Author: Elks #652

Annual elections of officers are held during the month of February each year. This year is no
exception in spite of the COVID pandemic. We, as Elks, need to carry on with our philanthropic
ideals. A big part of that is the Officer Corps of every Lodge. The Officers conduct the ritualistic
initiation that we all take before becoming a member, but that’s not all they do. The Exalted
Ruler is the Chief Executive Officer of the Lodge, making daily decisions that affect each of us
as members. The Leading Knight is the second in command, taking over in the absence of the
Exalted Ruler. He or she also stands ready to hear the cry of affliction and to aid those in
destress. The other Chair Officers have duties, such as, managing the Major Project (Purple
Pig), and the Elks National Foundation (ENF). Both are the charity parts of Elkdom. The Lodge
Secretary and Lodge Treasurer are stand alone officers with duties as defined in the Statutes.
Every Exalted Ruler (ER) who completes their year becomes a Past Exalted Ruler (PER). The
PER’s act as mentors to the Officer Corps and the Lodge in general. Eureka has a very diverse
PER Association. Many have gone on to become State (CHEA) and National Officers, such as
Association Vice Presidents or District Deputy Grand Exalted Rulers. Officers that are often not
thought of are the Lodge Trustees. There are five of them that make up the Board of Trustees.
The Board of Trustees is responsible for the assets of the Lodge (the money and property).
They are the ones who put the budget together, keep and eye on it, and manage the property.
Being an officer is sometimes demanding of time and energy, but it is always rewarding.

Nominations for the following Offices will be accepted on February 3, 2021. Exalted Ruler,
Leading Knight, Loyal Knight, Lecturing Knight and Tiler as Chair Officers. Two Trustee
positions will be up for election. The Secretary and Treasurer are also up for election annually.
Nominations will be accepted in writing from those who are attending via Zoom because of the
COVID situation. Naturally, masks and social distancing are required. Traditionally, the Chair
Officers move up in rank as there is rarely a contested election. The Chaplain, Esquire and
Inner Guard are appointed by the incoming Exalted Ruler. Nominations are closed at the end of
the meeting unless no one is nominated for a particular office. Nominees are elected by
ascension if only one nominee is presented. Elections if an office is contested are held by secret
ballot the following meeting in February. The PER’s run the first meeting in February.

Fraternally, Brad Smith, PDDGER, Lodge Secretary

Please note that the lodge will be closed whenever Humboldt County is placed in the Purple COVID tier. Please check before visiting.

Hello members,

As you know we are in the red zone now. While we are in this zone, we will be open for dinner Wednesday, Friday, and some Sundays. In order to
protect our members, during this time the Elks Lodge will only be allowing members, no guests. This is to protect our member the best we can!
Please check your calendars to see what is on the menu. The bar will be open during meals only! Unfortunately, at this time we are limited to 80 people in dining room. ALL TO GO ORDERS ARE WELCOME! Please make reservations by 5pm the night before. Please remember to speak clearly, with your name, phone number, party number, and whether you would like your meal to go or for dining in. You can make dinner reservations by calling the lodge 442-6652, press 2 for reservations, then simply follow the prompts for the specific night you would like to attend. If you need any help or have any questions please feel free to call me. Thank you!

December 12th we will be having the Drive Thru Kids Christmas Party! Santa is going to be here to hand out gifts! Each child will receive a gift bag with cookies, a gift, and a craft project. Be sure to sign up your kids, grandkids, and/or great-grand kids! Santa will be here from 11am-1pm. Please sign up by December 5th! Don’t forget to include their name, gender, and age!!

December 20th is the Annual Elks Christmas Dinner! We will be having baked ham with all the trimmings! Reservations are a must, please call early! 442-6652 **Just a reminder the lodge will be closed December 24th -25th.**

December 27th my crew and I will be doing an old fashion fried chicken dinner at5pm!

December 31st we will be having a News Year’s prime rib dinner $35. Afterwards, we’ll celebrate with party favors and a champagne toast!! Come
celebrate New Year’s at the lodge with us!

*Due to the unfortunate circumstances, we will be rescheduling the memorial service!*
Sending my best wishes for Christmas and New Years,
Kathy Payne, Exalted Ruler

Eureka Elks Lodge Veterans Committee secured the Beacon Grant to provide several high need Veterans with local “Food for People” food boxes along with a meal box from the Eureka Elks Lodge Veterans Committee. These boxes contained several non-perishable goods such as pasta, canned tuna, macaroni and cheese, oatmeal, along with many other dry goods. The Eureka Elks Lodge Veterans Committee meal box contained a meal for a family of 4 which included pasta, pasta sauce, a fresh salad, fresh bread and dessert. These boxes were distributed via a drive thru process where Veterans pre-registered and showed up the day of the event to claim their two “Food for People” boxes and their meal box. Veterans who had restrictions (i.e. no transportation or home bound) had their boxes safely delivered by the Eureka Elks Lodge Veterans Committee members or other Veterans organizations such as a Veteran partner like the Eureka Vets Center. Veterans were also given a resource bag that had items such as the local food bank and other organizations that support our Veterans in need. Veterans who also had not yet received a flu shot could also do so with the convenience of a local VA staff and staff
nurse available onsite as well. This event serviced over forty Veterans.

