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District New Lodge Chairman John Arena conceived the idea of developing an Elks Lodge on Pine Island, and the Mother Lodge would be Cape Coral Elks# 2596. In early November 1992, an ad was placed in the Pine Island Eagle advising that a meeting to start an Elks Lodge on Pine Island would be held at Port Hole Pete's, now the Eagles Nest.

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District Chairman John Arena of the SSW gathered several members from the Cape Coral Elks Lodge, along with District Leaders Stan "Jug" Caylor (DDGER), PDD Ken McStravic, and others. They held a meeting for approximately 20 attendees to explain what the B.P.O. Elks is all about.

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At the first meeting, it was decided that there was enough interest to start an Organizational Committee to begin the process of forming an Elks Lodge. PODGER Leroy F. Lippmann from New Jersey was selected to be the Chairman of the Elks Organizational Committee; Ernie Justynski was selected as secretary; and Don Ware from Ft Myers Elks Lodge was selected as treasurer.

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Meetings were held at Port Hole Pete's weekly, and participants were asked to bring a potential new Elk member to the next weekly meeting. We needed 250 potential members to obtain our Dispensation to continue as an Actual Elks Lodge.

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The Organizational meetings began to fill up Port Hole Pete's, and arrangements were made to meet at the American Legion in St. James City. We continued to meet at the American Legion, and our membership grew. On August 26, 1993, we met our goal to receive our dispensation to be an Elks Lodge. We continued to grow in membership. Much discussion was had on what the name of the Lodge would be. Some wanted Bokeelia, some wanted St James City, etc. It was decided to call it "Greater Pine Island Elks Lodge," and we received the number 2781.

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On November 21, 1993, at the Cape Coral Elks Lodge, the Greater Pine Island Elks# 2781 was instituted, Officers Installed, and new members initiated. PGER Robert Grafton and his wife were in attendance, along with many PERS from other lodges, District Officers, the Committee Chairman, and members from the District and State. All the SSW District Lodges donated various gifts to conduct a Lodge Meeting.

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The Lodge continued to meet and hold events at the American Legion in St James City. As time went on, the Greater Pine Island Civic Association approached us to see if the Lodge had an interest in renting their building near the Four Corners of Pine Island. The Lodge decided we would rent the building for $300.00 a month.

 

Soon after, the Civic Association approached the Lodge with an offer to purchase the building for $140,000. To gather a down payment, we sold $1,000 bonds at a 5% interest rate and arranged financing for the remainder through a local bank. We drafted a resolution, informed the Lodge members, and held a vote, which passed unanimously to purchase the building. The necessary documents were sent to the Grand Lodge for approval, and once approved, we went ahead with the purchase.

 

We are entering a new phase for our Lodge. Unfortunately, our building was destroyed by Hurricane Ian in 2022, just as it had been 30 years prior. Under our current leadership and with the support of our members, we are working diligently to rebuild and establish a new Elks Lodge at our existing site. We are excited about this new venture for our members, the community, and the BPO Elks.

 

Leroy F. Lippmann, PDDGER  

Lodge Advisor - Charter Exalted Ruler