SPRINGFIELD ELKS LODGE #1560 – EAGLE SCOUT PRESENTATION DURING FALL COURT of HONOR

Posted on September 20, 2016

Springfield Elks Lodge Exalted Ruler Vicki Siliski attended the local Boy Scout Troop 252 “Fall Court of Honor” awards night September 19th at the Congregational Church in Springfield.

The night started with a pot luck dinner put on by the parents of the Scout Troop followed by the “Court of Honor ceremony”. Many of the Scouts received badges that they had earned during the past year. The awards arranged from hiking mountains, swimming a mile, woodworking, first aid etc. Also, parents who were instrumental in making Troop 252 a success were recognized.

The Elks part in attending the festive evening was to award one of Troop 252’s newest Eagle Scout, Andrew Scott Czwakiel the son of the Scoutmaster Bruce and mother Lisa Czwakiel of Plain Hill Rd., in Springfield, Vt. Andrew has been actively involved with 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 an estimated cost of $2200.00 with 32 scouts and leaders putting in 234 hoursof their time. Andrew used his last few months as a scout to mentor fellow scout leaders in the Patrol Leader’s Council as they held hikes up Mt. Mansfield and Mt. Katahdin during the summer and are planning a trip to Yellowstone National Park next summer.

L to r; Springfield Elks Lodge 1560 Exalted Ruler Vicki Siliski is shown presenting Troop 252’s newest Eagle Scout Andrew Scott Szwakiel an Elks plaque with American Flag and his parents Lisa and Bruce Czwakiel during the troops “Fall Court of Honor” ceremony Sept. 19th at the Springfield Congregational Church,

1ST Annual Veterans and Active Military Appreciation Event hosted by the St. Albans Elks lodge and the 14TH Star Brewery

Posted on September 13, 2016September 17, 2016

(These comments were posted on the St. Albans Elks Lodge #1566 Facebook page by Stacey Trudo, Veterans affairs for the lodge)

Thank you to all of the veterans and active military personnel and theirs families who took time out of their day to come to ours and 14th Star Brewery’s 1st Annual Appreciation Event! We can not thank you all enough for all of your sacrifices and service to our country! It was such a great event! We hope to see you all and more next year! Thank you so much to all of our food and prize sponsors! We couldn’t have done it without you! Thank you to all of our Elks’s and 14th Star volunteers! We could not have done it without you!

Just some of the Veterans / Active members in attendance

Brian Brady (Army Guard), Sandra Bracey (St. Albans Lodge ER), Gary Rice (Army – Vietnam) and Stacey Trudo (Lodge Veterans Affairs)

Elroy with Marcus and Madison Gagner

Andrea Gagner (CEO 14th Star), Valerie Pollotta (Josh Pollotta Fund), Jill Trombley (14th Star),

Sandra Bracey (Lodge #1566 ER) and Stacey Trudo (Veterans Affairs – Lodge #1566)

Barre Elks Lodge #1535 Gratitude Grant photos

Posted on August 30, 2016

Some photos from our participation in the Dictionary Project thanks to funds received from an ENF Gratitude grant. Members visited Barre City Elementary & Middle School, Barre Town Middle & Elementary School, Williamstown Elementary School, Waits River Valley School, St. Monica-St. Michael School and Websterville Baptist School. Over four hundred students received either a dictionary or thesaurus. The reference books are a gift for each student to keep and use throughout their school careers.

BARRE ELKS LODGE FRATERNAL NEWS – VETERANS

Posted on August 23, 2016

Members of Barre Elks Lodge presented eleven Veteran residents of Rowan Court Nursing Home with paintings from their Painting for Patriots event held in the spring. Over forty guests painted an original painting created by Sue Brassard of A Taste of Art. Some guests chose to donate their paintings to Veteran residents of area nursing homes. Others purchased their paintings with proceeds benefiting the Veterans programs at Barre Elks Lodge. If you know of a Veteran who would enjoy an original painting, please call Exalted Ruler Kristin Calcagni at 522-7675.

Back Row L to R: Exalted Ruler Kristin Calcagni, Elks member Karen Bingham, Loyal Knight Maureen Lawson, Leading Knight Donna Bartolucci. Front Row L to R: Rowan Court Veteran residents Fred, Mitzi and John.

From L to R: Leading Knight Donna Bartolucci, Exalted Ruler Kristin Calcagni, member Karen Bingham, Veteran resident David and Loyal Knight Maureen Lawson.

041.jpg: From L to R: Leading Knight Donna Bartolucci, member Karen Bingham and Loyal Knight Maureen Lawson pose with Veteran resident Leon.

Barre Elks Lodge 50/50 Raffle

Posted on July 25, 2016

Members of Barre Elks Lodge were recently invited to sell 50/50 raffle tickets at a Vermont Mountaineers home game at Montpelier Recreation Field. $300 was raised for Vermont State Major Project, Silver Towers Camp for People with Disabilities, thanks to the generous winner donating their winnings back to Silver Towers. Silver Towers is the chief charitable project of the Vermont Elks Association, which has owned and operated Silver Towers since 1958. Silver Towers is a camp like no other, an overnight retreat for those with mental and physical challenges, ages 6 – 75. It is among the first of its kind in the United States, and still remains one of the very few. Silver Towers has a high ratio of counselors to campers to accommodate the special needs of the campers.

Theresa Paine with Skip (the Mountaineers Mascot)

L to R: Karen Bingham, Loyal Knight Maureen Lawson and Leading Knight Donna Bartolucci

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.