On The Road With State President George Lehn
The Beginning - June Through November, 2013
Greetings Fellow Minnesota Elks! It seems like just yesterday that I was installed as your State Association President. Past State President Lynn Rohlf told me at that time the year would fly by. Now it is 5 months later and I’m wondering where the time has gone. I feel I should update all of you fine people on what has been going on. After the great Summer Convention put on by Worthington Lodge, Tammy and I returned home to get ready for the Grand Lodge Convention in Reno. I felt very proud and also humbled to represent our great state by carrying in our State Flag at the opening ceremony and also to be able to present our new Grand Exalted Ruler Millard Pickering his GER Ring. Upon returning from Reno, Tammy and I started watching “Minnesota Elks – Making Memories”. On August 10 I stopped at the camp to visit with all of the Elks attending Family Camp. There was quite a crowd and plenty of fellowship. On August 17 I made my first visit. Tammy and I attended the annual Krusin' for Kids at Wadena Lodge. We went on a 115 mi. motorcycle run to help raise money for the local Make-A-Wish Foundation. Talk about "Minnesota Elks-Making Memories". Wadena raised enough money that weekend and the previous one at their Pig and Wing Fest to grant 4 wishes to local deserving children. The next weekend was our State Soccer Shoot at the Camp. Although it was way too hot, State Chair Stephanie Riegelman and crew put on a great program for the contestants and their families. September 7 was the Central District Deputy Clinic in Alexandria. Then it was on to Worthington again for their annual Turkey Days on September 14. I was asked to ride in their annual parade along with South District Deputy Joy Ellison and South District President Dick Ledebuhr. What ER Chris didn’t tell us was that we all were going to get jammed into a Camero. I think he had to get a pry bar to get us all out after it was over. On September 20 Tammy and I ventured to Fergus Falls for their monthly Fish Fry. We were joined Central District Deputy Paul Ryan and his wife Stacey and their 2 children. Fergus Falls sure knows what volunteerism is as they planned on serving 80 people and actually cooked for over 100 that night. They did this with only a few paid employees but I counted at least 10 to 12 volunteers. October 11 brought us to Alexandria Lodge for a fund raiser for Central District President Bill Meyer to help defer his expenses for the coming year. Next on October 18 and 19th came my first Convention as your State President. Owatonna put on a great convention and I heard no complaints about anything. Thanks to all of you I made it through my first meeting and only had a few hiccups. There were some great breakout sessions and they were well attended by all of you. PSP Herman Wisneski lined up an excellent gambling seminar on Fri. afternoon, and anyone that did not attend missed a great deal of information. Although PGER and State Sponsor Dwayne and his wife Sandy could not attend, I know they were with us in spirit. October 25 took us on one of the long journeys this year to Thief River Falls Lodge. It was their annual Buck and Doe night and we were joined by North District Deputy Dean Erickson, DD Esquire Rosemary Tedrick and State Trustee Elect Craig Lindahl. I also had the privilege of presenting to ER Keith Storm and his Lodge a plaque from the Grand Lodge on achieving 100 years as a Lodge. The next day we drove to Bemidji and joined ER Bill Batchelder as he presented a check for $500 to their Little League Football Association. We also became Beaver Fans for a day courtesy of Joe Dunn. After a couple of weekends off we travelled to Stillwater on November 17 for a tailgate party and steak fry. Even though the Vikings didn’t cooperate everyone had a nice time. Exalted Ruler Jim Joslin was our bartender, showing that an ER's work is never done. That brings us up to the end of November and we are looking forward to a very busy December so Tammy and I would like to wish all of you a very big "HAPPY HOLIDAYS" . Don’t forget we are "Minnesota Elks – Making Memories" George Lehn Minnesota Elks Association President |
George's Travel Logs
June Thru November, 2013 December/January, 2014 February/ March, 2014 Finale, 2014 |