- May 2, 2024
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Pilot Neal Tomlinson gets in position so Joe Brozyna can drop the ducks toward the target located in the Ormond Beach Elks Lodge 2193 parking lot. Photo by Michele Meyers
Joe Brozyna works for Tomlinson Aviation where he and owner Neal Tomlinson brainstormed to create an event that would make money for the Ormond Beach Elks Lodge 2193 and its non-profit organizations. Photo by Michele Meyers
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge 2193 members Joe Brozyna and his boss Neal Tomlinson came up with the duck drop event to generate funds for the lodge and its non-profit organizations. Photo by Michele Meyers
Elks Lodge past exalted ruler Maria DeArmon hangs out at the Ormond Beach Elks Lodge 2193 duck drop event. She works for Halifax Health Primary Care in Ormond Beach. Photo by Michele Meyers
Elks Lodge past exalted ruler Maria DeArmon was willed an elks tooth pendant by a district deputy grand exalted ruler. The honor is having it passed down by a family member or a good friend. It has the 11 o'clock toast reference which is performed to honor fallen Elks Lodge members. Photo by Michele Meyers
Event-goers wait for the arrival of the helicopter and the big duck drop. Photo by Michele Meyers
Jennifer Hinds, John Andrews, Shelia Hinds and Rick Peterson at the Ormond Beach Elks Lodge 2193 duck drop event. Sweet Shelia is serving fresh-cut strawberries over funnel cake, topped with whipped cream. Photo by Michele Meyers
Winners of the $500 prize, Mickey and Debbie Symington, serve beer out of the Keg-N-Stein at the Ormond Beach Elks Lodge 2193 duck drop event. Mickey invented the beer keg and built it with a friend in his garage 18 or 19 years ago. They donated half of their winnings to the Elks. Photo by Michele Meyers
Elks Lodge members Beverly Muscatello, Christine Pelella and Caroline Chandler run the ticket sales during the Ormond Beach Elks Lodge 2193 duck drop event. Photo by Michele Meyers
Florida Elks children therapy services occupational therapist Althea Montgomery and director Colleen Gallant share information about their services with duck drop event-goers. Photo by Michele Meyers
Pilot Neal Tomlinson makes a test run over the duck drop site at the Ormond Beach Elks Lodge 2193. Photo by Michele Meyers
The Ormond Beach Elks Lodge's duck drop fundraising event was a succes with over 1100 ducks sold. The top three ducks that landed the closest to the target were winners. Photo by Michele Meyers
Khloe Barlow (left) and Elizabeth Futch ran the game station for Girl Scout Troop 825 - Sunrise Girl Scouts. Both girls have been in scouts for eight years. Troop leader Dana Allen has been a leader for 42 years. Her troop came out to give back to the Elks who do so much for the community. Photo by Michele Meyers
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge 2193 exalted ruler Mike Chandler (center) and James Wood (left) oversee Steve Broznya as he measures the ducks-to-target distance to determine the duck drop winners. Photo by Michele Meyers
'Duck drop' event-goers wait for the winners to be announced at the Ormond Beach Elks Lodge 2193. Photo by Michele Meyers
Pat Hubert does some last minute work with the auction at the Ormond Beach Elks Lodge 2193 duck drop event. Hubert is the Florida Elks State Chair of the Soccer Shoot Committee. Photo by Michele Meyers
Elks trustee Sherman Burres announes the duck drop winners while Caroline Chandler (left) checks the participant list at the Ormond beach Elks Lodge 2193. Photo by Michele Meyers
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge 2193 'rubber duckie crew'- Scott Gutauckis, James Wood and Steve Brozyna. Photo by Michele Meyers
Patti Winchester (third from left) holds her $250 winning duck as she celebrates with her friends at the Ormond Beach Elks Lodge 2193 duck drop fundraising event. Winchester donated half of her winnings back to the Elks. Photo by Michele Meyers
Patti Winchester (third from left) holds her $250 winning duck as she celebrates with her friends at the Ormond Beach Elks Lodge 2193 duck drop fundraising event. Winchester donated half of her winnings back to the Elks. Photo by Michele Meyers
Duck drop event-goers participate in the cakewalk at the Ormond Beach Elks Lodge 2193. Photo by Michele Meyers
What do elks, ducks and a helicopter have in common? Over $5,500 of fundraising success for the Ormond Beach Elks Lodge 2193, that’s what.
