It's us, and we're good
Written by Brother Harold Claffey - Moose Jaw Elks Lodge No. 7
I joined the Elks in 2007. I wanted something more in my life, more than work and church. A friend invited me to join. I became active in the Moose Jaw Lodge as soon as I joined, taking on Publicity Director and Webmaster, and I was elected Chaplain soon after. In 2014 I was elected to the Sask. Provincial Executive, and I’m the Webmaster and Advertising Purchaser.
The Sask. Elks Association and Foundation has an advertising budget in the small five figures. I’m directing most of the funds to news-talk radio between 6 AM and 9 AM on weekdays. This is the best way to reach our target audience, working adults age 25-50. The format is a “hot call”, a 60 second recorded interview that sounds like a live interview when it’s aired. The challenge for me is to put together notes to use during the interviews to inspire people to learn more about us.
The following are notes I used to record four interviews to be aired in September on CJME and CKOM radio in Saskatchewan:
1) Recruiting and General Information:
Now is a great time to check out the Elks. We’re getting back to work after the summer break. Come sit in on a meeting at your local Lodge. Talk with members after the meeting. Volunteer to work with us at an event or two before you join. Check us out.
We have 58 lodges across Saskatchewan from Allan to Wilkie. All are open to both men and women, age 16 and up. We’re becoming diversified. Our lodges are getting younger. There’s room for you. We just elected and installed our first woman National President, Deb Sallenback of Langley, BC.
We’re active in our communities, and we’re open to starting Lodges in other communities. We want to help you serve your community. And we want you to help us. We have websites and Facebook pages.
2) Helping with Hearing Loss:
We are the Elks of Canada. We help hearing-impaired children and their families across Canada. In Saskatchewan, we heavily support SPARC, the children’s hearing centre in Saskatoon. Our National Fund for Children supports hearing centres and individual children across Canada. We help children with speech and hearing trouble. Our Provincial Foundation supports individual’s medical needs across Saskatchewan.
We’re advocating for newborn hearing screening across the province. Hard of hearing children need to be diagnosed and helped quickly. Come join us so we can help children together. Watching a child listen to birds singing or hearing their parent’s voice for the first time, and knowing you helped it happen, is a wonderful experience. We have websites and Facebook pages.
3) Helping Your Community:
Our ProvincialPresident’s theme for the year is “Making a Positive Difference.” That’s our focus and purpose. We’re making a difference in communities, in the Province, and in Canada.
We’re community oriented. We are community people helping community people.
Across Saskatchewan, we’re rolling up our sleeves and working hard to make a positive difference. We do chili challenges, barbecues, community theatre, walkathons, catering, youth sports events, concession stands, meat draws, dances, banquets, potlucks, and many other local events. We string Christmas lights, participate in parades, help with Meals on Wheels, volunteer at tourist booths, organize Canada Day festivities, sell raffle tickets, cook barbecued meals for events, and generally help out. We have websites and Facebook pages.
4) Helping You:
There’s something special about belonging to a community organization. By working with the same people event after event, year after year, we learn about each other’s strengths. We help each other become stronger. Individuals grow personally. We learn new skills. The Elks in your local lodge can help you learn how to feed large numbers of people, how to organize an event, how to participate in meetings, how to keep books, how to lead, how to work with others, how to be a part of your community. We help each other learn self-awareness and leadership skills. Come grow with us. We have websites and Facebook pages.
It’s us, and we’re good.
Harold Claffey, Moose Jaw Lodge No. 7