Sean C. Morgan
With a new slate of officers in place for this year and some building repairs completed, Sweet Home’s Elks Lodge leaders are looking to beef up their drug awareness and prevention programs and seeking to support residents at the Veterans Home in Lebanon.
Charly Bashaw is the Sweet Home Elks Lodge’s new exalted ruler.
Officers include Terry Layman, leading knight; Jerry McCollum, loyal knight; Barry Phillips, lecturing knight; Al Bashaw, esquire; Marilyn Van Epps, chaplain; Jan Moore, inner guard; Kevin Howard, tiler, Roger Conner, treasurer; and Wendy Kaplan, secretary.
Trustees are Jeanne Reeves, first year; Marge Lillich, second year; Duane Winslow, third year; Bob Ryan, fourth year; and Bonnie McCollum, fifth year.
Bashaw has been involved with the Sweet Home Elks since around 2006, she said. She got involved with her husband, Al, a past exalted ruler who joined the Sweet Home Lodge in 2005 while they still lived in Salem, where she had lived since 1980.
“I have a little experience, being an exalted ruler’s wife for two years,” she said, chuckling. She served as secretary for five years.
Bashaw grew up in Brookfield, Ill. She married Al 25 years ago. Each had three children. She has worked a variety of different jobs.
“We were both retired and decided we wanted to meet new people and socialize,” Bashaw said of their initial interest in the Elks. “Boy, did we ever.”
The two have been highly active at the lodge for the past decade.
The lodge has been busy the past year, and the Elks are planning a number of activities for the next year.
“Things are going real good,” McCollum said.
“We got the front of the building rebuilt,” Bashaw said. Over the past three years, the lodge has gotten a new floor, carpet and roof.
Going forward, the Elks are going to take a larger role in drug awareness and drug abuse prevention.
“We’re going to push real hard with that this year,” said Phillips.
The Sweet Home Elks recently purchased a trailer that members will take to events to promote drug awareness, Bashaw said. It carries brochures, and Elks will be present to interact with children.
“There’s so many kids that are on drugs, drinking,” Bashaw said.
“It’s been a big part of the Elks for years,” McCollum said. In Sweet Home, the Elks Lodge didn’t really have anyone running with it.
Phillips, who is new to the lodge this year, will be filling that role.
“He was initiated in January and jumped in with both feet,” Bashaw said.
Phillips worked as a probation officer for nine years, said he’s had plenty of experience in this area.
“Working with kids is what I did down in California. I’ve seen the devastation that drugs did to kids and to people’s families.”
Drugs, the meth, the heroin, counterfeit prescription opioids and the drinking, ruins lives, Phillips said, and he sees that in Sweet Home.
The Elks are partnering with police Community Services Officer Gina Riley to work together at events.
“I feel if we intervene with these school children before it’s too late, we can make a difference,” Phillips said.
His goal is to divert them from that path, get children involved in other activities, like the annual Elks Hoop Shoot and a fishing derby, he said. He also enjoys getting out and speaking with children one-on-one.
Also new this year, the Elks are seeking donations to help veterans living at the Edward C. Allsworth Veterans Home in Lebanon, where they have previously helped build a fire pit and cross wishes off of residents’ bucket lists. The donations pay for aides and nurses who must accompany residents on outings.
For more information, contact Bonnie McCollum at (541) 367-3559.
The Elks will continue in their traditional roles, Bashaw said. They will continue their local eye program, providing eye exams and glasses in the community. They annually host a back-to-school carnival, in which students win supplies as prizes for their schools.
They donate to the Portland Casey Eye Clinic for children, Camp Meadowood Springs in Weston for speech- and hearing-impaired children, and Camp Attitude in Sweet Home, to help children with disabilities to camp with their families.
For more information about the Elks, or to join or donate, contact the lodge at (541) 367-7806 or contact one of its 411 members directly. A member’s sponsorship is required to join the Elks.