TO ALL MEMBERS!

Well the Holiday's are all but a memory now. I hope everyone had a happy and peaceful New Year. If you were one of the members who attended our annual New Year's Eve party I am sure you enjoyed the evening. It was nice to see members and the general public mingling and enjoying the food and festivities together. A special thank you to DJ Neil of "Spinners Plus" for keeping the crowed energized and the atmosphere lighthearted and fun. I would like to also thank the officers and members who pitched in and helped out. You made the evening run very smoothly.

In the last issue of the Elks Tale I reported that the officers were getting ready to compete in the NJ State Ritual Contest. Unfortunately since then things have changed. Due to unforeseen vacancies in several chair officer positions, the absence of a candidate and numerous financial and operational issues I had to make the decision that Flemington Lodge would not be competing. I met with the remaining officers and the PER association prior to making this decision and all were in agreement with this difficult decision. At this point the information I have is that Somerville Lodge will be representing the West Central District. The officers and I will be attending to support Somerville at the contest and wish them the best of luck. Anyone wishing to attend and show their support please see me for details.

I am happy to report that bookings are increasing. I would like to acknowledge the hard work and swift follow up by the trustees that are the catalyst in driving the increase in revenue in this area. Additionally, the fund raising task force committee headed up by Rich Decker has come up with several excellent ideas. We are exploring these ideas in hope that they will increase membership and generate additional revenue for the lodge.

As you know the ELK year is quickly coming to an end. At this point we are still looking to fill several officer positions for the upcoming year. Please consider helping out your lodge and become an officer or committee chairperson. At the January 13th meeting we initiated three new members into the lodge; Ida Marie Grady, Michael Salvia and Tom Cavallo. Please welcome them with open arms and make them feel at home. I hope to bring in one more class before my term expires. So once again, please go out and sponsor a new member or try and get a lapsed member back to active status.

Also at this meeting the lodge passed a policy on the use of lodge property. This policy is printed in another section of this publication. Please take a moment and review this policy.

I would like to conclude this article by wishing you and yours a happy Valentine's Day. Please remember to come out on Super Bowl Sunday and enjoy good food and the excitement of cheering your favorite team on. Oh, and by the way look for our new "OPEN" sign in the grill room window. If you see the bright glow, stop on in.

As Always…..Let's BE ALL WE CAN BE & CONTINUE THE FLEMINGTON TRADITION!

Fraternally,
Brad A. Stockelberg
56th Exalted Ruler