Sebasticook Valley Takes First Place in Egg Festival Parade

By Michael Lange, MEA Central District PR

The Sebasticook Valley Elks Lodge won first place for their float in the annual Central Maine Egg Festival parade held in Pittsfield on July 24. The float consisted of a mock-up brown egg with Elliott the Elk being "hatched" from the inside, and signs on the side of the float about the lodge's community service activities such as the Veterans' Day dinner, scholarships, Red Cross blood drives and the Giving Tree.

Exalted Ruler Ernest Bryant also rode on the float.

Terry White, who organized the float committee, said that 21 members either helped with labor or monetary donations.

The Elks had a strong presence in the parade, which drew hundreds of people in a rather cool day with persistent drizzle. In addition to the Sebasticook Valley Lodge float, the Maine Elks Association Drug Awareness trailer and the new health care screening mobile unit was also in the parade.

Grand Lodge Public Relations Committee Contests Begin

The Grand Lodge Public Relations Committee has begun its contests for the 2010-2011 fraternal year. The contests are:

• Best Image of Elkdom Contest
• Focus on the Community Contest
• Best Single Event Contest

The Best Image of Elkdom Contestis open to ALL Elks. The contest will be judged three times during the year. The judging will take place in October, February, and May. Entries are accepted throughout the year. There are no limits to the number of photos you can submit, and prizes include a digital camera.

The purpose of the contest is to encourage ALL Elks to capture images of special happenings, and take photos that tell a story about an Elk Community Activity without words.

Basically, the photos should not include more than 8-10 people, should include an Elk Logo, Signage, Elk Members, and Non-Elk Members. In essence showing Elk members engaged with non-members doing the work of our organization.

To enter, just send an e-mail with the photograph to Area 1 Public Relations Committeeman William Hopkins III at wmhoppy3@verizon.net. Please include the photographers name, Lodge name and number, as well as the date and name of the function. You can also send it to his mailing address at: 9 Byron St, Hudson, MA 01749-1422

The Focus on the Community Contest is also open to ALL Elks. All you need to do is to send in 2-copies of an Elk Newspaper or Magazine Article which contains photo(s) of the sponsored event...that's it!

Winning entries from each of the 8 Grand Lodge areas will be selected 3 times each year, and the winners will receive plaques and be eligible for the national contest award at the Grand Lodge Convention.

To enter, just send 2-copies of your Newspaper or Magazine article to Area 1 Public Relations Committeeman William Hopkins III at: 9 Byron St, Hudson, MA 01749-1422 . Please include your name, Lodge name, number, and state.

Finally, the Best Single Event Contest is open to all Lodges to recognize the most significant public relations activity in the community between April 1st and February 28th. All Lodges regardless of size have an equal chance of winning.

Rules: Combine pictures, newspaper articles, letters of appreciation, commendations, programs, proclamations, memorabilia, etc. into a 3-ring binder, folder or notebook up to 1" thick (8.5" x 11" pages). Send to Area 1 Public Relations Committeeman William Hopkins III at: 9 Byron St, Hudson, MA 01749-1422 .

Entries must be postmarked by March 15, 2011. The top three brochures will be forwarded from each Area to be considered for national recognition. The top three entries will be awarded at the Grand Lodge Convention in Phoenix.

If you have any questions on these contests, please contact MEA Public Relations Director Wayne Cotterly at meapr@fairpoint.net.

Remember...you can't win if you don't enter.

Need a Photo from the Grand Lodge Convention?

Photos from the Orlando convention are now available for online ordering at www.backprint.com/conventionphotoprosinc.

GER Class-Tracking Success
By G. Stephen Clarke, Membership Committee Chairman

As we approach the second half of the Lodge year, it is important that the Lodge is on track to achieve the membership goal established at the beginning of the year. The Grand Exalted Ruler's Class is an incentive to assist in meeting the membership goal. The GER Class is comprised of new Members initiated during the months of September and October. The number of GER Class Members plus other new Members and reinstatements added since April 1, should equal approximately 50 percent of the Lodge goal for the fraternal year.

If the Lodge is not on track to achieve the membership goal, now is the time to take the action needed to get back on the path to success.

Lodges participating in the GER Class will be recognized by a Grand Exalted Ruler's Membership Commendation. To qualify, simply enter the number of new Members initiated during September and October on line 21 of the mid-year report submitted to the Grand Lodge via CLMS. It is also advisable to notify your Grand Lodge Committeeman and State Membership Chairman to assist them in assuring the Lodge is properly recognized.

The mid-year report is due by November 1. Area Committeemen are listed in the Grand Lodge and State Associations Directory (Code 553800) and on the back of the Grand Lodge Membership brochure. A copy of the brochure was included in the Exalted Rulers, Secretaries and District Deputy Designates materials distributed at the Grand Lodge Session in Orlando.

For information and assistance on implementing the +1 membership program using a team approach, contact your State Membership Chairman or Grand Lodge Membership Committeeman assigned to your area. Information can also be obtained by visiting the Membership Committee Web page at elks.org.

If you have news or information of interest to the members of the Maine Elks Association, please send your articles to Public Relations Director Wayne Cotterly at meapr@fairpoint.net for inclusion in the MEA Calendar, the MEA Website, or future issues of this newsletter.

If you would like to create newsletters like this, and begin an e-mail marketing program for your business or organization, please click on this referral link to receive a $30 dollar credit.