2026 – 2027 Ladies of Elks Auxiliary (LOEA)

Kerrie Green – President
Margie Schulz – Vice President
Bonnie Mettetal – PLP Secretary
Deseray Masi – Treasurer
Paula Michael – Membership & Friendship
Vivian Gustafson – PLP Chaplain
Bonnie Barnes – PLP, Parliamentarian
Kim Laskey – PLP 3 Year Trustee
Janet Barrick – PLP 2 Year Trustee
Marlene Evans – PLP 1 Year Trustee

HISTORY OF OUR LADIES OF ELKS AUXILIARY

There is a saying that behind every successful man is a good woman, well behind our Lodge is a great Organization, the Ladies of Elks Auxiliary (LOEA). Originally called the Anna Miller Circle, named to honor Anna Miller, who with her husband Harry R. P. Miller a retired financier were instrumental in starting the Harry-Anna Home for crippled children in Umatilla, Florida. A number of years ago the name of the Organization was changed to better identify itself with the Benevolent and Protective Order Of Elks (BPOE). To be eligible for Membership in the LOEA you must be a spouse, surviving spouse, or a member of the BPOE, 21 years of age or older and in good standing with the Lodge.

The St. Petersburg #1224 LOEA organized on March 24, 1924 and later Chartered by Articles of Incorporation dated June 19, 1929. They have the distinction of being recognized as the oldest Ladies organization in the State. Started with 10 members, they have increased to a healthy group in numbers.

Meetings were held in the Elks Building on Fourth Street and Third Avenue, South which at the time was the largest Lodge in Florida. During this era, the Ladies organized Lodge card parties and also the Festival of States card parties.

In 1933, during the Depression Era when the Lodge ran into financial difficulty, the ladies presented the Lodge with $3,500. To show their appreciation the Lodge presented the LOEA the Gavel that is still used today during their regular meetings on the second Monday of the month at 7:30pm. Officer’s meetings are held the first Monday of the month.

The Lodge then moved into a new building at 737 Arlington Avenue North and gave the LOEA permission to use their back room to hold meetings, there they held their first organized meeting on September 12, 1935 with Amelia Parker as President. The Ladies were instrumental in completing the painting and furnishing of the new Lodge and also presented the Lodge with the Ritual Altar’s Table and Cloth as well as a Piano.

In 1940 the LOEA instituted an Honorary Past President (HPP) Title. Any Secretary or Treasurer serving three years in their office is pinned as an HPP.

In 1947, Past President Lena Thomas presented the first Installation of the Ladies of Elks including the Line of March which was used through 2005.

In 1959, Memorial Services were organized as a Ritual in the month of March of each year. In 1977, Edna Whiting Revised the Service with the help of the Ladies State Chairman.

In 1963, President Urma Ferguson with the help of Exalted Ruler A. Valthelette, re-silvered and made new jewels for the Officers of the Lodge. During this era the LOEA served the lunches for Lodge #1224 after all their meetings and also cooked and served buffet meals every Friday and Saturday night.

September 1969. St. Petersburg Ladies of Elks Auxiliary, hosted their first Ladies Conference. The Florida Ladies of Elks 6th Conference. Chairlady: Mrs. Alton Smith. Co-Chairlady: Mrs. Russell D. Woods.

In 1970, the Lodge purchased the building that it now occupies and made various and extensive improvements.

During a September 1982 Meeting a proposal was made to have Life Membership Awards to ladies that had been members of the LOEA for Twenty Five (25) Years or longer. The proposal was voted on and accepted as a By-Law.

During the October 1982 Regular Meeting the proposed By Law was re-read, voted on and accepted. Nine ladies who have been members of the St. Petersburg LOEA for 25 years or longer were mailed letters inviting them to the November 1982 meeting to be presented with a Life Membership Certificate and Card. The First Life Members to be presented with a Certificate were Sybil Smith, Genereve Paceleep, Selma Newhard, Edna Whiting, Urma Ferguson, Marion Hitchens, Ethel Rothblatt, Carrie Lopez and Tess Forsythe. The presentation was made by Lorrayne Tuturiello, LOEA President.

July 5, 1990 Ladies Organizations were finally officially recognized at the Grand Lodge Convention when an amendment to Article III, Section 18 of the Grand Lodge Constitution was ratified by the subordinate Lodges and is now published in the Laws of the Order. A subordinate Lodge, by appropriate amendment to its bylaws, may recognize a Ladies organization as an auxiliary to that Lodge, provided its aims and purposes are consistent with those of the Order.

March 12, 2001, Charles Barnes becomes the first male inducted as a member of the LOEA, ending a 77 year tradition of exclusively female membership. The Ladies recognized that male members are an asset to the organization and are needed for membership to grow.

2006 The “Bucks to Boots” fundraiser was started by Cathy Shriver, Terri Rasmussen and Sue Mulligan and was planned and completed in about four weeks. These ladies sold boot hangers to be placed around the bar and the large windows. The ladies also had a beef stew dinner and collected underwear, socks and toiletries for veterans. The ladies raised around $600 cash and $400+ in supplies. This idea kickstarted what has become the LOEA sponsored event, Lodge 1224 Camp USA Show. At this event, LOEA and lodge members display their musical, singing and acting talents for one evening, raising money for veterans. One hundred percent of the profits are presented to Bay Pines VA Center during the lodge’s yearly Veterans Day dinner. Since 2012 the show has generated over $2,000 in profit.

