Rahway Elks Lodge News
Submitted by Kristina Petti
Every year thousands of New Jersey Elk members head to Wildwood, NJ during the first weekend of June for the annual NJ State Elks reunion & convention. Throughout the weekend members can enjoy some fun times with their local lodges, Exalted Rulers and other dignitaries attend business sessions, and the highlight of the whole weekend is the New Jersey Elks Parade!
The Rahway Elks stayed at the wonderful Water’s Edge Resort and enjoyed events such as a Luau Friday night, a BBQ after the parade Saturday, and breakfast Friday- Sunday. The lodge’s Better Parades committee hosts fundraisers throughout the year and the profits are used to pay for food and entertainment. This year’s DJ, long standing friend of the Elks, Michael Martino hosted 2 nights of dancing, karaoke, and fun! This is a wonderful time for our members to unwind and appreciate all of the work that they have done for our community throughout the year.
This year was even more special because we had the Donovan family on board! Our Alternate Ambassador Liam, sister Emma, mom Cheryl, and Grandma Linda made it down Friday night and marched in the parade on Saturday. Well, they didn’t really march… they rode in style on a brand new 6-seater golf cart that was decked out in patriotic decor. A huge shoutout to Mayor Ernie Troiano, Jr. of Wildwood for getting us such a sweet ride for the parade at no cost to our lodge!
Even though it was quite windy that day, the event was still on. There have been years that we have marched in a flooding street as it poured around us. The Rahway Elks were dressed in patriotic Hawaiian shirts to go with our Luau theme. It was a beautiful event, and we were proud that Alternate Ambassador Liam and his family could join us. Who knows what our theme will be next year? Maybe Liam can help us pick it out. I hear he likes Toy Story.
The Rahway Elks Special Children’s Committee is proud to announce that next year Liam Donovan will be the Area 4 Ambassador (Poster Child) of the NJ Elks, starting at the end of July. It has been a pleasure to have the Donovan family active in our lodge, district, and state events this year and we are looking forward to another fantastic year to come!
The NJ Elks Ambassador Program allows children under the age of 18 to interact socially and encourage them to attain their full potential. These children will have the opportunity to partake in many lodge events and the various programs we provide. Ambassadors are a reminder to our lodge members of what we do at the Elks and why we do it.
