Tag: Exalted Ruler

It’s hard to believe that we’re Marching into the end of one year and into another in the world of Elkdom. My thanks goes out to so many that it would fill this Herd Talk. At the beginning of the year, my theme was “Together, we’re Elks.” My hope was that we would form a lodge-wide team to provide the best Elks Lodge for our members. From our chair officers, the Board of Trustees, our House Committee and many other member-volunteers, I feel this was accomplished. The dedication, time and energy spent by all these volunteers has been unbelievable! Volunteers will be honored at our Volunteer Appreciation Dinner on Sunday, March 3rd, at 5:00 pm. I hope you’ll join us.

To keep our lodge running at full efficiency, we need to constantly watch our income and expenses while remaining fair and competitive. To this end, there will be slight increases in certain wines, champagnes and well drinks. The last time any price increases occurred at the bar was eight years ago. This will go into effect on Sunday, March 31st. Thank you for your patience.
Finally, it has been a pleasure serving as your Exalted Ruler this past year. A big thanks goes out to my wife and your first lady, Karen. Her patience and perseverance has been unsurpassed.

Dennis Hunter, Exalted Ruler

February is the shortest month of the year, but it’s one of the most active in our lodge. Please take the time to read this issue of Herd Talk for a calendar of events. I hope you get the opportunity to join us.

On Wednesday, February 6th, our lodge meeting is very important. This is the night where nominations for next year’s officers and Board of Trustees are accepted on the lodge floor. If you are interested in becoming a Trustee or a Chair Officer in the next Elk year (April 1, 2019 through March 31, 2020), please let us know. If there is more than one nomination for a position, an election will follow at our February 20th meeting.

Last month, we had the honor of serving Wednesday night dinners to Coast Guard members and their families. It was a small way for our lodge to say thank you for serving our community. Also thanks go to Redwood News and the Times-Standard for excellent publicity on these dinners.

Our Veterans Committee Chair and Chaplain, Casey Stephens, represented the lodge in Blue Lake where the play “Radio Man” depicted various Veterans in their return from combat. Our lodge made a financial donation to the production of this very moving drama. Well done, Veterans Committee! And, thanks to our members for approving this donation.

Looking ahead: Sunday, March 3rd, we honor our volunteers who have worked so hard throughout the year to make the lodge enjoyable for you, your family and guests. Officers will be serving dinner so please plan on attending and help us

say thank you. Together, we’re Elks!
Dennis Hunter, Exalted Ruler

Let me be among the first to wish you a very happy New Year! This is always the time of year we all make New Year’s Resolutions. Some of them we keep, others fall by the wayside. But, I hope you make and keep a resolution to come on out and enjoy your lodge. We’ll have all kinds of activities that you and your family can enjoy.

Here’s another resolution I hope you’ll make: to become a volunteer at the lodge. We need more cooks in the kitchen, more bartenders behind the bar and more who can help serve meals, be cashiers, take tickets at events, and tile the door. Remember, this is your lodge. Together, we can all make it even more successful and more enjoyable for our fellow Elk members.

We want to continue to make improvements to your lodge. There is an E.R. Suggestion Box in the hallway outside of the Clerk’s office. Please feel free to write any suggestions and I’ll pass them along to our House Committee and to our Board of Trustees.

Finally, make a resolution to take part in our events. This month, enjoy the Weekend in the Redwoods on January 11th through 13th where you can meet Elks
from other lodges. Then, we’ll have a visit from our State President-Elect Tim Jaeger on Saturday, January 26th where you can win some valuable prizes. Be sure to read the Herd Talk and “like” us on Facebook for more details on these and other upcoming events.

Together, we’re Elks! Here’s to 2019!
Dennis Hunter, Exalted Ruler

As we turn the calendar to November, let’s remember our Veterans and all the sacrifices they have made and are making to ensure our freedom. Take the time to thank a Veteran! And, this is the month for Thanksgiving – to be thankful for our families and our Elks family. On Sunday, November 18th, we’re having a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for all those who won’t be able to have dinner on Thanksgiving Day. Officers and volunteers of the lodge will be cooking and serving. For those who need a ride to the lodge, let us know. Other November events are listed elsewhere in this edition of Herd Talk.

Because of the November holidays, we have moved a regular lodge meeting. We normally meet on the first and third Wednesdays of every month. The third Wednesday happens to be the day before Thanksgiving, so we moved it to the following week. Therefore, in November, our regular lodge business meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 7th, and a regular business meeting and initiation of new members will be held on Wednesday, November 28th. Refer to the calendar elsewhere in this Herd Talk for times and details.

