For the next four Lodge meetings (Sept. 9 and 23, Oct. 14 and 28), Esquire David Hadden
will be adding an extra raffle to his already popular free drink raffle. The purpose of the
extra raffle will be to boost meeting attendance, while also providing the winner with a very
special treat. The winner of Esquire Hadden’s additional raffle will be given the
opportunity to sit at the front center window table with three guests of his or her choice for
the Gatlinburg Christmas Parade on Dec. 6!
Here’s how it works: During each meeting, a winner will be drawn for that meeting. From
the pool of all of the four meeting’s winners, one ticket will be drawn at our meeting on
October 28, and that lucky winner will win the reserved table. Please be aware that only
those in attendance at the meetings on September 9 and 23 and October 14 and 28 will be
eligible to win. The winner may transfer the ticket to someone else, if desired.
The remainder of the window tables for four will be auctioned off to the highest bidder at
our Charity Dinner on Friday, Nov. 1. PGER Randy Shook and Past First Lady Wanda
Shook, will be joining us and PGER Shook, being the expert auctioneer that he is, will
conduct the auction of the remaining tables and the Pac Man multicade machine that is
now in our Lodge. All proceeds from the table auctions will be added to our charity account
and the proceeds from the Pac Man machine will be added to the Elks Golf Tournament
account for next year. While it is true that we are auctioning tables for the first time, please
be assured that the winners’ purchases will be used to benefit members of our community
who need our help much more than the vast majority of us ever will.
If parking (or the lack thereof) is the reason that you do not typically attend Lodge
meetings, please be aware that Lodge members Traci Stewart and Dave McKinzie have
engineered a deal with the Bearskin Parking Garage next to the former TGI Friday’s
building. The regular price for Bearskin parking is $20.00. Elks members with a
membership card may park for $10.00 for one time or may buy a package of five parking
passes for $20.00. Very coincidentally, one package of five parking passes will get you
parking for all four meetings in Sept. and Oct., plus Charity Dinner on Nov. 1.
Charity Dinner tickets are currently in production and will be available for purchase (and
sale) soon. I encourage all of you to invite your friends and neighbors to attend for a
delicious dinner, the chance to win $10,000.00, and to help us do great things for our
community.
In Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love and Fidelity,
Greg Forderhase, ER
