NEWS

News from the Maine Elks Association

Bangor Elks Put ENF Money to Work

Apr 28, 2024

The Bangor Elks #244 recently received an Elks National Foundation Freedom Grant and are utilizing the funds to host a cookout for the residents and staff at the Maine Veterans Home in Bangor.  The lodge expects to serve lunch for approximately 180 at the event scheduled for June 14th, 2024 at 10 am.

The lodge is also providing a stock of potting soil for the the Veterans utilize in their flower and vegetable garden, and gift cards for the bingo playing residents to receive small gifts at bingo.

Two Elk Leaders make Radio Headlines!

Mar 30, 2024

Coast 93.1 Radio

Lina Michaud, a native of Augusta, Maine, embodies the spirit of service and perseverance. She pursued her dreams of establishing a successful daycare while attending college classes at night. In 2010, her dedication culminated in a degree in human services, propelling her into a career as a licensed social worker and devoted advocate for children.

Recognized as the University of Maine in Augusta’s Alumni of the Year in 2022, Lina’s impact extends far beyond academia. With four children and four grandsons, she balances family life with an unwavering commitment to community service. As a past exalted ruler of the Elks and Maine State Elk of the Year, she spearheaded initiatives like the antler program for youth and the State scholarship chair, annually awarding $32k to graduating seniors.

Lina’s philanthropic efforts are wide-ranging, from volunteering at Togus for homeless veterans to founding the Greater Augusta back-to-school program. Her compassion shines through projects like the Maine Children’s Cancer Program weekend and winter coat drive, which have provided essential support to thousands. Lina Michaud’s selflessness and dedication make her a beacon of hope and inspiration, touching the lives of many through her kindness and generosity.

Hear how Lina’s Elk efforts led to  this distintion Lina’s radio Interview

 

Vassie Fowler serves as the dedicated Executive Director of Seeds of Hope in Biddeford, affectionately known as “Seeds” within the local community. In the face of Biddeford’s growing housing crisis, Seeds of Hope stands as a beacon of support for unhoused neighbors, offering essential services such as a continental breakfast and a warming center at night.

Vassie’s dedication to the mission of Seeds is evident in her unwavering commitment and countless hours of hard work. She organizes volunteers, advocates for funding to sustain the center, and amplifies the voices of those who may otherwise be forgotten in the community.

With compassion and determination, Vassie ensures that Seeds of Hope remains a safe and warm refuge for those in need, providing vital support to vulnerable neighbors during challenging times.

CLICK HERE for more on all 93.1’s 20 Outstanding Women of 2024

PRESQUE ISLE ELKS PARTNER WITH CATHOLIC CHARITIES

Mar 30, 2024

 

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

Mar 10, 2024

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

Mar 10, 2024

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

Mar 2, 2024

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!

Sanford Elks Take Top Honors as State Ritual Champions

Feb 27, 2024

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

Feb 27, 2024

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:

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
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