Vol. XI No VI Serving the Community Since 1903 June, 2016 As Americans, our lives are rooted in a rich and colorful history. As Elks, we belong to a higher and nobler purpose. Both facets will be honored this year on Flag Day, June 4th, 2016. Our Esteemed Lecturing Knight, Bob Bennett, has put together a great program that will make your heart swell with pride, make you proud to be an American, and proud to be a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Stick around af-terwards for our annual family picnic.

Speaking of making your heart swell with pride, Nancy and I had the opportunity to participate in the Ma-rine Corps Historic Half Marathon and Semper Five in Freder-icksburg this past Sunday. Nancy ran the Semper Five and I vol-unteered to pass out water to the runners of both races. To see people running while holding the American Flag, or while holding pictures of their loved ones who were lost in combat action was great, but to see some of the Veterans who returned to the United States with severe disabilities and still have the courage and the internal fortitude to come out and do their best to run or walk the half marathon and Semper Five was incredible and a true inspiration to watch. It was a huge group of people from all walks of life coming together and showing their true American Spirit and Patriotism. It was truly awesome and something I will never forget!

We are heading into a busy time of year for the Elks. As stated, we celebrate Flag Day on the 4th of June and a few days later we have the Virginia Elks Association State Convention being held in Fairfax, VA. from 9 – 12 June. Less than a month after the State Convention, we will head to Houston, TX. from 3 – 6 July, for the Elks National Convention where we will see Ron Hicks go in style as the outgoing Grand Exalted Ruler and welcome the new Grand Exalted Ruler for 2016/2017.

We had an awesome Mother’s Day Tea at the Lodge and unfortu-nately, I could not be there for the event as I was flying back from the west coast. From all the reports I received, the speaker was magnificent and the camaraderie, food and beverag-es were off the charts. I did make it back just in time for the Kentucky Derby Race party in the lounge in which we had a great turn out of people and I don’t think anyone left hungry that night. A big shout out to the committees who made both of these events a big success.

Until next month, take care of yourself and take care of your fellow Elks!

Fraternally Yours, Tim Mead Exalted Ruler

UPCOMING FOR

JUNE…

Wed., June 1st—Dinner in the Lounge Fri., June 3rd—Dinner & Queen of Hearts Sat. June 4th—Flag Day Ceremony and Family Picnic Thur., June 9th—DARE Day, 9am—1pm, Pratt Park June 9-11th– VEA Spring Convention\ Sun., June 10th—Fathers Day Fri., June 10th—Dinner & Queen of Hearts Mon., June 13th—Lodge Meeting, 7pm Wed., June 15th—Home Committee, 7pm Fri., June 17th—Dinner & Queen of Hearts Mon., June 20th—Lodge Meeting & Initiation, 7pm Fri., June 24th—Dinner & Queen of Hearts Mon., June 27th—Lodge Meeting, 7pm

Visit our Lodge’s website www.bpoe875.org for the latest information, photos

from past events, and newsletters from the past.

Fredericksburg Elks Lodge #875 June 2016— Page 2

Just $5 a ticket! Come out and join us on Fri-

day nights. Great food, great fellowship, and

a great chance to win $. You could be the

next winner! You do not have to be present to

win, make sure you put your name & phone

number on the ticket and return for the

drawing..

Members,

The 2016-2017 Lodge Dues are

coming in at a slower pace. We still

have 77 members that are delinquent.

If by chance you did not receive a dues

billing statement, please contact me

ASAP. The new Membership Cards are

ready and will be mailed immediately

upon receipt of dues. You may also stop

by the office, pay your dues, and pick up

your card.

As a reminder to all Lodge Com-

mittee Chairs, you are required to sub-

mit an Event After-Action Report with-

in seven days after a fund raising event.

Additionally, you must include the Pro-

gram/Event Workers Log. These statis-

tics show that we are indeed a charita-

ble and benevolent organization. If you

need assistance with this report please

see me.

At the last Lodge meeting on 9

May 2016, our new officer’s had the

privilege of initiating two new members.

Please take time to welcome Mark

Nowacki of Locust Grove, Virginia and

Gary T. Tyson of Stafford, Virginia into

our Lodge.

Happy Birthday to Elks Lodge

#875. Our Lodge will be 113 years old

on 23 June 2016.

Do a friend a favor and ask them

to join the ELKS. As always, it is in-

deed a pleasure and an honor to be your

Lodge Secretary. Thank You!

Fraternally,

Diane M. Blesi

ELKS FUNERAL RITUAL The Past Exalted Rulers, in an effort to honor our departed brothers and sisters, have formed a group of dedicated members to perform THE ELKS FUNERAL RITUAL at the visitation or funeral of a lost member.

