NEWS
News from the Maine Elks AssociationPresident Sandi’s Message for October ’23
Summer is over now, and here we go into fall and then winter. Time sure flies when you’re having a good time in Elkdom!
On my last report I forgot to mention our visit to York, and for that I apologize. Dave and I were met by ER John and he took us inside and introduced us to the members. He presented me with a beautiful necklace and Dave with a nice watch. Their Lodge has a few members from other states that happened to be in attendance and we got to meet them! They had a delicious Luau dinner and ended it with desert!
August 5th we went to the Augusta Lodge and were met by ER Tim and First Lady Vicki. They got us settled into our room where there was a beautiful basket of books, snacks, and beverages, but my favorite thing in it was a cutting board that had my name and State President engraved into it! After we rested for a short time, we went back to the Lodge for their Music Festival. All the bands were good but the treat of the night was the Bob Seeger Tribute band! After the group was done I got pictures with the band!! What a night!
Our next visit was on August 16th and we went to the Wells Elks Lodge and ER Melinda and First Man Richard greeted us at the door. They brought a chef up from Massachusetts who prepared a wonderful Italian meal for us and their members! They even let Tom Chase help cook and clean up!!! Melinda had a nice basket for us with Maine coffee mugs, two beautiful shirts embroidered with our Lodge and names on them, some scratch-off-tickets (that I won $50.00 on) and some nice beverages. To top the night off we had fresh strawberry shortcake!
August 24th, we headed up to The Forks to raise some money for the MCCP Kids. The weather Friday was pretty rough but no one let the rain dampen their fun. I hope to hear this coming meeting in Sanford what the total is for the event! As you well know I love raising money for our major project!
September 3rd, we drove the Camaro up to Bangor and entered it in to the Bangor Elks car show. We enjoyed the day walking around looking at all the old cars, a few of us were interviewed by WABI TV and after the car show hung out with everyone, enjoying a drink or two.
September 8th and 9th we attended the MCCP Golf Tournament in Sanford! PSP Bruce Brunelle met us at the campground to make sure we got settled in. Our cabin was so nice, and the lodge provided a nice basket of goodies. We sat out on the back porch and watched a storm come in, then went to the Lodge and had a nice dinner and raised some more money for the kids. The following day we went to the golf course where we met up with Bruce and Lisa Brunelle and cooked hot dogs for all the golfers. What a nice way to get to meet some of our fellow elks and raise some more money for the kids! We then had a nice meal at the golf course and went back to the cabin. There was quite a bit of money raised for the kids over the weekend but I do not want to say as I am sure the Sanford Lodge will be reporting on the totals soon. On our way home we stopped in Augusta and attended the drug awareness seminar.
Sept 22nd and 23rd we went to the Old Town Lodge, ER Debbie met us at the Black Bear Inn where she had arranged a beautiful room and had a nice basket for us along with some snacks and beverages. We also have new books to read and she also got us each a bell for our bikes to keep us safe! She took us downtown to meet up with her husband Randy, Mindy Voisine and Jeff Bosse to have a nice dinner at Kanu restaurant. We then went up to the rooftop to enjoy the beautiful evening and enjoy the fireworks. The next day Debbie picked us up for the parade. We all dressed up in different costumes of Lobsters and Light houses. And she had a lobster hat for each of us. And we rode on the float and had “bubble guns” to shoot bubbles at the kids to pop, and had beads to toss into the crowd. After the parade we went to their Lodge and had a good time catching up with some old friends and met new ones from the lodge membership. Of course, we had to play a few pull tabs! Mindy and Jeff took us back to the hotel for a rest, and picked us up again later for dinner and an evening at the Riverfest where Motor Boody Affair was playing and brought in quite a crowd
Sept 29th and 30th we drove to Houlton and met ER Elizabeth, Mike and Denise Hannigan and Mike Powers at the lodge. We stayed with Mike Powers for our visit which was nice of him to offer up his home. Mike and Denise came over to the house after we left the Lodge and we all enjoyed the beautiful charcuterie board full of about everything you could think of, along with a fruit bowl and some beverages. The following day Liz picked us up for Breakfast at Brookside Inn with Mike, Mike and Denise. Liz took us on a little tour of Houlton and then back to Mikes house for a break. Latr in the evening Liz picked us up for the Murder Myster Dinner back at the lodge. Denise had heard about Dave’s fall, and his stitches, and she incorporated it all into the Murder Mystery. In the end it turned out that Dave was the Murderer, who knew he had it in him?! The dinner, prepared by lodge members, was wonderful. We went back down to the lounge to visit more before going back to Mike’s. In the morning Mike cooked us a great breakfast before we left for home.
Thank you everyone for the great visits. It was a busy couple of months but we enjoyed every minute of it along the way.
Another Successful Weekend at The Forks
The Maine Elks Association MCCP/FORKS Steering Committee would like thank everyone that attended, donated or volunteered at our 3rd Annual Camping Weekend in the Forks, held from August 25th to the 27th at Three Rivers Whitewater in The Forks.
