Travels with Keith E. Alverson, President
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UPPER PENINSULA RITUAL CONTEST AND SPRING ROUNDUP
APRIL 19-22, 2012
This
weekend will be on the highlight reel of my year as State President.
The hospitality, friendship and food this weekend was absolutely
terrific. Newberry Elks
Lodge did an outstanding job and their Lodge is beautiful.
When in the Upper Peninsula, do go out of your way to visit this
Lodge.
Unfortunately, only four teams competed in the Ritual, but that equals
the high of other Districts in the State for this year.
The good news was that every Lodge in the Upper Peninsula
District was represented at the banquet on Saturday evening.
They were the only District that had every Lodge in attendance at
their banquet this year.
Kudos to all of you, as the spirit of Elkdom still reigns in the U.P.
An
extra treat on Saturday was going to the bear ranch just outside of
Newberry. The owner is a
member of the Newberry Elks Lodge, and although not yet open for the
season, he graciously opened it up for all of the visiting Elks.
We even got to hold black bear cubs (see the picture on the MEA
Homepage).
To
the Newberry Elks, I would like to say thank-you very, very much.
All of you made our final ritual visitation of the year one of
the most memorable.
Keith E. Alverson,
MEA State President
MARCH 31 AND APRIL 5, 2012
Allen Park Elks Lodge (March 31st)
Greer and I headed to Allen Park Elks Lodge where I had the honor of
installing the Exalted Rulers of both the Allen Park Elks (Mike Domine)
and the Dearborn Elks (Pat Morgan).
Installation of the officers of both Lodges took place at the
Allen Park Elks. A very fun
evening of celebrating the installation followed and all had a very good
time. The Allen Park Elks is
a great place to visit. Make
sure you stop in if you are in the area; small,
but very active and very friendly.
Ann Arbor Elks Lodge (April 5th)
Greer and I had the privilege of going to the Ann Arbor Elks Lodge to
install all of the Lodge Officers for the 2012-2013 Lodge year.
The officers were installed at their regular Lodge meeting.
I so enjoyed being able to do this for my good friend, Bruce
Stark, who was installed as the Exalted Ruler that evening.
Keith E. Alverson,
MEA State President
MAJOR PROJECT MID-TERM MEETING -
ALMA LODGE
March 24, 2012
The
work never ends with the Major Project of the Michigan Elks Association.
The entire Commission was in attendance as well as some who won’t
officially take office until the end of May.
Second Vice-President, George Sermon, was also in attendance (1st
Vice-President, Ron Zimmerman, was covering the Southwest District
Ritual contest).
The
Commission met from 9:00 a.m. until almost 4:00 p.m. with a short lunch
break. As the times have
affected most of us financially, so have they affected the Major
Project. Some very tough
decisions had to be made for the upcoming year and due to declines in
donations and other forms of contributions, the number of kids being
able to attend camp had to be reduced.
You could see the pain in the faces of the Commissioners and the
Executive Director, Lynn Cook, as these hard decisions were made.
Your
decision to fill those little pink banks and have fundraising functions
to raise money for Major Project has a huge effect on what the Major
Project is able to do each and every year.
Never think that Major Project has enough and needs no more.
This couldn’t be further from the truth and is proven by what had
to be done this year. Let
this never be the case again.
I
commend the Commission and the Executive Director for their diligent
work and continued efforts.
Keith E. Alverson,
MEA State President
REGIONAL HOOP SHOOT – ANGOLA, IN – March 17-18, 2012
Kids, Kids, Kids! They were
everywhere at the beautiful Pokagon Inn as we arrived on Friday.
Boy, did these kids know how to have fun, and were all very well
behaved and polite. All of
their parents should be very proud of them.
A
party/dinner was held for everyone at the Angola Elks Lodge and then
back to the Inn where the kids got to play and swim for the rest of the
evening. The weather was so
good that many were out walking by the lake and enjoying a beautiful
campfire.
Saturday arrived and so did the tension of both the kids and their
parents. Breakfast was
served at the Lodge and then all the kids were loaded onto a bus and
they were off to the high school for the competition.
