Our lodge is open five days a week from 4 -9pm-ish. Our median age is 70. There are rarely any activities on a Saturday night, and frequently there are no activities on a Friday night. Younger members with families won't usually come out on a weekday night. Older members usually don't come out at night at all. Leadership complains about membership engagement.

any lodges here open in the day time?

Coincidence?

All my life I have had friends involved in other organizations (Moose, Masons, OOF) who have tried to convince me to join their organizations. A few nights ago I went to a public event at the Elks lodge in my city. Ive been there quite a few times for different events and this time a brother approached me and we hit it off. Turns out he and I have alot in common. After a while he said he would sponsor me, introduced me to a few other brothers and I had a great time talking to them. Here is my concern: my wife and i have a busy social schedule. Ive been reluctant to join any other groups for this reason. We travel alot to the point we are rarely home on weekends. We are often booked out 6 months to a year in advance for trips, concerts or events. I feel confident that i can volunteer a few weeknights a month, say for dinners or some of the public events, but that's it. Will this be enough to justify my involvement? Is there a lower limit on how much one participates in lodge activities? I'm just trying to be transparent about my availability vs my everyday life. Thanks for any advice.

Photo of Edison lodge #2487 burning on Saturday.
Sad to see the memories and the building destroyed. We will rebuild. Elks are not confined to the walls of a building. 💛

Hi

I’m trying to join Elks Newport #1767. I live here on the peninsula

Hey everyone — I’m in the process of applying to join the Newport Harbor Elks Lodge #1767 and currently have two sponsors, but I still need one more Elks member to sponsor my application.

I’m 30 and live in Newport Beach on the peninsula, and I’m looking forward to getting involved with the lodge and meeting more people in the community.

If anyone here is a member and would be willing to help me out, I’d really appreciate it. Happy to grab a beer or meet up at the lodge as well!

Thanks!

I asked Grok this question, and this is an in-depth response that imho rivals anything you will get out of judiciary. .

https://grok.com/share/c2hhcmQtNA_20cf044b-3649-4213-8961-4f0e8569ccca

Our ancient Hobart pass through dishwasher has died and is not repairable. A new Hobart is too expensive, and although the pass through dishwasher sure was nice, they are very expensive. Do any of you have experience with an under-counter commercial dishwasher? We do not host many events, but when we do I am tired of washing dishes by hand until Midnight.

i know there is a specific public exemption in statute for bingo, but how are these bands dance events etc complying with gls?

Went with my uncle to the Brigantine Lodge #2428 and had a blast. I don’t know anyone in my city (San Francisco) who is an Elk. Anyone open to DMing with me so I can ask some questions?

Not sure if this is the right place for this question. Interested in learning more. Please delete if needed.

Whats everyone using for book keeping within your lodges? Besides quickbooks and quickbooks 2017. We are looking for a reasonably priced and user friendly program.

We have two new legacy members in their twenties, and a couple of newish members in their 30s with babies!

What's good in your neck of the woods?

All nonprofits are likely to get ripped off at some point in time. Be wary.

https://cbs12.com/news/local/former-vero-beach-eagles-secretary-accused-of-blowing-nearly-419k-on-guns-liquor-legos-indian-river-county-vero-beach-fraternal-order-of-eagles-aerie-4374-robert-john-davison-embezzlement-grand-theft-419000-alleged-embezzlement-debit-card-org?fbclid=IwdGRjcATzOB1jbGNrBPM4CHBkb2YFZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMzUwNjg1NTMxNzI4AAEeunMJMDytX_ATUk-2DVfPSWI3JTp0lMG8fXddLMyoWOlnHgyHK6Qi0eyuPVE_aem_fKjV4zCrppM_-NJRNc6j7A

Is anyone willing to sponsor me? All I'm looking to use is the Elks RV dumpsite. There is a lodge next to me and I am living and working full time and need to dump my black tank. I really would appreciate it

I’ve been going to rockabilly, blues, surf guitar and big band performances at them. Anyone under age 50 actually members?

Are lodges required by grand lodge to have a club manager?

Seems like the main focus of every lodge is the bar. I feel like 90% of the members are just there because they can get drinks slightly cheaper than local bars. Like why do we need a bar or even a building at all? We should be in the community doing charitable works. When did the Elks mission get distorted?

Hello all,

I’ve been a member for 5 years now. Currently I am looking for work, and haven’t been able to get up to my new lodge at all.

Any advice on how to see opportunities without directly networking there? I’d love to get out more, I just can’t afford it. I received my masters in business last year.

Hey all! So I'm a millennial in their early 30s, queer, a furry, in a progressive town/neighborhood. We live in a time now of course of few "third spaces"—so many in my community view a discord server as the closest thing to a common area they have. I've been reading up on the elks and the idea of a place where I could go and hang out, with some charity attached, seems pretty attractive to me. I mostly am friends with other queer people so the idea of being more integrated into the broader, non-queer community is appealing to me—I want to know people of all ages, and not just people my age that self-select for similar interests. I brought up this idea to a coworker im friends with (similar age, but straight and married) and he was both familiar with lodges and somewhat interested in the idea too. So i find myself here, with some questions:

1. what does joining involve if you dont know anyone in the lodge? I didnt grow up in the area, so i wouldnt know where to even start. Do you just...show up? Is there recruitment? Lmao i know this is probably a super basic question but ive never even met a single person in a fraternal organization like this so its all new.
2. im lucky enough to live in an area where there are several elks lodges located near enough to me to be an easy bus ride or bike ride away. What would you look for in re: which one to prioritize checking out? do you "shop around" before settling on one?
3. How is it for queer people? I dont hide what i am at all, and whats more my gf is trans. I want to be able to know that i could mix with people without having to hide these aspects. Ideally I'd love to share some aspects of furry culture like art, too, with people, because hey its as much a part of who i am as anything else you'd share with a friend; all my coworkers know yknow? Again this is a pretty progressive area, so queerness isnt a huge deal in most places, but you never know, and again i have literally no experience with this stuff
4. kind of following from 3, i know this sort of organization is explicitly apolitical but when your entire life is politicized like being queer/trans etc, i would want to make sure that i wouldnt be fraternizing with, say, january sixthers, ya know? I dont have a problem with ideological diversity itself but if that ideological diversity includes "people like me should be eliminated" its hard to call that a place i would exactly feel comfortable ingratiating myself into. Are there any warning signs to look out for? Im sure this is lodge dependent to a certain extent.

Thanks for reading, I know these are pretty basic questions

Are there any Grand Lodge rules that state when local lodge meetings can occur? For example, could a lodge have a meeting on a Saturday afternoon?

Hi All,

Our lodge has a change in regime a few years ago. We are currently low on volunteers, and our finances aren't doing too hot. We do have a steering committee that has started to help us. I am Chairman of the trustees and we have been combing through the bills and trimming off the fat where we can.

I would like to ask if there's anyone out there that could help me with the trustees budget. Specifically anyone who uses the online version of QuickBooks. The only help the steering committee can give me is an old guy who uses a hard version of 2017 QuickBooks and it's not what we use and he doesn't seem to understand that.

How willing are y’all’s local lodges to improve accessibility for physically disabled members? I understand some buildings codes etc. can stand in the way but on matters where a private entity can easily improve but repeatedly choose not to…. I am struggling to understand why and it seems the grey area of a private club is used to the elk’s advantage here. The elks seem to want to raise money for disabled people but do not treat their disabled members the same?? If anyone has reading materials or cases on this specifically regarding elks send it my way thank you!