Over the next few months, the EOG and this website will have information on all the various committees and opportunities to volunteer. Please consider helping us make Lincoln Lodge #80 a success. After the first of the year, we will be inviting everyone interested in becoming more involved to come out to a meeting to launch all the new committees for the 2013 to 2014 Lodge year. Each month read about the opportunities to help and decide which one would fit you best. You can call the committee chair at that time to discuss it or wait for the organizational meeting. Everyone has a reason for being an Elk. You wanted to be a part of something great and help improve your community. Come make us great. I look forward to seeing you! Amy Jacobsen (PER).

Help kids stay off drugs. Our Drug Awareness Committee and volunteers take part each year in safe trick or treating at Boo at the Zoo. We provide drug awareness bookmarks and coloring books to kids throughout the year. Bookmarks are often included when we give Thesauruses and Dictionaries to local youth at our schools. At the pancake feed you might see some kids playing with rulers or balloons emblazoned with a stay free from drugs message. This committee could use help for all these events. It would mean as few as 1 or 2 hours a year or you can stretch it to many more. We can find a job for you. Call Harry Montag (PER) for more details (402) 990-7199.

The Deer Hide Program has a Chair (currently Larry Jurgens) and as many members as wish to participate.

The objective is to collect, prepare, and store deer hides until after deer season, then gather and transport the hides to a central collection point of the State Committee Chair’s choosing (currently Ansley, NE). The hides are then further transported to a tannery, where they are turned into leather. They are then shipped to a glove factory, and the remnants are turned into leather craft kits, both of which are distributed to our wheel chair bound Veteran’s via our Veterans Committees in local Lodges.

Duties include soliciting deer hides from hunters, salting and storing the hides, and loading/transporting the hides to the collection point.

Posters soliciting hides are made and posted at various locations, including vendors for Deer permits, meat lockers, sporting goods stores, supermarket posting boards, gas station posting boards, local restaurant posting boards where they serve hunters breakfast, etc. News releases can be prepared and given to local newspapers, radio stations, and TV stations, asking for donations of hides. Using a drop-off bin beside the Lodge has proven to be a very effective means of gathering hides. Hunters who have a large number of hides often request a committee member retrieve them, it helps if you have a pickup or small trailer.

Committee members should expect to donate between 2-20 hours of time, working with the Chair to help transport, prepare and salt hides, to pick up quantities of hides from hunters, to prepare posters and PSA’s, etc. The hides must be collected from the bin within 48 hrs, removed from plastic bags, prepared and salted to prevent spoilage. Badly damaged hides should be discarded. Contact Committee Chair Larry Jurgens or Committee member Randy King for more information.

The Scouting Committee Chair oversees two subcommittees, the Boy Scout Committee, and the Girl Scout Committee. Each of those has a chair, and as many committee members as wish to participate. The current Scouting Committee Chair is Randy King.

The primary focus of this committee is to interact with the local Boy Scouts organization, and the local Girl Scouts organization, primarily honoring their achievements to the rank of Eagle Scout for Boy Scouting, and the receiving of the Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards for the Girl Scouts.

The Boy Scout Committee consists of the Chair, currently Randy King, and as many committee members as wish to participate. This committee’s main objective is to honor an Eagle Scout at his Court of Honor, by attending and presenting a certificate, an American Flag, and reading a short speech at the ceremony. We average 30 +/- ceremonies a year. Each ceremony takes about 2 hours, and is usually on a Sunday afternoon, with the occasional Saturday or sometimes a weekday evening ceremony. Occasionally there will be more than one Scout receiving their Eagle Award at a given ceremony.

The Scouting Committee also teaches three Merit Badges that are required for the rank of Eagle Scout: Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the Nation, and Citizenship in the World. Each of these Merit Badges are taught in a 2-3 hour class, usually held on a Sunday afternoon at the Lodge. Time commitment for this ranges from 3-4 hours per session. You can volunteer for one, two, or all three. Good speaking and or teaching background is helpful but not necessary. Also, having a passport, some world traveling, speaking a second language, knowledge of our Constitution, our Nation’s History, being a Veteran, understanding foreign currency all are helpful in teaching these Citizenship classes. The Scouting handbook for these Merit Badges is very comprehensive and helpful, a review of this booklet prior to the class is most helpful.

The Scouting Committee is also occasionally called upon to provide Scouts for ceremonies such as Flag Day, provide opportunities for an Eagle Service Project, or provide service hours for First Class and above Scouts. Elks who are also registered as Committee Members with a local Boy Scout Troop are of great benefit, especially if they are Merit Badge Counselors for the Citizenship Merit Badges. The Citizenship Classes can be taught once or twice a year as volunteer time permits. Contact Randy King if you wish to participate with this Committee.

The Girl Scout Committee consists primarily to honor Girl Scouts who receive the Bronze, Gold, and Silver Awards in Girl Scouting. This is recognized yearly, at a celebration normally held in the State Capitol Rotunda, followed by a reception at the nearby First Christian Church. The Committee is responsible for coordinating the awarding of certificates and American Flags to each Girl Scout awardee, with a representative from the Girl Scouts local council. The time commitment for members of this committee is very small, usually less than 10 hours a year. Currently the Chair of the Girl Scout Committee is Randy King. To participate in this Committee, contact Randy King.

The Soccer Shoot committee needs volunteers to help ordering trophies, contacting coaches and preparing Drug Awareness packets for the participants. The time requirement for the committee will be approximately two hours in preparation before the day of the shoot and four hours on the day of the Soccer Shoot. We hope to have about 200 participants this year under the age of 14. Please contact Vacant at or for more information on how you can help with this committee.