Americanism
In Our
New York State Elks
Community
Greetings District Americanism Chairpersons of the New York State Elks
Association.
In this packet you will find valuable information on the various programs that we
can run in support of a strong Americanism Program. Before I get into the
details of the material though, I would take a moment to ask this simple question.
How many people can recite the Preamble to our Constitution? I remember when I
was in 5th Grade, I had to memorize it. This very short paragraph sums up what
the Constitution of The United States of America is all about.
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish
justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the
general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do
ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
The founding fathers did not use bullet points in their documents like we do today,
but the Preamble is all about bullet points:
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form a more perfect union
establish justice
insure domestic tranquility
provide for the common defense
promote the general welfare
secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity
In our Americanism programs this year, let’s take a look at our founding
documents, and work to instill their meaning in our members and our community.
Together we can insure New York has a very strong Americanism program.
Thank you.
Mel D. Oliveira, Jr., DDGER
State Americanism Chairman
New York State Elks Association
Key Elements for a Strong Americanism Program:
Americanism Essay Contest
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The Americanism Essay Contest is one of the cornerstones of our Americanism Program.
Once we have the information on the contest, we will send it out to the Districts. We
will continue to offer some exciting prizes this year, with Kindle e-Book tablets going to
the 1st Place winners, and $50 Barnes and Noble Gift Cards to the 2nd Place finishers. All
awardees (1st – 3rd) will receive plaques recognizing their accomplishments.
Flying the Flag
- Get ahold of the presentation titled “About Our Flag”. In it, you will find on one of the
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pages a list of the official days of observance for the Flag. A lot of people in our
community are not aware of these dates. Think of ways to publish them, so that the
community is aware. There is a bunch of other neat information in the handout as well.
When should the Flag be flown at half staff? Sign up at
http://www.flagsexpress.com/default.asp to get alerts.
Flag Day Program Contest
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The Flag Day Program Contest is in its third year. Last year we had some good
participation. I would truly enjoy seeing it increased this year. Please encourage your
Lodges to participate.
The rules and guidelines are enclosed in your package.
Other Programs and Traditions
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The Grand Lodge website has great ideas for programs. You can also start your own
Lodge traditions which involve the American Flag.
Downloads and URLs
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There is a lot of material on the Grand Lodge website. Start by downloading the
Americanism Committee Manual. Each Exalted Ruler should review this manual, and
each Lodge Americanism Chairperson should have it for reference. It can be very useful
in supporting a strong program. The World Wide Web – here are some links:
o AMVETS -- http://www.amvets.org/programs/americanism/
o Ladies Auxiliary to the VFW -https://www.ladiesauxvfw.org/programs/americanism.html
o US Flag Code -- http://www.usflag.org/uscode36.html