Category Archives: Blog

Share’n is Care’n

As Elks, our members are never forgotten, never forsaken.  In these uncertain times Elks remember this obligation and step up to help their fellow members, give them hope and fellowship, possibly a helping hand if so needed.

We are lucky here at Ballard Elks Lodge #827, years ago our wonderful member Sharon Goochey created the Share’n is Care’n fund that still exists today to help our members in need.  It’s now that we are truly thankful for Sharon’s foresight.

SHARE’N – Send Help And Resources Elk Nation

The original mission Statement –

Sharon pictured center

To help Ballard Elks Members in sickness or distress.  The goal is ‘ease of day,’ meaning, how can we help make someone’s day easier while they are dealing with their current situation?  This could be meal deliveries, cab rides to doctor appointments, small household projects, help with errands, etc.

It is now that we need your help to honor Sharon’s foresight and reinvigorate this amazing program – if for nothing more than a phone call from a fellow member giving hope and kindness.

We need a minimum of 20 members to step up and offer to help contact each and every one of our members, say hello, have a conversation, ask what they need and how they can get help or how they can give help to their fellow Elks.

Logistics –

  • Directly contact by phone (preferably) or email our 2000+ members. Contact information will be provided to you by the committee organizer.
    • With 20 members helping that is approximately 100 phone calls each – no matter where they live.
    • Make a record of your contact and what they need or can offer
      • Need a phone call back to chat
      • Need a lawn mowed
      • Need something delivered from the store
      • Can help someone with
      • Can offer financial assistance if needed
    • Follow through with what they need or can offer to it’s end.  You don’t have to do it yourself but you will need to make an effort to find someone that can do it or connect the member with someone they can help.
    • Follow up with everyone regularly through these tough times
    • Build the fellowship in our membership through your efforts.

This will be time consuming, but your efforts will be rewarding.

The Share’n is Care’n committee is re-instituted and we need 20+ members for our working committee and committee Chair(s).  If you want to run this program or help out we need  you to say so.

No Member is Alone

Can You Help?

Please contact Ben Braden at benjaminbraden@aol.com to get on board today.

Our Past Exalted Ruler Association

We’re completing our first year!  The Ballard Past Exalted Ruler Association, in the process of being reborn, is now coming up on its first complete year of meetings and activities in longer than any of us can remember.  A significant achievement and one our lodge and fellow Elks are beginning to see a benefit from.

Our association now has Continue reading →

What the heck is the Fraternal Committee?

An often heard question and something as the chairman of the committee I have to remind myself exactly what it is on a regular basis – you are not alone in that question.

To paraphrase section 13.022 of our Grand Lodge Statutes;

The Fraternal Committee shall implement the patriotic activities planned by the Grand Lodge. It shall handle the arrangements for Flag Day services. It shall secure applications for membership in the Order, conduct a planned program for Orientation, indoctrination and investigate the character of all applicants for membership and reinstatement.  Furthermore, it shall investigate and report on all delinquencies, encourage Members to pay their dues and promote the reinstatement of lapsed Members.

It shall implement the activities program of the Lodge, its State Association, and the Grand Lodge. It shall Arrange for the observance of Elks Memorial Day.  It shall publicize the Elks National Foundation, its programs, activities, and charities, it shall encourage and solicit contributions, and recognize all gifts made to the Foundation. It shall implement the program of the Elks National Veterans Service Commission.

That my fellow Elks is a lot of stuff!  Think of the fraternal committee is as a tree with its roots grounded in our Grand Lodge and our lodge being the trunk that’s reaching upward and with each branch representing our various sub-committees extending out into the membership and our community.  The tree doesn’t exist without its roots – its life and direction from our Grand Lodge Statutes and Programs.  Without a solid trunk, our lodge, the branches are left with nothing to support them and all they want to do. Without vibrant and active branches and leaves reaching out and creating the energy needed to continue the efforts of the roots and trunk the tree fails over time and falls back into the ground from which it came.

