Grand Exalted Ruler to be keynote speaker at State Elks Convention

Lee Vernoy, Great Falls Tribune Published 3:25 p.m. MT July 16, 2020

Buy Photo

Paul Ryan, left, the grand exalted ruler of the Elks Association, and Les Thario, president of the Montana State Elks Association, are preparing to host the state convention at the Lodge 214 in Great Falls July 17 & 18.

 (Photo: RION SANDERS/GREAT FALLS TRIBUNE)

Paul Ryan got his start in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks 16 years ago at his local lodge in Willmar, Minn.

“I kind of married into the Elks,” Ryan, the Grand Exalted Ruler of the national organization, said. “When I met and married my wife (Stacey), she was an Elk, her mom and dad were Elks, her entire family were Elks.

“When we got married, she said, ‘It would sure be nice if you became an Elk.’ That was kind of one of those ‘yes, dear’ moments.”

Making a long story short, Stacey and Paul are still married and both very active in the Elks Lodge. They’re in Great Falls for the State Elks’ Convention, which will kick off Friday morning at the Great Falls Elks Lodge No. 214, at Fifth Street and First Avenue South.

Once he became the Grand Exalted Ruler, Paul Ryan developed the group slogan: “Creating Momentum for the Future of Elkdom.”

“It was developed around recruitment,” he said. “I’m one of the youngest National Presidents they have had, and I wanted to focus that into creating more membership, even focusing more around younger membership and trying to create a momentum to keep this organization going into the future.

“The turmoil we’re going through in the country caused by this whole COVID-19 pandemic has kind of changed that focus a little bit, and now, it’s led to where we need to create the environment back into the Elks, because we’ve been shut down for so long. And even though we’ve been able to continue some of our charitable works, it’s been very difficult because we can’t gather; we haven’t been able to.”

COVID-19 has had its effects at the local, county and state levels since it brought the hammer down on our country in mid-March, and the local Elks’ Lodge was not immune. When Gov. Steve Bullock mandated no gatherings of more than 10 people, it stopped not only any lodge meetings, but also bowling at the Elks Lodge Lanes downstairs.

Buy Photo

Paul Ryan, grand exalted ruler of the Elks Association, is visiting Great Falls for the Montana State Elks Association summer convention at the Lodge 214 July 17 & 18.

 (Photo: RION SANDERS/GREAT FALLS TRIBUNE)

The B.P.O.E. is the premiere charitable and patriotic organization in America, and when the pandemic hit, Ryan talked to a couple of people from the group’s Elks National Foundation, and the endowment they have has given out more grants to local lodges than they have in the past.

“(The foundation) has been a little more lenient, and they’re allowing more funds to get pushed into the communities that we serve,” Ryan added.  

Les Thario, Montana State President, talked about the Elks’ Hoop Shoot, for boys and girls ages 8 through 13.

“It’s a big program for the kids in the community,” Thario said. “We go through the school system here, and we’ve touched upwards of 800 kids participating in the contest.

“(The schools) send us their winners, and then we have our lodge contest. Throughout Montana, we’ve actually had some national champions. We have a family in Big Timber (the Finn family) went to nationals as brother and sister, and they won it (Bailey won twice, as a 9-year-old in 2014, and again in her final try at age 12). And there’s several others who have done very well at the national tournaments.”

Thario’s wife Sue is the Exalted Ruler for Lodge Number 214.

Ryan talked about the group’s work with veterans: “We have a program for National Veterans’ Services, and we help this group in so many different ways,” Ryan said. “Each state has a national veterans’ representative the chair the different programs.

“Being from Minnesota, my person works with Disabled American Veteran hunts, turkey hunts, deer hunts. We also take them out and do ice fishing, river fishing and lake fishing, and just get these veterans out and doing something that’s fabulous.”

“As Paul mentioned, we have a chair in this state as well,” Thario added. “She’s actually in the Beartooth/Red Lodge area, but we have some great state programs as well.

“Red Lodge got a $10,000 Impact Grant a couple of years back, and they opened up a veterans’ center in their lodge to help them with training. They’ve got some computers and stuff like that.

“And there’s another gal that has taken that grant money and started a program that create homes for homeless veterans; gives them their first couple of months’ rent, clothing, and the essentials in order to get them back on their feet. It a phenomenal program.”

The Elks are a members-only, closed-door group, meaning what is said there, and what is done there, stays there. Their convention wraps up Saturday.

Lee Vernoy covers sports and much more for the Tribune. Email him at lvernoy@greatfallstribune.com or tribsports@greatfallstribune.com, and follow him on Twitter @GFTrib_LVernoy.

Help support local journalism. See https://cm.greatfallstribune.com/specialoffer for a special offer.

Read or Share this story: https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2020/07/16/state-elks-convention-host-national-grand-exalted-ruler/5453441002/