Welcome, everyone, to Midday magazine for this Thursday,
September 12th, 2024.
Have your host, James J. Mailoff here.
In part two today at 430,
we're going to speak with Jackie Carentini,
UW-Madison Extension Wood County's
Human Development and Relationship Educator.
Right now in studio, our good friend Tom Derry,
exalted ruler of Elks Lodge number 693.
Tom, it is always good to see how you've been, man.
Great, James, good to see you as well.
Appreciate the time and right out the gate,
gotta say a big thank you to our friends
at the Elks Lodge number 693.
You guys put into this community so much,
we greatly appreciate the things that you do,
which is part of the reason why not only do you guys
have fun events that we like to highlight,
but part of the reason why we also want to have you guys on,
talk about these events, make sure you get a good turnout,
because we know that all that comes right back
to the community.
Maybe we'll get into some of that in a little bit.
I do want to get to this special event,
Bingo, that you have coming up, Tom,
but some other things we wanted to touch on as well.
Where do you want to start?
Yeah, well, let's start with the Super Bingo.
That's our biggest event that's going to be happening
in the soonest, so what's going on with the special Bingo
is it's a Super Bingo.
We're selling about 160 tickets to that event.
I think we're at about 111 sold so far.
You pay $5 to get your ticket.
That ticket will get you in the door that day,
and it can be used as a $5 food voucher
to be spent there at the Lodge on that day.
And then you can buy the packs for the Bingo games itself,
which are 50 bucks a pack.
They can buy as many packs as they want
once they're through the door.
And the prize money for that will be a grand total
of $5,500 that day split between the 20 games
and the blackout.
So it'll be a fun day, but they got to get those tickets soon
and they are selling fast.
So I was going to say, I can't imagine though,
you got a lot of them left.
And this is our major fundraiser.
Now, it used to be our fish fry,
but you know how things go.
Yeah.
Hard to get the volunteers, hard to get all that.
And one day we made about half of what we,
a little over half of what we were trying to target
for the year, what we had made in fish fry.
So we figured we'd do a second one
and put us at that mark and maybe a little bit better.
And that's great.
That gets a lot of our programs taking care of for the year
that we use those monies for.
Yeah, this is something that I don't think is lost
on a lot of people in our community,
but for those that it might be,
that we still have elx lodges.
You know, that we still have something like this
in our communities that our parents,
you know, we're into and our parents, parents,
and these things, it's important.
It's also important that we keep them around
and we help support these type of events
to think that a fish fry, you know,
that would happen with the volunteers
and some of that, that happens on our watch.
And you guys had this communities back.
It's us as citizens to have your guys us back
and show up at these events when we can and everything.
So we will be noting, volunteering
and opportunities for that before we wrap up.
As far as the special bingo event goes,
this is a fun one, man.
That's a fun idea.
This is fun, Steven's Point Lodge does it.
That's kind of where we got the idea.
And we were like, why don't we try this?
And it was very successful last time.
And anyone that comes out to bingo,
it's pretty much identical to what we do.
Lots of good food, fun time playing the games.
Bob Berg and Mike Spranger do fantastic job calling the games
and trying to make it fun for everybody.
And it's a good day.
I have never a Wednesday night.
I tend to be out and coming back around
and going past the Y and the Elk Slodge.
And I've never once driven past
they're not seeing that place jam packed.
Oh, yeah, it's full Wednesday's full.
It's just, it's a fun time over there.
I go check that out everybody ever Wednesday
and be sure to get your tickets and get signed up
and make sure that you can get a chance
to reserve your spot to win this big bingo prize.
These bingo packs, can they pick them up at the Elk Slodge?
Is there anywhere else they can?
The only place they can get them is at the lodge currently.
They're for sale whenever we are open.
So the next few weeks, this week we're closed Thursday,
Friday, Saturday, because we're at Elk's Convention.
I'm leaving from here to go to that.
But next week we should be open Tuesday night, Wednesday night,
Thursday night and Friday night
for those last people trying to get those tickets.
We have a lot of events going on that week.
So we have our regular meeting night on Tuesday.
We have a bingo again on Wednesday.
Thursday we're doing a cards against humanity night
for our game night.
So I thought something fun like that.
And then Friday, of course, we're doing fish fry.
So that's a way to just get people in the door
and get some exposure and hopefully let them
buy those tickets.
Yeah.
Tom will talk more about the event and some other things
coming up.
I do have to ask.
You mentioned you're going to be going to that conference.
That sounds like an interesting conference.
That sounds pretty cool.
That's our state conference for our fall session.
There's 27 Elk Slodge is in the state
and we all come together, exchange ideas,
do some classes, some education.
