CANADIAN ELK CANADIAN ELK ´ELAN CANADIEN - Elks of Canada

ONTARIOBrother Ron HoughBrother and Sister Elks and Ladies of the RoyalPurple:Since writing my last message that was in theOctober issue, it has been a very busy fall. In thefirst week of October I made my official visit to thefour Lodges in Region No. 1 of Northern Ontario.Echo Bay Lodge No. 535 hosted the Mid-Term onOctober 29th. In the evening, I had the honour ofpresenting the Years of Service pins at theirAnniversary Dinner.Brother Pat Clark. Ontario 1 st Vice-President and Iattended the Presidents’ meeting and theLeadership training session in Regina, the first weekof November. A very informative three days.In December there were more Lodge visits inRegion No. 2 of Northern Ontario as well asKitchener-Waterloo Elks Lodge No. 578 and theRoyal Purple Lodge No. 356 in Region No. 1.My Lodge, Wellington No. 566 and Trenton-WoolerNo. 486 visits were completed in December as well.Years of Service Pins were presented at WellingtonElks.When visiting the Lodges I have been promoting theimportance of leadership in our Order and theurgent need to find new ways to generate funds forthe Elks and Royal Purple Fund for Children. I realizethat the Lottery events have restricted theLodges as to how their funds are to be distributed.Since it is our 100 th Anniversary, I also encouragedLodges to have at least one representative attendthe 2012 Convention in Chilliwack, B.C.Since a lot of Lodges no longer have a building, it isagain a challenge to hold fund-raisers for such funding.However, I am proud to see the work that allLodges are accomplishing in their community.Voice, local Food Banks, Angel Tree, and many othersare just some of the charities supported by theElks. All of these are helping to make the communitiesaware of the work done by the Elks of Canada.Please do not forget about the Strategic Plan thatour Grand Lodge developed to serve as a benchmarkand direction for the Lodges to follow, in orderthat we move ahead and grow as a Fraternal Order.My MOTTO this year, “WHY BOTHER”, and hereare FIVE good reasons: “WHY TO BOTHER”:Get the community involved; support Habitat forHumanity; provide assistance for those in need;Friendship; Fellowship and Fraternalism. Strive foranother 100 years.With the holiday season behind us, and a New Yearahead, let’s look to this as a being a year of growthand great strides for each Lodge. May we truly havea prosperous New Year!My last Lodge visits will be completed in the springof 2012. I plan on attending the 2012 Convention inChilliwack, and hope to see many of our OntarioBrothers and Sisters there as well. REMEMBER,THIS IS OUR 100th ANNIVERSARY.Sincerely and Fraternally,Ronald Hough, PresidentOntario Elks Association18