NEWS
News from the Maine Elks AssociationPRESQUE ISLE ELKS PARTNER WITH CATHOLIC CHARITIES
Shown presenting a check for $8,000 to Dixie Shaw, Catholic Charites Food and Hunger Services Program Director (R) are Alan Harding, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Presque Isle Elks Lodge #1954, and Melanie Fassold, Elks Exalted Ruler.
Aroostook County, referred to as “The County”, has the oldest median age population of any county in the nation. The people of The County are extremely vulnerable to food insecurity.
Catholic Charities of Maine does more to address the issue of food insecurity in Aroostook than any other non-governmental agency. It supplies food to over twenty-eight food pantries throughout Aroostook. In 2023, those food pantries served over
33,000 people.
In order to assist Catholic Charities of Maine in its efforts to fight food insecurity in Aroostook, the Presque Isle Elks Lodge #1954 gave to Catholic Charities Eight Thousand Dollars ($8,000). This money was the proceeds received by the Presque Isle Elks in relation to three grants received from the Elks National Foundation, a $2,000 Gratitude Grant, a $4,000 Beacon Grant and a $2,000 Spotlight Grant.
PB HOMES Migrates North
Several members of Millinocket Lodge #1521 
travelled to the Old Town lodge to help celebrate Old Town’s installation of their new officers for the new Fraternal Year, and in the process took the Northern District’s PB HOMES back up north with them!
Romeo Relocates Again
Leading knight Mike Paqette (Holding Romeo) with his felow Waterville Elks.
The morning of Sunday, March 10th, several Waterville members were feeling a bit hungry so thirteen of them headed down to Augusta for breakfast, and capture the Central District Roaming Elk as a bonus.
President Sandi’s Fourth Quarter Message
Dear Maine Elks Association Members,
I cannot believe that it is already Homecoming Week! Time seems to fly by the older we get, but this year has gone the fastest in my life! I have so enjoyed my year and look forward to the last couple of months!
It seems like it was just yesterday that we were all at the Bangor Lodge, where they hosted the January meeting as well as my visit. When I arrived at the lodge I was greeted by ER Bob and his wife Linda, Andy Constantine and some of the other members. We enjoyed a brief visit before they took us to our hotel.
We had a beautiful room and a basket of goodies and a nice wooden tray that I’ll be using for a charcuterie board, along with a dozen red roses. The most surprising and cherished gift was the vouchers for the Casino! We hope we didn’t make it too long a night for Bob and Linda, but we did end up coming out ahead!
The meal on Saturday night was perfect with something for everyone. My compliments to the Chef and lodge helpers. The band was good and just about everyone got up and danced! Thank you for allowing me to do the Eleven O’clock Toast!
I attended the Waterville Lodge First Responders Dinner on the 13th and the Northern District Hoop Shoot in Skowhegan on January 14th.
We then went to the Fireside Inn in on January 27th and attended the Maine State Hoop Shoot on the 28th in Waterville.
February 10th took us to Rockland where we attended their Valentine Dance. We were greeted by ER Helen Rogers, Coastal DDGER Pam Heal and Alan (PDDGER), and Leading Knight Jane. After a refreshment and popcorn Alan bought me some Pull-Tabs to play and I won a few dollars, which I turned back around and re-invested!
We then went to our hotel escorted by Helen and Jane, as we settled in we found two new hard cover books that we had not read yet, flowers and a welcome card, some beverages, and snacks that we enjoyed while relaxing and watching the ferry come in and out of their terminal. Our room was beautiful and the view was one of the best – Dave and I love being near the water!
Helen and Jane picked us up and took us to the Park Street Grill for dinner. We were met there by (Cuz) Artie Anderson, and Jane’s husband Lance. The dinner was great and so was the company, plus we had another wonderful water view as well
We then went to the Lodge for the dance. There was an elegant ice sculpture displayed and we got some nice pictures with it. Before the dance I was able to observe some awards presented that night, and I received a check from the lodge donating $100 in my name to MCCP, along with another $50 check from your auxiliary to MCCP in my name! What an honor – you all know how much I love the Cancer Kids.
On February 17th we travelled to the Skowhegan-Madison Lodge for their Speakeasy and ENF 150 Club Fundraiser, where ER Angel and her husband Paul met us as soon as we arrived and got us a table and a beverage to relax while we waited for the festivities to begin!
It’s always great to see so many Maine Elks we already know, while getting the chance to meet some new ones as well. The chef for the evening, Lisa came out from the kitchen to greet us and let us know that she was making us a dinner specially with love! She’s previously come to Waterville and asked around to find out what Dave and I liked. She said she was nervous to make my visit special, and between the wonderful meal Lisa prepared along with everything else Angel and the Skowhegan-Madison team putwhile together, our visit could not have been better!!! To know that they both wanted to make our night special was so precious to us, Elks really are the Best People On Earth!
As we sat down to our table Angel presented me with the heaviest, beautiful Charcuterie cutting board made from walnut wood, and she had it engraved with my name and the dates of my year as State President. It is beautiful, and along with that we had two vases of flowers on our table!! She said one was for our room, but we couldn’t stay as our dog sitter had a personal issue so we had to return home to take care of our dog. We were presented with four tickets to be included in your money raffle, and even though we did not win it was great fun and for a good cause. It is so nice to see how much money was donated to ENF that night. Your Lodge does a great job at doing that!
