In September of 2019 we alerted our members to this project initiated by PGER Mike Luhr to restore the signage and displays at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial. We received a number of donations from our members at that time. In May of 2020, the Lodge supplemented individual member donations with $1,000 from our charity account to support this Grand Lodge initiative
This effort all began when PGER Mike Luhr (pictured here) visited the memorial during his term. At the Grand Lodge (GL) convention in 2019 he issued a challenge for Elks members to raise funds to restore the memorial. The Elks are partnering with Pacific Historical Parks, a WWII non-profit organization that oversees the memorial.
The ultimate goal was for the Elks to donate $783,000–$1 for each member of the order at the time. The project ended November 11, 2020. As of June 4, 2021 Grand Lodge raised $514,971.78.
Florida lodges lagged behind, only donating $17,922–32% of their goal. We are proud to have supported this project and exceed the goal of $1 per member.
Along with contributions from Elks across the county we helped to preserve, restore and modernize the USS Arizona Memorial. The full story can be found in this article at elks.org.