Please remember that the office is closed from noon until 12:30 pm Monday through Friday. Another issue we’re working on is the problem of people moving “reserve” signs after they are set on dining room tables. These tables are set for the amount of people who have made reservations to sit at these tables. Please do not move these signs once they are set. If you need more than one table, please let us know and we’ll try to seat you all together. We want to accommodate your wishes, but need to make sure other members have room as well.

Recently, at our District’s Leadership Conference in Ukiah, we received the honor of hosting the 2019 District Jamboree in August, 2019. What a way to show off our beautiful lodge to the rest of the District and to show them a Humboldt County good time!
As the holidays are now upon us, take part in as many lodge events as you can. Together, we’re Elks!
Dennis Hunter, Exalted Ruler

As the year 2018 heads into its final quarter, we enter an extremely busy and fun time of the year at our lodge. Starting with our annual Oktoberfest on October 6th, we have many activities planned over the next few months. The success of Eureka Elks Lodge #652 is totally tied to our volunteers. All meals are prepared and served by volunteers. The "adult beverages" you enjoy are served by volunteer bartenders. When you enter the lodge for an event, you’re greeted by volunteer door tilers. And, volunteer cashiers and ticket takers are there to accept payments by you and your guests.

We need your help. Please take the opportunity to volunteer for your lodge. Training for cashiers and ticket takers will take place on Tuesday, October 9th at 6:00 pm and training for door tilers will take place on Thursday, October 11th, at
6:00 pm. We’re asking that all cashiers, ticket takers and door tilers, experienced or not, attend their respective training sessions. We’ve also scheduled a training class for those who would like to become volunteer bartenders. This class, led by Jan Belarde, will be held on Sunday, October 14th, at 10:00 am. More details on this class are elsewhere in this Herd Talk. If you’ve never volunteered for any of these positions, this is the chance to be trained. All these positions provide an excellent opportunity to meet and greet your fellow Elk members.

Back in 1868 – 150 years ago – the Elks fraternal organization began with just a few volunteers. In 1901, our own Eureka Elks Lodge #652, started with volunteers leading the way. Now, in 2018, we are still one of the most popular Elks Lodges in Elkdom because of all our volunteers. The next time you’re at the lodge, be sure to give our volunteers a pat on the back for all their efforts on your behalf. Or, better yet, become a volunteer yourself. Together, We’re Elks!
Dennis Hunter, Exalted Ruler

Thank you for the honor of representing Eureka Elks Lodge #652 at the Grand Lodge Convention held last month in San Antonio, Texas. Together with 8,700 other Elk members and guests, we celebrated 150 years of this fraternal organization. Collectively, Elks have donated over $6 billion to worthy children and adults over this 150-year span. That’s impressive! I had the opportunity to witness the installation of our new Grand Exalted Ruler, Michael T. Luhr and the District Deputy Grand Exalted Ruler of our own "Great" Northwest District, Sandy Gowan. I am proud to be one of "Sandy’s Rangers!"

Please take the time to read their impressive bios elsewhere in this Herd Talk. A big thank you goes out to Terry Long and his long list of volunteers. Our Fireworks Booth was once again a great success! A lot of hard work by a group of dedicated Elks members paid off and all the proceeds raised by these fireworks sales will go toward children’s charities.

August promises to be a busy month at the lodge. On August 9th in partnership with the Rotary Clubs of Eureka, Southwest Eureka and Old Town Eureka, we will be hosting our 4th Annual Cook Your Own Steak Night to honor the men and women who serve in the U.S. Coast Guard, Sector Humboldt Bay.

On Wednesday, August 15th, we will be initiating new members into our lodge and will be joined by our District Deputy Grand Exalted Ruler, Sandy Gowan, her Grand Esquire Ernie Nunes (yes, the same!) and her Auditor Tim Borges from Crescent City. Please join us for an excellent pot roast dinner, the meeting, and initiation.

Finally, remember to thank all who make the activities of the lodge possible: Our dedicated and hard-working volunteers. It takes all of us to run a successful lodge. Together – we’re Elks!
Dennis Hunter, Exalted Ruler

Summer is here, our days are longer and our Fireworks Booth is up and running. As of this writing, Terry Long and his dedicated crew including Gil, Bob Gish and Nelson Gomes were busy setting up the Booth. Ernie Nunes and I even got to use a hammer with no injuries. This got me thinking about all our volunteers and the hours they put in to run a successful lodge like Eureka Elks Lodge #652. Most are unseen but their enthusiasm and dedication deserve a huge thanks from us all. There are a lot of volunteer opportunities available in this lodge. To find out how you can help, please contact any of our lodge officers. We’re the ones wearing the badges.