Incredible work by all Lodges on the Silent & Live Auctions! Collectively, we raised just over $24,000.00!!! The Augusta Elks took top honors with $3,462.00 fr their items. Second place was Waterville with $3,187.00 and with $3,076.00 Gardiner was third.
More than 250 Elks, representing 18 of our 20 Maine Lodges from across the state attended. It was an incredible weekend of fun and camaraderie, as we worked together towards the common goal of raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for our major state project, the Maine Children’s Cancer Program.
The Steering Committee, including representatives from many of our lodges, worked year-round planning and organizing this large off-site event. Everyone who came worked well together to ensure that this event was a huge success. Without their commitment and dedication, an event of this magnitude would not be possible. Collectively, over the three-day weekend Maine Lodges raised $61,221.73 for MCCP.
Congratulations and Thank You for your support!
Mark your calendars and Save the Date, for next year’s event, Thursday, August 22nd to Sunday, August 25, 2024
Elks Care ~ Elks Share
Fraternally yours,Co-Chairs: Mike “Shu” Michaud PER and Lina Cloutier Michaud PER
September MEA Calendars
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Sanford Elks Celebrate 30 years of MCCP Affiliation
The Sanford Elks Lodge #1470 has achieved a 30-year milestone supporting the Maine Elks State Major Project, the Maine Children’s Cancer Program; . which helps provide specialized care, psychosocial services, and research to help find a cure for childhood cancer and blood disorders.
This year’s fundraising events included an Ice Fishing Derby, our 14th annual Arnie’s Ride, the 500 Wish Club, our first Ray’s Day, and our 30th annual Golf Tournament which together allowed us to raise over $113,000 this year bringing our cumulative 30-year total to just under $3 million dollars!
On September 8th, we hosted a 30th Year MCCP Celebration! Many volunteers and sponsors of many of our fundraising events, elks members and members of the Maine Children’s Cancer Program helped us to celebrate this achievement. A great meal was served and a DJ provided music, followed by a special champagne toast by lodge PERs Mark Caron & Rick Drouin, Sanford Lodge’s MCCP committee co-chairmen, highlighting the 30 years of dedication.
Sanford Elks host The Wall
The Sanford Elks Lodge #1470 along with community Veteran’s Service Organization’s sponsored the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall That Heals from September 6th to the 10th. Visitation was free to the public.
The Wall That Heals honors the more than three million Americans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces in the Vietnam War, and it bears the names of the 58,281 men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam. “The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is pleased to bring The Wall That Heals mobile exhibit to Sanford, Maine, to allow local veterans and their family members a chance to experience The Wall,” said Jim Knotts, president and CEO of VVMF. “Hosting The Wall That Heals provides an opportunity to honor and remember all those who served and sacrificed in the Vietnam War and educate visitors on the continuing impact of the Vietnam War on America.”
The Wall That Heals is transported from community to community in a 53-foot trailer. When parked, the trailer opens with exhibits built into its sides, allowing it to serve as a mobile education center telling the story of the Vietnam War.
The three-quarter scale wall replica is 375 feet long and stands 7.5 feet high at its tallest point. Visitors will experience The Wall rising above them as they walk towards the apex, a key feature of the design of The Wall in Washington D.C. Visitors can do name rubbings of individual service member names on The Wall.
The Wall that Heals spent four days on display across from Walmart on route 109 in South Sanford, Maine September 7th to 10th, 2023.
The mobile education center exhibit includes: digital photo displays of “Hometown Heroes” – service members whose names are on The Wall that list their home of record within the area of a visit; digital photo displays of Vietnam veterans from the local area honored through the VVMF’s In Memory program, which honors veterans who returned home from Vietnam and later died.
The exhibits tell the story of the Vietnam War, The Wall, and the era surrounding the conflict, and is designed to put Ame
rican experiences in Vietnam in a historical and cultural context. Video displays teach about the history and impact of The Wall; educational exhibits told through items representative of those left at The Wall in D.C.; a replica of the In Memory plaque that resides on the grounds of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial site in Washington, D.C.; a map of Vietnam and a chronological overview of the Vietnam War.
The 2023 national The Wall That Heals tour is sponsored by USAA. Through a partnership with the Truckload Carriers Association, the trucking industry, and Blue Beacon Truck Wash, the exhibit travels to sites across the country.
This was a project that Sanford Elks PER Dawna Legere worked on over the last few years. Her special project during her year as ER was to have a bus bring Maine Veterans to Washington to see The Wall, but the COVID outbreak prevented that but it continued to be a hope of hers after her year. The replica wall was open to visitors 24 hours a day, and during it’s time here The Wall drew a steady stream of visitors from the time it opened, and by the end of the four days we hosted over 5,000 visitors.
There are eight Sanford residents whose names are engraved into the wall. This viewing of the wall will be the only destin
ation in New England this year. Over 200 volunteers helped with erecting the wall, helped visitors locate names on the wall, take rubbings, direct parking and disassemble at the end of the 4 days. Some volunteers were there to just listen to the stories that visitors felt like sharing.