FRATERNAL ELKS NEWS – BARRE ELKS LODGE

Posted on June 19, 2016

Members of Barre Elks Lodge, VFW Post 790, American Legion Post 10, Barre Tones, Boy Scout Troop 714 and Ladies Auxillary of VFW Post 790 and American Legion Post 10 participated in our annual Flag Day ceremony at the Park in Barre.

The Barre Tones, an all female a Capella singing group performed the “Star Spangled Banner”, “The Grand Old Flag” and “God Bless America”.

Boy Scout Troop 714 performed the Flag Folding.

The winners of Barre Elks Lodge Flag Day coloring contest were announced and honored at the conclusion of the ceremony.

Members of the Barre Tones sing “God Bless America”

Members of Boy Scout Troop 714 participate in the flag folding. From L to R: Alex Pouliot, Zach Bullock, Alex Fleury, and Jesse Wild.

Members of Barre Elks Lodge. From L to R standing: Robert Campo, Doris Fournier, Stacy Holden, Barb Watters, Beth McTear,

Kim Baker, Donna Bartolucci, Linda Pinardi, Betty Cutler, Chip Paine. Seated from L to R: Kristin Calcagni, Maureen Lawson, Sandra Calcagni

From L to R: Exalted Ruler Kristin Calcagni, Boy Scout Alex Pouliot and Zach Bullock, Loyal Knight Maureen Lawson.

SPRINGFIELD ELKS LODGE 1560 HOLD ANNUAL FLAG DAY CEREMONY

Posted on June 15, 2016

Each year on the second Sunday in June all Elks Lodges throughout the country hold their annual Flag Day ceremony. Springfield Elks Lodge held there’s on June 12, at the Lodge banquet hall. They invited local Cub, Boys and Girl scout troops to join in with a presentation of the history of our flags from the 1700’s to our present day flag. As the history of our flags is presented scouts bring in each flag of that time period and place it in a pedestal.

This years ceremony also consisted of the presentation of one boy scout receiving his Eagle Scout honor from the Elks. Andrew Scott Czwakiel son of Bruce and Lisa Czwakiel, was presented with an Elks plaque for his hard work. He earned his Eagle Scout rank on Dec. 16, 2015. He has since earned his Bronze and Gold palms. Andrew’s been actively involved in Troop 252 for six years and has held leadership positions as Scribe, Quartermaster and Senior Patrol Leader. Andrew’s Eagle Scout project was taking down and rebuilding the tennis practice wall at Riverside Middle School next to the tennis courts. This project had and estimated cost of $2500 with 32 scouts and leaders putting in 234 hours of their time. Andrew is using his last few months as a scout to mentor fellow scout leaders in the Patrol Leader’s Council as they plan hikes up Mt. Mansfield and Mt. Katahdin this summer and plan a trip to Yellowstone for next summer. Andrew’s father Bruce was also his Scoutmaster of Troop 252.

Exalted Ruler Vicki Siliski and her ritual team of Jim Morse, Karen Whitney, Kathi Williams, Andy Cook and Jacky Goodrich presented the Elks portion of the Flag Day Ceremony.

Springfield Elks Lodge #1560 Exalted Ruler Vicki Siliski is shown presenting

Andrew Scott Czwakiel with his Elks Eagle Scout plaque.

SPRINGFIELD ELKS HONOR LOCAL SCHOLARS

Posted on June 6, 2016

Recently, Springfield Elks Lodge 1560 awarded six scholarships to local area high school students going on to further their education this fall. There also was a Vt. State Elks scholarship winner of $1000. The local scholarship winners were given out by Springfield Elks Lodge Scholarship chairman Jackie Driscoll-Page and Exalted Ruler Vicki Siliski. Jackie mentioned that this years applications were way over the top as far as participation and well thought out essays. She had over twenty young people apply. The Elks Lodge members are proud to be able to make these awards and Jackie Driscoll-Page and her committee put a lot of thought into the judging.

The Springfield Scholarship winners receiving $500 each were as follows. Sarah Martel of Green Mt. Union HS atteding University of Maine. She is the daugthter of Ray & Kathy Martel of Proctorsville, Vt. Parker Day of Springfield High School will be attending Keene State College and he is the son of Kevin & Peggy Day of Springfield, Vt. Morgan Collins of Black River HS will be attending St. Michaels College in Burlington, Vt. He is the son of Peter and Rayelin Collins of Mount Holley, Vt. Robert Haseltine of Green Mt. Union HS and will be attending Paul Smiths College. He is the son of Mary Ellen and Mathew Haseltine, of Chester, Vt. Elizabeth Mackenzzie of Springfield High School will be attending the Universigty of New Hampshire and her parents are Mr. and Mrs. Barry Mackenzie. Noah Distefano of Green Mt. Union HS will be attendingthe University of North Carolina. His parents are Mr. and Mrs Randall Distefano of Grafton, Vt. The Vt. State Elks $1000 scholarship was awarded to Heather Morse of Green Mt. Union HS and the daughter of Kelly Sinclair.