The duck drop event was held at the lodge on Wilmette Avenue on Saturday, Sept. 2, and sold over 1,100 ducks at $5 each. In addition to the "drop," event-goers could enjoy Shelia’s Sweets, Kona Ice and beer served out of the Keg-N-Stein. Girl Scout Troop 825 ran the cornhole boards, and attendees could also participate in a cake walk and a Chinese auction or purchase a raffle ticket for prizes.
Members Joe Brozyna and Neal Tomlinson wanted to create a fundraising event to help support the Elks’ community programs and lodge upkeep. Tomlinson owns Tomlinson Aviation in Ormond Beach, where Brozyna works. Both are pilots: Tomlinson is a helicopter pilot, and Brozyna flies fixed-wing aircraft.
Tomlinson had previously taken part in a fundraiser that used golf balls for a drop. But the Elks Lodge has a parking lot, not a large grassy area. Using rubber ducks was the perfect solution.
The money will go toward the Elks' community programs, which include a youth camp, children’s therapy services, drug awareness programs, scholarships, holiday food baskets, a Christmas toy delivery and the National Veterans Service Commission, which is tasked with combatting homelessness.
“It’s more than just a bar — more than just a place to get cheap drinks,” Brozyna said. “It’s an Elks Lodge that happens to have a bar attached to it as a benefit to our members. It’s just a perk of being a member. We really do a lot for kids and the community.”
The Elks are an amazing organization. We believe in taking care of our children, our elderly and our veterans with no public funding at all. We are not controlled by Medicare or insurance companies. We treat a child for what they need not what a company says they’ll pay for."
— COLLEEN GALLANT, Florida Elks Children’s Therapy Services director
The Elks have two major projects in the state: the Florida Elks Children’s Therapy Services and the Florida Elks Youth Camp.
Colleen Gallant, the Florida Elks Children’s Therapy Services director, said Therapy Services is treating over 600 children per week, free of charge. It offers in-home occupational physical therapy and speech therapy, as needed. There are 30 therapists working for Florida Elks, plus roughly 27 contract therapists.
“The Elks are an amazing organization,” she said. “We believe in taking care of our children, our elderly and our veterans with no public funding at all. We are not controlled by Medicare or insurance companies. We treat a child for what they need not what a company says they’ll pay for.”
Althea Montgomery is an occupational therapist for the Florida Elks Children’s Therapy Services and covers Orange, Seminole and Lake Counties. She stood at her therapy van sharing information about the Elks’ services for children.
She said she sees 20 kids per week and is carrying a waitlist of 28. She moved from Georgia, where she had her own therapy business, and said it was a challenge getting into the Florida system.
“The Elks allows me to work as an independent practitioner, meeting the needs of my clients as opposed to what the hospital is telling me who I need to see,” she said. “This way I can prioritize a child.”
Kevin Burgess has been involved with the Elks for 35 years and drove from Apopka as a representative for the Florida Elks Army of Hope. The Army of Hope takes care of active-duty military families if the military members deploy. During Hurricane Idalia, the group took care of first responders' families.
“We take the stress out of the military member being deployed, on that family,” he said.
Ormond Beach Elks Lodge 2193 Exalted Ruler Michael Chandler moved to Ormond Beach in 1969 and has been involved with the lodge for 42 years. He said he is pleased with the duck sales and will have the event again if it is successful.
“I originally joined for fun and the social end of it,” he said. “Once I got involved, I realized we do things for our charities, we do drug awareness, we have our therapy van, we’ve got a youth camp in Umatilla on 400 acres. We try to be an asset.”