I congratulate all of the participants who competed this weekend.
The shooting was very competitive and I am very happy to say that
Michigan has three kids going to the Hoop Shoot National Finals in
Springfield, Massachusetts on April 28th.
You can follow the shooting at www.elks.org on the Grand Lodge
web site if you can’t go in person.
The rest of the Michigan kids came in second-place and all just
missed going to the finals.
These kids were outstanding, great sports and great kids!
Please go to
www.elks.org/hoopshoot/greetings.cfm
and you wish the Michigan shooters good luck at the National Hoop Shoot!
Keith E. Alverson,
MEA State President
NORTHWEST DISTRICT RITUAL CONTEST
March 9-10, 2012
Traverse City, MI
Boy
was this a suspenseful weekend!
No one had any idea who would win this contest.
Was it Traverse City or Traverse City or Traverse City, but alas
all we could do was wait until the banquet on Saturday evening to see
which one would win. This
may have made you chuckle, but I certainly hope there are more teams
competing next year.
My
hat goes off to the Traverse City Elks for the wonderful weekend they
provided to all in attendance.
Both the Friday and Saturday meals were great and it did my heart
good to see a Lodge that was packed to the hilt on Friday night.
This Lodge does it right!
All of the State Officers were presented with beautiful gifts of
Michigan-shaped baskets filled with all Michigan products.
Out
thanks go out to all of the Traverse City Elks who made this weekend so
very special.
Keith E. Alverson,
MEA State President
February 24-26, 2012 STATE HOOP SHOOT
CONTEST /
METRO DISTRICT RITUAL CONTEST AND SOUTHEAST DISTRICT RITUAL CONTEST
This was a weekend packed with
events. Greer and I headed
to Grand Rapids for the State Hoop Shoot Contest.
This is always a great event as it deals with kids ranging in age
from 8-13 years old. There
were six boys and six girls in each age bracket competing to see who
would get to go to the Regional Hoop Shoot in Angola, IN this year on
the weekend of March 17th.
On Friday, all the kids, along
with their parents and siblings, were checking into the hotel,
registering for the shoot on Saturday, and checking out the Hoop Shoot
display, the Drug Awareness display and the Major Project display.
Then it was off to the pizza party that was held for all in
attendance. We even had a
former National Hoop Shoot champion (he was originally sponsored by the
Holland Elks Lodge) in attendance who delivered a wonderfully inspiring
speech regarding his Hoop Shoot experiences to all of the kids in
attendance.
Saturday morning was filled with
nervous kids waiting for their chance to shine at the free-throw line.
Every kid in attendance was, in fact, a winner for being there,
but only six get to go to the Regionals.
Greer and I would like to thank
Craig and Estella Gould (State Hoop Shoot chairman), Lynn and Brenda
Cook, Dave Fisher and all of the other Elks and spouses in attendance to
help with the Hoop Shoot. It
was a very well-organized event and it took each and every one of you to
pull it off.
While Greer and I were in Grand
Rapids, our 1st Vice-President, Ron Zimmerman and his wife
Jean, and our 2nd Vice-President, George Sermon and his wife
Shelley, covered for us at the Metro District Ritual Contest which was
held at the Clawson-Troy Elks Lodge.
I would like to thank all of them for covering
and say that I am sorry for being
unable to attend the Metro District’s ritual festivities in my year as
State President.
When we finished in Grand Rapids
on Saturday afternoon, we headed across the State to the Southeast
District Ritual Contest being held at the Flat Rock Elks Lodge.
We arrived at the motel in time to change clothes and head to the
Lodge for the banquet. I
must say that the Flat Rock Elks did a bang-up job of putting on a
wonderful event. We will
definitely be back for another great dinner in the future.
This was one very busy weekend
but well worth it all!
Fraternally
Keith E. Alverson,
President
February 12, 2012
Once
again, our State Scholarship Chairman, Brad Saegesser, did his usual
outstanding job. Everything
was organized and efficiently run.
There were a lot of very dedicated Elks and spouses who worked
diligently to score and properly judge all of the scholarship
applications. At the end of
the day, all of the scholarship winners were decided and notices will be
sent to all of the recipients.
