Club Hours and Meetings:
We will continue to be open every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night during the hours of 4:00 –- 9:00 pm throughout the month of November. However, we will be closed on Thanksgiving, November 24th. The Board of Trustees will meet at 5:30 p.m. on the 10th of November while the Lodge Officers will meet at 6:30 pm on the same day. We still have only 4 trustees so we hope someone will volunteer for the last vacant seat.

Meals on Membership Nights:
The meals, catered by Hy-Vee on a first come first serve basis every Thursday night from 6:00 – 8:00 pm, have been doing extremely well. Once again, I want to thank all those people who repeatedly come down on Thursday to play cards or to visit. For those that have never tried the meals, you should bring some friends down to play cards to visit and to eat. Where in town can you get a full meal for $6.50 per person and free coffee?

Here are the meals for the month of September:

Future Events:
1. Old Timers Night will be on November 4th from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. Reservations are required so call 692-1490 or 692-4640 and leave a message if you plan to attend. Reservations must be made by November 1st. The meal will be ham and chicken with potatoes, vegetables, salad and apple crisp with ice cream. The cost will be $12.00 per person. We will meet in the dining area of the club. The State President Richard Sage and his wife Pat will be here so let’s have a big crowd.

2. The Pancake Feed for Veterans and families will be November 11th from 6 –- 9 am. This will be held at the American Legion, which is located at 1229 Western Avenue. We will need 15 to 20 volunteers to cook and to serve. Hence, call Jerry at 692-1490 or 692-4640 and leave a message to volunteer.

3. The Charity Turkey Raffle will be on November 18th from 6 to 9 pm. There will be Bingo in the Joe Garity Ballroom and paddle raffles in the club area. All profit goes to scholarships.

4. The Elks Memorial Service will be on December 4th at 4:00 pm in what used to be the Joe Garity Ballroom.

5. Tom and Jerry night will be at the Club on December 16th from 6-9 pm. There will be free snacks and chili to go along with the free Tom and Jerry's.

6. The Elks Hoop Shoot will be on December 18th at the 5th Street Gym. We will open the gym at 12:30 to get things ready. Registration will be at 1:00 pm and competition will start at 1:30 pm. We need volunteers.

Home Page and e-mail Addresses:
Remember that the Lodge home page is www.brookingselks1490.org. You need to check this out, as it will always contain the most recent newsletter as well as other pertinent information concerning the Lodge and the Club. Our e-mail address is Elks1490@mchsi.com and this can be used to contact the Lodge Secretary or the Exalted Ruler. The Snowbirds need to remember to notify the Lodge when they head south. Furthermore, you will help the Lodge save some money if you send a message saying that you want the newsletter by e-mail or you have a new address.

Parties in the club area:
If you are interested in having a party at the Club just give us a call and we will do everything we can to make sure the party is successful. We can have parties on nights other than when we are scheduled to be open. For example, we have a party scheduled for November 12th, the Bobcat Backers meet two Mondays every month and we have already had calls about graduation parties. The club is free for parties if you are a member of the Lodge.

Status of Tailgate Parties:
The club was open from when the game ended on October 22nd until the last person left. We had enough food for 35 people but only 10 showed up at the club. For now, it appears as if very few people are interested in coming to the club after the games. Hence, the club will not be open after the games on October 29th, November 5th and November 19th. Now we need to look into opening the club before and/or after some of the Basketball games.

By-Law Change:
At the October 13th meeting, we were to discuss a Proposal to Amend Article IV, Section 1 of the local By-laws. Currently, this section reads as “The regular sessions of this Lodge shall be held on the 2nd and 4th Thursday evenings in each month throughout the year, except that in the months of July and August, sessions of the Lodge shall be held on the 4th Thursday evening thereof.” The Proposal was to change this to “The regular sessions of this Lodge shall be held on the 3rd Thursday evening of each month throughout the year.” Unfortunately, a quorum was not present at the meeting so the proposal will be discussed on November 10th and a vote on this proposal will take place at the regular meeting on December 8th. Attend the meeting and express your opinion on this proposal and then vote.

Jerry Bergum, ER