Thousand Oaks Elks Lodge Annual Events

Annual Events

As part of their ongoing non-profit activities, Elks have yearly events designed to raise money to support their mission statement. These events are always fun with great food and entertainment.

ER's Grand Lodge Convention Going Away Party

The monies raised during this pay for sending the Exalted Ruler to the yearly Grand Lodge Convention. Since the Convention this year was in Orlando Florida, our theme was Disney world. And, ah, what more fun than celebrating the Haunted Mansion.

Here was our dinner performance to entertain our members. The ghouls were (left to right) Terry Gicking, David Naccarato, and Catherine Koeritz, all Past Exalted Rulers.

Hoop Shoot

Elk's Fall Hoop Shoot is for kids ages 8-13.

Every year, Elks' Lodges around the country sponsor these Hoop Shoots at the local schools.

Kids compete for the most hoop shots from the free-throw line.

This year, the number one contender threw 24 out of 25 straight baskets--he was only 13.

Charity Ball

Every fall the Thousand Oaks Elks Lodge holds an annual Charity Ball to raise funds for the purpose of providing local families with holiday cheer. With over 70 "baskets" containing food and gifts the effort is appreciated throughout the valley.

Each year the event is created through the imagination and efforts of the Esteemed Leading Knight and his/her team.

Here's Catherine Koeritz, PER, to show what was raffled:

This year's "Love Boat" cruise took place on October 10, 2009 and was a huge success:

On Saturday Oct. 10th, 2009. the SS Elk Love Boat took a cruise for charity from the Thousand Oaks Elks Lodge #2477, raising over $5,000 for charity which was used to furnish over 70 food baskets for needy families on the Christmas holiday.

Tickets were presold and over 85 members and guests responded. Raffle tickets were mailed out for raffle prizes and the big winner got to use a condo in Hawaii for one week donated by Jay (PER) and Myrna Block. Additional money was raised by having memento pictures taken and printed in-house as the party was going on.

Entertainment was provided by the members singing songs at the cruises destinations: New Orleans, Savanna, Hawaii, Cancun, and Alaska and New York.

Christmas Tree Lot Sale

CARLSONS BUILDING MATERIALS has again made a part of their street front property available to us on Thousand Oaks Boulevard. Please be sure to patronize this valued sponsor whenever possible.

Last year the Christmas Tree Lot would not have been possible without the generosity of our members and Carlson’s Building Materials, located on Thousand Oaks Blvd., near Erbes Road. We would like to thank them for allowing us to use their facility raising monies for our various charities including scouts, veterans, scholarship.

Background and Benefits of a real Christmas Tree:

For decades, American Forests has encouraged the commercial growing of Christmas trees and the use and planting of living trees. The gift of a living National Christmas Tree was American Forests’ way of urging the use of living Christmas trees as a conservation measure. Before the Christmas tree industry, people cut trees from the wild, sometimes illegally, and always with little consideration for the continuance of the forest.

It takes a Christmas tree an average of five to 16 years to grow, and as they grow, Christmas trees support life by absorbing carbon dioxide and other gases while giving off fresh oxygen. Every acre of Christmas trees planted gives off enough oxygen to meet the needs of 18 people. Today in America there are enough Christmas trees planted that 18 million people a day are supplied with oxygen. Also, the farms that grow Christmas trees stabilize soil, protect water supplies, and provide a refuge for wildlife while creating a scenic view. Often, Christmas trees are grown on soil that will not support any other crops. In addition, according to the National Christmas Tree Association, when one Christmas tree is cut down, one or two are planted in its place—an average of 56 million trees each year

Thousand Oaks Elks Lodge helps the Conejo Valley continue to produce clean air and stay "Green".

Although some people claim that an artificial tree last a lifetime, most are thrown away within nine years - and remain in landfill sites being made of non-renewable plastics and petroleum-based products.

Additional environmental benefits of real Christmas trees:

They're recyclable. After the holidays, trees are chipped into biodegradable mulch, which can be used for playgrounds, gardens, hiking trails and animal stalls. Whole trees are also used on beaches to prevent shore erosion, and in lakes, streams and ponds to provide hiding spots and feeding areas for fish.

They grow back. North American forests cover about the same area of land as they did 100 years ago and, in the last decade, have actually expanded by nearly 10 million acres.

Why Not use Plastic Trees?

Plastic Trees only last about 5 years, and then they do NOT biodegrade, they simply take up landfill space.

Plastic trees LOOK plastic. Using them is like buying a gorgeous piece of furniture and then covering it up plastic sheets. Yuck.

Plastic Tree purchasers are seen as cheap and lazy.