Any family wishing to have this ritual performed for their loved ones passing should contact PER Pete Decatur (540-273-7425) or PER Ray Dameron (540-760-1272). Timing is very im-portant. As soon as the family decides these services are needed, please call.

FREDERICKSBURG ELKS PER ASSOCIATION

Fredericksburg Elks Lodge #875 June 2016— Page 3

Day Name 1 Hamlett, Barbara

Hanson Allen, Kama

2 Jett, Gary

Sullivan, Kenneth

4 Herndon, Benjamin

6 Carroll, Franklin

Van Aman, Lynn

7 Self, James

8 Carr, Steven

9 Guest, Robert

Lakins, Glen

Martin, Joanne

Scoggins, Lindsey

Toombs, Franklin

11 Bullock, Travis

Cropp, Ronald

Harris, William

Hedge, James

Hughes, Cynthia

Loving, Dennis

Mead, David

Seftas, Anthony

Simpson, Harrison

12 Delossantoscoy, Cathrine

Dodson, Cathy

13 Eutsler, Shirley

Kluxen, Kathleen

15 Chenault, Norman

Kiser, Betty Nolan

18 Murray, Terrence

20 Decatur, Linda

23 Bennett, Robert

Cline, Larry

Sorrentino, Frank

24 Ames, Timothy

Boutchyard, Willis

Perony, Marie-Francoise

25 Brooks, Frank

Lawynas, Ben

Tison, James

26 Ward, Gary

27 Bowker, Richard

Denhoff, Robert

28 Gentry, Kim Faulconer

Russell Berry, Marcia

29 Burch, Robert

Thomas, Jesse

June Birthdays Happy Birthday to ..

In Our Entire

LODGE

Get Ready for the Elks

PIG ROAST

September 17th

For More Ray Dameron,

Information Chris Thomas

Contact: Steve Piccirilli

Elk’s “Bingo Backbone” If you enjoy your lodge in any way at all, you can lit-erally thank our Bingo and Pull Tab Enterprises. It is the bulk or our revenue, serving as the lodge’s backbone in terms of our ability to keep the lodge open to serve you and the charities we support.

But we are running desperately low on volunteers to run it. This stretches our current volunteers to the breaking point in terms of how much they have to do and it is getting to the point where they just can’t do it all.

So PLEASE consider coming out. The work is easy and when properly manned, it is as fun and en-tertaining for the volunteers as it is for the play-ers. Just a day or two a month can make all the dif-ference.

Contact Linda Pickering today to add your name to those who keep our lodge running. Or call 540-371-4250 and let our secretary Diane Blesi know.

Fredericksburg Elks Lodge #875 June 2016— Page 4

PUBLIC RELATIONS

When an article is to be considered for publication there are several pieces of information needed. There is a difference in the content for articles to be publicized in the Free Lance Star, Elks Magazine and/or the web, whether or not for the general public or Elk members only. These articles are worded differently and photos have guidelines.

If you have an event that will be open to the public, please notify me when you begin the planning. It is important that I receive all the pertinent information in a timely manner. Once I have all the information, I can submit the articles to the Free Lance Star, ELKS Magazine and/or the web. There are cut-off dates, as to when I can submit articles.

If you are having an event for Elks members only and would like to have publicity in the Elks Magazine and/or on the web, send me all the information on the event and I will ensure it is in the proper format to forward. Once again, there are cut-off dates.

Any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me: Maureen Moe Nolet, (h)540-370-0036; (c) 571-236-2692;NLTMAUREEN@aol.com

"Nice things happen when people work together"

Live

Band

In

Lounge

After-

wards Band

Fredericksburg Elks Lodge #875 June 2016— Page 5

EYES ON THIS ELK MEMBER Donna Bivens

Do you know this Elk member? She is Donna Bivens and has been a member of our lodge for 11 years. She is mar-

ried to Larry for 41 years and has two children. Larry is a re-tired fireman. Donna has been employed at the Fredericks-

burg General District Court for 28 years. Their daughter, Shannon is 41 years old, single and has one son. Her other

daughter, Tracy, is 39 years old, married with two children.

Donna was born in Washington, DC, lived in Maryland for 23 years then moved to Stafford. Some of her hobbies are

dancing and reading. In the past she has also created made to order wreaths with a group called “Classic Courts.” She and

her husband belong to the dance group called The Battlefield Boggie Club and the DC

Hand Dance Club. They can be found anywhere there is dancing.

