Kayleigh Campbell
- Nov 7, 2022
- 3 min read

Elks Lodge #1789 November Newsletter

Updated: Nov 16, 2022

A Message from Club Manager, David Paradise

The last few months have been very busy from our Soft Grand Opening to many large events! We have brought on a new Chef, Todd. He is quickly proving himself in the kitchen. Please stop by and welcome him! If you have not had a chance to check out our new website, the address is www.cortezelks.com. There is a plethora of Lodge and Club information there. Some things that we are working on:

Saturday night Elks Members Only date night fine dining in our Staghorn dining room
Gift Cards in time for the holidays.
Lodge Beautification: Painting of the offices, dining room and bar area
Landscaping the front by our new Elks statue!
Discounts at the Bar and Restaurant for Elks Members Only.

We are getting back on track here, at the Elks post pandemic. We are getting better, but we still have a lot of work to do. I would ask all of you to give us patience as we continue to grow the Club. While I welcome all feedback, there seems to be a little negativity and opinions on how we operate. I would encourage those individuals to volunteer and help us make some positive changes. Have you Volunteered? If any member wants to help plan Elks' events (like Halloween for kids, Breakfast with Santa, Mother's Day Brunch, Cribbage, Dart leagues, Bags, etc), PLEASE let me know. I cannot manage the high volume of events plus all of the Elks events that people want. I need help from members to take the initiative to spear head these fun and valuable events. I'd like to give a shout out to all the members that have been here volunteering the last few months. While I cannot name everyone... Ed and Kathy Leighton! Bob and Cindy Peabody! Debbie and Kevin Lovett! Heather Paradise and many more. THANK YOU!!! David Paradise "Carpe diem quam minimum credula postero"

What has been going on at Elks Lodge #1789?

Kerry Mayhew, Lodge Secretary, started Vet’s Backpack Program in 2013. (There was an article in the Durango Herald in 2018 about this). New things this year are free haircuts for the vets! Amanda Maez, a new Elks member, is a 5th generation Montezuma County native. Currently on the Board of Realtors, she has been a hairstylist for 10 years, and donates her skills for free haircuts for the Vet’s Backpack program.

Kevin Lovett, DeWayne Findley and Michael Benvegno of Aluminyze (in Overgaard, AZ) first unloaded and placed our lovely new Elk statue on 9/17/22. Troy Hicks, premier landscaping and xeriscaping expert, also a new Elk member, added the Elk pedestal a couple of weeks later.

The attendance at Veteran Standdown was great. The building (at 107 N. Chestnut Street, Cortez) capacity was 300 people and it was ‘packed this morning’, per Carol Click! There were 38 supporting organizations offering all types of veteran’s assistance, such as food, clothing, employment / training, medical, hearing, home health, haircuts, fly fishing, wellness/fitness, housing assistance, and more. Food Provided:

Breakfast, by End of Trails catering (paid for by the American Legion post #75)
Lunch provided by P&D Market (paid for by VFW Post #5231)
Sweets: by July Perryman (paid for by DAV)
Add’l sweets: by Regina Buckholz, of “Homemade Country Girl”, paid for by VFW Post #5231
Canned Food table: bought by VFW Post #5231, paid for by the Veteran’s Trust Fund grant from the State of Colorado.

The VFW Post #5231 has also helped with the Cortez Elks Lodge Veterans BackPack program, getting the numbers up to 20 recently. Great teamwork!! Per Mike Brunk, VFW Post member: “Cortez is the best community to be a veteran in. Post 5231 writes lots of grants to help the veterans. Some vets have received $1800 for new teeth, for example. All the members are generous with their time and money.”

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