So here’s the thing – your lodge needs your help to make sure the branches and leaves are as vibrant as they can possibly be.  The Fraternal Chair can do little more than help each of these committees succeed, there is simply too much to do.    There is no way one person could do all that is needed in each committee.

Each committee can do oh so many great things, but only if they had enough members filling the committee positions.  Some of our committees are doing great work and have large groups of members helping them out – but they can always use more.  Many of our committees have just one or two members and these committees could do so much more with your help.  A few of our committees lack any member at all to do the great things they could be doing – these leafless branches are not contributing to the vibrancy of our lodge and need your help.

Please talk with me about how you can get involved and help make this place more amazing than it already is.

Ben Braden
Fraternal Chair
fraternal@ballardelks.org

Committee opportunities and manuals can be found here: http://ballardelks.org/get-involved/the-fraternal-committee/

 

Elk of the Month!

Our new Elks year is upon us and our first Elk of the Month recipient is now eligible for Elk of the year 2019-2020.  But it’s not just one person – continuing upon last month’s group recipients we would like to start off our year by recognizing the efforts of two members who month after month, year after year motivate those around them to have fun at our lodge, to volunteer their time each and every month to help out and top it all off with working year round on a project that brings our lodge recognition in our community and supports our youth and their families.

These two members bring in hundreds of members for an evening of challenging questions and comradery with the monthly Taco’s and Trivia event.  They finagle their family and friends to join them at the lodge towards the end of each month to fold and label the hundreds of newsletters that go out to our members and they take the time each and every year to decide upon our lodges Most Valuable Student Scholarship recipients and organize them receiving their scholarships at the yearly dinner event.These two members produce events and make the volunteer efforts that checks all the boxes of Elkdom.  They raise money for charity through trivia, the help our members receive the news they need to be involved and then help our lodge give out money directly to the deserving youth of our community – their efforts epitomize all that is good in Elkdom

Kelly Jones and Cindy Peterson – Thank you!  As a team and through your efforts you are helping build the fun in Ballard and giving meaning to both your membership and the membership of every other member of our lodge by using that fun and your efforts to build our charitable giving to our community.  Well done and thank you.

Monthly Elk of the Month Award recipients not only get this article in the Antlers Newsletter & Online, they receive a $12 gift certificate to our social quarters, an Elk of the Month certificate to pin on their wall and are in the running for Elk of the Year, awarded at the Officer Installation Dinner each year. You can find the nomination form on our website (ballardelks.org), fill it out as best you can and get it to our Past Exalted Ruler Association before the 19th of each month – 827per@ballardelks.org

Membership Awards!

Grand Exalted Ruler Membership Awards

Another group of Grand Exalted Ruler Membership Award pins of the 2018/2019 Elks year have been earned!

We are honored to recognize our member’s efforts in bringing our community into the walls of our great lodge and strengthening the Great Heart of Elkdom by proposing new members to our lodge and benevolent society and then seeing these members through to initiation and finally membership in our order.

Below are three members that our Grand Exalted Ruler Micheal T. Luhr and your lodge membership committee would like to thank and congratulate for meeting and some exceeding the membership award goal of bringing in 3 new or reinstated members to our order.

By bringing our community members within our walls you help build the stepping stone needed to enable our lodge to create our Grand Exalted Rulers vision that “Working Together To Make A Difference” and have it become a reality

These awards will be presented at our April 23rd lodge meeting.

Our Ballard Elks Lodge Member’s Receiving a Grand Exalted Ruler Membership Award From Initiation in the 2018/2019 Grand Exalted Ruler’s Year

    • Mary Lynn Bogdanovich – 3 pins for bringing in 9 new members (6 pins & a watch this year have been earned by Mary Lynn)
    • Julia Weisenburger – 1 pin for bringing in 3 new members
    • Grims Gislason – 1 pin for bringing in 3 new members

These pins will be presented at the Lodge meeting April 23rd – please be in attendance to help congratulate our members!

