Carl's Corner
Fall 2016
We are fast arriving at month eight of the lodge year and by now the lodge should be reaping the benefits of the leadership provided by the lodge management team! Meetings are being held and are well attended by members who are interested in helping the lodge succeed. VP and DD visits are now in full swing and your members are learning a lot about the Elks organization from attending them and from their interactions with other lodges. Goals are being met, sights are being set on electing your successors and overall things are going as well as could be expected! What’s that you say? I’m living in a dream world? That’s not at all what is going on at your lodge? If that is the case then what can be done about it? There are probably a number of solutions to the problem(s), perhaps even a few that follow:
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Summer 2016
As I write this message I am in the midst of spending a week at the most amazing place, the Florida Elks Youth Camp! In my new role as COO I thought it appropriate to spend a week shadowing the activities of the camp to obtain an outsider’s perspective on how our camp operates. From camp check-in to laundry, from the camp kitchen to nighttime chaperone, from the cabins to the maintenance barn, from infirmary to campfire, it has been a view of our camp unprecedented until now and an experience I won’t soon forget! Suffice it to say, wow, wow and more wow! What a well-oiled machine we operate and what an impact we are making on our youth! Our entire staff is second to none!
Spring 2016
It’s time once again for the annual update of our statewide membership numbers! To borrow a phrase from last year’s report, we were once again “so close.” Last year we were just 209 members (0.37%) from a statewide membership gain and this past year which ended March 31, 2016, we were just 315 members (0.56%) away from a gain! We have certainly slowed the pace of our losses and maybe, just maybe, 2016 will be the year we record our first significant gain since 1991! Congratulations to everyone who helped contribute to our success this year! We start the year 55,536 members strong!
Winter 2016
Greetings and a very happy new year to all! Speaking of a new year, the start of a new year in our lodges is right around the corner, April 1. Will your lodge once again elect qualified leaders for the lodge, members who are not doing the lodge a favor with their service? Or, will your lodge continue a trend of electing only self-serving members of the clique who will make sure to keep the bar and food prices low and the dance bands on stage? Exercise your right to vote in the lodge officer elections. Take the time to meet the candidates and ensure that they have every member’s best interests at heart. When evaluating the leadership potential of a candidate, go back and read my article in the last issue of Florida Elks News or online and hold them to some very high standards.