Springfield Elks Scholarship winners are shown left to right. Lodge Scholarship Chairman Jackie Driscoll-Page, Heather Morse,

Morgan Collins, Sarah Martel and Exalted Ruler Vicki Siliski. Back; Robert Haseltine and Parker Day.

Barre Area Veterans Council placed American flags along Main street.

Posted on May 31, 2016

Members of the Barre Area Veterans Council placed American flags along Main street in Barre. The Veterans Council is comprised of members from Barre Lodge of Elks #1535, American Legion Post #10, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #790 and Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. The council is dedicated to serving, honoring and remembering Veterans in central Vermont. Flags were purchased with donations from community members in honor of Veterans past and present.

Top of Ladder Ron Tallman, Bottom of Ladder Chip Paine

Rachel Barney, Chuck Barney, Cole Barney

WHAT ARE ELKS? or WHAT DO ELKS DO?

Posted on May 31, 2016

WHAT ARE ELKS? Or WHAT DO ELKS DO?

How many times has one heard, “What are Elks or What do Elks do? Or if you say to someone “I am in the Elks” or “I am an Elk” and they reply “oh yea, I have heard about them. That’s where you can go to drink cheap”.

Elks get these questions and why do they get these reactions? It’s simple, Elks don’t tell anybody what they do. Elks have a National Publication and who does it go to? Elks! Elks have a National Convention and who attends? Elks! Grand Lodge sends out bulletins on a regular basis, who do they go to? Some Elks! Elks are great at telling each other what we do. Telling non Elks, not so good.

The Elks as an organization does not advertise on television or radio, and do not advertise in the newspaper or magazines so how do Elks get the news about what they do to non Elks in the community?

Our Grand Exalted Ruler (GER) made a good analogy on his visit to Burlington during the year when he said “we are hiding our light under a bushel” we need to get rid of that bushel and let the light shine far and wide.

The mantra of the Grand Lodge program this year is “Elks Pride-Community Focus”. What does that mean? It means Elks have to spread the word about the good works they do. So the next time somebody says “oh yea, that’s where you can drink cheap” try answering them by saying: “yes and in between drinks Elks gave 3,000,000 dictionaries to third graders across the nation.” And they gave out almost $4,000,000.00 per year in College Scholarships which incidentally does not have to be paid back!

Since 1946 Elks have been servicing our Veterans that are in VA Clinics, VA Hospitals and homeless shelters while servicing our active military members.

Elks hold National Hoop Shoot and Soccer Shoot for our youth. Elks have the largest volunteer Drug Awareness Program in the country to educate our youth against the perils of drugs.

Vt. Elks State Project is called Silver Towers Camp and for the last 50 years Elks have been hosting campers with disabilities. For the last five years Vt. Elks have hosted up to 500 campers each year in an 8 week period. That is pretty impressive for Vt. Elks!

Springfield Elks Lodge 1560 is all in with the above documentation. The Lodge participates in everything noted above especially in the Drug Awareness Program, giving out of Dictionaries to third graders at Union St. School for the past ten years, Hoop & Soccer shoots for many years. Local scholarships are given out every year to upper valley graduates, donate to the VA Hospital and the Veterans Home in Bennington, and donations to many youth activities in town, donations including Apple Blossom Cotillion, Family Center and with their annual Gratitude Grant of $2000 they donate to community efforts that need the help. Most of their donations of funds are made to youth and Veteran activities.

The above document was given as a speech at the recent Vermont Elks Convention in North Conway , NH by Vt. Elks District Deputy South Frank Lopez from Brattleboro Elks Lodge and as he left the podium he was given a standing ovation. If this doesn’t explain “What Are Elks or What Do Elks Do” , please read it again. Or, go to Elks.org and get more information on “Who we are” and click on a membership form and ask to join.

DRUG AWARENESS POSTER CONTEST – SPRINGFIELD ELKS AWARD BICYCLE

Posted on May 11, 2016

Recently, Springfield Elks Drug Awareness Chairman Jim Kirkwood, held an Elks Poster Contest at Union Street School in Springfield. This contest is an annual event at the school put on by the Elks Lodge dedicated to wiping out drug use by young people.

