Category: Columns

Columns by Elk officers

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Redwood Roamers – November 2018

At the Redwood Roamers meeting on October 3rd the following report was given on the outing to Apple Hill:
A first of its kind caravan of Roamers left Eureka on Thursday September 27th for the Placerville area. When we turned east on Highway 20 we were spread out so as to not cause traffic congestion, but we congregated for lunch at the casino in Upper Lake. Upon arriving at Hwy 16 (Rumsey cutoff) we headed south toward Woodland with a destination of a Yolo County Campground on Cache Creek with no hookups (dry camp). This was a first-time experience for a few in the caravan, but all weathered the adversity with confidence and lots of support. Our evening meal of venison stew added to the adventure followed by dessert around the campfire.

Our destination of Placerville was selected for the experience of the Apple Hill Apple Festival and dinner at the Placerville Elks in Shingle Springs. We joined in the lodge’s fun activity playing Jenga during and after dinner with one of our crew being a winner at the game (more on this later). Saturday was an Apple Hill adventure day with apple strudel, apple turnover and apple everything day! A few of the Roamers left Sunday for home, some stayed another night before returning to Eureka and others ventured on for more RV adventure. As usual everyone had a great time and enjoyed the nightly campfires.

After arriving back in Eureka, the excitement of Jenga continued to the point of wanting to involve our lodge in the game. Bill Barton funded the purchase of a game for our lodge. The idea is to get it out and play it during dinner at BPOE #652. Come join in the fun and test your skill, strength and calm playing Jenga at dinner on a Wednesday evening soon.

The Roamers cooked breakfast at the lodge on October 21st. We had a great turnout, at least 120 turned out for the breakfast. The next outing will be to Benbow RV Park on November 1st – 4th. There are 22 RVs going on this outing. We will be decorating a Xmas tree at the Lodge on November 12th at 5pm.

The next Roamers meeting will be November 7th, at 4:30. Any lodge member who is interested may attend.

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Exalted Ruler’s Column – October 2018

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

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Secretary’s Corner – October 2018

Welcome new members: Frank Carpenter, David Kohl, Arvid Lacy, Kelly Pixley, Kathi Ray and Clint Stannard. Members ready for Balloting: Ruth Baker, Michael Bresnahan, Bryan Enloe, David Erquhart, Jack Justus, Larry Kinyon, Eric Murrell, Brenda Nevers, Linda Roberton, Shelby Schoenhofer and 2 Reinstatements, Patrick Blair and Todd
Coleman.
Ernie Nunes, PER, Lodge Secretary

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Leading Knight’s Corner – 2018

Greetings!

October is going to be a very busy month! We have the "Stand Down," October 4-7 in Ferndale. The annual Oktoberfest on the 6th at our lodge — this is always fun and yummy for your tummy!! (Did I really say that?!) It is really a great meal by our own Hans Gerstacker and his crew. We are scheduling training for the cashier and ticket positions along with tiler for the front door. Look in this edition of the “Herd Talk” for dates and times. Also scheduled is batending class on October 14 at 10 AM. Remember Halloween Havoc is on Saturday, October 27th.

Mark your calendars for the annual Men’s Fashion Show, November 17th, cocktails from 5-6, dinner at 6 with the fashion show to follow. Our own Sylvia Vader will be preparing Chicken and Polenta, a special salad and Spumoni ice cream to finish it off. Tickets are just $20.00 for the entire evening of fantastic food and fun!!! You will be treated to many of our lodge officers modeling some very fashionable attire. This is promised to be an unforgettable evening. Remember this is a fundraiser for Major Projects.

SIDEBAR: Major Projects will be sponsoring a Sweetheart Dinner on February 14th at our lodge. This will be like no other event we have had at our lodge. This event will be pre-sale tickets only!! More information to come in the weeks and months to come.

CCW TRAINING…..
Are you interested in qualifying for one?? I’m trying to put a class together, this will be open for ELKS ONLY, sorry no spouses or significant others.

If this is something you would like to do, then please email me at gwenk5472@gmail.com or text me at 707-498-3101 and let me know what date and time works for you—-majority rules.

Gwen Carroll, Leading Knight

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Redwood Roamers – October 2018

The Redwood Roamers held a meeting on September 5th at 4:30. A report and slide show were given on the outings to Florence and Gold Beach Oregon. The next outings on our schedule are to Apple Hill September 27th – 30th and to Benbow RV Park November 1st – 4th.

Some Roamers went to the Lodge on Thursday the 15th and cleaned weeds and mowed the lawns. We worked from 9 am till noon. Thank you to everyone who participated.

The Roamers will be cooking breakfast at the Lodge on October 21st. We hope everyone can make it to the breakfast.

The next meeting will be on October 3rd at 4 :30. Anyone interested in joining the Roamers may attend.

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Lecturing Knight’s Corner – October 2018

Hello members. Summer has wound down and the holiday season is quickly approaching.

