Buy a great meal and support Elks charitable work
On Mondays you can try their famous broasted chicken dinner and on Fridays you can get an all-you-can-eat fish fry. There is also a Sunday Breakfast Special for only $5, on select Sundays.
At the same time you enjoy these great home-cooked meals, you can support the many charitable works of the local North Fort Myers Elks Lodge 2742.
The lodge has now opened its doors to the public for those meals, to help add funds to support great causes, and have members meet new perspective members.
Their famous broasted chicken dinner is every Monday from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 pm at a cost of $8.50. On Fridays, you can try their all you can eat fish fry for $9 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
“This will help the lodge do that good work in the community, as well as letting perspective new members have fun and see the camaraderie with us,” said Lodge Trustee Dick Wood. “We also have the best broasted chicken in Florida, and the fish can be served deep fried, blackened or broiled.”
The good work members do in the community is both weekly, through the year and especially at holidays. Every Tuesday morning, members of the Veterans Committee feed local homeless veterans and provide them with basics that improve their quality of life.
“Recently we also handed out numerous baskets of food at both Christmas and Thanksgiving for the needy. We also had our annual Giving Tree, where we had over 100 names for local boys and girls and the members bought presents for them. They were students from local schools, Bayshore Elementary, J. Colin English and the North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts.”
Their giving doesn’t stop there.
“We also have a scholarship fund for relatives of members such as a grandson, great grandson, granddaughter and great granddaughter,” Woods said. “As long as you are a member, you are eligible for those children for the funds.
“We started simply with about $3,200 over the last few years, and got $400 each for those this year. We also support youth camps in the summertime.”
Wood said the lodge could not keep up with so many good works without the support of the Ladies Auxiliary.
“We get a lot of financial support from The Ladies of The Elks, and they also sponsor an all-you-can-eat breakfast the third Sunday of every month. In January, we have two, and the public is invited to those as well as the dinners.”
Those breakfast will be served on Jan. 16 and 30, from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. with pancakes, sausage, biscuits and gravy, orange juice and eggs to order -even omelette – for only $5.
“Where else can you get such a breakfast for only $5?” Wood said.
Carol Phelps is president of The Ladies of The Elks.
“The Ladies of The Elks work hard to raise funds for our lodge and our community,” she said.
This is her fifth year as leader of that group. “Our goals are to continue to strive to help the organization and provide for the community. We also try to support state-wide projects of the Elks.”
Some of those projects include summer camps and mobile physical and occupational therapy for children. “They have trained therapists that go to child’s home to give services at no charge.”
Caregivers are not forgotten in that program. “The organization through that program also trains caregivers to provide those services throughout the week.”
The Elks also work to mold young people to be better people. There is a Gentleman’s Club in cooperation with Dr. Carrie D. Robinson Littleton Elementary School’s Assistant Principal Robert Cooper and a Little Ladies Club, a youth program with Littleton teacher Nancy Tinsdale.
Larry Carie is a trustee and the head of the Veterans Committee, and talked about the Tuesday meals. “We’re here to basically support the veterans and the homeless, but we don’t discriminate – if someone else shows up, we feed them anyway.”
On membership, Thelma Wright-Smith a past Exalted Ruler and the State Drug Awareness Chairperson for the Elks said, “We want someone who wants to make the community a better place, for both veterans and children.”
Treasurer Wesley Phelps said, “Our focus is those local veterans and children.”
While charitable events are a focus, the lodge is also a fun place, said member Rolly Ross. “I’m just here for the good people, the food and the dancing.”
Frank Kondratyk is the current Exalted Ruler of the lodge, the highest member. ‘Membership is the lifeblood of our organization. It helps us do our charitable work.”
Roland Reynolds is an Elks member and a North Fort Myers resident. He is a retired fireman and fire inspector.
“I joined the Elks many years ago because everyone from our block was in the Elks. Our donations were important, and 100 percent went to the charities we supported.”
To join the Elks, you need to be an American citizen, 21 years or older, and have someone from the organization sponsor you.
The Elks Lodge is located at 2163 Twin Brooks Rd. For information, call 731-2867.