BANGOR – More than 250 lodge members and guests are expected to convene at the 86th Annual Maine Elks Association (MEA) Convention at the Bangor Elks Lodge May 1-3.
The festivities will begin Friday night with the presentation of individual lodge awards for various achievements including their service to youth programs, veterans, the Elks National Foundation – the fraternal organization’s major charity fund – drug awareness and prevention and the MEA’s major project, the Maine Children’s Cancer Program (MCCP).
MCCP is based in Scarborough but serves infants, children, and adolescents from across the state. A subsidiary of Maine Medical Center, the program is linked to research centers throughout the country and beyond, to provide children with treatments in Maine. The MEA adopted the Maine Children’s Cancer Program as a major project in 1985 and has contributed more than $3 million to the center.
Delegates from the 22 Maine lodges will elect new officers Saturday during the business portion of the meeting. The current state president is Tom Callahan of the Augusta Lodge, and this year’s president-elect is Donald Piper of the Ellsworth Lodge.
On Saturday night, the Youth Scholarship winners, Americanism Essay Contest winners and Drug Awareness Contest winners will be honored and this year’s contribution to the Maine Children’s Cancer Program will be announced.
There are approximately 10,400 Elks Lodge members in Maine, making it one of the largest fraternal organizations in the state.
More information about the Maine Elks Association can be found by visiting www.maineelks.org.