Grand Exalted Ruler Award pins are earned for any combination of 3 new or reinstated members.  One pin for every three members proposed and initiated during the Grand Exalted Rulers year.  A Grand Exalted Ruler Award watch is earned for any combination of 11 new or reinstated members. Congratulations & Thank you!

 

Ballard Wins!

Each month we receive a newsletter (not to be confused with the Magazine) from Grand Lodge filled with some informative and inspirational articles from our Grand Lodge officers and committee chairs.

If you’ve not read it before, you find them all online here at elks.org.

Wouldn’t you know it as you cruise through page one and read about some tips from our Grand Exalted Ruler, learn about prescription drug take-back day and get educated on some housekeeping items you scroll down to page 2 and what do you find there?

Ballard Elks a 5 star winner for the national website contest!

Well done to all the people that have worked and continue to work on our lodge website. One of many avenues we use to get information to our members and helps us have more fun at our lodge. Website, facebook, instagram, twitter, newsletter, elks.org virtual home page – you name it we are doing it and doing it well. Do you want to help out with any of these items? We need your help. Send an email to volunteer@ballardelks.org and ask!

It’s Game Time!

The Membership Committee is planning a new game incorporated into our Antlers Newsletter.  Members who actually read the monthly lodge newsletter might find their membership number hidden somewhere inside. When the member finds their number, the member comes to the next Lodge meeting to collect $25 in person, in cash.  The pot builds if it’s not claimed each month to a maximum of $300!

  • Only can be claimed at the next Lodge meeting after a newsletter is printed.  Generally the second Tuesday of the month after a newsletter comes out unless there is only one meeting in the next month, (July, August & December)
  • You must be present at the meeting to win.

How it works: a member number will be chosen at the second Tuesday of the month Lodge meeting by our Esquire. ((28311)) It will be recorded and then sent to the newsletter editing team to be hidden somewhere in the text of any article in the Antlers newsletter for the month after the number was drawn.  If you see your number in the newsletter bring it and yourself to the next lodge meeting after the newsletter was printed to claim your prize – and don’t forget your membership card!  You need to be a member in good standing to attend the meeting and therefore to claim the prize.

We’ve hidden a membership number in this text as an example. Did you find it?

The goal is to encourage members to receive the lodge newsletter, read the Newsletter and attend a meeting (even if it’s the only meeting of the year they attend to claim their prize!).  Below is the email activity report from the February 2019 Antlers Newsletter that was emailed out on January 30th, 2019.  Notice that over 1500 emails went out yet the newsletter was only opened to be read by 213 members that received it.  We have to be able to do better than 213! Conversely know that the newsletter was printed and mailed out to almost 500 members at an average cost of $1.20/member.  Affording to mail it everyone is a tremendous cost to the lodge so we appreciate those that receive it by email and are hoping to find an exciting way to get them read.

Learn more about the Antlers Newsletter by following this link.

Read past newsletters – Change how you receive the newsletter – Submit articles & pictures

Mary Lynn Bogdanovich (her idea)

& the Ballard Lodge Membership Committee

Elk of the Month!

Elk of the Month – We love having members nominate their fellow members for the Elk of the Month Award and this month we have a long time member of 13 years being nominated by a fellow member for the consistent behind the scenes work this member has been doing for years.

This member recently stepped away from one of the many behind the scenes tasks she does around the lodge and our eyes were opened to all she has helped with and continues to help with on a regular basis

Lorraine (Lorie) Ferguell is one of those steady and reliable volunteers who shows up for the essential jobs that just have to be done every month.   She has been working with our lodge secretary for years taking money and getting people registered on interview nights.  She’s been maintaining an email list to send out Antlers every month.  Involving not just keeping a list available, but chasing down email addresses that bounce back because they were illegible or changed, adding new contacts each month, and battling with the email server data limits to allow the high volume of emails to go through.  Lorie is consistently ready to help and has capable hands for whatever little tasks need doing around the office or around the Lodge.  At a recent candidate interview night, she got a rag and crawled under the lobby display table to dust because she could see it needed it!  She also noticed that it would be really nice to have a wall clock in the lobby on interview nights, so she went out and found a nice one and got it put up.