Casey Stephens, US Army Retired, Veterans’ Committee Chairman

The last Roamer outing for 2020 was at Benbow/KOA Park on November 6-8. Roamers enjoyed for good food, campfires and good fellowship. The Roamers will start in person meetings on the first Wednesday of each month if CDC Guidelines have been lifted for large meetings. If not, we will still be collecting Toys for Tots. You may drop an unwrapped toy off at the Elks Lodge by December 2. Thank you! Please stay safe, wash your hands, wear your mask, and practice social distancing. Happy Trails to You!

Dale A. Stockly, Wagon Master

I like to welcome our newest members: Jim Finney, Jaden Herkert, Cheryl Johnson, Kimberly Herkert, Laraine Ryner, Jack Brow and Barbara Fields, who were initiated Wednesday, November 18th. We were holding our own financially, but the latest COVID restriction will close us down except for meal times. We need member support. Please come by for dinner on Friday, Sunday, and Wednesday nights, or order “To Go” and take it home. These meals are
helping out a lot. Naturally, social distancing and face masks are required any time you are in the Lodge. The card tables and pool tables are closed. These restrictions are necessary as long as the County is in the red tier. The Lodge will close entirely when or if we go into the purple tier.

I want to thank those who are remaining members in spite of the COVID. It’s important to remember that this COVID crisis will end sometime in the not too far off future, and maintaining an active membership is important for you and your Lodge. It looks like a vaccine will be available in the spring, which should ease the restrictions.

I am pleased to report that many of our members will be receiving their Herd Talk via email from now on. This saves the Lodge a lot of money in postal and printing expenses. It also saves two day of labor for a team of volunteers that fold and label the paper Herd Talk. Additionally, it gives the Lodge a way to let our members know what is happening on a weekly basis by giving us a method of instantly communicating calendar changes, etc. Please, give us permission to use your email address for Elk business if you haven’t already done so by completing this form, and returning it to the Lodge. Your email address will remain confidential and only be used for Elk business.

Brad Smith , PER, PDDGER, Lodge Secretary

We had a visit from the DDGER Randy Logan and his wife Jackie. He said he felt we were doing a great job trying to keep things going during the COVID-19 disaster.

The Blood Drive on September 2nd was very successful. We had 26 people donate blood. Good job everyone!

I appreciate the members that paid their dues after the last Herd Talk. I am asking again to please pay them if you can as it would help your Lodge out. We will be cooking a Prime Rib dinner on October 9th. This dinner will be $25.00. We are limited to 50% of our seating so please call early for your reservations. On Sunday, October 18th I will be cooking a Fried Chicken dinner. The cost will be $15.00. I hope to see you there.

A great big Thank You is warranted to all the volunteers who have helped to keep our Lodge open—this includes cooks, waiters, bartenders, cleaning and set up crews, and all who contribute to the Herd Talk. Thank you! Thank you!

If you would like to help in any way, call Kathy at 834-6612.

When you come to the Lodge, please use hand sanitizer. We check temperatures. You must wear face coverings and maintain social distancing. Finally stay healthy; we will get through this together. I hope to see you soon.

Kathy Payne, Exalted Ruler
“Get ’er Done and Let’s Have Fun.”

September has come and gone. We had a great visit from our DDGER Randy Logan and the Car Show fundraiser was a lot of fun. I want to thank everyone who came out and participated or helped at the event. I want to thank all the volunteers. We can’t put on all these dinners and events without your help and support. I and your lodge thank you VERY MUCH! Some of our long-time helpers are “retiring” or stepping down from volunteering, and rightfully so, as they have worked many long hard hours for our lodge. If you feel you can help the lodge in any way please sign up to be part of a fun team of volunteers that support the lodge and contribute to making #652 the amazing lodge that it is. October is E.N.F. month and we will be having our big Oktoberfest on Saturday the 24th, so come on down and enjoy the fun and food. There will be a costume contest, 50/50 raffle and prizes. Jim Kloss, our Loyal Knight, is our new E.N.F. chairman. If you want to help him or have any ideas for E.N.F. fundraising please reach out to him. 2020 has been hard on everyone with Covid-19 and all the fires, but our community is strong and resilient. Together we can get through this. The lodge is coming back strong. We have more and more people coming back for dinners and events. We are a big lodge and have plenty of room for social distancing so come out for dinner and drinks, spend a little money, or better yet volunteer and get a complimentary dinner.

Scott Reinsmith, Leading Knight, Major Projects