This is a lot of work, yet very fun and satisfying.
I commend all of those in attendance and applaud your efforts.
After the Gold Key Commissioners and State Officers did the financial
scoring for Brad, we went into another room where the interim Gold Key
meeting was held. After the
normal business was done, it was time to go through all of the
applications for the Gold Key scholarships and determine which of the
applicants would be receiving scholarships for the upcoming year.
Both
groups are dedicated to what we were there to do.
All Michigan Elks should feel very proud of what was done during
this important weekend.
Fraternally,
Keith E. Alverson,
President
November 12, 2011 VETERANS’ NIGHT AT HOWELL LODGE
Normally I would not include a 5
mile trip to my own Lodge in my travels, but this time I just have to.
Last Saturday night Greer and I went to the Veterans’ Honor
Dinner at the Lodge. When we
pulled into the parking lot we had to park in the back, as the lot was
nearly full. When we went
inside the Lodge and there were wall to wall people, almost every seat
was filled and it appeared that over half were veterans.
A wonderful prime rib dinner was served and was followed by a
band for all to enjoy. Door
prizes were given out to many lucky veterans.
I had the honor to speak to our veterans about all that we do for
them and how thankful we all were for everything they have done for all
of us.
I don’t know that I have ever
been more proud to say that I am a member of Howell Elks Lodge #2168.
November 5, 2011
CLAWSON-TROY NEW LODGE DEDICATION
Last Saturday Greer and I and 2nd
V-P George Sermon and Shelley attended the “NEW LODGE DEDICATION”
ceremony at the brand new Clawson-Troy Elks Lodge.
Make the stop at the new Lodge if you are in the area.
The facility is beautiful and the members who took charge of this
project did an absolutely fabulous job.
All of the members of Clawson-Troy Lodge should be very proud of
their new Lodge. The
ceremony was led by ER Sharon Malendowski, and she and the other
Officers did a great job.
The ceremony was followed by a ribbon cutting service to officially open
the new Lodge. Our thanks go
out to the Officers and members of Clawson-Troy for the opportunity to
participate in the event.
October 20-23, 2011
55TH ANNUAL FALL CONVENTION
We arrived in Sault Sainte Marie
early Thursday to get all of the finishing touches in place for the
convention. Once everything
was in place, we had about an hour or two to relax before we headed to
Freighters Restaurant for a dinner with our special weekend guests,
Grand Exalted Ruler David Carr and the First Lady of Elkdom, Penny.
Eighteen were in attendance and we had a wonderful evening.
Friday morning, it was off to the
races as 1st V-P Ron Zimmerman, 2nd V-P George
Sermon and I started the morning off by attending the Past State
Presidents’, (Advisory Committee) meeting.
After that, it was off to the Trustee’s meeting, Gold Key
meeting, a quick lunch and finishing the day’s meetings with the Major
Project meeting. While all
of this was going on, the ladies put on a very nice coffee for Penny
Carr in our room. From what
I heard, all of the ladies had a very nice time.
Friday evening, we had the pleasure of attending the Past State
Presidents’ dinner and then it was back to our room for some
socializing, the Eleventh Hour and finally off to bed.
Saturday, it was an early-to-rise
day as the General business meeting began at 8 AM.
My thanks to all of the State Chairmen, as their reports were
concise and, for most, stood as printed in the report book.
With everything that was covered, the general session was still
closed at a little after 10:30 AM.
Ron, George and I then made a visit to the Ladies’ Luncheon,
where each of us had the opportunity to speak to all of the Ladies in
attendance. My
congratulations go out to all of the Ladies, as they gave up giving
gifts to each other, instead helping give a gift of a SCHOLARSHIP to one
of our Gold Key Kids. They
raised over $1,100.00 with their generosity.
You should all be very proud of what was done for Gold Key.
Meanwhile, in our room, we had a
small Christmas tree which was decorated with Key ornaments.
These were sold to many Elks with the proceeds also going to Gold
Key. I had the pleasure of
turning over $400.00 to Kevin Quinn, the Executive Director of Gold Key,
at the Saturday evening banquet.