And we talk on the issues that we have on the state level.
And it's a good time, especially the chair officers
that sit and participate in the board
and people like that that are required to go to those things.
There are a lot of fun and it really gives you an idea
of what the Elks is really about on a bigger level.
I bring this up just because I find it interesting,
but also I think the audience will,
because we've worked with the 693 for a long time.
And we know that traditionally some members
of the Elk Slodge can be older.
We've got you in this position now, a younger guy.
When you're going to these conferences,
are you seeing people around your age?
Are we seeing some younger people?
Yeah, we're starting to be a lot more diverse.
Even within our lodge, we've added a lot of younger members
in the last couple of years.
And we continue to do so, people that are more of my age.
And finally kind of figuring out what they want to do.
Maybe kids are leaving the house.
Now they've got some extra time.
They're still working.
They're still looking for a place to kind of do something
with the energy they have and not just be home all the time.
And it's a wonderful place to do that.
So like a lot of these clubs, we want to see this around.
They do important work.
It's not just coming out and having a fish fry.
It's the things that the clubs provide to the community,
not just on the front of over a social club,
but the scholarships.
The things we do at the focus center,
all sorts of different things that we do as Elks.
It's important in those communities here in our communities.
Yeah.
Immediately, I think we do this with a lot of nonprofits.
I try to, especially if the community is wondering,
take a look at your community.
Think about how things are.
Now think about how it would be
if you didn't have the Elks Lodge.
Yes.
And you would immediately notice.
You would immediately notice the different things
that we have so much in life that goes on
as so many different things that are,
we have this nonprofit covering this
and this nonprofit doing this.
You have the United Way that covers so many bases.
And even with all that being said,
they're still gray areas.
That's where having an Elks Lodge or something like that
really matters and really shows that it's impact.
And that's why we appreciate having our locally
here our Elks Lodge number 693.
And why it's important to keep these Elks Lodges
and nonprofits like this around.
It's great to hear that, man.
I was a little afraid to ask the question to be honest with
because I didn't know where the answer was going to go.
I'm really happy to hear that this is something
that looks like it has a good future,
a strong future, our Elks Lodges.
Yes.
And a lot of it is volunteerism has been an issue
for every one of these clubs.
We're all trying to get younger.
We're trying to be smarter.
We're trying to respect tradition,
but grow with the times and the changing markets.
People my age maybe do things a little bit different
than the next generation that's coming up.
How we socialize, how we interact.
It's different from our parents.
It's different from our grandparents.
And the kids coming up behind us,
I shouldn't say kids.
A lot of them behind us are getting to that point too
where they're like, well, what do I want to do?
And they have varied interests.
So in order to keep those clubs going,
you have to match the time and continue to grow your Lodge
and just be smart about it.
And honor the tradition,
but don't be afraid of growth and change.
Well said.
Speaking with Tom Deere,
exalted ruler of Lodge number 693.
Tom, you had some other notes
that you wanted to touch on today.
Yeah, we have a lot of other things going on.
One of the big things I wanted to get done in my time
in the chair is get some more community events going.
We focused on really working on some internal things
the last couple of years,
but we've wanted to get it back out there
and get more eyes and things done in the community.
So we do have a few things coming up.
On October 12th,
the Lady Elks will be doing a vendor event at the Lodge.
So multiple vendors coming in selling different things
that will be their major fundraiser for the year.
Their numbers are not as big as they once were,
but the ladies are really trying to get this together
and this is going to be a fantastic event.
We're going to help them out any way that they need
or they can, so if you are a vendor
and you're looking for some place to rent out,
please feel free to reach out to us at the Lodge.
I'll get you in contact with who you need to
to progress forward on that table rentals
and things like that.
We'll make sure to get that information out there
before we wrap up today, how you can reach Tom.
And certainly we want the details on that
so we can talk about it on our morning shows
and make sure to hype it up and get them a good crowd.
And it's great to hear that they still have numbers
that go into what we're talking about here.
And they're doing a good job trying to, again,
just like us, get those numbers back up,
continue the great work that they do
and they're a part of us as well.
So we'll try to make sure we have their back.
Then coming up after that,
we have a nightmare before Christmas party that I'm doing.
That will be kind of a fun event.
I want it to be a fun family event.
We've already got a face painter lined up for that event.
We've got, we'll probably have the movie going on
in the background, some fun kids games,
some fun food, finger foods, things like that.
And that'll be from five to seven on November 2nd
at the Oxlatch.
I should mention for journalistic integrity,
every Halloween, every Christmas I watch this movie.
It's one of my favorites.
I love, love, love the movie.
