Benson Bulletin April 2010 Volume 3 Issue 1

Benson Elks Lodge #2853 P. O. Box 906, Benson AZ 85602 BensonElks@dishmail.net

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Grand Exalted Ruler:

James L Nichelson Elks.Org

Arizona State President:

Leland Schwein AZElks.org

Benson Exalted Ruler: Jerry Pollard

Esteemed Leading Knight: David Lambert PER

Esteemed Loyal Knight: Tom Outland PER

Esteemed Lecturing Knight: Nancy Copeland

Secretary: 520-586-6162 Nancy Pollard

BensonElks@dishmail.net

Treasurer: Diane Pollard

Esquire: Jackie Brents

Inner Guard: Joseph Knoblock

Tiler: Gisele Worley

Chaplain: Joan Kowalec

Trustees:

JoAnne Sturgeon

Bettsi Outland - Chairman

Dan Kowalec

Committees:

Americanism & Flag Day David Lambert

Indoctrination & Investigation: -

Tom & Bettsi Outland

Membership & Public Relations - Nancy Pollard

Hoop Shoot & Soccer Shoot - The Outlands

Community Activities - Jerry Pollard

Lodge Activities - Gisele Worley

Budget & Audit - Trustees & Diane Pollard

PER Association - Tom Outland PER

ENF & AEMP - David Lambert PER

Accident & Safety - Rich Sturgeon

Bulletin Editor - Nancy Pollard 520-586-6162

Youth Activities - Jerry Pollard

Veterans - Nancy Copeland

Opening ceremonies of the

San Pedro Valley Little League will be on Saturday April 10, 2010. The

Benson Elks will be a part of this yearly

tradition. We are again sponsoring a team

in the Majors and hope you all can come

out and support our Benson Elks team.

Please plan to come on Saturday for the parade, introduc-

tions, flag ceremony and team announcements. David

Lambert, Benson‟s PER is handling the arrangements for

the opening ceremonies and has the support of the Ameri-

can Legion, VFW, Marine Corp League and the Elks.

Regular season games will be played at Lions Park.

Schedule of Up-Coming Events

April 2 …… Friday Good Friday

April 4 …… Easter Sunday

April 5 …….Monday Meeting 6:30 at the Lodge

April 7 …… Wednesday Re-Creation Concert at VA Hospital

April 10 ……Saturday Opening Ceremonies of 10AM

San Pedro Little League at Lions Park

April 18 ……District Deputy Clinic Sunday Lodge #385

April 19 ……Meeting Monday 6:30 at the Lodge

Trustee Meeting at 5:30

April 22-25 … Elks Summer Camp clean-up -Young AZ

May 19-22 …. AEA Convention Tempe

May 31 …… Memorial Day Monday

July 3-9 …… National Convention in Orlando

Note: Trustees meetings will be the third Monday of each

month beginning at 5:30PM, the Board of Directors will meet

afterwards, followed by the regular Lodge meeting at 6:30 PM.

Trustee & Board meetings are open meetings unless otherwise

designated.

Special Note: We will not be serving Tuesday dinners for

the summer months, but we will have special meals on special

occasions. We hope to have Pancake Breakfasts occasionally

and will let you know in advance..

Even More Special Note: We plan to have a yard sale

sometime in the next couple months. Any donations will be

appreciated and needed. We will announce details and plans at

a later date. For now, just remember us when you do your

Spring cleaning.

May your troubles be less,

may your blessings be

more, and may nothing but

happiness come through

your door.

Message from the Exalted Ruler Here we go……

Our 3rd year for the Benson Elks with

big plans and high hopes. Thank you

for all your support at the Installation

of Officers and Dinner we had on

March 28th. It meant a lot to the in-

coming officers that you cared enough

to attend. We are thankful for the support of the Sierra

Vista Lodge also.

This year we must continue to do the good works

of the BPOE and improve on some of the programs that

still need our support. We are counting on all the mem-

bers to take on some responsibility to make this Lodge

succeed. We had a „plus‟ in membership this year and if

each of you would bring in a friend, we could double the

support of our members and do even more for the youth

and our community.