The rest of Saturday was spent
with seminars being presented for Ritual, by Bruce Stark; the Star Award
Program, by Allen Antilla; the Colorado Leadership Program, presented by
Rich Wlosinski and Carlos Montilla; and
CLMS2, presented by Ed Geishert, PSP.
My sincere thanks go out to all of the seminar leaders.
At the General Business session,
I asked everyone to put just a little of what they would lose in the
casino towards the Elks National Foundation.
A collection was taken and between what was donated and what
Grand Exalted Ruler, David Carr received in donations by signing
membership cards, a total of $2,000 was raised for ENF.
As always, the generosity of Elks always makes me proud.
Overall, the convention was a
rousing success. I hope
everyone in attendance found it to be informational, educational and
entertaining.
Keith E. Alverson,
President
October 19, 2011 THREE RIVERS
100TH ANNIVERSARY
We had the honor of attending the
100th anniversary of the Three Rivers Elks Lodge on October
19th. This was
the first time we had the pleasure of visiting this Lodge.
What a beautiful facility and the history just oozes from every
nook and cranny. Grand
Exalted Ruler David Carr and the First Lady of Elkdom, Penny as well as
PGER James Varenhorst and the wonderful Mary were also in attendance.
I should also mention that 1st Vice-President Ron
Zimmerman and the always beautiful Jean were also in attendance.
We all had the opportunity to look at many pieces of memorabilia
from the past 100 years, were served a delicious meal and had a brief
history lesson of the Three Rivers Lodge which was given by PER and
State Trustee Rick Lull. We
had to leave around 8:45 PM and drive up to Gaylord so that we could
arrive in Sault Sainte Marie early Thursday morning to prepare for the
State Convention. Greer and
I would like to thank the officers and members of the Three Rivers Elks
for the invitation and their outstanding hospitality.
Keith E. Alverson,
President
October 2, 2011
ALMA STATE PRESIDENTS’ NIGHT
Greer and I, 1st V-P Ron and Jean
Zimmerman & 2nd V-P George and Shelley Sermon had a terrific
weekend in Alma over the first weekend in October.
On Saturday a banquet was held for us, and at my request swiss
steak was served with all the trimmings as well as a table full of
wonderful after dinner treats.
The Alma Elks always do a wonderful job with this event as they
go at everything regarding the ELKS full bore.
Greer was given a beautiful necklace and earrings and
I received a great ELKS coat as gifts from the Alma Elks.
After dinner everyone listened to a great band and watched both
the Tiger game and the Notre Dame game.
Breakfast was served at the Lodge on both Saturday
and Sunday morning as well as dinner on Friday night.
This was all done with volunteer help.
The Alma Elks are a credit to our great State.
All of us wish to thank the Alma Elks for everything
they did for all of us on this wonderful weekend.
September 25, 2011 PLYMOUTH ELKS ‘STATE PRESIDENT’S NIGHT’
Last night we attended the ‘State President’s Night’ at the Plymouth Elks Lodge. As is usual, the meal was excellent and the desserts were superb. All of us had a good time seeing and talking with old friends.
After the dinner we experienced something different. Instead of the usual entertainment, the Plymouth Elks had three comedians entertain those in attendance. Entertain is probably the wrong word to use as the comedians had us laughing until we cried. I haven’t laughed this hard in a long time. I will remember this night for a long time.
I had the honor of doing the toast as the hour of eleven came upon us and the evening was drawing to a close.
Greer and I as well as Ron and Jean Zimmerman would like to sincerely thank the Plymouth Elks and all of their members for a most memorable evening.
Keith E. Alverson
, PresidentSeptember 17, 2011
Greer and I, along with 1st
Vice-President Ron Zimmerman and the beautiful Jean, attended the 50th
anniversary gala of the Allen Park Elks Lodge last Saturday evening.
The place was packed to the hilt and the food was excellent.
They had one of the PER’s speak
on the history of the Lodge.
It just so happened that his Father built the building in which the
Lodge now resides. There was
representation from many of the Lodges in the Southeast District.
