Dear Odd Fellows and Pledges,
1. RSVP Now for the Installation & Awards Dinner. The 146th Annual Installation & Awards Dinner of our Lodge will be held Saturday evening, January 9, 2016. There is limited seating. It’s a fun and festive event with installation of officers, a great dinner, musical entertainment, a no-host bar, and plenty of social time. We will install the 2016 officers of the Lodge (and for the first time in history, the Grand Master of California and the Grand Warden of California – who are both members of the Davis Lodge – will conduct the installation). We will also present awards to exceptional members of our Lodge. Don’t miss it! The invitation and RSVP form is attached to this Noble Grand Report.
2. Our 46th Lodge Committee Has Been Approved. I have approved the creation of our 46th Davis Lodge Committee. This committee is the brainchild of Diane Steele and I have appointed her as chair. The Committee is called the “Fourth Tuesday Movie Matinee” Committee. Members will meet on the 4th Tuesday of every month to go to a Davis theater to watch a matinee. Tuesday is bargain night at the movies. Diane will announce the movie, time and location on the Friday before the 4th Tuesday, those who wish to attend will do so, and afterwards the members will gather at a local coffee house, or park bench or the Lodge to discuss the movie. What a fun idea! If you are interested, please write to Diane so she can add you to the committee and send you e-mail announcements. Diane Steele at steeledome@gmail.com. The first matinee will be on January 26.
3. Club Night at the Lodge. Club Night at the Lodge is back this coming Thursday, December 3, from 5 to about 7:30 p.m. in the Lower Hall. Dinner will be available for those who wish to purchase it for $7 per person. Just some good relaxed social time. The bar will be open and the big screen TV will be on. Table games will be set out. Club Night at the Lodge is brought to you by our Good Fellowship Committee.
4. The Annual Holiday Show. Our Music & Concerts Committee brings you its Annual Holiday Show this Thursday, December 3, in the Upper Hall. Doors open at 7 p.m. and music begins at 7:30 p.m. Eight local musical acts will play during the holiday show, and there will be an old-fashioned sing-a-long between acts. Santa will also join the show just for the kids! The show is open to the public and there is no admission charge – although donations are gratefully accepted. All funds raised will go to the Davis Encampment to help send children to summer camp.
5. Bowling Committee Launches. The new Odd Fellows Bowling Committee (our 44th Committee, by the way) will be at Capital Bowl in West Sacramento next Saturday, December 5, for its first bowling excursion. We already have 17 signed up to go bowling on December 5 – but there is room for a handful more. Contact Committee Chair Bob Dovi at bdovi02@yahoo.com if you are interested in bowling on December 5!
6. Odd Fellows Bingo Benefits the SPCA. Odd Fellows Bingo is back on Sunday, December 13. December’s beneficiary is the Yolo County SPCA – helping doggies, and kitties and other critters. Come by to play Bingo. Doors open at 12 noon and Bingo begins at 1:00 p.m. Usually, 15 games are played and cash prizes are awarded, including $250 for the winner of blackout Bingo.
7. Books, Anyone? We have formed a Book Club Committee in the Lodge – our 45th Lodge Committee. If anyone is interested in reading and discussing books, please contact Heather Barnes at hjbarnes76@gmail.com.
8. How About Some Caroling. In the spirit of F-L-T, Dave Reed is, once again, organizing a Christmas Caroling group to visit a local retirement community. December 14, at 7 p.m. at Covell Gardens – 1111 Alvarado. If YOU are interested in joining the Caroling Group, please contact Dave Reed at dreedng@gmail.com. You don’t have to be a good singer – you just need enthusiasm and holiday spirit.
9. A Special Movie Showing on December 20. Hold open the evening of Sunday, December 20. That’s the evening our Lodge’s Classic Movie Committee will offer you a special showing of the holiday comedy classic: “A Christmas Story” [you’ll shoot your eye out] in the Lower Hall of the Lodge. This special showing is only open to members, Pledges, family and their guests. The movie is fun for all ages. This is a family-friendly event and we encourage you to bring the kids! No chairs will be set up so you are asked to bring sleeping bags, pillows, blankets, bean bag chairs or lawn chairs. It’s going to be a big, fun sleep in. We will have popcorn and hot apple cider. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and the movie will start at 6:00 p.m. For more information or questions contact Dave Rosenberg at daverose@jps.net.
