BPOElks

MATILLA, Florida - Saw it with my own eyes. The Elks, that would be the Benevolent Order of Elks, are recruiting members and advertising themselves with Yahoo banner ads. Good job. In our Bowling Alone era, most hereditary and benevolent societies are struggling, and none more struggling than what were traditionally male benevolent groups. All of these groups still play a strong part in our culture, millions of members, though they are mostly forgotten by the media. If you read The New York Times, you wouldn't even know they exist. But the Jaycees, Rotary, Kiwanis, Sertoma and Knights of Columbus all still soldier on, though members are getting older and these groups must attract new members to stay viable.

PITTSBURG - If there is a weakness in Andrew Ortolani's golf game, it's chipping. "I probably also need to work on my grip on my driver," he said. As a young man just a month away from being 11 years old, Ortolani takes the game of golf pretty seriously - at least during the six-week golf lessons at Four Oaks Golf Course, sponsored by the Pittsburg Elks Lodge. "I like competing for those slushies," he said, adding that blue raspberry is his favorite flavor.

In 1909, the annual convention of the fraternal organization known as The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks included, among other diversions: a visit to an ostrich farm, "free to all Elks and their ladies"; a yacht regatta; parades; a "daylight" fireworks display; 1,000 cars at members' disposal; and 10,000 pounds of "beef, pork, and mutton," barbecued in "ten mammoth barbecue pits."

The News Tribune has confirmed that members of Tacoma Elks #174 last night approved the sale of its property at South 23rd and Union streets. A few weeks ago, we reported that the lodge turned down Wal-Mart's bid to buy the 17-acre property but that the group was close to an agreement with another developer.

Elks Lodge raises over $2,000 and 13 units of blood for center BY LISA NEWELL Gulf Breeze News lisa@gulfbreezenews.com The mother-daughter team of Shirley Hart and Darla Richardson coordinated the Elks Loge Blood Drive, Several people rolled up their sleeves and many others emptied their wallets Saturday, June 20 at the Elks Lodge's Blood Drive held in coordination with the Northwest Florida Blood Center.

San Fernando Elks Lodge 1539 Donates Two Thousand Dictionaries

When it comes to community events, it's hard to imagine Elks Lodge No. 2127 or Emblem Club No. 350 not being involved. Activities for scholarship dollars, literacy in the schools, helping students finance out-of-state travel, wounded veterans, fundraisers for community members whose homes have been destroyed or are facing serious medical challenges or any of a number of issues Elks and the Emblem Club are there. Saturday, they're at it again with the annual July Fourth scholarship barbecue. Admission is $15 at the door or free with a $100 raffle ticket. In addition to food and games for the kids, a raffle drawing begins at 1 p.m. with more than $16,000 in cash prizes.

Elks Lodge 1795 hosted a benefit Sunday on Okaloosa Island for the families of fallen Okaloosa County Deputies Burt Lopez and Warren "Skip" York. On April 25, Lopez and York were trying to serve a warrant on 28-year-old Joshua Cartwright, who was wanted on domestic violence charges. Cartwright shot them both outside the Shoal River Gun Club, east of Crestview, and they later died at a hospital in Pensacola. Fellow officers remember two brave men who died as heroes.

The annual White Lake Area Fourth of July fun starts off with the community parade at 10 a.m. The parade will again begin near Whitehall City Hall and will follow a route across the White River Bridge into downtown Montague. Parade participants are asked to meet downtown in Whitehall at 9 a.m. behind city hall. White Lake will be having its fireworks display at dusk, which should last for approximately 20 minutes at the northeast end of the lake. The fireworks will be visible from both the cities of Whitehall and Montague. Sponsored by the White Lake Area Elks, this year's patriotic spectacle will run a $6,500 tab. Donations to help fund the event will be especially appreciated due to increasingly tight budgets.

Burlesque comes to Long Beach, raising $1,500 plus for Tall Elks charity By John Nechvatal For the Observer LONG BEACH - On Saturday, July 11, the Long Beach Elks lodge provided an entertainment first on the Peninsula. Reminiscent of the days before television and the Internet when live shows were the rage, a good old-fashioned burlesque show was staged in the Elks ballroom. The 12 "performers," all members of Long Beach Elks Lodge No. 1937, had the chance to show off their feminine side to the delight of a packed house. The event was the brainchild of past Lecturing Knight Natalie Hanson, who has owned an ad agency and a production company. Costuming proved to be Natalie's largest hurdle as most of the performers are not exactly sized for the runway. The evening began at 6 p.m. with a delicious ham dinner served to all. Ham was chosen

Kevin Blaine, Red Bank Elks Lodge #233 Youth Activities Chairman, presents a check for $1000 to Jill Mc Donald, Employment Readiness Program Manager, of Fort Monmouth. Advertisement The donation will benefit over 50 children of Fort Monmouth's 2009 Summer Youth Volunteer Program. This program is an employment readiness program held for teenagers who are immediate family members of the military and of Ft Monmouth. The students will be gaining "World of Work" experience during the summer program through volunteer services in and around the base community.