The program and the celebration following was entertaining and
all in attendance were having a great time.
I’m not sure when the party ended, but I’m sure there were many
very tired ELKS on Sunday.
September 17, 2011 STATE SOCCER SHOOT
Dave Fisher and Geno Grabinski, along with many Elks
from across the State, gathered at the Livonia Recreation Center for the
annual State Soccer Shoot.
All of the kids did their best to put the ball in the goals as many
times as they could. In the
end trophies were handed out to all of the participants as well as major
trophies for 1st, 2nd
and 3rd place in each age bracket.
There were a lot of kids smiling on this day.
As is usual, this is another event that makes you
proud to be an ELK. Watching
the kids try their hardest and the parents and grandparents trying to
urge the ball into the goal was heartwarming.
Who came in first or last was unimportant.
Every kid that was there was a winner.
Dave Fisher and Geno Grabinski did another great job
this year, and I congratulate them both.
This would not happen without them.
Next year get your Lodge involved in this program.
It is quite easy to do and help is available.
September 11, 2011 ALLEN PARK 9-11 CEREMONY
The Allen Park Elks Lodge had a beautiful remembrance
ceremony on 9-11-2011 commemorating the 10th anniversary of
that tragic day. The Allen
Park Chief of Police and other police officers and the Allen Park Fire
Chief along with many firefighters were honored this day.
Both of the Chiefs were presented with framed American Flags as a
token of the Elks appreciation for all that they have done and
sacrificed for us. The
program was put on beautifully the officers, both present and past, with
reverence and respect.
Congratulations on a job well done.
September 9, 2011 HOLLAND ELKS MAJOR
PROJECT PARTY
Last night Greer and I, along with 1st V-P
Ron and Jean Zimmerman and 2nd V-P George and Shelley Sermon,
attended the Holland Elks Major Project party.
The food of the night was lasagna made by Barb Versendaal.
She makes the best lasagna and has done so for quite a few years
now. Look for this event
next year about this time and make sure you attend.
It is well worth the drive and you even get the experience of a
tuba concert buy the Holland Elks version of the “Blues Brothers”.
The highlight of Ron Zimmerman’s night was winning a
baseball signed by Johnny Damond.
It was signed when he had his 1,000th hit.
He was, to say the least, very happy.
He is a huge fan of anything baseball-related.
He grinned the rest of the evening.
I have no idea how much was raised for the Major
Project by the Holland Elks (we will find out at Fall Convention when
their presentation is made!), but they should be very proud of their
Lodge. This is not an easy
task and they do a wonderful job.
Keith E. Alverson,
President
September 3, 2011 MICHIGAN ELKS
ASSOCIATION DAY AT COMERICA PARK
Approximately 100 Michigan Elks attended the Tigers
vs. White Sox game on Saturday, September 3rd .
We were hoping to have a lot more but this hasn’t been done for a
few years; hopefully next year, there will 500 of us.
I must thank the Holland Elks, as they made up 55 of
the Elks in attendance. We
even got to see Barb Versendaal ride the Merry-Go-Round before the game.
The game wasn’t very good for the first 7 plus innings, as the
Tigers at one point were down 8 – 0.
To make things exciting, a big thunderstorm rolled through at the
beginning of the 8th inning.
Lots and lots of lightening, wind and rain.
Well, being that we were all such die-hard Tiger fans, we all
left. Oh, by the way, that
is the game that the Tigers came back in the 9th inning and
hit a 2-run homer to tie it up and a 1-run walk-off homer to win the
game. None of us saw this
happen, of course, but Greer and I were at a restaurant in Greektown and
the crowd there all went crazy when we saw them win it on TV.
I guess it serves us right for leaving.
Overall it was a great day and I hope to see a lot
more of you there next year!
Keith E. Alverson,
President
August 18-21, 2011 Ohio Elks State
Convention
We arrived in Dublin, Ohio mid-afternoon after
traveling through almost every small town in Ohio.
Greer and I had a great time on our trip down as this was a
totally new area for us. We
checked into our room, quickly changed, and met up with the Ohio State
President, Greg McGlone and his lovely wife Sue.
