NEWS

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 13^th and the Northern District Hoop Shoot in Skowhegan on January 14^th.

We then went to the Fireside Inn in on January 27^th and attended the Maine State Hoop Shoot on the 28^th in Waterville.

February 10^th 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 17^th 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 18^th and Dave and I attended the Ritual Contest held in Waterville on February 25^th.  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!