New lodge on horizon

Photo by clare jensen

TAKING A SHOT. Darrel Stutesman (right), a 50-year member of the Tacoma Elks Lodge, takes his shot in a round of billiards at the Elks Club Jan. 25 while fellow long-time member Tim Poole (left) waits for his turn in the game. Stutesman and Poole are two of a declining local Elks membership that has dropped by more than 7,000 members since the 1980s.

Tacoma Elks Lodge 174 has a long history in the city as a charitable and social organization. What was once hailed as the nation’s largest lodge hit its peak in the mid 1980s, when membership was maxxed out at 10,000 men with a waiting list. Since the mid 1990s, membership in the lodge has declined and now the approximately 10,000-square-foot lodge hosts about 3,000 members annually, meaning it is time to downsize – and freshen up.

Lack of enrollment can be attributed to a number of things at lodges nationwide. For one, times have simply changed.

“It’s indicative of society,” says Ron Forest, a 28-year Elks member and chairman of the steering committee for the lodge and club. “People just aren’t joining anything anymore.”

Forest said a decline in membership has been felt across a variety of benevolent fraternal organizations.

CHANGING WITH THE TIMES

With the Elks, one of the biggest reasons the club has not attracted newer members is that it has not updated its offerings much over time.

“At the time, the social activities were current. The problem is – they never changed,” Forest said. “Now it is 2010. Social aspects are different...we have to adapt.”

Forest has served as the exalted ruler of the Elks in the past and is currently the loyal knight of the lodge.

Elks leaders and longtime members hope to attract more members through the opening of a brand new lodge and club facility, by offering more current music and entertainment events and by increasing incentives through dual memberships through the Elks-owned Elks-Allenmore Golf Course.

Perception of the club is also something the Elks are working to change.

In the Elks’ heyday, the Tacoma lodge attracted nearly every local business owner and notable community figures. It was viewed as a great option for social activities and networking with the “who’s who” in Tacoma.

“Now some people think it’s a bunch of old guys who sit around, play cards and drink,” Forest said. “It’s just the opposite.”

While the club may never return to its 10,000-member glory – and that is not even the goal based on the plans for a new lodge that could accommodate 3,500 – Forest said members are simply seeking to keep the club, and its charitable mission, viable over the next century.

SERVING THE COMMUNITY

Darrel Stutesman is a 50-year member of the Elks and a past exalted ruler. He said he originally joined the club for social reasons – the golf course is what attracted him. However, it has been the charitable work in the local community that has kept him interested in continuing support of the Elks.

Nationwide, the Elks Club is second to the federal government in financial support of veterans programs and college scholarships.

Locally, the lodge sponsors various groups such as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. The lodge is also a partner with a statewide low-income physical therapy program for children and also organizes a large event and toy distribution for low-income families on Christmas morning.

In 2009, the Elks club provided toys to more than 500 children and gave away more than 100 new bicycles to local families for Christmas.

Stutesman said despite a lessening interest in membership, the charitable work of the organization will continue.

“We have to adapt to the changing times and attract younger members – we’ve got to get them to buy in to the work that we do here, and attract people who are willing to work in their community.”

VISION FOR THE FUTURE

Part of the success of the Tacoma Elks is its emphasis on recreation, in addition to charity. Many smaller lodges do not provide the club amenities of the current Tacoma Elks Lodge.

Declining membership has prompted discussion of building a new, smaller lodge in order to be able to maintain the Elks’ social and recreational benefits, while also making an impact in the community.

Built in 1965, the vast, vintage lodge sits on an 18-acre parcel between Union Avenue and Cedar Street, and includes a swimming pool, bowling alley and 1,000-seat auditorium, which currently seats about 100 members during weekly lodge meetings.

The membership of less than 3,000 simply cannot support the cost of operating the current building. Each member pays $155 in dues a year, and it takes about 2,000 members’ dues to just cover the building’s property taxes.

“This move is a life-saving move for the Elks,” Forest affirmed.

Selling the 18-acre parcel and moving to the Elks-owned property across the street at Elks-Allenmore Golf Course will allow the organization to build and maintain a new lodge about one-third the size of the current facility.

It will also ensure the organization can operate in such a way that the number of members will be irrelevant.

“If we do this right, move the lodge over there, we’ll have money in the bank so that regardless of membership, the lodge will perpetuate into the future,” Forest said.

Negotiations with an unnamed developer are reaching the final stages, and if all goes as planned the Elks could be moving into their new home across the street in a little more than a year.

The new lodge will still feature most of the same recreational amenities, including racquetball, bocce ball, billiards and pool, exercise equipment and men’s and women’s locker rooms.

A restaurant will be leased to an outside operator and will be accessible to the public as well as Elks members. There will be a larger dance floor, and a smaller auditorium and meeting room. The club’s current bowling alley will not be duplicated, and whether or not a swimming pool will be included is still under discussion.

Talk of a brand-new facility is already stirring up new interest, according to Forest. And discounts on golf course greens fees and in the fitness clubs are expected to be draws as well.

Currently, members pay an additional fee to use the exercise equipment at the Elks. At the new lodge, access to the health club will be included in membership dues.

Regular music and entertainment that appeals to a little younger population (the average member of the Elks is around 68 years old) is also in the works.

NEW ELKS WANTED

In the old days, the Elks was a male-only fraternity, and approval of membership was not always guaranteed. Today, membership is open to male and female United States citizens 21 and over who believe in God and can pass a criminal background check.

On Jan. 30, the Elks is open to the public throughout the day (starting at 9 a.m.) for those who may be interested in joining. Information on Elks charities and tours will be available, followed by dinner and live entertainment by the band Goldrush beginning at 5:30 p.m. The $50 application fee will be reduced to $25 on this day only. Annual dues for members are $155. Call (253) 272-1117 for more information. Tacoma Elks Lodge is located at 1965 S. Union Ave

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