NEBRASKA STATE AERIE
BULLETIN
Salutations—
April is a month of rebirth and rejuvenation. The buds are on the trees, the grass is
getting green and we are excited for the possibilities Spring holds. This is a perfect
time to thank all of you for continuing to support the Fraternal Order of Eagles by attending events, renewing your memberships, providing sponsorships, serving on committees, and sharing our posts on Facebook.
Although we remain aware of the value of these various membership responsibilities ,
we often forget to just say “Thanks.” Your contributions of time, energy, and funds
make us strong. So again….I say “Thanks.”
Spring is natures way of saying…”Let’s Party!” - Robin Williams
Todd Bollig
Nebraska State President
Charity—Specialty Pediatric
Brothers—
We are having a great year in membership. So far we have 787 new and 430 reenrolled for a total of 1217 as of March 22, 2015. That is almost to our
goal….GREAT JOB!
Also after talking to some Aeries this past weekend, I found out that not all of the
Aeries in the state have taken advantage of the fact that you can change your ByLaws to have it possible for 18 year olds to join the Eagles. Just pass it on your
Aerie floor correctly and send it on to the Grand Aerie. Let’s get those younger
members that we talk so much about and get then started in the clubs. Graduations is right around the corner, so why not get them a membership into this great
organization.
Thanks again,
BIG DOG
P.S. The February winner of the $100 gift card was David “Hondo” Locke
Dale Blehm hosted a soup
supper benefit and auction at
Scottsbluff-Gering Eagles
#2998 for Ashlyn Fitts. This
raised about $5,300. Ashlyn
is the daughter of Dan and
Becky Fitts and is in Children’s Hospital in Colorado.
Shown presenting the check
to Dan is (left to right), Tony
Ostendorf, Ken Manka, Joe
Ybarra, Dale Blehm, Erin
Fitts (sister), Dan Fitts
(father), and C.J. Edmonds.
Brothers—
We all know that each Nebraska Aerie has some very hard working outstanding Brothers that deserve
to be in the Nebraska State Aerie Hall of Fame. If you would like to nominate a deserving Brother,
please go on the Nebraska State Website and download the Nebraska State Aerie Hall of Fame Application. Fill it out completely and follow all guidelines please. When completed send it to the address
on the bottom of the application. If you have problems obtaining the application, please drop me a
note and I will be happy to mail or email you the application.
KIP LYTLE
BOX 148
INDIANOLA, NE 69034
[email protected]
Eagle Member benefits are being offered by the following—
Nationwide
Avis Car Rentals
Red Roof Inn
Office Depot
Wyndham Hotels
LifeLock
Budget Car Rentals
Cruises Only
TNT Vacations
Life Line Screening
Visit the Member Benefits page in our Members-Only section at
www.foe.com to find out how to start saving money today!
RAFFLE!!
Proceeds to the Specialty Pediatric Center at Children’s Hospital. Prize is two
(2) $500 United Airlines Gift Certificates. The drawing will be held at State
Convention 2015 in June. These certificates are good for 5 years. Tickets are $2
and you can contact any State Officer for
yours!
WEBMASTER
Les Taylor
(402) 212-8907
[email protected]
Taken from an article written by Aaron Wade of the Alliance Times-Herald
A man in his mid-sixties from Beatrice, Fremont, Hastings, or Norfolk (I forget) stands at one end of the board
watching his teammate intently. He is wearing one of those gimmick visors with the built-in spiked hair, making one believe that the doesn’t take life too seriously. Then he snaps at his teammate after a puck sails off the
board, letting you know he takes shuffleboard very seriously.
“He does that S#** all the time,” he said. “We’ve been playing together for 13 years. How about you
guys?” “This is our first time,” I replied.
The man gasps, almost to the point of disgust. He’s as polite as he can be a bout the matter, but deep
down I could see that he is disappointed in his own species. How could one walk through life never experiencing the joys of shuffleboard?
I had seen the game played in college on a board located in Kearney’s Copperfields Bar. I never tried it.
