It is almost here! The end of the year 2024! It will soon be a
memory; end it on a great note! Make it something to celebrate.
In our year as an ELK, whether you are a recent member or a
long term veteran, we congratulate you in your support of our
Lodge. Celebrate with your friends and family on another year
helping out the Lincoln community's youth and veterans. Thru
your time, energy and monies you make such a difference. It
would be hard to do alone. As Elks we help each other with our
time, money and knowledge to get great endeavors off the
ground, or keep a worthy one surviving thru out the years.
There is still time to invest in our Lodge. Dues will be due soon,
mail them in as soon as you can to keep our Lodge #80 around
Lincoln for another 136 years.
This year was a busy one with new Lodge Officer training in the
spring in Kearney, and the State Elks convention. Flag Day at our
Lodge held in June. Then off to the National convention in Austin
Texas to greet the Grand Lodge ER Douglas Schiefer, and his
wife Julia, from Ohio. Fall convention to help finalize new Officer
training, and experience in the State side of Nebraska Elks. All
that with Veterans activities and youth activities mixed in!
Our Lodge is busy with all kinds of activities going on, Scouts and
Christmas giving and Karaoke monthly. There is something for
everybody at our Lodge, invite a friend to attend a monthly din ner. Come out and enjoy an adult beverage of your choice at the
Jolly Corks Pub. Make new friends, start off the New Year cele brating with fellow Elks.
The Fraternal year will be coming to a close in April. We will be
taking Nominations for Citizen of the year and Elk of the year, so
if you know somebody that should be nominated let me know, we
will have a discussion. Always looking for some new officers; if
you are interested in being an Officer contact me. Your Lodge will
only be great with great leadership!
Take time to reflect on what you have in your life. Not going
well?... make a change, try something different, take a chance.
Life is full of surprises, you never know. It always seems to works
out. Start off the New Year with change. (I don't like change but I
can live with it.) That’s what makes life exciting and worth living!
As always Keep the EOG handy, get active in our Lodge, and just
have fun!
Troy Pedersen ER Lincoln Lodge #80
Grand Exalted Ruler
A Message from the Grand Exalted Ruler
Hon. Douglas A. Schiefer
New year begins, but Elks year ends soon
Happy 2025 to all our Elks family! Julia and I want to wish you and your families a healthy and happy new year.
January is the beginning of the last quarter of the Lodge year. Be sure to have your membership retention and arrears program ready to work on having a +1 membership gain for 2025! Have your committee reach out to delinquent Members. This personal contact could very well bring these Members back into our folds.
While we have so many Members who are active and going beyond the call of duty, we unfortunately have those who are delinquent in membership. We need to look over the lapsation list. Our delinquent Members had a reason for joining and they are worth keeping as active Members. Find out what you can do to improve this. Think of the missed opportunities that these delinquent Members could have had in making a legacy of service.
As we begin 2025, Lodges need to be focusing on several aspects: Our Members and membership, our Lodges and improvements, and our recognition to those who have given beyond the typical role of service.
There is no better way to recognize these people who have gone beyond the call of duty in their service to Elkdom than to award them with "Elk of the Year," "Officer of the Year," and "Citizen of the Year." The awards form can be accessed in CLMS2Web. They need to be submitted prior to March 31 so that the certificates can be printed and sent back to the Lodges for Officer installations. As an Exalted Ruler, you have an opportunity to recognize those Members who are doing everything without even being asked.
Speaking of legacy, the Legacy Award scholarship is available until February 3, 2025. It provides $4,000 scholarships to the children and grandchildren of Elks Members. Use the membership of Elkdom to pay it forward to help your children and grandchildren.
The end of year will be here before you know it. With the FRS system, your Lodge just needs to ensure all entries are current. The nice thing about the FRS system is your Lodge no longer needs to have the annual audit completed. However, you still must submit your 990 and 990T for each corporation in your Lodge. Have them completed by a qualified individual (e.g., CPA) and filed with the IRS and uploaded on Elks.org.
