National President’s Message

Sister and Brother Elks of Canada:

A great honour has been bestowed upon me by the membership of the Elks of Canada, an honour that I do not take lightly. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart and will do my best to represent our Order to the fullest of my ability.

Our Order is very fortunate to have a strong and dedicated National Executive and Committees. Our Grand Lodge staff go above and beyond what is required of them. I strongly believe that without these people and the skill sets they bring to our organization we would not be the Elks we are today. Please, take a few minutes of your time to say, “Thank you”. It will be appreciated.

The Lodges of the Elks of Canada are backbone of our organization, without them the children we help would not have champions supporting them. You truly do make a difference in their lives. I applaud you all, keep up the fantastic work, but don’t forget to have fun along the way.

This brings me to my theme for this year which is “Good People Good times”. I chose this for my theme because I see Good People from our Lodges out in the community doing the hard work to make our communities a better place to raise our families. This also gives you the opportunity to have fun, enjoy yourselves. Take the Good Times you’ve earned it.

This year I would like to focus on Membership and the Fund for Children, both are essential to our organization. We need to grow our membership if we are going to help the children. Yes, it sounds easier said than done but if we all brought in just one member think of the possibilities all these new potential members could do for the Elks. These new members will have fresh new ideas to help with fundraising/events and this is where our older established members can offer, they’re experience and guidance.

Communication is vital not only in our every day lives but at all levels of our Order, we sometimes forget this. We cannot function as an Order if we aren’t talking to one another in some form. A phone call, text message, or email makes a difference. And of course, talking to the person face to face. Any of these ways of communicating will keep Lodge members engaged and on the same page.

What it all comes down to is we all work hard, now its time to have some fun.

The work will always be there, but the fun should also be there. Our strength to enjoy and have a good time will both keep members and attract new ones. Most people could use some fun in their lives, and we can provide the avenue for them to do that and help others while doing it.

“GOOD PEOPLE
. . . . . GOOD TIMES”

Yours in Elkdom,
Myles Reid
Grand Exalted Ruler / National President