WISCONSIN

WISCONSIN - Greenbay Packers and Cheeseheads,

                           September 13-16

Our plane arrive in Milwaukee, Wisconsin a little early and as we headed down the escalator to baggage claim, our wonderful welcoming party from the Wisconsin Elks were all heading up the escalator.  We knew them right away by their famous red jackets.  After hanging a u-turn we all met up for the hour ride to Janesville in nothing less than a Ford Expedition 20 passenger stretch limo.  How luxurious!

After settling into our hotel, we joined other conference attendees at the Janesville Elks Lodge #254 for a casual dinner.  The food was excellent, made even better for the Wisconsin Elks by the fact that the Green Bay Packers were playing one of their arch rivals, the Chicago Bears that evening.  Of course, nothing would do but that we put in a minority cheer (minority equaling just the two of us) for the San Francisco 49'ers!

Friday morning, Tom went off with our escort, PSP John Bennett and current State President Dave Nitze, Sr. for meetings with the Trustees and Advisory Committee.  Venita was escorted by John's wife, Karen to morning coffee hosted by First Lady Pat and other wives of the state officers followed by a wonderful lunch at the Janesville Country Club.

After lunch, Venita was taken on a tour of the Milton House, a mid-1800's Inn in Milton, WI that also served as the site for one of the stops on the Underground Railroad during the Civil War.  We learned that Joseph Milton and his family were staunch abolitionists, as was the state of Wisconsin in general. Our tour guide took us on a detailed tour of the Inn, explaining how guests were accommodated and what life would have been like during that time.  At the end of the tour, we were taken through the reconstructed tunnel leading to the cabin that served as the entry and exit point for the slaves who were escaping the bounty hunters.  Everyone found the experience sobering as we had a glimpse into this dark period of our history.

Friday evening, we joined the Past State Presidents for dinner which was also held at the Janesville Country Club.  We enjoyed the company and, as had been the case at the ladies luncheon, the food was superb.

Saturday morning, Tom went to the state meetings for the Wisconsin major project, Camp Respite, a cooperative camp with the Easter Seals for exceptional children. They have been helping maintain some buildings at the camp and making donations to operate the camp.  They have an annual budget of $125,000 in support of their efforts. The Wisconsin Elks are also very active in support of ENF with an aggressive state scholarship program. Elk Jim Meyers has the state "hospitality"  trailer which is used to take their entire Wisconsin hospitality suite to various events, including Grand Lodge! Unfortunately, the other trailer which contained their Major Project Booth was broken into by vandals on their way back from Grand Lodge in Austin, the booth was destroyed and everything of value in the trailer was stolen. They now have an ongoing fundraising effort to replace their booth and we designated that all the money received for signatures this weekend would be donated to that fund.

While Tom was at the meetings, Venita joined the ladies for coffee and lunch.  Since the weather was so beautiful in the afternoon, several of the ladies went to the Rotary Botanical Gardens to walk around.  The gardens became the dream of a local doctor when he saw a 20-acre parcel of land lying fallow and neglected.  Through local donations, grants and other fundraising efforts, not to mention thousands of volunteer hours, they converted the land to a beautiful series of international gardens.  Karen, Beth and Venita had a wonderful afternoon in the sun.

Saturday evening, the Wisconsin Elks met for their banquet at the Janesville Elks Lodge.  One of the highlights was when Tom revealed that State President Dave had lost his badge earlier and Tom just happened to have bought it for him.  However, Tom did feel that some type of recompense should be had for rescuing his badge.  As a result, Dave was required to wear the cheesehead hat that the Association had presented to Tom and Tom, in honor of the San Francisco 49'ers defeat of the Green Bay Packers the week before, wore his 49'ers hat.  The two of them then proceeded to sing a duet of "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," much to the delight of all in attendance.

Sunday morning, PSP Dave and Katie DeRosier drove us back to Milwaukee, where we had several hours to explore the Harley-Davidson Museum.  It was a real experience to see a motorcycle from every year that Harley has been manufacturing, along with several racing motorcycles and some lavish custom rides.  After lunch, we headed for our flight with many thanks to the Wisconsin Elks, State Sponsor Lou and Beth Sulsberger, PGER Bob Sabin and Marge, State President Dave Nitze and Pat and our escorts, PSP John and Karen Bennett for their gracious hospitality and for making us feel so welcome.