Elkdom's Heart for America means looking for ways to recognize the value of our Members, membership, and the value of looking forward to the future. Keep up the good work you are doing in your Lodge and community. I want you to know how much I appreciate all that you are doing for Elkdom. God bless you and God bless America.
Secretary Laurie Montag
Dues for the 2025/26 lodge year are $109.50, and are due by March 31, 2025. Membership statements will arrive in your mailbox toward the end of January. You may mail a check to the lodge or pay cash at the bar. For those of you who like to pay online, there will be a new interface, which we believe will be easier to use than last year’s interface. There is still a convenience fee for any electronic payment, whether done online or at the lodge. Among other donation options, you can now support our Veterans projects along with your dues payment.
I hope your New Year's resolutions included coming to the lodge more often! We have several activities upcoming – just check the calendar!
As always, please don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions or need assistance with all things Elk. There is voicemail on the lodge phone, or you may contact me as below. See you at the Lodge!
Laurie Montag / secretary@elks80.org / 402.202.6673 by text or phone Laurie Montag / secretary@elks80.org / 402.202.6673 by text or phone.
Leading Knight Randy King
The Leading Knight message is not available at this time.
Loyal Knight Dr William Jackson
The Loyal Knight message is not available at this time.
Lecturing Knight Bryan Leavitt
The Lecturing Knight message is not available at this time.
Karaoke, January 17th 6:00-9:00pm Bring a goodie to share.
Saturday, January 18th Ham 'n Beans Dinner Ham 'n beans, coleslaw, cornbread, roasted veggies and a dessert. $14.00 per person Social hour: 5:30pm Dinner: 6:30pm Please call ahead for your reservations. Sponsored by E.R. Troy and the Knights
Saturday, February 1, 2025 Chili Cook-off Social hour: 5:30pm Dinner: 6:30pm Bring your best chili and see who wins the coveted Chili-Pepper-Trophy. Chicken noodle soup will be available for those who are not chili fans. Come join the fun!
The lodge was informed that the Elk-O-Gram newsletter is available to current Elk members only.
With that in mind, it was decided to have members log on to the website to view the EOG.
In order to log on to the website, you will need to register a user id and password to obtain access.
To register, click on the words "Logon - Members only" in the upper right hand corner of a elks80.org web page. You will be taken to the logon page.
On logon page click on the "No password, please Register" words in the bottom right of the logon page. You wil be taken to the Registration form.
On the registration page, You will need to enter data in each field to create your password. This data must match the data that is on the CLMS (The Grand Elks Lodge database.) If you have problems with obtaining a password, please contact the webmaster (link at the bottom of every elks80 web page).
After you obtain your user credentials, return to the logon page and log on. You will then see a link to the newsletters on the menu on the left side of the screen.
Thanks for your cooperation and understanding.
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To All Lodge #80 Membership
The Covid-19 pandemic has truly disrupted and changed our lives in unprecedented ways. Places we used to visit or frequent have changed as we have. We all need to adjust to the new norm.
If you look around Lincoln, you can see the economic impact that we are currently experiencing. For the first time in my life I was left with a very unsettling feeling going to the grocery store and discovering shelf's that had no product on them or please limit yourself to 1, signs.
Even our lodge is struggling to make ends meet. We were given an increase in our property valuation, we were closed for several months, we did not have meals or events scheduled. Revenue that used to flow was nonexistent.
We had to do something. Since we had very limited resources coming in, we had to find ways to reduce costs. One way was to ask the County Tax commissioners to grant us a tax exemption, I am very sure that you have heard the term Quid Pro Quo. (This for that) So in exchange for a considerable savings (to all of us) we had to give up some hours of operation. We did not have to lay off any current employees we simply did not replace, again saving us a large chunk of money. We changed supply companies, soon cable companies, pest control companies and other things just to name a few.
We are making these changes to stay within our financial constraints and to be good Stewards of your money.
I appreciate your understanding. I am looking forward to seeing you all soon
Protect childhood with tenderness, old age with respect, cherish with reverence
the memory of those who have passed.
