Houlton Elks win state award

On Feb. 20, the Maine Elks Association crowned a new state ritual champion at the State Ritual Contest held at the Houlton Elks Lodge No. 835. This was a significant change, as the Sanford Elks Lodge No. 1470 had dominated the competition for the previous ten years. The team finished with a final score of 95.0591.
    The annual ritual competition involves seven officers and one candidate from each Lodge, performing the Elks initiatory ritual. The contestants are judged on their word accuracy, pronunciation, movements, appearance, and impressiveness. The purpose of these contests is to promote excellence in the performance of this ritual.
Over the next few months, the Houlton team, under the direction of Coach Jim Lincoln, will be preparing for the New England & New York Regional Competition (Area I) to be held in June. This contest will be used as a final preparation for the national competition, which will be held at the Elks Grand Lodge Convention, on July 17-21, in Phoenix, Ariz.