Greetings, everyone.

It’s hard to believe we are now in 2025. Time sure does fly by in the blink of an eye. I hope the new year brings you good health and happiness.

I have enjoyed visiting each district over the past year. Each visit has allowed me to meet new people and learn about the things the ladies in each district do to benefit the lodge and their community, and let me tell you, it is amazing how much they do. It has been a wonderful journey, and I look forward to a visit to your district over the next several months.

The fourth annual Ladies Weekend at the Florida Elks Youth Camp will be taking place April 11-13. This is a fun, relaxing, meeting-free weekend. Come enjoy the beauty of the camp and the comfort of the Smith Conference Center. Meet ladies from across Florida and make new friends. Details are being finalized. Please visit floridaelks.org for more information and to register. It’s a weekend you won’t want to miss. Space is limited and will fill up fast.

The third annual FLOE RV Rally (Camping for the Kids) is scheduled for May 2-4. We are looking for sponsors, whether they are lodges, businesses or individuals/groups of individuals. Your support of the RV Rally will benefit the Florida Elks Youth Camp. If you do not have an RV/trailer, you should consider renting one. My husband bought one just so we would never have to miss this event. This is a fun weekend for the entire family at Champion Run RV Resort in Ocala that you do not want to miss. It is open to everyone, not just Elk families. Please visit floridaelks.org for more information and to register.

We are preparing for our next meeting, which will be held during the Florida State Elks Association quarterly meeting, Feb. 7 at 2:30 p.m. in Lakeview Patio C. Please check the agenda for any location or time changes. Information on the FSEA state convention will be provided. We will be discussing plans for the Grand Lodge convention in Kansas City, where FLOE will host the Ladies workshop. The workshop will be a meet and greet for the ladies across the country to meet each other and share ideas. Fundraisers are an important part of every lodge and let’s face it, the ladies are a huge part of the fundraising events, whether they are as a lodge member or a member of the Ladies organization in their lodge. This will be a great way to share fundraising ideas. I’m sure ladies in other states do things we have never thought of and vice versa. We can all get together and bring innovative ideas back to our own lodges, increasing funds raised and increasing attendance at our fundraising events. If you are planning to attend the Grand Lodge convention, we would love your help planning the workshop. Please contact us at floe@floridaelks.org.

The FLOE Angel Reverse Draw tickets are now available with a donation of $20 each. There are 300 tickets available and six winners, with a top prize of $2,000. This fundraiser benefits Florida Elks Children’s Therapy Services.

As a reminder, every lady Elk, wife of an Elk and widow of an Elk are members of FLOE. There are not any applications to complete or dues to pay. If you are a lady affiliated with an Elks lodge in Florida, you are automatically a member. How active a lady chooses to be is completely up to her, but she remains a member of FLOE.

Feel free to contact us via email floe@floridaelks.org with any questions or comments. We would love to hear from you.

Pauline