Download GRAND LODGE ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE POWERPOINT

GRAND LODGE ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE
POWERPOINT PRESENTATION
Hello! I’m Jeff Durant, Chairman of the Grand Lodge Activities
Committee. When giving a presentation, I’ve always liked to follow
FDR’s 3-B’s for speaking: Be sincere, Be short, and Be seated. Since
PGER True has given me a short period of time, this should make him
very happy.
Welcome to the ‘new’ Grand Lodge Activities Committee for 2012.
That number, 2,012, may be an omen for that is the number of lodges
currently on record. This could be the year we reverse the trends of
membership losses and lodge closures! This could be the year we turn
things around! We’d like to work with you to make this a reality.
Begin slides
The Activities Committee’s duties are to promote, support and
oversee three Grand Lodge Programs; Community Projects, Public
Relations, and Youth Activities.
***Community Projects is the first one, and through this, local lodges
can establish and maintain programs and activities that have a
particular significance and importance to their local communities. ***
The Elks National Foundation’s Community Investment Program Grants
provides funding for these programs and there is $6.5 million dollars
available. All the lodge has to do is apply! ***The newest grant is the
Beacon Grant which is $1,000, and every lodge is eligible. Did you hear
that! Every lodge is eligible for a $1,000 grant for an Elk-driven
community project. It needs to be an on-going one, not just a one year
deal. Grants will be available starting July 1, 2012. A great article is in
the June 2012 issue of the Elks Magazine, on page 52, and explains all
the details and will answer all your questions. ***Gratitude Grants will
still be available to lodges making the GER per capita. Make your goal
early and you can double your lodge’s ability to make a difference in
your community. ***The ever popular Promise and Impact Grants will
also be on the table for those willing to apply. All of these will increase
the Elk’s position and visibility in communities across our country. ***
There are many ways to use these grants to increase community status
and hopefully, increase membership. Let everyone see how we share.
***Public Relations, the second program, is a vehicle through which the
image and public awareness of the Order are enhanced, both nationally
and, again, at the local level. *** By promoting public relations, we will
become more noticeable in our communities, and more accessible to
those in our towns, cities and villages, where there is a need to be
filled. By fulfilling a need, we are in the forefront of our communities,
and getting in the forefront will give us the much needed visibility in the
eyes of local leaders. *** There are many ideas on the elks.org website
to help with the publicity of events. Just open the page and try a few.
You may see one that will help, or modify one to suit your needs. Use
this excellent tool to help find, plan, carryout and publicize your
program or event. *** Search for ways to bring your ideas to the local
news. Don’t give up by saying the local papers won’t print our news.
Be creative and find ways to “blow your own horn”. Use church
bulletins, billboards, public service announcements and any other way
you can dream up to showcase your successes.
***Youth Activities is the third program within the Grand Lodge
Activities Committee. Here, we present programs and activities
benefiting youth, which are conducted nationally and at the local level.
***These are varied, but not limited to the ones you see here. ***Be
creative!! Loan your lodge out to scout troops, sponsor little league
teams or pee wee football. ***Let the community choir practice there
and allow summer leagues the use of the lodge for sign ups. ***Again,
go to elks.org and search for ways to serve the youth in your
communities. Look for local needs. The Elks will be able to make a big
difference in some small way. ***There are many suggestions and
ideas on the website. The Dictionary Project, Jr. Golf, Antlers Program,
Hoop Shoot, Soccer Shoot and Student Veteran Volunteers are all
discussed. Look for needs in your community and find ways to involve
the youth in your area to help with a program. Parents will be happy to
see their children involved and newspapers are more apt to cover
stories and publish photos about youth involvement in the community.
***It is your job to sell yourself, your lodge and the Elk’s Programs to
your communities. It’s the job of the Grand Lodge Activities Committee
to provide you with the information that will help you accomplish this
task. *** Again, use the website! Also available are the Public
Relations and Media Handbook and the Youth Activities Committee
Manual. They are full of ideas and are also on the website for
download. There are programs and many ideas to help bolster a lodge’s
already-existing programs, to make your lodge more visible in your
community. Start small, but start! It is the only way to fully utilize the
grants and programs to make your lodge the place to go when a
problem needs a solution. Remember that Elks Care and Elks Share.
We can share talents, ideas, materials, grant money and programs
already in existence, or create a new program by thinking outside the
box to bring about a big change in a big way.
*** The Grand Lodge Activities Committee consists of three areas,
Community Projects, Youth Activities and Public Relations. These all
work together to make your lodge more visible, stronger and a focal
point in your community. Try to get your members involved. Use their
talents and interests. Make a difference!
***The Activities Committee consists of eight members, one from each
Grand Lodge Area. They will be contacting you following the
convention to introduce themselves. This power point presentation
will also be available following the convention on elks.org. I
recommend that you download it and use it in your lodge for your
programs. We want to hear about your successes this next year. Let
your area representative know what you tried and how it worked, so
others who are struggling may get a little burst of energy and try a
different route to success. By sharing ideas and resources we can all
become a lot better and a lot brighter. We want everyone in your
community to look at the Elks and squint because of the beacon you
present!
***I thank you for your attention and let’s make our communities a
whole lot brighter this next year by promoting the programs I’ve
outlined.