District, along with PDDGERs Tony Thanopoulos, Paul Erkkinen, Richard Belcher, Larry Rowse and his wife PER Linda, took the new District Deputy, our own Christopher P. Akers, to dinner in honor of his installment. A full report of the Convention was presented to the Lodge during our July meeting.
On July 26th, the Veteran’s Committee hosted veterans from Stratton VA Hospital to a ValleyCat baseball game at Joe Bruno stadium. Thanks to the committee for all their efforts. Also, thanks to the staff of the VA, the ValleyCats, and Joe Bruno Stadium for all their efforts with this event.
August is going to be quite the busy month. On the 5th, there is a Cruise-In and regular breakfast during the morning. Vehicles of all types are welcome any time after 7am; antiques, classics, muscle, tuner, modern muscle, tractors, trucks, etc.
On August 18th, we host the District Deputy clinic. Breakfast is at 9am and open to all meeting attendees. The meeting starts at 10am. This is open to all Elks, so please attend and show your support of DDGER Chris. Then, on the 19th, besides breakfast, we will be having a Lodge initiation at 3pm for four new members.
On August 25th, there is a wedding in the Pavilion. Help is needed for this event. On the 26th, we are holding a Kids-ID breakfast in tandem with the State Police. All the local day care programs have been contacted, so turnout is expected to be high. Help is also needed for this event. I have heard that Elroy, the Elks mascot, may be making a visit too.
Going into September, we have a date for the Worker’s Party: September 8th. If you have any suggestions, please contact Ben Lasher, Anne Leiser or myself.
Finally, a reminder that all bar chips need to be used before September 1st. As the House Committee announced during the July business meeting, starting September 1st, bar chips for having purchased drinks carried over to future days will no longer be honored or available.
May you and your families have a great August.
ER John Piddock