January 9th, 2022
To: Officers and Members Maine Elks Association
From: Scott Monroe, State President MEA
Subject: Presidents Report
Happy New Year. I want to start out the New Year with a thank you to the Officers, Members and most importantly the Committee Chairs who do so much for our organization. The attendance during the fall meeting in Presque Isle was most impressive. But most importantly, during that meeting, our committee chairpersons provided thorough reports to our members, which contained a lot of useful information. While this may have lengthened our meeting it truly displayed the dedication and hard works of our Association. Thank you all so much for the outstanding support and dedication. Keep it up.
As you know I had set a lot of goals for our Association during my acceptance speech in Waterville. One of those goals was to increase our membership in each Lodge. Thank you to those Lodges who are working hard to increase their membership numbers. Please keep pressing the members in your Lodge to continue the effort. I also want to congratulate a few Lodges who have worked extra hard and are currently showing a gain in membership. They are Bangor, Old Town, Portland, Biddeford-Saco, and Augusta. Thank you for your efforts.
Also, during the convention, I asked that each Lodge in our state reach the GERs ENF per capita of $4.80 with a goal of total donations of $125,000.00. To date we are halfway there. So far, we have raised over $67,000.00 and 11 Lodges have met the GER goal. I want to remind everyone that March 31st is the deadline to have our ENF donations submitted. Please don’t hang on to those donations, let’s turn them in.
During the month of November our Grand Exalted Ruler Keith Mills and First Lady Amy visited our state on November 9th thru the 11th. I want to take a moment and thank the following for the planning, and hard work that was involved to ensure their stay was enjoyable. Special Deputy Andy Constantine for making all the reservations along with the demanding schedule we had to follow. To the Augusta Lodge for holding the GER luncheon on Tuesday. The Bangor Lodge for the outstanding service and meal during the Tuesday evening Banquet. The Ellsworth Lodge for their outstanding luncheon and the donation of the massive lobsters. The Grand slept the whole way to Portland after eating both of them. The Portland Lodge for providing a stopping point during the GERs final travels to Portland. The meal and hospitality hit the spot. And lastly and most importantly, the Membership. Thank you for your attendance and hospitality during their visit. You truly displayed that Maine Elks are doing their Part. GER Keith asked for me to pass on a big thank you to all Maine Elks for the gifts and hospitality that was shown to him, and Amy and he looks forward to seeing us during the 2022 convention in Atlanta.
Monika and I have conducted 14 visits to date. Since the October meeting our visits included the Ellsworth Lodge on October 16th, for an evening of dinner and dancing, on October 30th, the Rockland Lodge for their Halloween party and costume contest, then on November 13th the Gardiner Lodge where we enjoyed a nice ham dinner and country show which was performed by many Lodge members, The Bath Lodge on December 4th and 5th, for their annual Jingle Jam where they raised funds for needy families and the homeless teens in their community. The next day we also attended the Bath Lodge memorial service. December 11th, we visited the Sebasticook Lodge and participated in their annual Gift swap, and Christmas party. On December 17th we visited the Wells Lodge, and on December 18th the York lodge where we attended a Toys for Tots auction and dinner. On December 31st we visited the Waterville Lodge and rang in the New Year. We also attended their annual new year’s toast the following day. We truly thank all the Lodges for the great hospitality we have received during our visits and look forward to our next upcoming visits.
Finally, I ask everyone to keep up the great work that is happening in our state. Continue to “Aim for Success” in all we do. Continue to work hard at growing our membership numbers, continue to participate in our Charitable works, and always practice brotherly love. Let’s all make 2022 a success like we did in 2021.
Respectfully Submitted,
Scott Monroe PDD,
State President MEA