I, all I heard was nightmare before Christmas
and I started thinking about zero.
I, yep, it's a fun event, man.
That's a fun event.
Costumes are already looking at fun things to do
and it just happens with beetled juice, beetled juice
and other things coming together,
Tim Burton's going to be at the front again for a while.
So costumes again are encouraged
and you don't just have to be a kid to get your face painted.
Absolutely.
Oh, that's a really fun idea.
That's a good event, man.
Another big one that we'll have coming up later in that month
is I plan to do a community Thanksgiving.
So what I've got going on there
is a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.
We'll have the turkey, we'll have stuffing,
we'll have all the things that you've come to expect
at Thanksgiving.
For that, we are looking for volunteers, of course,
in the community and we're also trying to make this free
to the community for about 150 people.
With the need in the community, we figure there's other places
that do this.
This is just another offshoot of that
that we're trying our first year in a while doing it.
And hopefully we can get some sponsors to help out
with the cost.
I'm working on getting those costs figured out right now.
It's been a busy or work season for me,
so I'm catching up on.
You got a lot on your plate, Matt.
No, I'm tempted, but yeah, you do.
It's understandable.
But it's just going to be turkey, ham, mashed potatoes,
stuffing, gravy, green beans, and baby carrots,
pumpkin pie, and cranberries.
And I think hopefully we'll get some help
from a couple of the major ones here
to get the cranberries taken care of.
Maybe some potatoes locally.
Anything, anything will help.
I'm trying to get those costs passed along
so people can make donations to that.
Again, they can come and sign up if they want to just help out
serving or helping in the kitchen, helping serve the meal
itself, or just clearing plates afterwards
and things like that.
And hopefully we can get this thing paid for
and order the supplies and try and get as close to cost
as we can and not charge anything for this.
I think it's a big impact that we're trying to make.
And it's something that definitely
is needed in our community.
Yeah.
You've done, I think, similar to this before.
Haven't you, Tom?
I seem to remember you at least wanting to do this.
We used to do things with like we did a event that I did
when we first got there called brunch with benefits.
And that was always fun.
But we just haven't had time to put all that together.
And maybe that's something we'll bring back later in the year
or maybe next year.
But it's a big undertaking.
And usually we'd pick a charity every month.
And then from our end, that's really
what we were doing on my business side.
But it's a fun event.
And it'll be great to do the community event
and just get the ice out there, not just on the elks,
but to help out the community at a time
where there's a lot of people that
are either alone on the holiday or just people in need
that want to come out.
So we want to be able to provide a space for them to do that.
Many of us are fortunate enough to have
had good memories of Thanksgiving or know
what a good Thanksgiving's like.
And with those memories, if you think deep enough,
you understand the undertaking that it is
to put on a Thanksgiving for you and your family,
which can be anywhere from five to 20 people.
You know, it could be a good number of people.
And I'm not making light of that.
But go ahead and times that by like three.
And that's what they're trying to do here at the elks lodge.
And it speaks to how much you know what they need.
You know the things that they could use.
Even reaching out and finding out,
hey, do you guys have this yet?
To businesses out there.
I talk about this a lot because I try to peel back everything.
I think that most are, especially locally,
our businesses out there, they got good hearts.
They want to combine both making a profit and the marketing
and all of this along with putting into their community.
But to those out there that are just looking
at the bottom line, just looking at the money of this,
I can reach you to because there are very few PR opportunities
better than being a part of something like this
or attaching your business to the elks lodge.
It is a win-win situation.
Whatever you spend, you're making your money back.
You are getting that money.
You're hitting ears and hitting eyes
that you wouldn't see otherwise.
Your business is going to be benefit from this.
I don't care how big you are, how small you are.
So whoever you are, reach out to Tom,
be a part of this event for all of the reasons I've said
along with many other ones.
And not for nothing, man, it feels good to the soul.
Like it feels good to be a part of these things.
What all the different events we're talking about,
when you add into these, whether it's your time
and your volunteering or it's dollars and cents,
I almost guarantee and I don't use that word lightly.
I almost guarantee you're getting a return on your investment
just the goodness that you feel in your soul.
Yes, exactly.
Couldn't have said it better.
In addition, there'll be one other thing we're working on.
So I mentioned the nightmare before Christmas.
We'll have a giving tree set up then.
So it'll be basically, I don't want to go as in depth
as some of the other ones do.
You know, we got toys for tots
and they're a very well-oiled machine.
They do a fantastic job.
On this day, it's basically about getting the things out
that people can buy, gather, giving tree.
It'll be basic things that you can go to Walmart
and pick up in the clearance aisle now.
