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Elks National Foundation Blog Page |
| Elks Magazine--Digital Edition Now Online
A new online edition of the Elks Magazine is now available on the Grand Lodge Website at elks.org. |
| Did you know...The Elks Magazine was first issued June 1922. To see select pages of this wonderful magazines first edition click on this link."Elks History June 1922" |
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In turn, the mission of the Grand Lodge Government Relations Committee is to assist the Grand Lodge, State Associations and Local Lodges in protecting and preserving that right. In this mission, the Government Relations Committee serves as a resource for, and provides leadership to, the State Associations, and through them, to the Local Lodges. They gather information concerning pending state, local and national legislation affecting our Order. They encourage State Associations to monitor proposed legislation, which would be beneficial or detrimental to our activities, and to take appropriate action. December 21 Press release Rick Gathen Areas of concern: Public Accommodation: defining what constitutes public accommodation and establishing what requirements must be met in such facilities. Private organizations: defining what a private organization must or can do in order to be classified as non-profit and fraternal. Gambling: as it relates to bingo and pull-tabs. Property tax exemption: establishing requirements for seeking exemption for local property taxes and defining what facilities may be exempt. Legislators When appropriate, individual Members are encouraged to contact their legislators and ask for their support. Much of the work of legislative bodies is done in committee meetings and public hearings between legislative sessions. Often there are opportunities to speak and provide input they might not otherwise have. Get to know your legislators, invite them to dinner at the Lodge or to a special function like Flag Day or a Memorial Service. |
Major Project - Copper Cannon |
The mission of Copper Cannon Camp is to enrich the lives of under-served youth of New Hampshire by providing a quality, tuition-free camp experience. |
Attention Elks -
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ATTENTION NH ELKS! YOUR STATE MAJOR PROJECT CALLS!
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State |
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[Departed Members] [Youth Activities] [NH State Elks Training Course 2022-2023] [NHSEA Golf Tournament] [NHSEA State Convention Registration Form [2023 Grand Lodge Convention Registration Form |
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"Lodges - Don't forget to update your Charitable Records Data on a Monthly Basis" |
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1. All Lodges are reminded that our Charitable Records Reporting online need to be updated, finalized and submitted at the very beginning of April. All Lodges have been inputting throughout the year, but now is the time to tie up all the loose ends and get ready to submit the completed data. Last year we chased a couple of Lodges. Let's get this done early this year. It should be ready to go TODAY if you have kept up your data input all year.
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Attention Elks - Beware about a scam involving the Georgia State Elks. This event was new, but I have seen this particular scam for a number of years. It's the "stranded victim scam" where someone you know says they are stranded somewhere far away because they got robbed or whatever and want you to send money. This personally happened to me once and I instantly knew it was fraud because the person they were impersonating was in Rochester and not in London, England as the scammer wanted me to believe. It is quite remarkable that people are still using this one, but they are. Beware. Never do this. Never. Make a call to the person who you know before doing anything. I am always amazed at how people will just blindly respond or take action on emails that come out of nowhere, even ones that are supposedly sent by people you know. Check it out first. "Click here to see Document" |
Hello Lodges in NH. Whether you are aware of this or not, there is still time to take action for this program The NH State Elks Association has a program known as State Elk of the Year. It is designed to select an Elk from a Lodge that has received the Lodge Award for the past Lodge Year. The award will be presented at the NH State Elks Convention in May. If you would like to nominate someone for State Elk of the Year, submit the nomination to NHSEA Lodge Activities Chairman Steve Bourdeau, PER from the Franklin Elks. Submit the nomination and backup information to: Steve Bourdeau He needs nominations as soon as possible. If you have questions or comments contact Steve by email sbourdeau@hotmail.com or call him at 387-2584 (Cell Phone) |
To all NH Lodges, DD's, SP, SDGER and the State Association - We have completed reporting our Charitable Data to Grand Lodge. All Lodges have reported and the State Association has reported, beating the deadline. We are 100 percent................again! Congratulations to all and thanks for your support! Sincerely, Don Chesnel NHSEA Government Relations Chair |
To all Lodges in NH - Public Accommodation It has come to my attention that some Lodges may not realize the implications of protecting our private organization status in the state of New Hampshire. Per the Order of Elks Constitution and Statutes, our IRS Tax Status and the NH State Liquor Laws, Elks Lodges enjoy the privileges accorded private entities in our state. With that classification comes responsibilities. We must do everything we can as members to protect that status. We must keep our doors locked and controlled. Our Elks functions and socials are always for "Members and Guests". We should mark all of our events that way in our newsletters, in our advertising, on our roadside signs, etc. We are never "Open to the public" nor should we put a sign out that says, "All are Welcome". In the case of private organizations in our classification, "All are not welcome", (because we are a private organization) and we should never advertise ourselves that way. We are not a place of public accommodation. I realize Lodges rent their halls for private functions, etc. and some play bingo where the general public comes into our buildings. That is fine per se, but we need to isolate and control our social quarters from these events. The general public is never allowed into our quarters or buildings unescorted, etc. other than private rentals or bingo. And when you have guests with you, you must sign in and escort them and be with those guests while they are in the Lodge. If you leave, they must leave. By the book, guests are not supposed to buy anything while in a Lodge. The member is in charge of everything, including the purchase of drinks, tickets, etc. And this fact always jumps out at me - Why would we all pay dues to be part of a private organization if we let anyone walk into our facilities repeatedly, unescorted and by the way, breaking our rules and the laws of New Hampshire? Why would we want to do this? It's why Lodges have a three visit rule for non-members. We all pay dues for the right to be a member of the Elks. Why would we want to let non-members have these privileges for free? We are all having problems these days making ends meet in our Lodges. The economy continues to be sluggish and we are all paying a price for it. That's a fact. But let's not compound our financial challenges by breaking our own rules and the laws of the State we live in. To do so jeopardizes all of us and our Lodges in various ways, including our liquor/gaming licenses and the status we enjoy as legitimate members of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Sincerely, Don Chesnel State Elks Government Relations Chair |
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