Lorie is a warm and friendly face at all the Lodge events, and her ‘get ‘er done’ attitude really helps things run smoothly in everything she tackles.

Lorraine Ferguell’s consistent efforts year after year shows us, once again, that there is no more important person at an Elk Lodge than the member.  We, as a lodge, cannot continue to function at a high level without our members volunteering their time and doing the hard work that keeps our lodge open for everyone to have fun at.  This is exactly the kind of active and engaged member that deserves the Elk of the Month Award.  Thank you for all you do Lorie – keep up the great work!

Monthly Elk of the Month Award recipients not only get this article in the Antlers Newsletter & Online, they receive a $12 gift certificate to our social quarters, an Elk of the Month certificate to pin on their wall and are in the running for Elk of the Year, awarded at the Officer Installation Dinner each year. You can find the nomination form on our website (ballardelks.org), fill it out as best you can and get it to our Past Exalted Ruler Association before the 19th of each month – 827per@ballardelks.org

Thespian Elks Wanted!

Do you want to have some fun with fellow Elks?

Do you enjoy acting, meeting new people and going to fun places?

Do you enjoy competition and want to represent your lodge?

If you answered yes to the above questions We Want You to help us create the Ballard Elks Lodge #827 Ritual Team.  Positions from coach & choreographer to acting positions of Exalted Ruler, Lecturing/Loyal/Leading Knights, Esquire, Chaplain, Inner Guard, fundraising and more are needed.

We are creating this from scratch – all positions are needed

Let’s have some fun at the lodge and create a ritual team to represent us at district, regional, state and national competitions.  Enjoy our initiation ritual, connect your talents with our lodge, build pride in your membership and create pride in your fellow members by you competing for our lodge at ritual competitions.

Contact our Exalted Ruler or Past Exalted Rulers to learn more and say yes to represent our lodge in ritual competitions – Ben Braden, Past Exalted Ruler (benjaminbraden@aol.com)

Membership Awards!

Grand Exalted Ruler Membership Awards

Another group of Grand Exalted Ruler Membership Award pins of the 2018/2019 Elks year have been earned!

We are honored to recognize our member’s efforts in bringing our community into the walls of our great lodge and strengthening the Great Heart of Elkdom by proposing new members to our lodge and benevolent society and then seeing these members through to initiation and finally membership in our order.

Below are four members that our Grand Exalted Ruler Micheal T. Luhr and your lodge membership committee would like to thank and congratulate for meeting and some exceeding the membership award goal of bringing in 3 new or reinstated members to our order.

By bringing our community members within our walls you help build the stepping stone needed to enable our lodge to create our Grand Exalted Rulers vision that “Working Together To Make A Difference” and have it become a reality

These awards were presented at the regular lodge meeting on February 12th, 2019.

Our Ballard Elks Lodge Member’s Receiving a Grand Exalted Ruler Membership Award From Initiation in the 2018/2019 Grand Exalted Ruler’s Year

Mary Lynn and Joe pictured receiving their membership pins
  • Mary Lynn Bogdanovich (her third pin)
  • Joe Tiffany, Past Exalted Ruler
  • Scott Radford
  • Jean Lehman

Our Ballard Elks Lodge Member’s Receiving a Grand Exalted Ruler Membership Award From Initiation in the 2018/2019 Grand Exalted Ruler’s Year

Mary Lynn receiving her Membership Award Watch
  • Mary Lynn Bogdanovich
    • Received an Elks watch for bringing in 11 new members during the Grand Exalted Rulers term in office.

Grand Exalted Ruler Award pins (pictured above) are earned for any combination of 3 new or reinstated members.  One pin for every three members.  A Grand Exalted Ruler Award watch is earned for any combination of 11 new or reinstated members. Congratulations & Thank you!