You asked, and we listened! Sunday breakfasts on a monthly basis begin on Sunday, July 29 featuring Sausage Strata, home-made biscuits and gravy, hash browns and more. Breakfast will be between 8:30 am and 11:30 am. Sunday breakfasts are also scheduled for August 26th and September 30th so bring your family and enjoy the Lodge.

Thanks to your donations to the Elks National Foundation, we reached our per capita goal of $4.75 per member which means we were eligible for grants. The Freedom Grant helped defray expenses for our recent Veterans Car Show; the Gratitude Grant will help Families Against Autism Now (FANN) helping children with autism and their families; the Beacon Grant helps the Eureka VA clinic; and our Anniversary Grant provides training classes to aid veterans with PTSD to train their dogs to the level of Companion Animal. Thanks again for your generosity that make these grants possible.

Together – We’re Elks!
Dennis Hunter, Exalted Ruler

I hope you enjoyed the Memorial Day weekend – the unofficial opening weekend of summer! We had a very successful month of May at the lodge, highlighted by the EMT/Firefighters Appreciation Dinner on May 10th and a great Mother’s Day Service and breakfast on Sunday, May 13th. Congratulations to Fatima Naylor, our 2018 Mother of the Year.

Thanks to Terry and Gil for their day-long trip around the lodge with lawn mowers. Way to keep ’em short and green, guys!

Congratulations to our ritual team for a job well done in our annual District Ritual Contest held recently in Ukiah. Ritual is considered to be the backbone of every Elks Lodge. Our team placed second, only 0.22 points behind first-place Vacaville. Five of your seven chair officers placed first or second in their respective positions.

Be sure to enjoy all the lodge activities in June that are featured in this edition of Herd Talk. I always put the calendar on our refrigerator so I don’t miss any and I encourage you to do the same. Don’t miss our Flag Day ceremony on Sunday, June 10th at 10:00 am to commemorate the adoption of the flag of the United States. “As this emblem is first in our hearts as loyal Americans, so is it close to our Altar as loyal Elks.” This is a great chance for your children to witness our country’s history.

On Sunday, June 17th, the Emblem Club will be cooking a great Father’s Day breakfast. Then, on Friday, June 22nd, come and meet our State Vice President, Randy Logan and his lovely wife, Jackie as they share the important message from our CHEA President, Robert Duitsman. More details on all these activities appear elsewhere in this Herd Talk.

As I walked across the stage May 19 to present the $20,371.25 our lodge raised during the last year for the state’s major project (Purple Pig), the state surpassed $3 million! Our slide was up for five minutes while over 1,500 people cheered! Remember, this is your lodge. Come on out and enjoy it. If you have questions or suggestions, pass them along. See you at the Lodge!

What a successful month we’ve had to kick off our new year at the Lodge! Both the Board of Trustees and House Committee have been working hard to make this year even more enjoyable for our members. I thank each Trustee and House Committee member for your dedication to the lodge!

This year’s Big 4 Night was a huge success with over $22,000 going into our building fund. My thanks goes out to Kathy Payne, her kitchen and serving crew for the delicious dinner – especially those raviolis and apple fritters! A heartfelt thanks also to the auction volunteers led by Jeani Vallee. Great live and silent auction items! Thanks, too, to our tilers, cashiers and volunteer bartenders who served almost 300 members and guests.

As of this writing, your chair officers are putting in some grueling practices to get ready to represent the Lodge in the Ritual Contest held in Ukiah. We’ll be com-peting against eight other lodges in the District. We’ll announce the outcome of this contest at our first meeting next month on Wednesday, May 7th. Regardless of the outcome, my thanks to all our chair officers along with coaches Sherie and Kurt Bialous and Ernie Nunes for all your hard work. We’re all coming home winners – ready to impress our new members in upcoming initiations.

We have another busy month ahead at the Lodge, starting with Cinco de Mayo on Saturday, May 5th, and I encourage you to come on out and enjoy yourselves. Highlights of our May events are featured throughout this issue of Herd Talk. Don’t forget. This is YOUR lodge. I would appreciate any suggestions you may have. Either contact me in person or drop your suggestions in the Exalted Ruler’s suggestion box in the hallway.

Remember our theme for 2018-19: "Together, We’re Elks!"
Dennis Hunter, Exalted Ruler