Club Hours and Meetings:
We will continue to be open every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night from 4:00 – 9:00 pm throughout the month of September. The Board of Trustees will meet at 5:30 p.m. on the 8th and 22nd of September while the Lodge Officers will meet at 6:30 pm on the same day. Chuck Kuechenmeister has volunteered to return as a member of the Board of Trustees. Hence, the Board of Trustees consists of Sally Damn as the President, Don Simmons as the Secretary, Calvin Cook and Chuck. If one more person would step forward and volunteer we would have the Board of Trustees filled. Think about volunteering because it is your Club!!

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, are still doing well considering that we have just gone through the Summer months. The last time we had steaks we served 46 meals while we only had 26 the night we had ham. However, this made the people at the Abuse Center happy as they received the left over food. Support the club by coming down for a meal and bring a friend especially one that would like to join. The price for a meals remains at $6.50 per person.

Here are the meals for the month of September:

Remember that you can have free coffee with your meal. Where else in Brookings can you get free coffee with a meal? By the way, we need to thank Roger Mellendorf and Ron Deutsch for doing another fantastic job of cooking the steaks in August.

Delinquent Members
As of August 29, 2005, 350 people renewed their dues. This means that there are still 63 delinquent members. We can only hope that these 63 individuals will renew their dues before the end of the year, which is March 31, 2006. The loss of these members will cost the Lodge about $5,000. If you are one of the 63 delinquent individuals please sit down, write a check and mail in your current due’s payment. Instead of searching for reasons to drop your membership, look for reasons why you should stay on as a member. Hopefully, the current members will take a moment to talk to a delinquent member about paying their dues. Call Jerry at 692-4640 and ask for the name of someone you might call. Jerry really needs some help on this one.

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, thanks to Ron Deutsch, the Bobcat Backers now hold their meetings at the Lodge and they seem to like it very much. If you are interested just call 692-1490 and leave a message or contact the Lodge by e-mail.

Home Page and e-mail Addresses:
The home page is www.brookingselks1490.org and our e-mail address is Elks1490@mchsi.com. Use the latter to contact the Lodge Secretary or the Exalted Ruler. You will help the Lodge save some money if you send a message saying that you want the newsletter by e-mail. Snowbirds, please inform the Lodge when you are moving South.

Tailgate Parties
On October 22nd, October 29th, November 5th and November 19th, S.D.S.U. will be having afternoon football games in Brookings. Several members have suggested that the club be open after these games for a social gathering with free snacks for those coming to the club. As the ER, I am willing to do this but I need to know how much interest the members have in participating. If you would come down after these games please call 692-4640 or 692-1490, let us know that you are interested and leave your name.

Future Events
1. The District Deputy Grand Exalted Ruler-East, James L. Van Osdel and his wife Kathleen will be in Brookings to visit the Lodge on October 13th. Come down for dinner and attend the business meeting so that you can visit with them. Let’s show them why Brookings is someplace special.

2. 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. The meal will be catered and 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. More on this will appear in the next newsletter.

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

4. The Charity Turkey Raffle will be on November 18th from 6 to 9 pm. There will be Bingo and paddle raffles at the club in the lounge area.

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

6. 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.

7. The Elks Hoop Shoot will be on December 18th at the 5th Street Gym with registration at 12:30 and competition from 1:00 till done. We need 25-30 volunteers so call to help out.

Jerry Bergum, ER