10. Breakfast with Santa. This is our 10th year providing Breakfast with Santa (BWS) to the community. The event this year is Saturday, December 12. Tickets are now on sale ($10 per person) at Avid Reader Active in Downtown Davis and at Common Grounds in South Davis – as of yesterday, less than 80 tickets remain to be sold. We have all volunteer positions filled for the breakfast. And the following sponsors have contributed over $2,600 to help make BWS a great success: Beth and Bob Dovi, Joyce Trujillo, Lea and Dave Rosenberg, Law Offices of Roberta Savage, Tim Ainsworth, Sherry and Tony Pruitt, Tandem Properties Inc., Brooks Painting Inc., Arun Sen, An Anonymous Donor, Allison Zuvela, Davis Ace, Campus Child Care, Raquel M. Silva, Attorney at Law, Brian and Louanne Horsfield, Dennis Corcoran, Bob Schelen, Zachary and Barbara Wochok. Thank you, sponsors!
11. We Need Two More Volunteers. I need just two more volunteers to help me pack away stuff from BWS and store it at the Lodge, following the December 12 BWS. Starting at 12:30 p.m. we need to put the stuff away to be ready to use next year. Currently, I have the following folks assisting me on this packing project: Juelie and Kurt Roggli, Janis Rosenberg, and Pledge Dawn Coder. I need two more! Can you help? If so, let me know at learose@jps.net.
12. Wine Club and Holiday Party. Please mark your calendars for the next gathering which is our December Wine Club and Lodge Holiday Party. This year it will be at 700 p.m. on Friday, December 18 at the home of Lea and Dave Rosenberg – 1112 Westfield Terrace, Davis. Bring your favorite wine or bubbly to share, and an appetizer to share, as well.
13. Odd Fellows Ring Bells on December 18. We have been ringing bells at the Main Post Office for years now. We are doing it again. The date is Friday, December 18, with shifts starting at 9:15 a.m. All the money raised in the kettle stays here in Yolo County, and part of the money is used to support the Children’s Shopping Spree, which the Davis Odd Fellows and the Davis Rebekahs support and participate in. If you wish to volunteer for a one-hour shift, please let me know. We always have two people on a shift as it is more fun with a buddy. If you can help, e-mail me at learose@jps.net and we will sign you up!
14. You Can Help Under-Served Youth. For two years now, the Davis Rebekah Lodge has been running a “furniture closet” in partnership with “Make it Happen for Yolo County” to help provide furniture and household items for under-served youth moving into independent living situations here in Yolo County. These are often young people who have been brought up in the foster care system, and have now become adults and have “aged out” of that support system. The furniture closet is in desperate need of furniture and household items. High on the list are small couches, small kitchen tables with chairs, and pots and pans, but all donations are welcome. Gently used, but still in good condition. If you know anyone who is moving or remodeling, pass this along – this is a good source of items for the Furniture Closet. If you can help, contact the NG of the Rebekah Lodge Barb Geisler at 758-9955 or bgeisler@ucdavis.edu.
15. New Year’s Eve Party with Mumbo Gumbo. This was such a great success in 2014, we are doing it again! Our Lodge’s 2nd Annual New Year’s Party with Mumbo Gumbo is open to the public and is our way of helping the community welcome 2016 in style. The party starts on December 31 and ends on January 1. Doors open at 8:00 p.m. and the music starts at 9:30 p.m. Lots of fun music suitable for dancing; light fare of gumbo and corn bread will be available, no host bars will be open. Tickets are $50 each – tickets are now on sale at Avid Reader Active, or you may purchase them on line at www.showclix.com/event/MumboGumbo1231. Juelie Roggli is the overall coordinator of the event and you can contact her at juelrog@gmail.com. Coordinating Lodge volunteers to help at the event is Mary Superak who can be reached at mericanary@mac.com. Only 225 tickets are available for this popular event, and they are on sale right now.
Lea Rosenberg
Noble Grand