We had the pleasure of spending a lot of time with
our new Grand Exalted Ruler, David Carr and First Lady, Penny and Past
Grand Exalted Ruler, Jim Nicholson and Past First Lady, Mary Carolyn, at
a superb dinner with the officers of the OEA.
Lots and lots of hospitality rooms, all down one
corridor of the hotel, a very convenient way to make it possible to get
to all of the district hospitality rooms.
Every District had a hospitality room and each tried to outdo
the other. Very, very fun
and made it very easy for us to meet a lot of the Ohio Elks.
Friday I was off to meetings for most of the morning
and then to a Past State Presidents’ luncheon at the hotel.
That evening was family fun night with a spectacular buffet and
dancing after. Then it was
off to the hospitality rooms until we finally fell into bed.
Saturday entailed more morning meetings, great awards
luncheon, socializing and then a small group went to a nice restaurant
in the hotel for dinner.
More hospitality rooms, conversation and collapsed into bed.
Sunday, we were off early in the morning and headed
back to the beautiful State of Michigan.
Very tired, it was time to unpack and take a nap (are we really
getting that old?).
It was a great trip; observed a lot and learned some
new things. We were treated
like royalty by the Ohio Elks Association.
They, like all of you, are great people and Great Elks (even
though they are Ohio State fans).
Keith E. Alverson,
President
August 6 - ST. JOSEPH / BENTON HARBOR #541 GRAND OPENING
July 29-31 Bay Cliff Visit
The last weekend in July was spent in the
Friday night all of us trucked on down to the
Marquette Lodge for their Christmas in July party.
Most of us from down under had the whitefish dinner.
Most from the U.P. had the ham dinner.
Guess which ones get as much whitefish as they want at any time.
The Lodge was packed with members bringing gifts for the kids at
Bay Cliff. Great music,
great food, great people.
Saturday morning we headed out to Elks’ Day at Bay
Cliff. We broke into groups
and the teenage Bay Cliff campers gave us very impressive tours of the
camp. Next was lunch with
the campers and then off to have a few of the campers show us what they
have achieved this year. All
were very impressive, but one boy stood out.
I remember this little boy from the last two years all smiles and
blonde hair. He has been on
crutches the last three years I have been there.
His goal this year . . . to walk without crutches.
He handed his crutches to his camp counselor and he started
walking. Not fast, but very
carefully. All you could see
when you looked at him was teeth.
It was one of the biggest smiles I had ever seen as everyone
stood and gave this little 9-year-old boy a standing ovation.
Every once in a while we stopped applauding to wipe the tears
from our eyes.
Please pay attention to this.
Every year we go to Bay Cliff Health Camp.
Every Elk is invited to attend.
Don’t just think about going.
GO! This experience
will change your outlook.
This will let you see what we do through our MAJOR PROJECT.
You will never, ever think about whether you should make a
donation or fill a little pink bank.
This is what we do!
This is who we are!
After a great afternoon at camp we headed to the
Negaunee Lodge for Cudighi.
It’s an Italian sausage that is unique to this area of the U.P. and it’s
great. It seems that there
are as many different recipes for this as there are people in the U.P.
Next, we were all off to the Ishpeming Lodge to enjoy their
hospitality. Some very
nice munchies were put out to snack on while we sat around talking with
the membership in attendance.
We finally head back to the motel where we sit around
the courtyard for a couple of hours just sipping iced tea and lemonade.
This is a great weekend!
Every ELK should experience this at least once, but be careful;
once you go you will want to return.
Keith E. Alverson
·
DAY ONE – My
lovely wife, Greer, decided it was a good idea to get up in the middle
of the night (3:00 A.M.) to catch a flight.
Everything goes without a hitch and we arrive in
·
Friday July 15 –
Day to recollect ourselves and spend some time at the hospitality room,
visiting with the ‘crew’ there and then familiarizing ourselves a bit
with the immediate area.
Friday evening, dinner in Old Town Scottsdale with good friends.
Fall into bed, still exhausted from yesterday!
Thus endeth day 2.
·
Saturday July 16 –
Meeting, hospitality room opens.
