Greetings fellow Elks! I have just returned from a very successful National Elks Convention, which was held in New Orleans July 12 – 17. It was a great honor to represent our Lodge at this annual event. In addition to attending various Elks business and educational events, Ashley and I were able to meet a great number of Elks from across our great nation. It was helpful to hear about both the challenges and successes of other Lodges and the programs in place to address them.

One particular session was dedicated to membership and public relations. It was very encouraging to see that the Elks as a whole is prepared to dedicate additional resources towards these two very important areas. In the near future, educational opportunities will be posted to the elks.org website to help local lodges create a better public relations presence. Education will include items such as documents and webinars that provide tips to increase local Lodge awareness throughout the community.

Speaking of membership, we have broken the 600 member mark for our Lodge! This is a great accomplishment that could not have been achieved without every single member’s help. Continue to strive for excellence and thank you for all the hard work you do to make our organization great!

A huge congratulation goes out to our 2014 Elks Swim Team. They finished the regular season undefeated! Another huge accomplishment for our Lodge. Thanks to the swim team committee, coaches, parents and especially the swim team participants for such hard work and dedication.

I hope to see you at the Lodge soon!

Fraternally,
Steve Martin
Exalted Ruler