At the Elks Lodge, Donna volunteers her time for Bingo nights & volunteers for other

positions whenever she is asked. She also plays a key role with our monthly newsletter. Donna has been in this role for 10 years. She picks up the monthly newsletter from the

printer, picks up the mailing labels from the lodge, affixes the labels to the newsletters, and then takes them to the post office where she needs to sort them according to zip code

for delivery. Thank you Donna for doing this important task.

Donna’s favorite things to do are to spend time with her family, travel, dancing, and of course, spoiling her grandchildren. Her grandchildren are 20 months old, 5 years old

and 22 years old.

Donna said that she has met many nice and sincere people and enjoys volunteering

her time at the Elks. She believes the Elks does great work in the community, has great

events/activities, and believes the Elks are a great organization.

Next time you see Donna at the lodge, introduce yourself to her and thank her for

her hard work and generosity of her time.

Submitted by

Maureen “Moe” Nolet

Good Ole Boys forgot important people.

Thank You Tom Eustler awesome Cole Slaw.

Marcia Blair and Kylene Miller

Couldn't do it without you two!

Fredericksburg Elks Lodge #875 June 2016— Page 6

Smoking Or

No Smoking?

You Decide!

There was a motion brought to the floor at the meeting held on Monday, May 9th,

2016 to eliminate smoking inside of the Lodge to include the Bar, Lounge and V-Tab room.

The decision was made to put it to a vote to make a change to the lounge rules to eliminate

smoking inside the entire facility. The vote will be held at the regular Lodge meeting sched-

uled for Monday, June 27th, 2016.

If the vote goes in favor to eliminate smoking inside of the building, I will work with

the Trustees to provide a covered area outside of the building for the smokers during inclem-

ent weather.

If you feel strongly one way or the other, I highly recommend you show up for the

meeting on June 27th so your vote will count.

If you have any questions prior to the vote, please email me at

tim.mead100@gmail.com and I will address them directly with you and bring them to the

floor if necessary prior to the vote. That way, everyone is aware of your concerns whether

you are for or against smoking in the building.

Thanks,

Tim Mead

Exalted Ruler

The Fredericksburg Elks Lodge 875 held its annual Kentucky Derby Party and fun was had by all.

Charlotte Leitch came in first place in the hat competition and Dennis Loving was the big winner of

the wagon of cheer. The crowd was fantastic and the food was outstanding. The committee did a

fantastic job putting this party together.

“ Kentucky Derby Fun”

Dennis Loving

showing off his

Prize

“ Kentucky Derby Committee ”

pictured L to R:

Marcia Blair, Shelby Frantum, Carol

Shiflett, Cindy Smith, Gary Padgett,

Nancy Avery, Rick Smith and Chris

Thomas.

Not pictured is DJ Dicky Estes.

Fredericksburg Elks Lodge #875 June 2016— Page 7

Fredericksburg Elks Lodge 875 Hosts

The Preakness Lounge Party! A great time was had by all who attended the Preakness Party in the Lounge on Sat-

urday, May 21st 2016. Gary Padgett and his crew of volunteers did an outstanding job of

putting on a spectacular event. Gary spent countless hours preparing for this party and he

coordinated with 27 different restaurants to donate food and paper products for the event.

Additionally, Home Depot donated a full size gas grill and patio set for six that one lucky

winner won during the raffle. Other gift certificates from Ristorante Renato’s and Olde

Town Steak and Seafood were awarded to the lucky winner of the “guess how many candies

in the jar” contest. An estimated $2500 was raised during this event which will be donated

to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Prior to the Preakness Party, a pool tournament was held in the pool room adjacent to

the lounge. Gary Leitch spearheaded this event and there was about 20 contestants partici-

pating in the Doubles Tournament. Keep an eye on the newsletter and emails for future

events happening in the Lodge.

Fredericksburg Elks Lodge #875 June 2016— Page 8

Campaign and Committee Updates

Virginia Youth Camp Fundraising Campaign Lodge #875 is selling raffle tickets to help support our Virginia Elks Youth Camp. Only 600 tickets will be sold. The cost of a ticket is $20.00. The prizes will be awarded at the 2016 VEA Spring Convention on Saturday, June 11, 2016; 50% of the total amount collected will be returned as prizes. 1st prize: $3,000, 2nd Prize: $2,000, 3rd Prize: $1,000. It is not necessary to be present to win. Please see the bartender on duty or the Lodge Secretary to purchase a ticket.