Visit with Elks, some time in the pool….ahhhh!
Off to Corona Ranch for an ENF dinner honoring Michigan
Scholarship winner Jimmy, sponsored in 2006 by Redford Lodge…..quite an
honor. Attend special rodeo
after dinner at the ranch.
Back to hospitality room, converse, have fun.
Drop into bed, still exhausted from day #1!
Thus endeth day 3.
·
Sunday July 17 –
It’s OPENING DAY! Greer and
I attend a huge banquet along with a lot of Past Grand Exalted Rulers,
the Grand Exalted Ruler, the Grand Exalted Ruler Elect, many more Grand
Lodge Officers and all of the other State Presidents from around the
country. Time to catch a bus
over to the convention center with all of the other State Presidents.
The State Presidents and their spouses were sent to the
convention center first to get their State flag for the presentation of
the flags at the opening.
Missed the first two busses.
One of the other State Presidents is having a panic attack (Greer & I
weren’t the only ones to miss the first 2 busses).
Finally arrive at the convention center, find the
·
Monday -
Thursday
- Attend meetings,
eat, Greer has her First Lady coffee (thanks so much Jean Zimmerman…was
outstanding!), attend more meetings, eat, attend Indiana’s banquet,
attend Michigan’s banquet.
Let’s go to some more meetings.
We should now attend a reception for the Massachusetts’ State
President, Richard, for some light hors de oeuvres.
Oh, a forty foot long buffet with every kind of deep fried snack
ever thought of now and in the future.
Oh yes, there is also pizza.
We were going to have dinner with Ed & Penny Geishert (they were
with us at this reception).
All of us were way too stuffed to eat dinner.
Alternative idea, let’s just go to the CHEESECAKE FACTORY for
dessert. Trip with Ron and
Jean and the crew to Sedona by car…gorgeous!
Back at the room and kind of just roll into bed.
Thus endeth days 5-8.
·
The last day –
Greer and I are by ourselves.
It’s quiet. Greer
makes a suggestion, “Let’s go to
a wind chime factory in the area”.
I was just so excited!
Buy wind chimes, just sooo excited still.
Stop at Casino for some fun (not so much!).
Relax for a while in the hotel’s beautiful courtyard and visit
with people, glass of water, glass of wine.
Pack and drop into bed.
Thus endeth day 9.
·
We are finally home
– Enter our home at about 2:00 A.M. Sunday morning
(next year I pick the flight times), after discovering at the Detroit
airport that one of our pieces of luggage was still in Phoenix (to be
delivered by 10 p.m. the next night).
No bed really needed, but was glad we had one!!
Thus endeth day 10.
In all seriousness, this was a wonderful convention.
Greer & I were so honored and proud to represent the Michigan
Elks Association. Ron & Jean
Zimmerman did a fabulous job with the hospitality room and the State
President’s banquet, held at the Phoenix Elks Lodge.
Thank them if you attended the convention, they were a big part
of why you had such a good time.
Keith E. Alverson
President
June 18 Battle Creek Veterans Picnic & Sturgis ENF Party
Last
weekend Greer and I had the pleasure of enjoying two different ELKS
events. First we headed
out to the Battle Creek Veterans Hospital to once again attend the
annual picnic that is put on for our Veterans who reside at the
hospital. The Veterans
and their families are invited to enjoy grilled burgers and dogs,
served with baked beans and potato salad.
There was also a classic car show and a DJ for our Veterans
to enjoy. There were about
200 in attendance according to the Chairman, George Scott of the
Battle Creek Elks. I
can’t begin to tell you how much our Veterans appreciate the picnic
and even more how the ELKS enjoy doing this annual event for those
who have sacrificed so much for all of us.
After the picnic we headed out to the Sturgis Elks for the Elks
National Foundation Party they were hosting.
We had the pleasure of staying with the 1st
Vice-President, Ron Zimmerman, and his lovely wife, Jean.
The party started about 5:30 and, as the evening wore on,
more and more people began showing up to support ENF and to listen
and dance to great live music supplied by Johnny Sprocket.