Their organization, Hobart Elks Lodge 1152, formerly was called the Gary Elks Lodge. It was renamed Gary-Hobart Elks Lodge 1152 before the current name was adopted. On Saturday, the lodge celebrated its 100th anniversary.

GoGirls in the Military! GoGirl Partners with Hopkins Elks to Send 250 GoGirl Devices to Troops in Southwest Asia MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Long days in the field with little alone time is something that female troops stationed overseas know well. They also know that it's nearly impossible to find a private, sanitary restroom while on the job. To empower female military members with on-the-go bathroom convenience, GoGirl by FemMed Inc. has teamed up with the Hopkins Elks Lodge in Hopkins, Minn., to donate 250 GoGirl devices to troops stationed in Southwest Asia. "The female military members protecting our country overseas often are in situations where there isn't a real restroom for miles. Though not openly recognized as an issue, it truly is an inconvenience," said Sarah Dillon, president of GoGirl. "Working with the Hopkins Elks, we saw an opportunity to empower these women with restroom freedom and flexibility through GoGirl, and realized that donating 250 devices was the least that we could do to make their lives easier."

The Tracy Elks Club's latest effort to help youngsters get into sports included a little coaching this summer from the golf pro at Old River Golf Course. This was the third of four week-long youth golf clinics hosted by the Elks and Old River. Curtis Matsuno, who teaches at Old River and coaches players as they prepare for top amateur tournaments, said he's learned that a lot of families want to get their kids into the sport. It started modestly enough when "Spanky" Rathjen, former Grand Exalted Ruler of Lodge 2031,

The Simi Valley Elks Lodge is getting in gear for for its sixth annual car show from noon to 3 p.m. Sun., Aug. 9 at the Elks Lodge, 1561 Kuehner Drive, Simi Valley. Model A and T cars, muscle cars, Mustangs, Corvettes, Chevys, Fords, motorcycles, side cars and race cars are welcome. All entries will receive a gift bag with wares and information from automotive-related companies. The car show will have no entry fee and no admission charge. Music MX will present '50s music during the show.

Smoke to clear at Elks Lodge By Paul Leighton Staff writer BEVERLY - As Arthur Denault lined up a shot at the pool table yesterday afternoon, he took a puff on his ubiquitous pipe. It's a scene that has played out for decades inside the Beverly-Salem Elks Lodge, where the 89-year-old Denault has been a member for 29 years. It's also a scene that's about to end - at least the part including Denault's pipe.

The Aripeka Elks Lodge has booked six shows at its entertainment venue in Hudson from October through March for its popular dinner show series, including a family of professional musicians, several celebrity impressionist/impersonators, a couple of solo acts, and a group of 10 singers, dancers and musicians.

DAY 2: Called out for breaking Elk rule Frank Mickadeit Columnist The Orange County Register fmickadeit@ocregister.com Comments 3 | Recommend 5 Day II: "Eleven Lodges, Eleven Nights" To get the full schedule, see other videos and read about other Elks tour stops, click here. From Newport Beach - When the day began, this venerable waterfront Elks Lodge had 990 members. By the end of the night Thursday, it had at least three new members (some of my buds) and one guy who, after evoking a public meltdown by an Elk in front of a packed house, will now never get in. (Me.) L

DAY 2: Called out for breaking Elk rule Frank Mickadeit Columnist The Orange County Register Day II: "Eleven Lodges, Eleven Nights" To get the full schedule, see other videos and read about other Elks tour stops, click here. From Newport Beach - When the day began, this venerable waterfront Elks Lodge had 990 members. By the end of the night Thursday, it had at least three new members (some of my buds) and one guy who, after evoking a public meltdown by an Elk in front of a packed house, will now never get in. (Me.) L

BRAINTREE - It took eight and a half minutes at noontime Saturday for more than 450 motor cycle riders to pull out of the old Fore River shipyard to start the second annual Joanna Mullin Motorcycle Run. The 67-mile ride was sponsored by Braintree Moose #413 and Weymouth Elks #2232. The ride across the South Shore ended at the Weymouth Elks on Washington Street.

Moose and Elks joint effort!!! It took eight and a half minutes at noontime Saturday for more than 450 motor cycle riders to pull out of the old Fore River shipyard to start the second annual Joanna Mullin Motorcycle Run. The 67-mile ride was sponsored by Braintree Moose #413 and Weymouth Elks #2232. The ride across the South Shore ended at the Weymouth Elks on Washington Street.

The summer golf calendar is filled with a myriad of benefit tournaments, but only a handful encompass such a worthy cause as the Arizona Elks Association Social Welfare Clothe-a-Child event. All the proceeds are used to purchase clothing for needy and disadvantaged children. "This is a statewide program, some of our clubs do it (donate clothes) at Christmas and some before the first day of school," said tournament chairman Becky Waer. "We do it through the schools, so it is kind of a confidential thing."