West Central District
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On Aug. 21, George Hilficker, Tampa Lodge House Committee Chair, presented an Eagle certificate to scout Ethan D'India of Troop 53 at his Court of Honor held at American Legion Post 139. His project was to build and install bat houses along the 9.2-mile Upper Hillsborough Trail.
Pictured are lodge member Frank Smith Sr. and Commander of the Post, who was there presenting a certificate from another organization; Ethan D'India; and Geroge Hilficker.
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- Written by: Rita Smith
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On Aug. 22, the Exalted Ruler of Tampa Lodge, Rita Smith, dropped off a bag of costume jewelry to be used as prizes for bingo and other games at the Hillsborough County Barksdale Senior Center. The value of the donation was approximately $240 and was donated to the lodge by Jeanne Reinhart, PDD.
Pictured is Charles from the Barksdale Senior Center with the donation.
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Two members of Tampa Lodge volunteered to help Ms. Hand, a fellow Elk and the school sponsor for Club Chivalry, organize her classroom Aug. 4. Betty Orcutt, Past Lady President, and Doug Grant, lodge trustee, organized classroom decorations and several metal cabinets full of school supplies.
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On July 13, Tampa Elks Lodge #708 voted to award a $400 scholarship to Kristina Chowning, Ph.D. The scholarship will help her attend an invitation-only course to become a certified educational trainer, which means she will be certified to train other educators on the processes outlined in her recent doctorate dissertation.
Pictured July 21 are Douglas Grant, five-year trustee; Dr. Kristina Chowning; and Camden Lynn, Leading Knight.
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An Eagle Court of Honor for Troop 53’s Will Richter was held at International Moose Lodge 912. George Hilficker, Tampa Lodge’s House Committee Chair, presented him with the Elks Eagle Certificate. Richter did his Eagle project on MacDill Air Force Base (AFB) at the camping pavilion. The pavilion sits on a beach on Old Tampa Bay and had sustained some storm damage over the years. He led a team that rebuilt the fire pit, replaced some benches, rebuilt the roof of a wooden storage shed and pressure washed the concrete pavilion.
Pictured are Rich Jackson, Troop 53’s scoutmaster; Will Richter, Eagle Scout; and his mother, Karla Richter, who has just retired from active duty at MacDill AFB. Her son is the third Eagle Scout from Troop 53 this year.
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Tampa Lodge held its annual Flag Day ceremony June 14, with all the lodge Ritual officers participating. There were approximately 40 Elks, members of the community and scouts in attendance. Each received an American flag lapel pin. BSA Troop 53 assisted in the ceremony, showing up an hour early for a practice. The scouts did a great job presenting the flags at the proper time and in the proper order. Richard Florance, PER, Lodge Americanism Chair, read the mandatory Response. The ceremony was filmed and shown on Fox 13’s 11 p.m. news. Following the ceremony, lodge trustees served hot dogs, baked beans, macaroni salad, watermelon, cake, soft drinks and water, all at no cost to attendees.
Pictured are Rita Smith, Exalted Ruler, and scouts.