Elks Lodge, Scottish Rites collaborate to help area children
Published 9:25 pm Thursday, July 20, 2017
- Star Photo/Curtis Carden Members of the Elizabethton Elks Lodge B.P.O.E. #1847 joined together to present a check totaling $2,000 to benefit local children thanks in part to a program offered by the Knoxville Scottish Rites. Pictured (from left) are Rex Johnson, Norman Scott, Roger Combs, Larry Woods, Jacklyn Morris, Eddie Wilson and Keith Tolley.
Two organizations are coming together to strengthen their reach within the community.
Members of Elizabethton Elks Lodge #1847 joined Thursday afternoon to present a $2,000 check to the Knoxville Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite organization to benefit initiatives underway in Carter County. The check was part of a grant funded by the Elks National Foundation.
The Knoxville Scottish Rites’ bodies furnish shoes to school-aged children in 24 counties, according Larry Woods, a 30-plus year member of the group.
“We have a speech and hearing center affiliated with East Tennessee State University and the University of Tennessee,” Woods said about the organization before the check presentation. “We have a budget for that called the ‘Mercy Fund.’ It’s all donated funds, no requirement to pay and we’ve been able to do that for years. There are Scottish Rite hospitals in Atlanta and Texas … the money today will go to the Carter County Scottish Rites to help with school children.”
Scottish Rite has provided shoes for children since 1960.
But on the eve of the Lodge’s anniversary since its inception in 1952, Jacklyn Morris said it was important to give back to an organization that has a goal to better the community.
“These gentlemen are Shriners, to begin with, and I’m a Shriner’s child,” the exalted ruler of the Elizabethton Elks Lodge said. “As a Shriners Child, involved with Scottish Rites, they do all these wonderful things. I talked it over with our members, and they were very supportive. We were able to obtain the grant. I’m just thankful for them.”
While it made by the first sizeable donation for the mission of the Scottish Ride, Woods added he’s no stranger to the various community projects the Elk Lodge helps with.
“With the Scottish Rite, this is the first major donation we’ve received from the Lodge,” Woods said. “As far as the Elks Lodge, I’ve worked with them over the past 15 years.
Visit www.knoxvillescottishrite.org online to learn more about the Scottish Rite organization. Updates on different events and news from the Lodge can also be found online by visiting the BPOE – Elizabethton TN Elks Lodge 1847 Facebook page.