There was a game tournament to be played, which both Ron and
I were soundly beaten at….twice, and we were eliminated.
The entire event was held outside, as Jamie Lego actually
built a permanent stage that will be used for future events at their
Lodge. The Sturgis
Exalted Ruler, Natalie Boland, hoped to raise at least $1,000.00 for
ENF. I think Sturgis
surpassed that goal and we had a great time.
Then on Sunday Ron dragged me to a golf course where (and
this was all Ron’s fault; I think he was afraid I would beat him) I
proceeded to hurt my back (5th hole, beautiful shot off
the tee, ending up about 8 feet from the hole!)…and, that was about
all she wrote!
All
in all, it was a great weekend to be an ELK.
Fraternally,
Keith E. Alverson,
June 2-5, 2011 Indiana Elks State Convention - Indianapolis
Greer and I had the opportunity to attend the Indiana Elks
Association State Convention from June 2 until June 5 in
Indianapolis. Although
there were many differences in some of the procedures of their
convention, overall it is much the same as ours.
The Indiana Elks not only extended their hands to us in
friendship, they also opened their hearts to us.
We met so many wonderful Elks and their spouses.
This was our first visitation as the President and First Lady of the
Michigan Elks Association and it was quite a kickoff.
We visited many of the hospitality rooms and I attended many
of the meetings and one of the breakout sessions being held.
We had the pleasure of spending quite a bit of time with our
Grand Exalted Ruler (National President) Mike Smith and the First
Lady of Elkdom, Sandra.
What great representatives they are of our Order.
Much to our surprise, we recognized a couple who used to be
members of our very own Howell Lodge several years ago. Keith and
Kathy are now members of the New Albany, Indiana lodge and are very
active there as well.
Was great to see them and do some catching up…..small world in
Elkdom!
The Indiana Elks hold a Flag Day ceremony, Memorial Service, Ritual
competition and the Installation of their new State Officers in
addition to the meetings and breakout sessions.
In addition to all of that, as is typical, there was way too
much food. We had the distinct pleasure of meeting and having photos
taken with Miss Indiana and Miss Outstanding Indiana Teen, both very
lovely ladies and great speakers are the Friday Banquet.
Miss Indiana wowed us all by singing two beautiful songs that
night, and she spoke about her experience with the Elks of Indiana,
who provided her with enough scholarship funds
to graduate with a major in music with hardly any student loans to
repay.
I always say that I always feel at home at an Elks Lodge.
Now I know that I also feel at home at another States
convention.
Fraternally,
Keith E. Alverson,
President MEA
May 19-22, 2011 Michigan Elks Spring Convention - Kalamazoo
We
attended the Michigan Elks Association convention held at the beautiful
Radisson Hotel in downtown Kalamazoo.
This was a new venue for our convention and Greer and I loved
this place.
It
was great to see so many of our friends, catch up on old times, and
throw around some new ideas.
The meetings were very informative, and the breakout sessions were well
attended. Our guests, the
State President of Indiana, Ed Boyle, and the immediate Past State
President of Ohio, Jim Baylor and his wife Patty, were welcome additions
to our convention. Greer and
I will be attending their conventions in the near future.
The
State Ritual Contest was one of the most exciting in recent memory.
The first five major trophies went to five different Lodges.
First Place went to the Tawas Area Lodge, Second Place to a very
familiar name, Sturgis Lodge, and Third Place went to Traverse City
Lodge. All of the judges I
spoke to after the banquet said it was the best competiton they had seen
in a long time.
Sunday was the big day for Greer and me.
It started out with the Ishpeming Lodge doing a very stirring
version of the Memorial Service.
I want to thank them again for agreeing to do this service when I
asked. I had tears in my
eyes when they finished.
Make a point to watch them do the Memorial Service if you ever have the
opportunity.
Then
came the big moment as I was installed as the President of the Michigan
Elks Association for the year 2011 – 2012.
What an honor this is for both Greer and myself.
I hope that we will live up to all expectations and follow the
fine tradition of all Past State Presidents and former First Ladies who
have come before us.
Fraternally,
Keith E. Alverson,
President MEA