BPOElks

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.

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."

It's not often that you see dogs leaping 8-foot-tall walls, gamboling over towers of stacked metal barrels or scrambling across slatted gangplanks resembling a catwalk. But that was the case on a recent day, when Vacaville police canines completed a run of their new local training facility at Centennial Park, complete with obstacles crafted by members of the Vacaville Elks Lodge No. 2638.

Elks Club to open restaurant By Samantha Swindler / Managing Editor The Tri-County Elks Lodge is taking on a unique fundraising venture - they're planning to open a restaurant on Corbin's Main Street. K.R. Deaton, a member of the lodge's board of trustees, said the Elks are interested in opening a restaurant in the club's remodeled building at 207 North Main Street.

At the recent Elks Convention in Ontario, Gerald Babinski, Exalted Ruler of Lake Elsinore Elks Lodge #2591, donated a check in the amount of $15,669.86 to the Elks Major Project from funds raised by lodge members.

On June 19 the St. Mary's Elks Lodge 2092 held a fun, action-packed golf tournament at the PAX NAS course on Cedar Point. Some 72 plus golfers participated for fun, cash prizes and bragging rights on the gorgeous day and even more beautiful golf course. TheBAYNET.com was there to record all the fun and scenes. Take a look at the slideshow below to see your favorite golfer in action!

Napa Elks Lodge No. 832 hosted dinner for 16 high school scholarship recipients and their families. Scholarships awarded totaled $16,000. Students receiving new scholarships were graduating seniors Conor Fitzpatrick, Aaron Reich, Taylor Smith, Rylee McGill, Paige Tsai, Marco Delaroche, Spencer May, Alexandra Pearson, Craig Cybulski, Zachary Potter, Laura White, Zachary Wagner, Tayler Tildley, Angelica Mewhorter, Sierra Smith and Melissa Smith. Alex Mantor was awarded a total of $4,400 as winner of the Elks National Foundation Most Valuable Student and District 2 scholarships. Each student spoke of their academic achievements and the college they would be attending.

FAIRMONT - Elks lodges in each state of the union sponsor what they call a "major project." For more than 60 years in the state of West Virginia, this project has been to host two camps for individuals with disabilities - one in the northern part of the state and one in the southern part. "The goal of the camp is to give these individuals the chance to have as close of a normal camping experience as possible," said Taffy Hower, director of the northern camp, held this week at Camp Muffly in Morgantown. The 48 participants are involved with typical camp activities such as swimming and basketball as well as different crafts. One craft, however, has a special purpose. Throughout the week, those involved with the camp work to create a quilt. Later on in the year, the quilt is raffled off by the Elks lodges to raise money for the following year's camp.

The Palm Springs Elks Lodge 1905 will host a fundraising dinner for Guide Dogs of the Desert on Friday. Advertisement During the dinner, Guide Dogs of the Desert will be presented with the Elks National Foundation Gratitude Grant. Guide Dogs of the Desert also will give a presentation during the dinner. After dinner, musical entertainment will be presented by The Bakers. The event will take place at the Palm Springs Elks Lodge 1905, 67491 E. Palm Canyon Drive. No-host cocktail hour begins at 5 p.m. with dinner at 6 p.m. Cost for dinner is $10, with $2 from each ticket sold going to Guide Dogs of the Dese

Dear Editor: Once again this amazing community has made my life possible. Even with the tough economic times I still found gracious support from the Aspen Elks Club. I cannot thank them enough. They have been my guardian angels ever since I first asked for their help in eighth grade. I am still amazed by their continual help. They have been there for my entire life, providing me and my family with the financial aid needed to make our lives possible. Both my sister and I have been able to participate in prestigious dance intensives all over the state and country because of their aid. They have not only been there to fund my artistic dreams, but my academic ones as well. As a high school senior pursuing a college career in pre-med I was again in need of financial assistance, and they were willing and supportive again. It is because of their efforts that I am able to attend Loyola University in New Orleans. I feel truly blessed to have been consistently supported by this amazing organization. Their help has been unwavering and selfless. I would like to acknowledge their persistent and financial contributions to my life. Thank you! Katie Isaacson Aspen

An East Hanover resident pleaded guilty today to stealing from an Elks Lodge and has agreed to cooperate with the state in its prosecution of former Morris County Tax Commissioner Anthony Crecco on the same theft charges. Advertisement Konstantin ''Stan'' Belenky, 42, was publicly revealed by authorities for the first time today as the unnamed co-conspirator referred to in a state grand jury indictment returned in April against Crecco, 62, of East Hanover. Belenky, an employee of the prominent real estate appraisal firm Certified Valuations, Inc., agreed as part of his plea to give up his public jobs as municipal tax assessor in Franklin, Somerset County, and in Berkeley Heights, Union County.

The Thousand Oaks Elks Lodge will host a greet, meet and eat community barbecue from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sat., June 27 at the lodge, 158 Conejo School Road, Thousand Oaks. Members and officers of the patriotic fraternal organization will be available for facility tours and to answer questions and provide a better understanding of the role Elks play in the community. The event will also include music, Gymie-Jo clown and train rides.

HUDSON - Hudson Lodge of Elks has awarded a total of $1 million in scholarships in the past eight years, it was announced at the eighth annual Hudson Elks Awards banquet Wednesday, May 20 at Elks Hall, Park Street, Hudson. The Elks presented $60,000 in scholarships to graduating seniors from area high schools that evening.

It was a windy but sunny day at Mozingo Lake for the 2009 Elks Kids Fishing Tournament. Thirty boys and girls signed up for the event and were split into four age groups. Winners in the age 3-6 group were, first, Gabe Evelore; second, Lanae Eggers; third, Dylon Wilmes; age 7-9 group: Colton Wilmes, Caitlyn Burke and Morgan Goodridge, age 10-12 group: Elijah Greene, Emily Degase and Terrence Eckstein; age 13-14 group: Jace Stroburg and Michelle Verbick. The largest fish was a 6.55 pound catfish caught by Gabe Everlore. Bill Foster, event chairman, gave out the awards of tackle boxes and fishing rods and reels. Other Elks members helped with registration, fish weighing and cooking hot dogs for all attending.