NORTH DAKOTA

NORTH DAKOTA

 Our visitation to North Dakota started in the capitol city of Bismarck.  We were greeted at the airport by State Sponsor, PGER Jack Traynor as well as Convention Coordinator Carey Backstrand, State President-Elect Pat Hatlestad and his wife, Durrel, Trustee Larry Larson and his wife, Phyllis, Steve Davis, Grand Lodge Activities Committee, Roger Haut, President of the NDEA Past Presidents Association and State Vice President Frank DeBolt and his wife, Ada.

After checking into our hotel and a short walk around downtown Bismarck, Larry and Phyllis Larson escorted us to the Bismarck-Mandan Elks Lodge #1199.  This lodge is the largest in the United States, with over 4,600 members at this time.  They have a beautiful facility that provides a variety of services for its members.  We were treated to a wonderful steak dinner in their main dining room, which was full of members and their guests.

The next morning, we took a moment to stop at the North Dakota State Capitol, one of the few capitol buildings in the United States that is not dome-shaped.  Their grounds are beautiful, and the lawn that leads to the capitol building itself is used throughout the summer for recreational picnics and impromptu Frisbee and touch football games.

Our next stop on Friday morning was the major project for North Dakota Elks, Camp Grassick.  Located just outside Dawson, North Dakota on Lake Isabel, Camp Grassick serves children and adults with special needs.  Camp Grassick holds six sessions throughout the summer, ranging from a three-week Therapy Camp to a focused “Techno Camp” where children who are very involved with their disabilities are given more one-on-one assistance with their daily living skills and have a chance to use technology to enhance their interactions with others.  We were told about one young lady who was struggling to learn to cut her pancake at breakfast.  The last day of camp, she was trying to cut her pancake and was heard to say, “I can’t, I can’t, I’m doing it, I’m doing it, I did it!”  As the counselors said, that’s what keeps you inspired to work with these special people.  Before the summer is finished, they will provide approximately 130 children and 80 adults with a camp experience where they are on equal footing with their peers.

The camp Director, Dan Mimnaugh, has been with the camp for 40 years and is passionate about what he does.  The children clearly adore him and we thought “Saint Dan” would be a more appropriate title for him.  When we arrived, the camp was just completing its third of six sessions that it holds throughout the summer, the three-week Therapy Camp. Even though the children were preparing to go home that day, they were excited to see us and made sure we felt welcomed.  One 9-year-old young lady, Chloe, took it upon herself to be our official “tour guide” and did an excellent job of showing us around her camp.  Of special note were the Therapy Labs including reading, speech and occupational.  Once our tour was complete, we were treated to lunch with the counselors in the main dining hall.  This was a morning we will not soon forget.

After leaving Camp Grassick, we proceeded to Fargo, where we checked into our hotel and then headed for the Fargo Elks Lodge #260.  We were greeted by State President Beverley Koshney and enjoyed dinner with the North Dakota Elks Association Past Presidents.

The next morning, we were escorted to the lodge by David Bailly, current member of the Grand Lodge Committee on Judiciary.  Tom attended the Association business meeting at the Fargo Lodge during the morning and Venita attended the Ladies Luncheon at The Fine Arts Club of Fargo, a local women’s organization with over 100 years dedicated to philanthropy, education, cultural enrichment and community service.

We wanted to thank State Sponsor Jack Traynor and his wife, Jane as well as Larry and Phyllis Larson and David and Jan Bailly for their gracious hospitality and wonderful escort services while we were in North Dakota.