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On Saturday April 15, 2023 Pennsylvania held its annual Ritual Competition. This year the competition was held at West Shore Elks Lodge #2257. Competitors from all over the state attended to compete in 11 O'Clock Toast Competition Flag Charge Competition Team Competition Individual Officer Ritual Competition All of the segments were judged by 7 judges from New Jersey. Our State Sponsor, Paul Helsel, PGER and State President, Bill Mack came to support the competition.

** All Districts Invited and Encouraged to Attend ** Date: April 30th, 2023 Location: Bridgeport Elks Lodge #714 494 Ford St Bridgeport, PA 19405 Time: 9am – 4pm (please arrive by 8:30) Schedule: 9:00 am – 11:00 am Clinic 11:00 am – 12:00 pm Test for all in attendance 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Lunch 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Clinic Cont’d 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Word Accuracy Judges Clinic (Inclusive of test) 4:00 pm End Topics discussed during the clinic will include: · Impressiveness · Pronunciation · Deportment · Team appearance · Word accuracy · Tips for Coaches · Review of Ritual Manual

Pennsylvania scores big with top overall points in Mid-Atlantic Soccer Shoot!

8-9 Champions Raya McCombia representing Indiana Lodge #931 of the West Central District 1st Place Lily Porreca representing Columbia/Middletown Lodge #1074 of the South Central District 2nd Place Morgan Wolf representing Bangor Lodge #1106 of the North East District 3rd Place Tanner Calarco representing Bloomsburg Lodge #436 of the Northeast District 1st Place Brody Cortazzo representing Indiana Lodge #931 of the West Central District 2nd Place Crosby Weyant representing Bedford Lodge #1707 of the North Central District 3rd Place 10-11 Champions Channing Miller representing Apollo Lodge #386 of the West Central District 1st Place Payton Gawrylik representing Frackville Lodge #1533 of the North East District 2nd Place Aryana McCleary representing Huntingdon Lodge #976 of the North Central District 3rd Place Escobar Bernat representing Leechburg Lodge #377 of the West Central District 1st Place Cooper Sandusky representing South Hills Pittsburgh of the West District 2nd Place Braiden Judson representing Sayre Lodge #1148 of the North East District 3rd Place 12-13 Champions Rebekah Sedora representing York Lodge #213 of the South Central District 1st Place Abby Saenz representing Ephrata-Reading Lodge #1155 of the South East District 2nd Place Shae Trombetta representing South Hills Pittsburgh Lodge #2213 of the West District 3rd Place Breckon Kitts representing Erie Lodge #67 of the North West District 1st Place Parker Belsterling representing Meyersdale Lodge #1951 of the South West District 2nd Place Gregory Tirpak representing Tamaqua Lodge #592 of the North East District 3rd Place

National Ritual Team Champions 2015-2016

Images from the 2022 Pennsylvania Elks State Soccer Shoot

Saturday June 18, 2022 The first ever attempt at this was held this year at West Shore #2257 Lodge. Judges were from South East District. PSP Dave DeStefano, Ritualistic State Chairman Rich Dunay amongst others were present for this event. Pat Maccolini started registration @ 9:30 with competition starting at 10. The order was not fixed as Rich wanted this competition to be easy for individuals to fit into their schedule where the could come, compete, and leave should they desire. There were 15 total competitors from 4 lodges. 2 other lodge representatives came to witness and several more inquired.

