Fiscal 2024 (April 1st, 2023 through March 31st, 2024) Costs
- $100.00 – Initiation Fee (due upon completion of application)
- $213.50 – Annual Dues (may be prorated depending on Initiation date)
- $75 – $325 – Optional Pool Membership (sold separately)
Stats – United States of America + Missouri
– Of the 1833 Elks Lodges in the Country, Missouri has 72 Lodges separated into five districts: Metro East #4780, East Central #4760, Northeast #4800, West Central #4940, Southwest #4920, Metropolitan West #4790, Northwest #4840, & Southeast #4880.
– St. Louis #9 is one of 8 Lodges in Missouri Distinct 4780 which includes Affton #2635, Crestwood #2503, Ellisville #2664, Florissant #2316, Manchester #2058, St. Charles #690, & Troy #2805.
* If looking to reinstate, contact Secretary Missy – missy.dillon@compass.com *
Membership Report – November 1st, 2023
The Membership Committee interviewed 12 applicants from September 19th to October 19th, keeping #9 on track to meet its goal of investigating and initiating 90 new members annually (approximately 10% of the total current Lodge membership). Please extend a warm welcome to our new members as they are the crown jewels of the Order.
As of October 1st, there were several (18) applicants who were vetted and interviewed, but had not been initiated within four (4) months or more. These are considered “stalled candidates” and if not withdrawn from our membership pipeline or initiated asap, they put #9 in jeopardy of not meeting the membership requirements. Many of the stalled candidates who were unable to attend the summer/fall initiations, will be initiated at the November 6th Initiation.
If you sponsored an applicant for new membership, please plan to attend their initiation. You are also welcome to attend their interview and encouraged to check-in with them throughout the investigative process. If they have not been contacted by the Membership Committee within a week of submitting their application, we may have a bad email or the emails went to spam. Please make sure we have a good email for all new applicants; this is how we communicate with all members, new and old. We are still taking applications for new membership; if you know someone who would benefit from the Elks Lodge #9 and assist in fulfilling our mission, please have them fill out an application here; ( https://www.elks.org/who ).
As of Sunday October 22nd, after beginning the fiscal year (April 1st) with 860, All American Nine had 906 active members, 22 Life Members (a 30-Year Elk who’s at least 65 years old), and 95 delinquents. Of our 51 applications on hand; 33 are ready for orientation, 4 are ready for balloting, 11 are in the hands of the investigative committee, and 2 are ready for reinstatement. Proposers and members are encouraged to attend upcoming initiation rituals being held Monday, November 6th, Monday, December 4th; Sunday, January 14th; and Monday, March 4th.
This year we’ve increased membership by 59 (57 by initiation, 2 by reinstatement) countered by a decrease of 13 (4 dropped, 3 transferred, 1 absolute demit, 5 deaths) and have 95 delinquents, which has us at a net gain of +46. In the entirety of BPOE (Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks) a +38 ranks 181st (of 1830 total lodges) behind #1 Greater Wildwood New Jersey with +725 countered by Peabody Lynn Maryland #1409, which trolls the bottom with -224. We rank 6th in Missouri (of 72) behind MEA leader Festus Crystal City #1721 with +112 countered by Lebanon #2557 with a -2.
Age
The youngest lodge in the BPOE is Alton-Thayer Missouri #2445 with an average age of 49.55, while our 55.98 (a/a) ranks 97th youngest in the country, 14th youngest in Missouri, and youngest in Metro East District 4780.
Size
The largest lodge in the BPOE is Greater Wildwood New Jersey #1896 ( https://www.elks1896.com ), which has 8164 members. Our 908 actives ranks 166th nationwide, 7th in Missouri, and top of table in Metro District 4780, which includes Afton (551), Florissant (309), Crestwood (306), Ellisville (211), Troy (175), Manchester (164), and St. Charles (154).
Summary
As October concluded the 7th month of fiscal 2024, All American #9 is a SpaceX Rocket at MaxQ. If you have a prospect, get him or her up to an upcoming Happy Hour, Veterans event, Clothing Drive Party, and/or the Auction because @ the Red, White, and Blue, American loving Saint Louis #9 we Kneel for God and Stand for the Flag. Sincerely, Todd Streiler, Chair Timothy Luby, Emeritus.