There are six winners locally, for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place entries. Then the chairman sends the winners to the state Elks competition. The winner of the Vt. Elks State contest has their entry published in the Elks National Drug Awareness coloring book handed out to all Lodges and schools across the country. This years state winner was selected and awarded to Kaylee Newton of Union St. School in Springfield, Vt. For her efforts, she received a bicycle and helmet. The local winners received $25 for first place, $15 for 2nd place and $10 for third place.

Winners of the recent Drug Awareness Poster contest put on by Springfield Elks Lodge – l to r Kaylee Newton winner of the state Elks competition and her new bike. Also other local winners were Cameron Williams, Devin Snide-Tufts, Emma Snyder, Adrianna Magoon and Conner McCann. In back are Jim Kirkwood, chairman of Springfield Elks Lodge for Drug Awareness and Exalted Ruler Vicki Siliski.

Barre Elks Lodge continues its tradition of supporting The Veterans Place in Northfield, Vermont

Posted on April 24, 2016

Barre Elks Lodge continued its tradition of supporting The Veterans Place in Northfield, Vermont. Barre Lodge utilized a $2000 Elks National Foundation Beacon Grant to purchase housing items for Veterans transitioning from the Veterans Place into their own housing. Members purchased, organized and packaged “Welcome Home” kits that contained sheets, towels, blankets, coffee makers, kitchen utensils, crock-pots, microwaves, Tupperware and other items needed to set up a house.

According to The Veterans Place director Karen Boyce, “Without you, several Veterans would not have had the nice start that they did have when they transitioned from our house.” Currently, the Veterans Place is serving 26 Veterans. Veterans transition in and out of the Veterans Place throughout the year.

Elk members brought loads of items, filling a storage room, then enjoyed brownies and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream for dessert. Veterans ages 28 – 77 years old told stories of their time serving and their plans for the future. The Veterans Place residents will be participating in the Barre Heritage Festival and Northfield Labor Day festivities to raise funds for their programs.

From L to R: Veterans Kyle Ford, David Castine, Director Karen Boyce, Tim Gilman, Bob Shaw, Willy Lamoureux Jr, Dean Bouvier and Walter Pinette.

From L to R: Veterans Kyle Ford, David Castine, Director Karen Boyce, Tim Gilman, Bob Shaw, Willy Lamoureux Jr,

Dean Bouvier, Walter Pinette, Clint Thibodeau and Scott Smith.

From L to R: Elk members Kim Baker, Kristin Calcagni, Karen Bingham, David Bingham, Donna Bartolucci and Chip Paine.

From L to R: Orin Pittsley, Air Force & Army Veteran, Bob Davis,
Army National Guard Veteran and Leading Knight Donna Bartolucci.

Story and pictures provided by the Barre Elks Lodge.

2015-2016 Americanism Essay Contest Winners

Posted on April 13, 2016

The 2015-2016 Americanism Essay Contest winners were First Place, Gawain Smith from Charlestown, NH; First Runner Up was Ashley Putnam also of Charlestown, and 2nd Runner Up was Lizi Ryll from St. Albans, not pictured. The winners received certificates and gift cards, the other participants all received flags, pens, pencils, wrist bands, and book marks.

From left to right are: Vermont Elks Association Americanism Chairman Karen Putnam of Bellows Falls Lodge #1619, Ashley Putnam, VEA Past State President Raymond Buisson, First Place winner Gawain Smith and 6th Grade Teacher Kathy Olsen.

SPRINGFIELD ELKS RECOGNIZE OLDEST LIVING SPRINGFIELD ELK MEMBER

Posted on April 5, 2016

Recently, Springfield Elks Lodge #1560 recognized their oldest living member. Charles “Bob” Brent attended this years 2016/2017 installation of their Lodge Officers. Mr. Brent is 95 years old and an Elk for 71 years. For time in service to the Elks, he is third in line behind Ray Latelle with 74 years and Paul Stone who is a 71 year member, initiated two weeks before Mr. Brent.

Exalted Ruler Vicki Siliski is shown with Charles “Bob” Brent, Springfield Lodges oldest living Elk member

Windsor Elks bring Easter Bunny to 5 area nursing home facilities!

Posted on March 29, 2016March 29, 2016

On Easter Sunday morning the Windsor Elks escorted the Easter Bunny to five area nursing home facilities to bring a gift and some Easter Cheer to the residents of the homes. It took three hours to complete the rounds but it was very rewarding and enjoyable to see how excited the residents received us. Approximately 170 stuffed animals and other gifts were given out to the residents. Below are two pictures of Easter Bunny with a couple of the people who reside at the Ascutney House Nursing Home.