The 140th Grand Lodge Convention was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, July 4th-8th. It was an honor to serve as Prescott Lodge's representative at this  meeting. Other members from Prescott Lodge attending  include J.R. Johnson PER, Mike Snyder PER, and Bill Cutshaw PER, as the Grand Lodge Chairman for the Veterans Leather program.  The Grand Lodge Convention was attended by over 7500  Elks and  guests. 

The Elks Mission Statement:
           "To inculcate the principles of Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love and Fidelity; to recognize a belief in God; to promote the welfare and enhance the happiness of its Members; to quicken the spirit of American patriotism; to cultivate good fellowship; to perpetuate itself as a fraternal organization, and to provide for its government, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the United States of America will serve the people and communities through benevolent programs, demonstrating that Elks Care and Elks Share."

     It was interesting to talk to other Exalted Rulers from across the country and find out their Lodges have some of the same challenges as our Lodge.  The  one area  where we are doing much better than most lodges is membership.  Our Order has  lost  21,000 members in the past year. The Grand Lodge's goal last year and in the coming year is have a net gain of one member per Lodge. Prescott had net gain of about 50 members  last year.

       Our Lodge won three Grand Lodge national awards in division IV. The Elks Tales, published by Dick Colvin, PER, took 3rd place.  The Youth Activities Brochure , put together by Sari Mc Quality, took 3rd place, and The Lodge Activities Brochure , put together by Yours Truly, also took a 3rd place award. Arizona Lodges did exceptionally well in national awards.  Sedona Lodge #2291, Lake Havasu City Lodge #2399, and Tucson East Lodge #2532 each  placed 1st in their division for  the prestigious "All American Lodge" Award. That's 3 Arizona Lodges of the 6 divisions.

    The "Cowboy and Indians" Dinner Dance was a great success.  My thanks goes to  Elks Ladies President Faye Tutwiler, her officers and members, for helping in this event.  By blending our efforts, lodge events have become more successful.

     Our next event will be the Corn Fest Dinner Dance on the 14th of August. Includes all you an eat Young's Farm Corn.  Get your tickets early.  Music will provided by BC Chips.

     Planning for the Golf Tournament  is coming along, however volunteers are still needed for the largest event ever held by prescott Lodge, the L. Cedric Austin - Arizona Elks Association State Charity Golf Tournament, September 11th and 12th.  As this is a labor intensive undertaking we will need many volunteers to make this event a success.  Golf Tournament planing meetings are being held at the lodge, check the calendar or contact Ron Martinson, for more detailed information. Thank you for getting involved.

     According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Esprit de Corps: “A common spirit of comradeship, enthusiasm, and devotion to a cause among the members of a group.”

         July 2004 Elks Tales

     The Arizona Elks Association held it's 89th Annual Meeting in Phoenix May 12-15 at the Crown Plaza. It was an honor to meet the Grand Exalted Ruler Amos A. McCallum and the new AEA President Peter Gillespie. Everyone was talking about the Charity Golf Tournament we are hosting in September. Prescott Lodge received awards for Drug Awareness, 1st Place Division III, Richard Marley Chairman 03-04. Our Lodge also received a Public Relations Award from the AEA for Outstanding Website. (prescottelks.org).  Two awards were won by Rachel Williams a local student,  for the Americanism Essay Contest submitted by our Lodge, Dave Tutwiler, PER, Chairman. And, for the second year in a row, The Elks Tales, published by Dick Colvin, PER, took 3rd place nationally, this year in Division IV.Prescott Lodge has raised and presented  a check for  $1647 to Arizona Elks Association Major Projects. AEA Major Projects include the "Arizona Elks Clinic for Children and Young Adults"  and "Arizona Elk's Youth Camp located in the Sierra Ancha Mountains in north/east Arizona. The Youth Camp Cabin on our bar raised $154 of that amount.

     On June 13th, 2004 the officers of Prescott Lodge will perform our annual Flag Day Ceremony at  Prescott VA Medical Center Theater Building #15. The Elks were the first organization to officially honor our Flag and require all Lodges to do so. Old Glory, as it is affectionately called, is our national symbol of freedom. Elks take pride in displaying and honoring our Flag as a result, we have a very beautiful, dignified and impressive ceremony that not only demonstrates our patriotism but also honors all those veterans who sacrificed so much, to protect our people and our freedoms. Please in invite friends and family and show the pride Elks have in their flag and country.

     We are starting off the year very strong. The Spring Fling Dinner Dance was a complete sell out (18 tables) and a great time was had by all. The Mothers Day Ceremony had record attendance and the Past Exalted Rules served 143 brunches for Mom and guests. Our thanks to Elks Ladies President Faye Tutwiler, her officers and members for helping us with the Dinner Dances and Lodge functions. Moon Dance will again be performing on June 12th for Fifties Theme Dinner/Dance. Get your tickets early this should be another sell out.

       According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Esprit de Corps: “A common spirit of comradeship, enthusiasm, and devotion to a cause among the members of a group.”

       A sincere thank you to Phil Beeson for suggesting this as the motto for the Elk Year. It is very appropriate as this year the Elks and Elks Ladies will be working together on all of our lodge activities. Elks Ladies President Faye Tutwiler, her officers and members, have agreed to help us with the Dinner Dances and Lodge functions. The Ladies will conduct raffles at these events, benefiting their charitable programs. By blending our efforts, lodge events will become more successful. May will be a very active month at our lodge. On May 8th, our annual Youth Awards Day will be held in the Lodge Room at 1:00 p.m. Please come and support our recognition to the outstanding young people in our community as they receive awards for their accomplishments. The next day, Sunday, May 9th at 10:00 a.m. our Officers will be dressed in their finest summer formal attire, honoring the most important person in our lives, “Our Mother”. This a stirring ceremony that will certainly bring a tear to your eye. Following the tribute to Mothers, the Past Exalted Rulers will present a Champagne Bunch. No charge for Mom, all others only $8.00. Our chef, Michael, will provide a tasty spread to make Mom happy. This brunch is in addition to the regular PER brunch on May 2nd. Castle Golf Drug Awareness Youth Day is May 20th. Esteemed Lecturing Knight, Sari McQuality, Youth Activities Chairperson needs our help in making this annual event another success. Do contact Sari, or the office regarding details on how you may help. This event will take only three short hours from your afternoon. May 22nd is the Armed Forces Day Dinner Dance. Bring in those old photos to show everyone what you looked like while proudly serving our country.

     A special tribute to Dave and Marla Weissert for their years of work and dedication to our Lodge. Dave served as Esteemed Lecturing Knight,Esteemed Leading Knight and House Committee Chairman. He received the honor of being named Officer of the year in 2002-2003. We remember that Dave was our Lodge Photographer when we look at the “Photo Album” on our lodge web site. Marla served as Elks Ladies President and was the Leading Knights Lady. She received two distinguished awards: Citizen of the Year and Elk of the Year.Our sincere thank you to Dave and Marla. We wish them the best on their move to Payson.