2012-2013 The LOEA took its wildly popular show that is always sold out, “Variety Show,” on the road for the first time. This show was presented at Bay Pines Community Living Center once in 2012 and again in 2013. The show also went to Cascades Mobile Home Park in 2013. The latter was a way to introduce the ladies and lodge to the community. The show was so successful at Cascades that the Park donated $150 to the LOEA and bought over 20 tickets to the lodge’s next event. The LOEA strives to further the interests and activities of the lodge as well as provide organized assistance in any possible way that it can. As a tradition, the LOEA President has ceremoniously given a check to the outgoing Exalted Ruler for the betterment of the lodge during the installation of new officers at the beginning of the new Elk Year.

2014-2015 The LOEA takes its successful Lodge 1224 Camp USA Show to C. W. Bill Young VA Hospital several times to entertain the veterans who are not able to attend the show held at the lodge on a yearly basis. The LOEA also visits nursing homes, taking a mixture of variety show acts to entertain the patients at these homes.

2015-2016 During 2015-2016, the LOEA concentrated their efforts to remember our veterans. Among the many things they did was partnered with VAVS Deputy Representative to C. W. Bill Young VA Hospital, Johnny Miller, and other Elks to provide some gently used high-end electric powered wheelchairs to veterans from CWBYVA. Four used motorized wheelchairs valued at a total of approximately $9,560 were provided to veterans in need of mobility assistance. They also donated two 7′ Christmas trees to the VA’s PRRC program, donated to Stand Down for Homelessness at CWBYVA and donated to Heaven on Earth for Veterans Inc. which provides a safe place to stay for homeless veterans. In addition, many donations of clothing and hundreds of lap blankets and hats were donated to the veterans. The ladies also continued to assist with yearly monetary donations to the Children’s Therapy Services, Harry-Anna Trust Fund, Elks National Foundation and the Florida Elks Youth Camp where additionally they also sent five children in need to FEYC for the summer of 2016.

2016-2017 The LOEA continued the support of veterans by supporting VAVS Representative to C. W. Bill Young VA Hospital, Johnny Miller, and other Elks to provide excursions for the veterans along with their annual USA Show with Bob Hope and many acts raising funds to purchase movie tickets, toiletries, dinner gift cards, fishing poles and an additional motorized wheelchair. The LOEA supported the Stand Down for Homeless Veterans and donated lap blankets, clothing and gift cards to Heaven on Earth for Veterans. The ladies also continued to assist with yearly monetary donations to the Children’s Therapy Services, Harry-Anna Trust Fund, Elks National Foundation and the Florida Elks Youth Camp where additionally they also sent five children in need to FEYC for the summer of 2017.

2017-2018 The LOEA several generous donations to the Historical Programs, checks in the amounts of $1060 and an $2000 donation to the Florida State Elks Association Historical Commemorative Projects Liaison Rudy Masi, Sr. The LOEA announces the recipient of the scholarship for this year. Her name is Kara Nickol and she is currently a senior attending Seminole High School. She has maintained a 4.0 average throughout high school years. She will be attending the University of Central Florida next year. Kara received $1000 from the LOEA.

On behalf of St. Petersburg Lodge the LOEA sent twins to attend FEYC Summer Camp, additionally the LOEA donated an additional $200 in order to purchase clothing for the kids.

2019 The Downtown Optimist Club of St. Petersburg and the Dixie Hollins Civitan’s Club served as the servers at the LOEA’s Mardi Gras party. The Optimist and Dixie Hollins Civitan Club were raising money for children with needs. The LOEA was happy that during the evening $237 was raised for this club for their service. During the month of May, the LOEA donated $500.00 to Southeastern Guide Dogs walkathon. The MacDill Puppy Raiser Group is made up of volunteers dedicated to preparing puppies for their professional training as service animals with Southeastern Guide Dog’s Paws for Patriots program. These donations make a world of diﬀerence in the lives of veterans who cannot see and those who have seen too much.

March 2020 The Ladies of Elks Auxiliary (LOEA made a $1000 donation to the Southeastern Guide Dogs Walkathon. The organization accepts no government funding and depends 100% on private donations and grants to provide its lifechanging guide and service dogs to the people who need them— at no charge.

Additionally, the LOEA donated $500 to Music Sweet Music Inc. The money will be used to pay for 5 hours of music therapy in individual and group settings in their current programs.” MSM, Inc. offers music therapy services with board-certified, for children and teens with a wide variety of diagnoses and needs in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. Their music therapists use their education and clinical training to create a targeted treatment plan to address a variety of needs and diagnoses, including but not limited to ADD/ADHD, language/auditory processing disorders, autism spectrum disorders and many other disorders.

Each year the LOEA participates in the Lodge special services which include the Memorial, Flag Day and Mother’s Day Services.

Information was compiled from various documents, the writings of Edna Whiting, PLP 1960-1961, verbal and written information received from Joan Vignoul, PLP, LM and current Membership Chair; Cathy Shriver, PLP, LM and current Parliamentarian. New introduction, updated verbiage, additional LOEA research, documentation and closing remarks of this small accounting of the St. Petersburg LOEA History and Distinguished past was done by Maylene Graci, LOEA Historian, 2012-2013/2014-2015. Updated 2016