The
festivities begin Friday night with the presentation of individual lodge awards
for various achievements including their service to youth programs, veterans,
the Elks National Foundation – the fraternal organization's major charity fund
– and the MEA's major project - the Maine Children's Cancer Program (MCCP).
There
will also be a special recognition and toast Friday night as the Elks celebrate
having given $3 million dollars in donations to MCCP. The program, chaired for
many years by Past State President Don Richard of the Rumford Lodge, was
created to provide comprehensive services to Maine's children with cancer and
their families. The program is based in Scarborough, but serves infants,
children, and adolescents from across the state.
A
subsidiary of Maine Medical Center, the program is linked to research centers
throughout the country and beyond, to provide children with treatments in
Maine. The MEA adopted the Maine Children’s Cancer Program as a major project
in 1985.
On
Saturday morning, delegates from the 22 Maine lodges will elect new officers
for the association during the business portion of the meeting. On Saturday
night, the Youth Scholarship Winners, Americanism Essay Contest Winners, and
Drug Awareness Contest Winners will be presented, as well as this year’s check
to the Maine Children's Cancer Program.
Another
major event at this year’s convention is the presentation of the Grand Lodge of
Elks Enrique “Kiki” Camerena Award to Lt. Thomas Reagan of the Bangor Police
Department. This award has been established by the Benevolent & Protective
Order of Elks to recognize and honor law enforcement officers who have made a
significant contribution in the field of drug prevention.
Reagan
is the first Maine police officer to receive this prestigious honor. The Elks
National Drug Awareness Director, Kent Gade, will make the presentation of the
national award to Lt. Reagan on Saturday, May 5.
More
information about the Maine Elks Association can be found by visiting www.maineelks.org.
No comments:
Post a Comment