Congratulations to Arlene Holcomb for Elk of the

Year, we appreciate your involvement, Tom Outland PER

for Officer of the Year, who is always willing to pitch in,

Nancy Copeland for her work with the Veterans and

keeping Benson Elks active in supporting the Veterans

and Bob Nilson, Benson Visitor Center, who runs around

like a chicken with his head cut off at every function put

on by the City. These people volunteer their time without

question and have proven that commitment is the key to

success. Thanks to everyone else who helped with our

projects, fundraisers and charitable events throughout the

year…. you all deserve a special award and our thanks.

Some of your efforts go unmentioned but not unnoticed.

This new year of the Benson Lodge and the new

slate of officers should continue to grow & succeed. For

many of you, paying your dues is all that you can do at

the present time & we even appreciate that.

Jerry Pollard, Benson’s New Exalted Ruler

April Birthdays

Joyce Busing April 4

Tom Sanor April 13

Minnie Densmore April 16

David Katsuki April 19

Toni Botts April 29

Have a Great Day!

A Really Big Deal

By Linda Lewandowski, Director, AEMP

As I reported last month, Arizona Elks Major

Projects has been in existence for more than fifty years.

That‟s half a century devoted to improving people‟s

lives! Every Elk in Arizona has the right to be proud of

the difference we‟ve made in the lives of so many. So,

why not revel in that pride by attending the 50 Years of

Caring Celebration on Saturday, May 22nd at the Fiesta

Resort in Tempe? Tickets are just $75 per couple ($37.50

per person). If you‟re looking for even more fun, then

please join us for the Charity Golf Tournament on Sun-

day morning. If you come from afar, no need to worry.

We‟ve arranged for rooms at the Fiesta for the usual Elk

rate of $85 plus tax. What could be easier?

Ready to order your tickets, reserve a room and/

or register for the golf tournament? Nothing could be

simpler. You can go to www.arizonaelks.org, click on

Forms and select AEA Registration Form. That form

contains the registration form for the convention, a flier/

order form for the 50 Years of Caring event and Charity

Golf Tournament registration. If you‟re planning to at-

tend the convention, just fill out all the applicable forms,

write your checks (one for the convention and the other

for the gala/golf events) and mail them to Ed Leuer, PO

Box 2383, Camp Verde, AZ 86322. If you‟re not plan-

ning to attend the convention, you can still send your

ticket order and golf registration fees along with your

request to reserve a room for May 22nd to Ed. If you

don‟t have internet access, please feel free to call the

AEMP office (toll-free at 888-808-8627) for assistance.

Fifty years of caring is really a big deal. Because

of YOU thousands of babies are able to enjoy long and

fulfilling lives. Hundreds of children have reveled in the

beauty of the Youth Camp, learning family values or

what it means to be part of a real team. All because Ari-

zona Elks Care ~ Elks Share. Come be a part of this

really big deal!

Jerry & Nancy Pollard

attended the Sierra Vista

Elks on the Mall last

month to show their

support for all the Lodge

Committees that Sierra

Vista hosts. El Roy the

Elk is available for most

events put on by local

lodges. He never spoke a

word but got his message

across at the Drug Awareness booth at the Mall. Also support-

ing Sierra Vista were Nancy Copeland, Bettsi & Tom Outland

The Southern Arizona Veterans’

Memorial Cemetery has initiated a pro-

gram to honor our Veterans in Southern Ari-

zona. Charter member, Conny DeSpain is the

representative for the Benson Elks Lodge.

How can we contribute a memorial in honor

to our fallen veterans? We are offering the

“Proud American Bench” and the “God

Bless America Bench” that comes with an

inscribed brass plate.. Benches are available

for $350. “Wreath Across America” are

available year-round for display in December.

