September is in the books and it was impressive to see all of the great energy from pool season continue past Labor Day. We had huge turnouts at some of our most important events and there are a lot of people to thank for that.

On September 9th, we held our first Annual Disabled Veterans Car Show at the Oak Hollow Mall. Tim Hight chaired this event and it was a tremendous success. We had nearly 50 cars on display, a great turnout from the public and a tremendous amount of volunteers that helped to make this a success. We raised nearly $2000 for the disabled veterans. Tim and his wife Lindy did an unbelievable job in coordinating everything and represented our Lodge in the best way! We still have t-shirts available for sale in the Lounge for $15.00. Please pick one of them up!

Our NFL tailgate on September 10th had perfect weather and the largest turnout that I have ever seen in my 12 years of being a Member. Lots of hands were working early and late to make sure the TVs and tents were up along with all of the other preparations to ensure a great day was had by all. In addition to the House Committee folks I’d like to thank Tom Day, Doug Orcutt, Tom Adams, Stewart McGlaughlin & Tom Connolly who volunteered their time (and TVs) to make sure this was a special day for us. If I missed someone, I am sorry! There were lots of folks on-hand chipping in so thank you all!

Our annual Drawdown on September 19th was another huge success. This is our largest fundraiser and critically important to our finances and our ability to balance our budget. I’m pleased to announce that we did make our goal and a lot of thanks goes to many individuals. To all those that bought tickets, thank you! To all those that sold tickets, thank you! Special thanks goes to Shari Driscoll, our esteemed Lodge Secretary who chairs this event and worked countless hours and pored over every little detail to make sure the night was fun and successful. Tom Connolly did a great job (as always) as our emcee. Thanks to our Super 7 folks who committed to selling seven tickets and they all did just that (over 25 Members!). I’d like to recognize those four members who sold at least 20 tickets each (no small feat). Joe Foley: 20 tickets sold. Gary “Hutch” Hutchins: 25 tickets sold. Stewart McGlaughlin: 28 tickets sold. And our top seller: Mark “Vern” Vernon with a whopping 30 tickets sold. Great job gentlemen! We couldn’t have done it without you!

Thank you to Russell “Daz” Pallaci and his wife Nicole who hosted our 70s/80s Bash upstairs on September 23rd. We had a great turnout. The costumes were awesome, the DJ spun some of our favorite tunes from that era and a good time was had by all. Putting on events like this requires a lot of promotion and attention to detail. Thank you Daz and Nicole for volunteering your time to put on another great event for our Lodge!

October is sure to be another fun filled month with events throughout. Please continue to check our website, Facebook and your weekly e-blast to stay updated.

Finally, congratulations to Tim Hight on being named our September Elk of the Month.

Fraternally yours,
Bob Gold, Jr.
Exalted Ruler