According to Pam Thayer, executive director for the Rawlins DDA/Main Street program, Lodge #609 “is just a double-edged sword” and they’re an “integral part of this community.”

Thayer said, “We just thought it was a very fitting award for them to win this year.”

Lodge #609 is donating the cash donation they received from the city to the Boys & Girls Club.

Mike Murray, secretary for Lodge #609, expressed appreciation for the recognition. He said what makes the lodge so unique in Rawlins is the charity it has shown in its establishment.

Murray spoke about the Wyoming Elks State Trust (W.E.S.T), which was established in 1989 by the Wyoming Elks Association, according to their website. It is a benevolent trust for the furtherance of charitable, educational and benevolent purposes in Wyoming. To help fund the State Major Project — Needy Youth Program, a perpetual fund was envisioned which would be set up in the same manner as the Elks National Foundation since only the interest from the fund would be spent and the principal would always remain invested.

W.E.S.T began with a $1,000 donation.

“Today, that endowment is well over $1,000.000,” Murray revealed. “Those funds were used locally here in Rawlins to help pay for winter clothes for children, hospital bills, motorized transportation and scooters.”

W.E.S.T also helped a young man get a motorized scooter and assisted with the purchase of service dogs. Murray noted that they’ll keep being “creative with those funds” as long as they know there’s a need.

Murray said, “We’ve donated almost double the amount of funds to that endowment than any other lodge in the state has, so that lends a little bit of a viewpoint as the charity of Rawlins and our Elks Lodge.”

During their fiscal years, they have donated in kind with labor and cash donations to the tune of around $45,000 to the communities of Rawlins, Hannah, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow, Saratoga and Baggs. Donations include youth programs, youth scholarships and youth activities, special needs and the Angel Tree program. They help 255 kids every year; each child receives five to seven packages and are funded through community donations.

He mentioned that local vendors help them with about half of their need and the lodge foots the bill for the other half.

“As long as there’s veterans, the Elks Lodge will never forget them,” he expressed, noting that the lodge supports programs for Wyoming veterans, too.

They recently donated $1,000 to a veteran program in Cheyenne that flies veterans to the memorials in Washington D.C.

Their generosity continues as they donated $8,000 to the Carbon County School District No. 1 food service debt. Several other organizations have benefitted from the lodge’s donations.

Murray said that all the members involved don’t even live in Carbon County, or even in Wyoming.

“Our membership right now is 406 strong,” he said. “It includes both men and women. There was a time when it was a ‘good old boys club, and women weren’t allowed. Fortunately, we’ve gone past that.”

“It’s just nice to be recognized,” he expressed. “We continue to do a lot for the community, and we will continue to do more for our community.”