Boy Scout Troop 603 Leads Elks Participants
Mission Viejo / Saddleback Valley Elks Lodge No. 2444 (“Elks Lodge”) honored vets during its third year of participation in the Lake Forest Ca Independence Day Parade with over eighty parade participants.
The Elks Lodge delegation was led by the Elks Lodge Banner and ten (10) members of the Lodge’s Boy Scout Troop 603 carrying the American Flag, MIA-POW Flag and five other flags. The scouts were followed by Elk members and their families handing out American flags, Elks Lodge key chains, American Flag mints, and American Flags plus other Independence Day memorabilia. Elk Members from all Saddleback Valley communities marched in the parade including Lake Forest residents Bill and Stephanie Bongartz who donated the Elks parade shirts.
Elks Past Exalted Ruler Dennis Keffer Handing Out American Flags
The marchers were followed by six (6) convertible vehicles and a World War II Jeep carrying military veterans from World War II, Korea and Vietnam. The Jeep carried World War II veteran brothers Jim and Wade Kemers. Jim, 95 years old, was in Patton’s Army and 84-year old brother was a Navy flier in Korea and a team member of the famous Blue Angels. The sea of red & blue shirts worn by Elks parade participants handsomely displayed the Order’s Elk and Elk USA logos, which were supplied by Bongo Inc. of Lake Forest.
Jeep Left Rear: Korean War Vet Wade Kemers; Right Front: World War Two Vet Jim Kemers
Camacho Alvarez, chairperson of the Elks Lodge contingent, said, “The Elks Lodge members and their supporters are grateful to the Lake Forest community for allowing us to participate in this Independence Day Parade. Americans may be struggling through a tough economy, but the annual celebration of our Independence Day reminds us that as Americans we can triumph over any adversity.”
The Mission Viejo / Saddleback Elks Lodge No. 2444, celebrating forty-two (42) 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 144 year history of giving, “Elks Care, Elks Share.”
Hal Mattson, Lodge Publicity
Mission Viejo / Saddleback Valley Elks Lodge No. 2444
Photos by Dennis Lumley and Andy Costello
