Recently, outgoing (and incoming!) Exalted Ruler John Snyder presented his end of year awards to deserving Elks in our lodge. Carla Hawkins was chosen as Elk of the Year, Albert Kinman, PER, received Officer of the Year. Receiving Outstanding Committee Chair awards were Sulena Bryant, Veterans’ Chair; and Jerry Harley,PER, Hoop Shoot Chair.

Congratulations to these excellent members! Please join us in thanking them for their contributions to our lodge!

Frankfort Elks members delivered 35 gently used men’s coats, various other clothing items, and suitcases to the Veterans Clothing room at the Lexington VA on Leestown Road. This was fourth year that the Elks have partnered with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Employees “We Care” Coat Drive that is coordinated by Shannon Martin. Pictured above from left to right are VA volunteer Alfredo Miranda, VA clothing room supervisor Ana Miranda, and Frankfort Elk Sandy Moore.

This is just another example of how our members honor the pledge that Elks have made: “So long as there are veterans, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks will never forget them.” If you want to join in on our efforts to help our veterans, find out more about our lodge on our membership page, or talk to an Elks member about joining.

Christmas is a special time of year for Elks. Each year at Frankfort Lodge #530, we invite a group of underprivileged children to the lodge for a Christmas party. This year’s party was held recently, and featured 25 kids getting a visit from Santa Claus, a pile of gifts, pizza, cookies, drinks, and even a Christmas story read by Mrs. Claus.

Pictured above is Santa with a special child named Hope. If you’d like to get involved in the great work our lodge is doing, head over to our membership page, or talk to an Elks member about joining.

Frankfort Lodge #530 distributed 677 dictionaries, bookmarks and drug awareness ribbons to every third grader in the Franklin County and Frankfort Independent School districts, along with Capital Day, Frankfort Christian Academy and Good Shepherd Schools. Pictured above is Ms. Cracraft’s third grade class from Collins Lane Elementary along with Loyal Knight Mark Ruble and Elk member Leigh Skaggs, who chairs the Dictionary Project at Frankfort Lodge.

The Dictionary Project was founded in 1995 by Mary French of Charleston, SC. Its primary focus is to promote literacy to children in third grade as they transition from learning how to read to identifying and using information. Over the course of the program, nearly 15 million third-grade students have received dictionaries including about 2.5 million dictionaries donated in 2009.

Elks joined this movement in 2004. Nationwide they have donated more than 1.2 million dictionaries to third-grade students and their teachers as sponsors of The Dictionary Project over the last 6 years. There are 600 lodges that actively participate in the program. Along with contributing to our communities, this project is also a part of the Elks National Drug Awareness Program.

Big thanks to Bill and Sandy Moore for their support and guidance, to Leigh Skaggs for chairing this very important project along with help from Mark Ruble and Charlie Cunningham.

On November 20, Frankfort Elks Lodge #530 initiated 13 new members. If you see someone new to the lodge, please introduce yourself and offer a welcome to being a part of the Best People On Earth! If you know someone who would make a great member, bring them down to the lodge and get an application from the bartender.

Pictured from left to right:
Aaron Lester, Beverly Lester, Katherine Stephanski, Justin Lafayette, Albert Becker, Derrick Baily, Tracy Young, David Clark, Sara Morgan, Melody Stephenson, Kim Hart Vanderoort, and Randall Robinson