There were enough games—pool, foosball, darts, - at which I wasn’t any good. But when a friend said he was
putting together a team for the Nebraska State Eagles Shuffleboard Tournament, hosted by Alliance Aerie
#136, I was in.
When you mention shuffleboard, what comes to mind for most is the game played by the elderly on
cruise ships and in church basements. The parlor version likely predates the aforementioned simply because
there is a “board” involved.
The tournament featured 34, eight-person teams. Each team was divided into pairs. A running point
total was kept throughout the tournament as each team played 11 matches over the two day period. The winner
of each match then prepped the board for the next, while the losers serves as scorekeepers. Let me tell you, my
partner and I kept score a lot. Actually, he did...I screwed up my only attempt and deferred to my more mathematically apt partner.
Still, keeping score was beneficial. It provided a much needed lesson in the game for rookies such as
us. I could tell from the start, that we would need all of the help that we could get. If driving seven hours across
the state didn’t prove our opponents’ level of dedications to the game, their uniforms, plum-bobbing and icing
of shoulders between matches did.
To sum up the tournament, we lost. We lost badly. There is nothing more humbling than getting your
tail kicked by an 80 year old woman with a cane.
But I choose to look at it this way—we finished in the top 34 teams in the state! And despite the
bruised ego, it was a good weekend: a lot of fun was had, the influx of an additional 272 people had to give a
boost to the local economy, and needed money was raised for both state and local charities.
Yes...the Eagles certainly lived up to their motto, “PEOPLE HELPING PEOPLE.”
Future
Convention Sites
2015
Milwaukee WI
July 13-16
2016
Reno NV
July 18-21
2017
Grand Rapid MI
July 17-20
Alliance Aerie and Auxiliary would like to thank all the Brothers and
Sisters who were able to drive all the way to Alliance to participate in
the annual State Shuffleboard Tournament. It was an honor and pleasure to host this event.
A special Thank You to PSP Larry Rief who suggested that we “pass
the hat” for the Brittany Collins family fund. Brittany was one of our
very best bartenders and the daughter of our bar manager, Tina
Woods. Brittany became suddenly and unexpectedly ill and passed
away leaving behind a husband and a two year old son. A total of
$1,605.11 was collected for the fund. “People Helping People” at it’s
finest!!!
Klara & Dean Serl and the Alliance Eagles Crew
April 2015
State Convention 2015 packets have been
sent out. Please register your Aerie delegates with Dennis Micek and place your
meal orders with Liz Scott. This is NEW
this year so please read the information in
the packets very carefully.
FOE Platte Aerie #1834
BOX 1336
Columbus, NE 68601
STANDARD
US POSTAGE
PAID
YORK NE
PERMIT NO. 8
Return Service Requested
With our State Eagles Convention just around the corner, We thought it would be a good time to
remind the Chairman of the various funds that Worthy State President Todd assigned you, and see
if you have been out promoting the Charity and seeing that Aeries are raising funds for them.
Max Baer Hear Fund—Joseph Woolery #4282
Robert Hansen Diabetes Fund—Carl Rezabek #4539
Jimmy Durante Children’s Fund & Abuse—Jermiah Bollig #3568
Art Erhmann Cancer Fund—Stan Bills #136
D.D. Dunlap Kidney Fund—Kenny Schel #4029
Golden Age Eagle Fund—Dan Mennish #3644
Alzheimers Fund—Alden Kment #3568
Lew Reed Spinal Cord Fund—Marvin Marshall #4029
Memorial Fund—Dale Storey #3912
Muscular Dystrophy—Joe Gerstner #38
Eagle Village—Vic Crane #3990
Remember, each of the Chairman read a report at State Convention.
Other people who are responsible to give reports at Convention are:
Roger Graham—No Goose Egg
Hoyt Williams—Membership
Larry Strickler—State Trustee Report
A representative (delegate) from the host Aerie of each of our state events also give reports
Darts, Pool, Shuffleboard, Triathlon, Trap shoot, Golf, Bowling