CANADIAN ELK CANADIAN ELK ´ELAN CANADIEN - Elks of Canada

Part III – The Family of ElkdomElkdom’s vision statement voted on and approved bythe MEMBERSHIP reads:TO BE THE MOST PROGRESSIVE FAMILYFOCUSED ORGANIZATION IN CANADA,MEETING COMMUNITY AND MEMBER NEEDSAND EXPECTATIONS.That’s who the MEMBERSHIP have decided we wantto be and that’s how the MEMBERSHIP have decidedwe need to operate.So how do we operate within this vision, treat our menand women members equally but recognize and celebratetheir differences, and do it all in a NON-DISCRIM-INATORY manner?The answer is quite simple – each and every existingand new member regardless of age, gender, ethnicbackground, etc. is going to make a personal choice tolive by the Golden Rule when it comes to Elkdom.There is no room in Elkdom for those whose sole purposein pursuing membership is for the purpose of promotingfeminism versus masculism or masculism overfeminism. We are a gender neutral organization, like itor lump it.In discussing this topic we would be amiss if we tried toskirt the issue of how the Elks actively pursuing femalemembers might impact on the Royal Purple Lodges.There are some Elks Lodges that state that the onlyreason they have no female members and are notactively seeking them is because they do not want toharm the local Royal Purple Lodge whom they workwell with.Well guess what guys, not all women would prefer tojoin the Royal Purple than the Elks. It has nothing to dowith trying to force the gender issue, it has everythingto do with societal changes since we were founded 100years ago. Women and men today co-exist in the sameorganizations, same universities, same jobs, samedegree of family responsibilities, and on and on. Goneare the days of “keep the little lady in the kitchenand whatever you do, don’t let her have a vote”.While there are still ladies that will only consider joiningthe Royal Purple and not the Elks, clearly not everywoman makes that choice. In addition, we are seeing alarge increase in the number of members who join ascouples because they want to do the same thingstogether. Elkdom does not desire to raid Royal Purplemembership but we do desire to be the communityorganization of choice for ladies and couples who wantto practice the ideals of Elkdom in a family focusedmanner. We need members. We need workers.Whether they are Elks or Royal Purple – it doesn’t matter.And what about those ladies from the Royal PurpleLodges that might have just folded? They have servedElkdom for many years as Royal Purple members andwe should be first in line offering them full rights andprivileges as Elks members. Under our Bylaws they areentitled to be given full credit for their years of serviceto the Order.We hear from time to time “leave us alone” we will beaccepting women into our Lodge when the old guys aresomeday gone. Another thing we hear is “my dad orgrandpa are long time members and although usyounger guys don’t have a problem inviting ladiesto join, we don’t want to upset our parents”. Well ifyour parents have done their job raising you theyshould have enough confidence in your ability to makeyour own decisions. I am a grandpa 8 times over and Ican assure you my children and grandchildren do notthink the same as me. But you know what? This is theirworld now and their future. I have had my turn and it istime to get out of the way. I might not always agree withthem but I am darn proud of them and am not worriedthat they are now in charge and can make their owndecisions.Here are the current statistics for women in the Order:By Province Member LodgesBritish Columbia 459 43Alberta 142 23Saskatchewan 77 16Manitoba 87 14Ontario 103 12Quebec 53 3New Brunswick 32 3Newfoundland 45 5Nova Scotia 8 1Northwest Territories 95 2Nunavut 76 2Yukon 3 1Member at Large 5 1Totals 1,185 12611