Exalted Ruler Gloria LeCouvre.
(L) New Officer Corps; Hart, Banning, Smith, Costello, Rusie, Alvarez, Peterson, LeCouvre, Yarnell, Randles, Spence, Pelloni and Bennington.
(L) Citizen of the Year Hal Mattson, Exalted Ruler Pat Martino (See attached).
(L) Officer of the Year Derek Randles, Exalted Ruler Pat Martino.
Elk of the Year Leo Hazell.
As the nation’s capital is celebrating the Cherry Blossom Festival, members, families and guests recently celebrated Mission Viejo / Saddleback Valley Elks Lodge No. 2444 (“Elks Lodge”) installation of Officers. Outgoing Exalted Ruler Pat Martino expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the members for a very successful year. He praised his Corps of Officers and Committee workers for the numerous charitable accomplishments of the past twelve months. Martino singled out the Community Activities Committee, the Elks Lodge Bingo Operation and its volunteers for a record year of contributions to the hundreds of worthy causes in the Saddleback community. He also offered his congratulations to the incoming Corps of Officers, pledging his support and wishing them success in the coming year.
The new officers will be serving the Lodge for a term of one year starting April 1, 2011. They are: Exalted Ruler (Lodge president) Gloria R. LeCouvre, Vice Presidents: Leading Knight Roger F. Yarnell, Loyal Knight Jason Spence and Lecturing Knight Derek Randles. Also installed were: Secretary Charles Hart, Treasurer Oliver (Newt) Seal, Esquire Camacho Alvarez, Chaplain Steven A. Rusie, Assistant Chaplin Michael Alarcon, Inner Guard Jim Peterson, Assistant Inner Guard Rhonda Pelloni, Tiler Diana L. Wilson, Organist Andy Costello, Trustees: Harvey Boelts, Tom Banning, Gary Bennington, Gary K. Smith and Harold A. Allen, Jr.
In her acceptance speech, newly elected Exalted Ruler Gloria LeCouvre said that her motto for the year will be, “Plan, Prepare, Perform.” LeCouvre also pledged to maintain the spirit of cooperation and involvement the Lodge has long enjoyed with the communities of the Saddleback Valley and City of Mission Viejo.
At a year-end awards ceremony, Exalted Ruler Pat Martino presented three of Elkdom’s highest awards. The Citizen of the year award went to Hal Mattson, Past Exalted Ruler and Past Officer of the Year. The Officer of the Year award was given to Derek Randles and the most prestigious of all, the Elk of the Year, was awarded to Leo Hazell a past Citizen of the Year.
The Mission Viejo / Saddleback Elks Lodge No. 2444, celebrating forty-one (41) years of service to the Saddleback Valley communities, is one of ten lodges in the Orange Coast District of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE) whose headquarters is in Chicago, Illinois. The BPOE is a charitable organization with a 143 year history of giving, “Elks Care, Elks Share.”
