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Clark Fork Valley Elks is set to be the first lodge in the state to reintroduce the Antlers program. A youth community service program, the Antlers actually has very old roots among the Elks host of programs. According to the organizer Denise Taylor, they are about to reach their minimum headcount of five members required to charter a group.

The antler program was started in the 1930’s but lost favor post WWII. In the 1960’s the program was officially closed, however, recent interest has brought a resurgence since 2002. Taylor, who is spearheading the initiative in Sanders County, explained that she discovered it while looking through the Elks website. She was looking for drug awareness programs and thought this effort by the Elks Foundation, which supports youth programs, would be perfect. “It’s a pretty important project to me; it’s in my heart,” said Taylor.

Taylor explained that she lost a niece to drugs and wanted to do something to help other kids. “If I can save one kid, then I’ve done my job.” According to the Clark Fork Valley Elks Lodge Exalted Ruler Charlie Munday, the youth program will “allow their creative interests and imaginations be heard.” Munday echoed Taylor’s interest in starting such a program locally to give youth something to do to keep them out of trouble.

The program would do more than provide activities but give youth the opportunity to put in volunteer hours, learn leadership and organization and much more. Plus, as Munday put it, “It’s being sponsored by the strongest and most benevolent program there is: the Elks.”

According to the Elks website, the Antlers program is meant to promote certain qualities in its members, including, “Quicken the spirit of American patriotism, teach respect for parents and love of home, inculcate the fundamentals of good citizenship,” and others. The group can give participants an idea of how the Elks operate, and help youth learn to organize community service projects.

According to Taylor, the local Antlers group costs $5 for the one-time initiation fee and $6 in yearly dues. Participants’ parents do not have to be Elks members and the program is open to kids ages 12 to 20. Once they reach 21, they are eligible to join the Elks as adults, and must apply like anyone else. However, Taylor says by then they will have made the connections in the Elks to do so easily.

The program is organized much like the Elks, with a president and vice president among other positions. The meetings are chaperoned, and members can live anywhere in the county. More information can be found at the Elks website, http://www.elks.org, or call the Clark Fork Valley Elks Lodge at (406) 827-7770.