By Michael C. Spearing mspearin@centredaily.com STATE COLLEGE, PA: Some people call John and Alan Kunig of Pennsylvania Furnace "miracle babies." The Pennsylvania Elks Home Service Program see them as "Children of the Year." The Elks recognized the three-year-old twins a recent press conference in District Justice Brad Lunsford's courtroom on West College Avenue. While Jack Orlandi, Exalted Ruler of State College Lodge 1600 spoke, John and Alan and their brother and sister, Josh and Sierra, availed themselves of all useable furniture within striking distance to make toy car highways, mountains to climb and sliding boards to slide on. Born on June 15, 1998, Alan and John are twin sons of Andrea Murray and Glenn Kunig of Pennsylvania Furnace. They were born about 14 weeks premature due to a placental condition called twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. Orlandi said the Pennsylvania Elks Home Service visiting nurse for Centre County, Karen Kay McKalips, was the driving force behind the children's selection out of the hundreds of deserving youngsters. "Karen lobbied for them at the state level," Orlandi said. "She told them she thought it was about time State College recognized that these disabilities exist, and when they asked her, 'Do you have anyone in mind?' she said, 'I sure do.' That's how it happened." According to the Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome Foundation, located in Bay Village, Ohio, TTTS affects identical twins during pregnancy when blood passes disproportionately from one baby to the other through connecting blood vessels within their shared placenta. As a result, one baby gets too much blood, overloading the cardiovascular system, and may die from heart failure. The other baby gets too little blood and may die from anemia. The babies themselves are normal. The abnormalities are in the placenta, but numerous problems result from the condition. "Alan was 11 inches long and weighed 1 pound 21/2 ounces when he was born," Andrea Murray said. "John was 14 inches long and weighed 2 pounds 3 ounces." She said John was born with cardiac problems and Alan with a host of conditions. Both boys are doing well now, Murray said, and she is especially pleased that the prognosis for Alan and John remains very good, even though the cost was staggering. "John was in the hospital for 95 days and his care cost $600,000, and Alan was in for 195 days and cost about $1.3 million," she said. "Getting all those bills was so stressful. We got stacks and stacks of them." She said a pleasant surprise came from the doctors and hospitals. "One day out of the blue, they (the billing office) called us and said, 'We know how hard you've tried,' and then they wrote it off." Orlandi said Wednesday's event was in recognition of the twins and their indomitable spirit. He said he thought McKalips had it right when she wrote, "Even though they were so tiny you could hold them in your hand, they had a huge will to live. It wasn't the size of the children, but the determination in their hearts that made these little boys survive." Reprinted with permission from the Centre Daily Times. (The Centre Daily Times is online at www.centredaily.com.)

Images from the 2016 Mid-Atlantic Elks Regional Shoot

The 2023 Legacy Awards Contest Opened September 1. Full Details and Application found here https://www.elks.org/scholars/scholarships/legacy.cfm Legacy Awards are $4,000 scholarships available to children and grandchildren of Elks members. Eligibility requirements are outlined below. The 2023 contest and application closes on February 6, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. Who is Eligible? For the 2023 contest, any child or grandchild (or step-child, step-grandchild, or legal ward) of a living Elk who joined the order on or before April 1, 2020, or a charter member of a Lodge that was instituted on or after April 1, 2020, is eligible to apply. The Elk must also be a paid-up member through March 31, 2023. Great-grandchildren are not eligible. The applicant must be a high school senior. The applicant must apply online only. The 2023 Legacy Awards application deadline is February 6, 2023, 11:59 pm Pacific Time. If the applicant's parent and grandparent are both Elk members, the applicant must apply through the parent's Elks Lodge. We have waived the standardized test requirement for the 2023 Legacy contest. You do not need to submit ACT and/or SAT scores. Students may apply for more than one ENF scholarship; however, they may win only one. In cases where the student wins more than one, we will award the scholarship with the greater value. Students can accept local and state scholarships, which are separate from the awards at the national level. Legacy Awards may only be applied to accredited US American schools, colleges or universities. (Note: Applicants from Guam, Panama, Puerto Rico and the Philippines may apply Legacy Awards toward schools, colleges or universities in their respective homes.) If you are selected as a 2023 Legacy Awards recipient, you will be required to perform three instances of service with an Elks Lodge during the four years you are receiving the scholarship. Click here for more information about serving with the Elks.

The 2023 application opened on August 1. Applicants will be judged on scholarship, leadership, and financial need. Eligibility: Current high school seniors, or the equivalent, who are citizens of the United States are eligible to apply. Applicants do not need to be related to a member of the Elks. High school graduates are not eligible to apply. Applicants must be citizens of the United States on the date their applications are submitted; permanent legal resident status does not qualify. The 2023 application deadline is November 14, 2022 at 11:59 p.m., Pacific Time. Full Details and Application found here https://www.elks.org/scholars/scholarships/mvs.cfm