Overview – Saint Louis 9 Setting the Pace
– In fiscal 2023 (April 1st-2022 through March 31st – 2023) the lodge had a net gain of +88 which ranked #2 (of 43) in Missouri and 101st (of 1833) in the Country.
– In fiscal year 2022 (April 1st-2021 through March 31st-2022) the lodge had a net gain of 138 which ranked #1 (of 75) in Missouri and #45 (of 1876) in the Country.
– In fiscal 2021 (April 1st-2020 through March 31st-2021) the lodge had a net gain of 120 which ranked #1 in Missouri and #55 in the Country.
– In fiscal 2020 (April 1st-2019 through March 31st-2020) the lodge had a net gain of 124 which ranked us #2 in Missouri (behind Eureka Pacific Lodge #2664 who had a net gain of 160) and 86th in the Country.
In fiscal 2019 (April 1st-2018 through March 31st-2019) the lodge had a net gain of 232 which ranked us #1 in Missouri and #38 in the Country.
Becoming a Member – Let’s get it started
To be eligible for membership in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, you must be a citizen of the United States over the age of 21 who believes in God.
You can be sponsored by any member in good standing from any lodge in the country. You’ll also need two other Elks who will be your references. The Elk who proposes you for membership will provide you with a copy of the Membership Application, or will email you a link to the online version of the form. Please follow all instructions and answer all questions. If applying via hard copy, please return your completed application to the Lodge Secretary.
Your application will be read at a regular Lodge meeting. It will then be forwarded to the Investigating Committee, who will call you and set up a time for you and your sponsor to meet with the committee so that they can interview you.
After the interview is concluded, the committee will report to the Lodge concerning your membership. The members will be given a notice not less than 10 days nor more than two months before the vote will be taken.
When the vote is concluded, you will be notified and asked to present yourself and your spouse for indoctrination. During indoctrination, you will learn more about the Order’s programs and charities. You will also be told during the program the date you will be initiated.
After initiation as an Elk, you can take part in all meetings and social functions of the Lodge.
If for any reason your application is rejected, you can submit a new application for membership after six months from the date of rejection.
https://www.elks.org/membership/default.cfm?source=Membership
Click above to fill out a Membership Inquiry Form
What my Elks membership card really tells me?
An old article first printed in 1932 but still relevant today!
I hold in my hand a little scrap of paper, two by three inches in size. It is of no intrinsic worth, not a bond, check, or receipt for values, yet it is my most priceless possession. It is my membership card in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the United States of America.
It tells me that I am an American citizen–the proudest title in all the world that can be conferred upon a man. It tells me that I am the peer of emperors and kings, the ruler of my own destiny, the maker of my own fortune. It tells me that I am a citizen of a land where democracy rules, where brotherhood prevails, where tolerance holds sway, where justice is enthroned.
It tells me that I have joined with 800,000 other Americans in the pledging of allegiance to our country and its laws; in placing the American flag first in our hearts as loyal Americans and first upon our altars as loyal Elks.
It tells me that I have entered into a spiritual and material kinship with my fellow Elks to practice charity in word and deed; to forgive and forget the faults of my brothers, to hush the tongue of scandal and innuendo; to care for the crippled, the hungry and the sick; and to be just to all mankind. It tells me that in 1,500 cities under good fellowship prevails a home among brothers and friends; a home dedicated not only to the high principles for which the Order of Elks stands, but to the need of play, which is inherent in the heart of every man.
It tells me that my loved, my home, my fireside, and my household, are under the protection of every member of this great Order, who has sworn to protect and defend mine, as I have sworn to protect his. It tells me that should I ever be overcome by adversity, the hand of every Elk in all the world will be stretched forth to assist me in my necessities. It tells me that if old age should find me alone and homeless, that, as an honored guest of our Order, surrounded by my old comrades, and with every comfort and luxury, I may sit upon the veranda at Bedford in Virginia, and watch the evening sun sink behind the Peaks of Otter for the last time before my fading eyes.
And, finally, it tells me, Brothers, that when my final exit from the stage of life has been made, there will be gathered in my Lodge Room friends and brothers, who, when the Eleventh hour has been struck, will recall to mind my virtues, though they be few, and will write my faults, though they be many, upon the sands.
Reprinted from Denison, TX Lodge 238
A May 18, 2018 article from the Wall Street Journal
