Ouray Elks Lodge #492
Good Morning Fellow, Elks. It has been a busy couple of days. On Saturday afternoon as I was driving into Ouray to prepare for karaoke night, I could see smoke up on the mountainside. I thought to myself, ‘That’s not good’. By the time we finished up at 9:30 that night, the fire had grown to around 500 acres. Because of all the emergency activities, I had to drive the one lane gravel to go north toward home. I finally got home at 11:00 pm. Sunday morning, we started to prepare. We live at the far north end of Ouray County, so there was no need to worry about the fire getting as far as our home. This is where we show our true colors as Elks. Bette called the emergency evacuation center and offered anything that The Lodge could spare for food items. Lori and I cleared out our extra bedrooms to take in people that were evacuated from their homes. Jill got calls from other Elks Lodges offering help. I received a call from the Hotchkiss Elks Lodge offering help. It is for times like this that the Elks were created. We are here to help others. Everybody has different resources and skills. We all step up and help where we can. The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was created to Provide relief: Support members and others in the community who were facing hardship. To Foster fellowship: to maintain a network of goodwill and brotherhood. And to Perform charitable acts: Our formal commitment to “Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love, and Fidelity”. This fire is a tragedy, but it is an opportunity for Elks to step up and do what we were created to do.