We had a Pre-Budget meeting on February 18th and Dave and I attended the Ritual Contest held in Waterville on February 25th. It was so nice to once again have another ritual team competing. Coached by Dan Hubert, Waterville’s team did a great job and some of the chairs were very close in the competition. Congratulations to all the winners, and we look forward to seeing the Sanford Team represent Maine at convention this year.
If you have any candidates awaiting Initiation, please get them in before the end of this month so that this year ER’s and Lodges get the credit and maybe you will be a PLUS 1 or even more!
MEA Calendar Winners for February 2024
Sanford Elks Take Top Honors as State Ritual Champions
On February 25, 2023, the Maine Elks Association held its annual State Ritual Contest at the Waterville Elks Lodge. This was the first time in several years that there was more than one team competing in the contest and that the event was held outside of the Sanford Lodge.
The Waterville team performed first at 9 a.m., followed by Sanford. Those attending witnessed some good ritual performances, but in the end, Sanford came out on top with a team score of 95.891 vs. Waterville’s score of 92.9376. Individual awards were presented to the top-scoring officers in the competition. These include:
- Exalted Ruler-Frank Ricker (93.351)-Sanford
- Leading Knight: J. Andrew Bolz (94.753)-Sanford
- Loyal Knight-Marise Anagnost (93.321)-Sanford
- Lecturing Knight-Jennifer Young (93.617)-Waterville
- Chaplain-Corey Dewitt (92.783)-Sanford
- Inner Guard-Elmer Brown (90.717)-Waterville
- Candidate-Sheila Pillsbury-Sanford
- Coaches: Frank Ricker & Bruce Brunelle-Sanford
While Waterville may not have won the competition, two of its members performed well enough to win their chairs. They include the Lodge’s Exalted Ruler, Jennifer Young, who competed as the Lecturing Knight, and Elmer Brown, who competed as the Inner Guard. Brown has been a member for only a few months. The team was very excited that they performed as well as they did taking into account the fact that the lodge was going up against a much more experienced team. The Waterville team is looking forward to improving their ritual performance even more later this year to compete in the contest once again in February 2025.
Sanford has now earned the honor of traveling to the Grand Lodge Convention in Austin, Texas, this July to represent the Maine Elks Association in the national ritualistic competition.
Maine Elks Earn Top Honors in State Website Contest
The Maine Elks Association’s website has earned top honors in the Grand Lodge Fraternal Committee’s State Association Website Contest. This is the first time the state has earned this award since the website was reorganized and updated two years ago. The website earned 5-stars, along with 17 other states, for promoting Elkdom on the internet.
Judging was based on five categories:
Content: Includes coverage of Grand Lodge and State Association programs and current events.
Layout: Ease of use through menu’s, table of contents, and accessibility
Design: Borders, Colors, and Overall Aesthetics
Graphics: overall continuity, window identification, and use of photos and graphics to maintain interest.
Effectiveness in telling the Elks Story: usefulness to members, providing pertinent information, and succeeding in giving non-Elks important information about our programs.
Other states to have earned the 5-Star Website Recognition are:
- Arizona
- Connecticut
- Georgia
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- MD-DE-DC
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- Oregon
- Colorado
- Florida
- Idaho
- Kentucky
- New Jersey
- New York
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
Congratulations and thank you to the Maine Elks website team for all of your hard work and dedication to promoting Elkdom in the State of Maine and beyond:
- Leon “Mac” McCreary, Public Relations Director
- David Chasse, Website Technical Advisor
- Scott Monroe, Calendar Manager
- Kathleen Cotterly, Contributing Editor
- Wayne Cotterly, Committee Advisor
Combat Wounded Elk Honored in Portland
On Friday February 16th, the Portland Elks Lodge honored one of their members for his service in the United States Navy.
PER Elliott Natherson (Seated) with Portland members (L-R) Dennis Rickett, Barbara Pileggi and “Woody” Woodmam of the Portland Veterans Committee.
Portland PER Elliott Nathanson served from 1965-1969. His service included three tours of duty on river boats in Vietnam, and earning a Purple Heart.
During his service Elliott also earned the Vietnam Service Medal (with a subsequent service Stars), Republic of Vietnam Campaign medal (with device), Secretary of Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, the Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Unit Commendation and the National Defense Service Medal. The lodge presented him with an Eagle Head cane which bears all his awards engraved and a Quilt of Valor.
A Quilt of Valor® (QOV) is a handmade quilt that is machine or hand quilted. It is awarded to a Service Member or Veteran who has been touched by war. The Quilt says unequivocally, “Thank you for your service and sacrifice in serving our nation.” Find more information, or learn how to get involved at www.qovf.org
Weekend Camping Fun by Waterville
Mark the weekends of July 20-21 and September 14-15 on your calendar!
The members of Waterville Lodge #905 are conducting two weekends of Elkish fun and camping at the Two Rivers campground in Skowhegan.
There’ll be live music, food and lots of fun on the Kennebec to support the Waterville Lodge Backpack Program, their Soccer Shoot program and the ENF.
See the FLIER for more information and contact info.