The Norwood Lodge of Elks earned second place nationally and first place in Massachusetts for having one of the country’s top Americanism programs among lodges with 1,000 or more members.
The prestigious honor was presented in July at the Elks national convention in Chicago, marking the first time the 1,500-member Norwood lodge received a national award.
The winning Americanism program featured a series of civic and patriotic initiatives throughout 1981 and 1982, including:
- Flag Day Ceremonies: Hosting a major event in June 1981 that brought together eight neighboring Elk lodges.
- Patriotic Billboard: Displaying a prominent billboard featuring the American flag at the intersection of Lenox Street and Washington Street in South Norwood.
- National Patriotism Week: Successfully petitioning selectmen to officially declare a designated week in February as National Patriotism Week.
- Student Art Initiative: Inviting public school children to create paintings expressing what America, freedom, and liberty meant to them, followed by the lodge donating textbooks to the public school art departments in appreciation of the outstanding entries.
Lodge leadership singled out immediate past exalted ruler William C. Phipps and committee Chairman Frank Owens for organizing the winning program. At the preceding state convention in Chicopee, the Norwood Elks also captured first place statewide in the Americanism contest, first place for per capita contributions to the Elks National Foundation (for lodges with over 1,200 members), first place in the east central district for veterans’ work, and third place statewide for youth activities. Exalted Ruler Joseph Shone accepted the trophies on behalf of the membership, praising the dedicated committee chairmen and members for their exceptional efforts.
Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger
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