- April 19, 2024
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The Palm Coast Elks Lodge prepared and delivered 200 lunches of barbecue chicken and sandwiches this weekend to Flagler’s firefighters.
The Palm Coast Elks Lodge donated a combined 200 lunches to Flagler County firefighters June 18 and 19, as a thank you to Flagler’s fire workers.
The feeling around town in times of disaster or tragedy, according to Elks Lodge Exultant Ruler Jerry Dickens, is one of humbling generosity.
A retired New York firefighter, Dickens watched firsthand when people came together after the Twin Towers collapsed Sept. 11, 2011. Elks Kitchen Manager Vinny Gough Jr., a retired New York detective squad commander, also worked at Ground Zero. He guesses there are about 70 other ex-firemen and policemen on Palm Coast’s Elks Lodge membership roster, about 30 of whom served in New York during Sept. 11.
“That’s why when we heard about this, we got pretty involved,” Gough said.
The Elks received the lunch request after they heard about an Emergency Services bottled water shortage and called in to see what supplies were needed. Instead of water, they were told, the department could use some grub.
The Elks packed boxes full of barbecue chicken, turkey and ham sandwiches, chips, homemade cookies and brownies, utensils, condiments and moist wipes, then dropped them off at the Emergency Services Center.
“We stay in pretty close contact with the local police and fire departments,” Gough said. In fact, Sheriff Don Fleming and Fire Rescue Chief Don Petito are both Elks members. So is Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts.
The Palm Coast Elks Lodge, which was chartered in 1986 and in March tallied its 1,000th active member, makes community service a priority, Dickens said.
About eight months ago, the lodge held a dinner-dance for a Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy whose child was born with complications. In one day, the Elks raised $7,000.
To raise money for the families of deployed servicemen, the lodge hosted an Army of Hope event in April. Also in one day — from a picnic, barbecue, golf outing and motorcycle ride — it raised $17,000, more than any lodge nationwide has ever raised for that charity.
Nationally, the Elks also give out more scholarship money a year than any other private organization, Gough said. The Palm Coast chapter donated about $10,000 to local student groups this year. It also sponsors a Boy Scouts troop and is sending 18 students to youth camp in Umatilla this summer at no cost to their families.
“The volunteers are very, very well appreciated around here,” said Elks Leading Knight Fred Szwed, a retired labor union teamster from Philadelphia. “They’re like the backbone of everything that goes on.”
Raising part of its money from events and donations, the Elks also run an in-house restaurant, serving lunch four days a week and dinner three days a week (four during football season). All of its food proceeds go toward charity efforts, as well. Only a couple members of Elks staff, including members of the Ladies Auxiliary, are paid.
Since the Palm Coast Lodge was constructed on Old Kings Road in 1992, only a few rules have been established. To avoid cliques and conflict, talking politics and religion has always been outlawed. But in order to take the Elks oath, members must believe in a higher power — it just doesn’t matter which one.
“God and country,” Szwed said. “You’ve got to believe in God and country.”
Contact Mike Cavaliere at [email protected].
