Grand Exalted Ruler Luhr visits Elks lodge

Petersburg native Michael Luhr has been a part of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks since 1977, when he was initiated into Petersburg Lodge No. 1615. He said that he has lived in Petersburg for 62 years, and has been an Elk for 42. According to a short biography presented at Lodge No. 1595 in Wrangell, he served in a series of roles at local, state, and national levels for many years.

In a July ceremony this year, Luhr was made the first Alaskan to ever serve as the grand exalted ruler of the Elks.

Last Thursday night, Luhr stopped in Wrangell to visit Lodge No. 1595.

"It's an honor," Luhr said. "It's not being the first Alaskan that's the honor. Any time any individual Elk gets this opportunity it's an honor. There's 780,000 members out there, and each year only one person gets to be the national president."

The Wrangell lodge held a dinner party for their honored guests, which also included the Elks state presidents of Alaska and Washington, Kerry Tomlinson and John Fry, as well as former Grand Exalted Ruler Roger True, First Lady Barb Luhr, and Grand Secretary Bryan Klatt. Before the dinner, Luhr sat down to discuss how the organization was faring within the state and across the country.

"The Elks in Alaska are doing really good," he said. "All Elks lodges are supposed to give back to the community, they're supposed to make their community a better place to live. So that's how we judge how our Elks lodges are doing. Our Elks lodges do really well, and our association as a whole does really well. This is an eye opening experience for me to see other state associations, what they're involved in, what their major projects are in and what they're Elks lodges do."

Luhr also took a moment to address memberships within the Elks. When asked if there was any concern about the number of Elks members declining over time, Luhr said that in 2017 the Elks had lost 4,153 members, but was nothing to the 780,000 Elks across the country. This year, he added, the Elks had seen 30,000 new or reinstated members.

Luhr also pointed out that 2018 was a special year for the organization, as it marked their 150th anniversary. The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks were chartered in 1868 as an organization dedicated to philanthropy "wherever charity, justice, and brotherly love were needed," according to the Elks website. Interest in the group's mission grew, as did memberships, until the organization became what it is today.

"When you see what the Elks are doing in their communities nationwide, it's pretty cool," Luhr said. "Last year we donated $682 million dollars to communities in the United States."

More about the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks can be found online at http://www.elks.org.