Lodge #875 Sickness & Distress Committee

The Sickness & Distress Committee has been established for Elks Lodge 875. If you are in need of assistance, or know of any of our Elk members that may need our help, please notify a committee member. The Committee members contact information is as follows:

Ed Blesi, edblesi@hotmail.com, (540) 371-5240 or (571)-643-8668, Diane M. Blesi, diblesi@hotmail.com (540) 494-8899 or 5400-372-3783,

Linda Decatur, linda.pete.decatur@verizon.net, 540-548-4889, Pete Decatur, linda.pete.decatur@verizon.net, 540-548-4889, Maureen (Moe) Nolet, nltmaureen@aol.com, 540-370-0036,

571-236-269 Richard (Dicky) Smith, (540) 786-8155

Preakness Party continued

Fredericksburg Elks Lodge #875 June 2016— Page 9

ALSO OFFERING A DAILY

SOUP AND SANDWICH SPECIAL!

1st Wednesday June 1st Roast Prime Rib au Jus served with Baked Potato, Vegetables and a Roll $16.00 Fish Cakes with French Fries and Cole Slaw and a Roll $8.25 Shrimp and Cheese Quiche served with Small Salad and a Roll $7.75 Bowl of Soup du Jour served with Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad and a Roll $7.75

2nd Wednesday June 8th Shepherds’ Pie served with Small Salad and a Roll $8.00 Chicken Cordon Bleu served with Potato, Salad and a Roll $8.00 Ham and Cheese Quiche served with Small Salad and a Roll $7.75 Bowl of Soup du Jour served with Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad and a Roll $7.75

3rd Wednesday June 15th Chicken Breast with Tomato-Basil Cream Sauce served with Pasta, Small Salad, and a Roll $8.25 Tuna Salad Plate with Fresh Fruit and Vegetables and a Roll $8.25 Bacon-Tomato Quiche served with Small Salad and a Roll $7.75 Bowl of Soup du Jour served with Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad and a Roll $7.75

4th Wednesday June 22nd Swedish Meatballs over Egg Noodles and served with a Small Salad and a Roll $7.25 Coq au Vin (a classic French Chicken cooked in Red Wine) served with Salad and a Roll $7.75 Crabmeat Quiche served with Small Salad and Roll $7.75 Bowl of Soup du Jour served with Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad and a Roll $7.75

5th Wednesday June 29th Country Style Meatloaf with Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Vegetable and a Roll $7.75 Crabmeat Salad Plate served with Fresh Fruits and Vegetables on a Bed of Mixed Greens Served with a Roll $7.75 Asparagus and Swiss Cheese Quiche served with Small Salad and Roll $7.75 Bowl of Soup du Jour served with Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad and a Roll $7.75

Monday Ham, Turkey and Bacon Club served with Chips and a Pickle $6. 00

Tuesday Pork BBQ with Tomato based Sauce on a Bun with Cole Slaw $6. 75

Wednesday Grilled Cheese and Tomato with Chips and a Pickle $6. 00

Thursday Grilled Rueben Sandwich served with Chips and a Pickle $6. 50

Friday Tuna Salad Sandwich on a Croissant with Lettuce, Tomato, Chips and a Pickle $6. 75

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks (BPOE)

Fredericksburg Lodge #875 11309 Tidewater Trail

P.O. Box 215 Fredericksburg, VA 22404-0215

Office: (540) 371-5240 Lounge (540) 371-8216

Website: www.bpoe875.org

SUN MON TUES WED THUR FRI SAT

1

Dinner &

Happy Hour

2

Bingo

3 Dinner &

Queen of

Hearts

4 Flag Day

Ceremony

& Family

Picnic

5

6

7

Bingo

8

Dinner &

Happy Hour

9

Bingo

Dare Day

10 Dinner

&

Queen of

Hearts

11

9-11th VEA

Spring

Convention

12 13

Lodge

Meeting

14

Bingo

15

Dinner &

Happy Hour

16

Bingo

17 Dinner

&

Queen of

Hearts

18

19

Fathers Day

20

21

Bingo

22

Dinner &

Happy Hour

23

Bingo

24 Dinner

&

Queen of

Hearts

25

26 27

Lodge

Meeting

28

Bingo

29

Dinner &

Happy Hour

30

Bingo

JUNE

2016—2017 OFFICERS

Exalted Ruler Tim Mead

Leading Knight Tim Henderson

Loyal Knight Ed Blesi

Lecturing Knight Bob Bennett

Esquire Betty Gallahan

Tiler Shelby Frantum

Inner Guard Nancy Avery

Chaplain Debbie Cash

Secretary Diane Blesi

Treasurer Charlotte Leitch

Alt to Grand Lodge PER Ron Sykes

TRUSTEES NEWSLETTER STAFF Linda Pickering Editor: Maxine Schremp Travis Bullock E-mail: Gary Leitch mschremp2002@yahoo.com Carol Baker Distribution: Donna Bivens Georjean McDermott Printing: M J Printers