| Jul 04 | Fourth of July Picnic Celebration |
| Jul 05 | RV Club Meeting |
| Jul 07 | Bldg & Maint Meeting |
| Jul 08 | Trustee's Meeting; Lodge Meeting |
| Jul 15 | Steak Dinner; July Birthdays Celebration |
| Jul 15-19 | RV Club Outing to Fort Bragg |
| Jul 22 | Club Night |
| Jul 29 | Clam Feed |
| Aug 02 | RV Club Meeting |
| Aug 04 | Bldg & Maint Meeting |
| Aug 05 | Club Night |
| Aug 12 | Trustee's Meeting; Lodge Meeting |
| Aug 19 | Steak Dinner; August Birthdays Celebration |
| Aug 26 | House Committee Meeting; Lodge Meeting |
Exalted Ruler's Message
This past month I had the privileged and honor of representing the Chico Elks Lodge #423 at the State Convention in Ontario California. Not only was I the designated representative of our lodge but I was also there as the Exalted Ruler for the officer team of the 2009 North District Ritual Champions.
Our lodge officers competed in the preliminary round of the State Ritual Competition where in scoring I received the most impressive Exalted Ruler, second place as Exalted Ruler and our team placed fifth overall in our preliminary division.
I would like to thank my fellow officers for their enthusiasm and outstanding performances in the ritual competition, our coach Norm Stump for his time and dedication, our assistant coach Terry Horne for his help and assistance, John Garcia for his role as candidate and assistant coach and all the spouses for their support and help as our “pit crew”. I would also like to thank Emily Fortier, my Mom, for her help and skill in replacing the purple velvet on the officer's jewel collars; they look very sharp and impressive.
I would also like to thank Frank Gutierrez, Gil Arellano and a few of the Ladies of Red Bluff Elks Lodge #1250 for their assistance and shared experiences in competing at the State Level. They helped us get ready for the State Competition as their vast experience at competing at that level was invaluable.
At the State Convention I had the privileged of walking across the stage and presenting the Chico Elks Lodge's contribution to the Major Project, or Purple Pig, for the 2008-2009 Lodge year, where our lodge contributed over $21,500. This was a $5000 increase over the previous year's contribution and the largest contribution of our district.
The Chico Elks Lodge also has the honor of being the home lodge of the newly installed State Vice President of the California-Hawaii Elks Association for the North District. At the convention P.E.R. Wade Thorpe was installed into his new office and will be the North District's representative to C.H.E.A. for the next year. Congratulations Chico Lodge!!
In May we had another outstanding Mother's Day Champagne Brunch where your officers poured Champagne and Mimosas. The Brunch was hosted by chairman Devon Hilligoss and attended by over 300 Elks and their guests. On Memorial Day I had the privileged of presenting wreaths at both the Chico Cemetery and Glen Oaks Cemetery honoring the memory of our Veterans.
Coming up this month we have a lot of activities at the Lodge that I hope you are able to attend. On June 5th we will have the Hawaiian Luau Purple Pig Fund Raiser. There will be live entertainment provided by the Ka Ehu Kai Band from the Bay Area as well as our officers and members will be having a friendly Tropical Drink competition to boost the Tropical Spirits. On June 8th we will be having the Chico Elks Annual Golf Classic hosted by State Vice President Wade Thorpe. The Golf Tournament will be held at Canyon Oaks Country Club with an awards dinner included at the lodge. On June 11th we will be having our weekly Queen of Hearts dinner with a special Flag Day Ceremony hosted by Charlie Carroll and on June 21st we will have a Fathers Day Brunch. On June 24 we will have our State Vice President's Homecoming Visitation to the Lodge. Wade Thorpe and his lovely wife Kim will be finishing up their visitation tours of the Lodges in the North District and we want to help them celebrate so plan for a great dinner and entertainment that night.
Come on down to the Lodge and I will see you there.
Russ Fortier, Exalted Ruler