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It is my
pleasure as the 82nd State President of the Connecticut Elks Association
and on behalf of the over 21,000 Elks in our 33 Lodges to welcome you to
our Association’s website. I hope
that you will find a wealth of information regarding the Elks of
Connecticut and how we are implementing both Grand Lodge programs and
our own CT Elks Association programs.
We like to
say that we are a state small in geographic area but big in our
contributions to Elkdom. We are proud of our New England colonial
history. The rich history of the citizens of Connecticut is depicted in
our state pin, which highlights the place that Connecticut Yankees or 'Nutmeggers' have in defending our liberties over the centuries.
Seventeen of our thirty-three Lodges are over 100 years old and have
been a cornerstone of their communities, providing service to their
towns since their institution. Our “Mother Lodge” is Hartford Lodge
#19. Its home is the first Elks Lodge facility constructed solely for
use as an Elks home, opening in 1903. My home Lodge is Windsor #2060
and is located in Windsor, the first town of Connecticut, founded in
1633.
The
contributions of the Elks of Connecticut since the founding of our Order
in 1868 are a source of pride to us all. Connecticut is the birthplace
of two Grand Lodge Programs. The oldest is the Elks National
Foundation, “the great Heart of Elkdom”, which was first publically
proposed in February, 1927 at Meriden Lodge #35 by then endorsed
candidate for Grand Exalted Ruler, John F. Malley. While attending a
dinner at Meriden Lodge Malley proposed the creation of a permanent
charitable trust, whose income only would be used by Subordinate Lodges
and State Associations for the good works that were needed in local
communities. At the 1928 Grand Lodge Convention in Miami, Fl the
delegates approved the creation of the Elks National Foundation, with an
initial contribution of $100,000.00. We, in Connecticut, never forget
that benevolence programs that we, as Elks, are known for nationally
started here.
The second
national program connected to our state is the Soccer Shootout. We
again are very proud of the fact that it started here in New Britain
Lodge # 957 by Past Grand Esteemed Loyal Knight, Francis Joyce. Fran
envisioned an athletic contest that young children could compete in and
enjoy without having to possess a high level of athletic skills. Since
Fran’s passing in 2009 the Area 1 Soccer Shootout highest scoring boy
and highest scoring girl award is now the Francis Joyce Award. Fran’s
legacy as a great Elk from Connecticut is crowned by his Soccer Shootout
contest.
The
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center’s “Connecticut Safe Kids Program”
is our State Major Project. We have had a relationship with the
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center that is over fifty years old and
during that time donated millions of dollars to help children with
injuries and illnesses. When in 1999 the CCMC asked the CT Elks
Association to lead a new program, the Safe Kids Program, which is
designed to keep children out of hospitals through education and the
providing of safety equipment, we readily accepted. Through the use of bicycle helmets, child car seats, smoke
and carbon dioxide detectors and the dissemination of educational
material we have made a difference in reducing the number of injured
children that are hospitalized each year due to accidents. Our annual
donation of $100,000.00 to the Connecticut Safe Kids Program is a key
funding source of these protective devices being provided to
Connecticut’s children at no cost to their families.
Another
charitable program that the Elks of Connecticut are proud to participate
in is the Connecticut Special Olympics Fall Classic. We are a major
sponsor of the Volleyball Venue and for two weekend days every November
we work closely with Special Olympics Connecticut to conduct this
event. Hundreds of Special Olympians are allowed to have the joy of
athletic competition, with the support of the over one hundred Elks who
assist in the volleyball matches. Every Special Olympian receives
recognition for their participation. Most importantly for us, as Elks,
are the special friendships that we all have made over the past twelve
years with these special people. While the contestants look forward to
the weekend before Thanksgiving each year, it is matched by our own
anticipation of seeing these special athletes and friends compete and
smile.
As you go
through our website you will see that we are very active in other Grand
Lodge programs such as the Drug Awareness Program, the Veterans Service
programs, the Hoop Shoot and the Scholarship Program but to name a
few. We recently hosted nationally known drug prevention and awareness
motivational speaker, Mr. Milton Creagh at five community events this
past March, in which he spoke to both the parents s and the teenagers of
these communities about the “real” issues of drug and substance abuse.
Our Veterans Service Committee will be coordinating for the first time a
Wounded Warrior Project consisting of twenty-one events over a six
consecutive day period in June, with the assistance and support of
eleven host and primary support Lodges. By the efforts of numerous Elks
during this week in June we, the Elks of Connecticut, continue to abide
by our pledge that “so long as there are Veterans, the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks will never forget them.”
Yes we are
a small state of four districts – the East, “where the sun rises”, the
Central, “the heart of Connecticut Elkdom”, the Coastal, “the jewel in
the crown” and the “great” Northwest. However, we are large in the role
we play in Elkdom, showing the citizens of Connecticut that “Elks Care,
Elks Share”. |