For those of you that don’t know, October is Elks National Foundation (ENF) month and Oktoberfest is ENF’s biggest fundraiser. As the Lodge’s new ENF chairman I would like to invite everyone to come out and enjoy the great food chef Hans and his crew serve up. There will also be a 50/50 raffle and prizes for best German costume. I’ll be wearing my new Lederhosen.

There will also be 50/50 raffles on some Wednesdays and Fridays at dinner to benefit the Elks National Fund during October. I will also be tiling the door a few times in October to get to know our members better and hear what you have to say about our Lodge.

Scott Reinsmith, Lecturing Knight and ENF Chairman

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Veteran’s Corner – October 2018

Hello fellow lodge members.

The Eureka Veterans Committee is preparing for our 3rd Annual Veterans R.E.D. (Remember Everyone Deployed) Friday BBQ to take place on November 9th, 2018 from 12:00-3:00 pm. All Veterans are welcome.

We are currently also in need of volunteers for this event. If you are interested in volunteering please give Kevin Christie a call at (707) 269-7013. Kevin does ask that you leave a message if you are unable to reach him.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing our Veterans at this event.
Respectfully,
Casey Stephens, Chaplain
US Army, Ret. Veterans’ Committee Chairman

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Redwood Roamers – August 2018

On July 3rd, 2018, eleven rigs headed north on the open road to rendezvous at the Klamath River RV Park with the sole purpose of Doing Nothing Well: pull up a chair, read a good book, take a nap and look at the mighty Klamath was the mantra of the trip. Some were distracted by the jet boat tour, Trees of Mystery, the Drive Thru Tree, Paul’s Smoked Salmon and the Pey Mey fueling station, while others thought about breakfast at the Log Cabin Diner and dinner at the Steelhead Lodge.

Three rigs went to McCloud over the weekend of July 13-16. We camped at Dancer’s RV Park on cement pads and had lush green grass around us. We went to Dunsmuir Saturday starting at the city park Botanical Garden, the Railroad Park, Castle Crags and had lunch in Dunsmuir, then went back to the trailers where we could get into our air conditioning! It was 100 outside! Sunday we took a tour of Weed, having a great time with plenty to eat as usual! Next meeting is on August 1st at 4:30 in the lodge.

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Exalted Ruler’s Column – August 2018

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

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About our DDGER

Sandy was born on Father’s Day, June 21, 1959 in San Francisco. She is the oldest of two girls, as she was born 16 minutes ahead of her twin sister, Linda. The twins grew up in Palo Alto, California where their Mom still resides in the home they were raised in starting with their junior high school years. After graduating high school, Sandy went on to study at the University of California, Berkeley and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition and Food Science in 1980, a week shy of her 21st birthday.After college, she went to work in retail at Emporium-Capwell where she entered the field of Human Resources. In 1987, she started working at Basic American Foods, a privately-held food manufacturing company. Sandy’s career progressed and she became professionally certified as a Benefits Professional in 1996 and a Senior Human Resources Professional in 1998. After almost 25 years, she retired as the Director of Human Resources in 2012.

It was at Basic American Foods where she met her husband Dan. They worked together for several years and became close while serving as training coordinators for the company’s quality program. Sandy and Dan married in July 1996 and live in Fairfield, California. They enjoy their neighborhood as it is filled with numerous dog lovers and have met many dogs (and their humans) while on their countless dog walks on the area’s walking paths with their now dog angels, Bailey, Sundance, and Bear. Dan has two grown sons both married to wonderful young women. Cory and Alice live in Oakland, and Andy and Rachel live in Los Angeles with their two sons, Milo and Felix.

Sandy was initiated in the Vacaville Elks Lodge #2638 in 2006. She most recently served as Lodge Secretary 2015-2018, but has also served as Treasurer, Inner Guard, Chaplain, Tiler, Loyal Knight, Leading Knight, Exalted Ruler, and Lecturing Knight. Sandy’s predecessor and successor as Secretary is her husband Dan who she is proud to say was CHEA Secretary of Year 2004-2005. Sandy has also served on many committees throughout the years, was the Newsletter Publisher for three years, and is currently the Lodge’s Grant Coordinator. Sandy caught the Ritual bug when she was the Candidate in the 2008. Since then, she has competed in 6 District Ritual contests, and was fortunate to compete with her team at CHEA Convention during her ER year. She was Elk of the Year in her Lodge for the 2006- 2007 Lodge Year, and Officer of the Year for the 2015-2016 Lodge Year. Sandy has served her District as Lodge Activities Chair 2014 – 2015, Auditor to the District Deputy Grand Exalted Ruler 2014-2015, Grant Coordinator 2015-present, and as one of the Trustees for the Defunct Vallejo Lodge. She counts her year as Association Vice President 2016-2017 representing the Northwest District as one of her best years in Elkdom. As an enthusiast of our great Rituals, she is delighted to be a Ritual Floor Judge for the last two years. Sandy is proud to be a member of the John F. Malley Society and Permanent Benefactor of the Elks National Foundation, and a Century Club member and regular donor to the CHEA Major Project. In her spare time, Sandy enjoys rooting for the San Francisco Giants, wine tasting, golf, crossword puzzles, and of course, dogs!