Just suggestions for toys, games, things like that nature.
And then those will go under the tree at the lodge
until our Christmas party.
We're going to do a breakfast with Santa on December 21st
and I plan to pass those out there.
Oh, that's so cool.
I think that would be a fun event.
And we haven't had one in quite a few years there.
So I'd really like to get that going again.
That's one of my pet projects.
And I'm like, I really want to get this done
and get those people back in.
Again, get people coming through the door
and understanding what the Elks is,
what they do in our community
and growing it from there.
You know, also another way of keeping the Elks around
possibly, too, because these kids,
these families, the people that are benefited
and helped, whether it's as Thanksgiving meal
or it is this great Christmas idea you have,
you are maybe possibly creating future Elk members.
I know that I've talked to people
that were affected from, you know,
helped benefit it from the Elks lodge
and they wanted to be members eventually
and some of that.
Or, you know, at the very, even if it's not to that extent,
kids, brains, are sponges and they learn from us.
And if they see us as adults putting in our community,
taking time out of our busy days to volunteer
or out of our bank account that we maybe don't have
as much as we'd like in there,
but we're still taking out of there
to add to the Elks lodge or add to these events,
kids see these things and they grew up
to want to put into their communities.
Exactly.
It all adds up and a really fun event,
a really fun idea.
We really want to help you make that happen, man.
As we're getting closer to that time,
make sure we want these details so we can talk about them,
bring them up on the air, make sure we're running.
And I'm sure we'll be back to see you a lot more.
Oh yeah, oh yeah, definitely.
We got coming up.
We're going to have a box for you
for it.
You can drop your mail-off act because you're
going to be by a lot of that.
That will be great.
Did you have some other notes there, Tom, you want to talk?
Just some other things that the Elks kind of existingly
does that people may not know we do.
We are open select Fridays.
So that would be easier to check our Facebook page.
I am constantly going online, doing lives,
updating our calendar there.
I try and do a weekly, hey, this is what's going on
so that people can see it.
Not everybody's a Facebooker.
I get that.
We've also been posting out on the doors out front
kind of a list of activities of what
is going on in the lodge.
So people can come out and enjoy those things, whether it
be a burger night, game night, fish fries, things like that
that are going on in addition to Bingo every Wednesday.
You do a great job with that page, by the way.
It's a great follow.
Be sure to look that up on Facebook.
I was constantly wrapping it's Elks Lodge number 693
like that page, everybody.
Doing nice work with that.
Thank you.
And we certainly as we're getting less to our last couple
of minutes here, Tom.
Do you have any other notes or you want to rewind
and go over the special event Bingo one more time?
Oh, the special Bingo again.
We'll just touch on that five dollars for tickets.
You can buy them at the lodge.
We have 160 of them available.
And I believe we have 111 sold to this point.
So don't wait, get those tickets.
Don't plan on them being there.
Day of, we may have a few.
But they'll be very scarce.
You need that ticket to get in the door.
And then you can buy your packs for $50 a piece.
Again, there's about $5,500 in prize money
we're giving away that day between the 21 games.
So don't miss out on the opportunity.
I don't think we'll be doing one again until spring.
So it's a fun, fun thing.
Next Saturday, 10 a.m. the doors will open.
Noon will the Bingo will kick off.
And we'll have food and fun and kind of made it
an October fest theme for the menus.
So it'll be a lot of fun.
Keep in mind, also every Wednesday, Bingo
at the Wisconsin Rapids Elks Lodge.
Number 693, doors open at 5.
Bingo kicks off at 6.30.
It's a great fun time.
And it's also a way to know that you're not only enjoying
yourself but putting into your community
because that is what the Elks Lodge does.
Tom, if people have follow up questions one
or no more, but what we talked about today,
how can they reach you?
They can reach me at the Wisconsin Rapids Elks Lodge.
Our number there is 715-423-1930.
And you can leave a message on the machine.
I check that.
If you're trying to get a hall rental in
or just want to talk more about stuff,
you can reach me at 715-697-9221.
That's my direct line.
That's my cell phone.
It's my business line.
So it's always on me, I usually answer.
If I can, unless I'm busy.
And then I will get back to you.
Find out more as well, not only at elks.org.
That's elks.org.
You can find our local Elks Lodge as well as
other great information about the Elks Lodge organization
in general.
And be sure to follow them on Facebook.
Just type in your search bar.
Wisconsin Rapids Elks Lodge number 693.
Keep up to date on all the cool things they got going on.
Tom will talk again real soon.
All right, thank you for having me, James.
We'll have more Midday Magazine coming up right here on 975-FM,
1320 AM, WFHR, locally grown radio.
