INDIANA

INDIANA – Hoosier State, June 6-9

We arrived in Indianapolis on Thursday afternoon and were met at the airport by State President Ed Hagemeier and President Elect John Sauer.  Upon arriving at the hotel and were greeted at the door by State Sponsor and PGER Jim and Mary Varenhorst, State First Lady Cheryl and most of the Indiana State Association!  It was a great welcome and we immediately felt right at home.  After settling into our room, we joined the Past State Presidents for a very nice reception and dinner at the hotel.  The final event of the evening was their annual Flag Day Ceremony which was very impressive.

Friday morning Tom joined Jim for the start of the State Association business meetings and Venita met up with the ladies for morning coffee.  As luck would have it, the convention hotel was located next to a large fashion mall which led the ladies out the door to do some shopping.  In another serendipitous moment, the hotel was also located directly across the street from the jeweler that Venita used to frequent when she visited her friend, Susan in Indianapolis.  Of course, she stopped in to say "hello!"

Friday evening the Association held their formal reception and banquet.  The Indiana Elks have a long tradition of being involved in the Miss Indiana and Miss Teen Indiana pageant, and we had the good fortune to meet Brooke Campbell, Miss Indiana Outstanding Teen for 2012.  She was a delightful young lady and we enjoyed talking with her at the reception.  Tom spoke to the convention attendees after dinner and shared his thoughts on the future of the Order and the challenges facing us today.  The Association presented Venita with a beautiful silver necklace and earring set and Tom with a Brickyard golf shirt.

Saturday morning Venita went off to see some of the ritual competition while Tom attended the business meetings.  After the state awards, everyone attended the Memorial Service followed by lunch.  In the afternoon, the ladies did a little more shopping while the men continued the business sessions.  That evening, the Association installed their new officers and finished up with the presentation of their ritual awards and the 50/50 drawing.  We joined some of the State Officers and Convention Committee for an informal dinner and conversation to conclude the evening.

We want to extend our thanks to Indiana for a great convention weekend.  We enjoyed our time with everyone and very much appreciate your gracious hospitality.  We look forward to seeing all of you in 2015 for the Grand Lodge Convention!