These are $15 each. Pavers are available for

$100 to help pay for the Historical Soldiers

Relocation of the Cavalry. All donations are

tax deductible. For further information please

contact the Southern Arizona Veterans Me-

morial Cemetery at 520-458-7144 or visit our

website at: WWW.SAVMCF.ORG. This

web-site would include all details to request

burial or Veterans benefits. This foundation

membership is governed by a Board of Direc-

tors.

On Memorial Day 2010 there will be a

dedication of the AMVETs Carillion Project.

General donations will be accepted. Any

questions, call the Foundation or Secretary of

the Benson Elks

at 520-586-6162

Clarification of membership transfers:

Transfer Dimit: This request can only be initiated by a

member in good standing. It signifies his intent to transfer

his membership to another Lodge. The form should be

obtained from the new Lodge and must be accompanied by

a fee set forth in that lodges by-laws ($15 in Benson). Af-

ter acceptance by vote of the Lodge at a regular meeting,

the member is informed and issued his membership card

by the Secretary of the new Lodge

Re-instatement: This request allows a member who has

been dropped from the roles for non-payment of dues to re-

join the Lodge where he was once in good standing. A fee

is set forth in the By-laws (Benson is $25) and any indebt-

edness to the lodge. After acceptance by vote of the lodge,

the member is informed and issued a membership card.

Certificate of Release: The purpose of this request is

similar to the Re-instatement in that it allows a member

who has been dropped from the roles for non-payment of

dues in a lodge other than that to which he now requests to

be affiliated. The request is normally granted after the

Secretary contacts the old lodge in which he/she was previ-

ously affiliated. Once again a fee (Benson is $25) is re-

quired and the Lodge must vote acceptance at a regular

meeting.

Absolute Dimit: This form may only be requested by a

member in good standing and indicates the member wishes

to become unaffiliated with his current Lodge. It is in ef-

fect a resignation. The member becomes unaffiliated and

has no privileges of membership and cannot visit any

lodge or participate as an Elk.

Further details on these forms and requests can be found in

the Annotated Statutes Section 14.110 thru 14.190. Excerpts from Jack Baillargeon, PER Catalina Mountain. Elks #2815

Welcome new transfers to the

Benson Lodge. On March 15,

Stanley Aarsund,, Richard Ned-

vin, Don Newport, Joe Brady and

Greg Bowren were welcomed

into our lodge. We are pleased

that they care about Benson and

our local charities.

On Wednesday, April 7, 2010, the choral group ‘Re-Creation’ will perform at

the VA Hospital in Tucson. This group of young people travel across the United

States visiting Veterans Hospitals and Health Care facilities. The Arizona Elks

Association encourages all members to come see this group of young people en-

tertain. The program begins at 2PM at 3601 S. 6th Avenue. Several of our mem-

bers will be attending if you wish to car-pool just call the office at 520-586-6162.

St. Paddy’s Pancakes Breakfast was fun. The

kitchen crew whipped up breakfast with all the trimmings.

Below, Rich Sturgeon and Jerry Pollard are wearing their

St. Patrick‟s Day hats. The event raised money for our Ben-

son Charities. Below Bettsi & Tom Outland played the host

for the visiting

guests. On the right

Nancy Copeland,

Brad Pollard, Pat

McSweeney, Tom

Outland, Rich Stur-

geon, Nancy Poll-

ard, Jerry Pollard,

Jo Anne Sturgeon

and Bettsi Outland

posed for the picture. To the right,

Jerry & Nancy Pollard wore their

fancy St. Paddy‟s Day hats. Below,

Brad cooks the sausage Photos by

Dan Kowalec

Benson Elks Lodge #2853

P. O. Box 906

Benson, AZ 85602

Mail to:

Elk of the Year: Arlene Holcomb Officer of the Year: Tom Outland, PER Veteran Volunteer of the Year: Nancy Copeland

Distinguished Citizen of the Year: Bob Nilson Congratulations to our winners of these awards for the year 2009-2010. We are very proud of your accomplishments.

You have set an example for all to follow and we hope you continue your high standard of service to the Benson Elks.