Sunday, September 5, 2004 Hurricane Frances came through Ocala, FL and knocked down several large trees from the Elks Lodge property located at 702 NE 25th Ave in Ocala, FL which fell onto our property and crushed 80’ feet of our fence.
Click here to view a photo copy of their website as it appeared on August 18, 2004 and to view the damage caused by their trees.
I wrote to a Mr. Sid Carter who is an official at the lodge in Ocala and their Exalted Ruler Mr Harold Floyd. The response we received was a letter from their attorney, Mr. Daniel Hicks of Ocala who indicated that he represented the Elks Lodge and stated "The damages your complex suffered were a result of an act of God and your insurance policy should cover your damages". I was flabbergasted and outraged because he essentially told us the Elks Lodge has no intentions of doing anything about the damage caused by their trees.
While neighbors all over the State of Florida took responsibility for damage cause by their tress to their neighbors property, this Elks Lodge has refused to remove their trees from our property and fix our fence damaged by their trees. They have not even taken the time to come here and look at the mess.
Damage estimates are over $1,200. Our deductible is 1% which equals $1,370. out of pocket before the insurance pays one dime which means we would have to pay for all of the damages out of our own pocket. We cannot afford to pay for the damages caused by the Elks trees.
After receiving the letter from the Ocala Elks attorney stating they were not going to do anything, I then wrote numerous officials within the Elks organization, including Mr. Jack Jensen Grand Secretary of the Elks National in Chicago, Elks USA Grand Lodge Headquarters in Chicago, Mr. Frank Palladini Florida Elks State President, Mr. James M. McQuillan, the Grand Exalted Ruler and the President of the Elks. NONE of these people did anything to right the wrong which was done to my family.
On December 5, 2006 I wrote the Grand Exalted Ruler and the President of the Elks, Mr. Louis James Grillo about this matter and received no reply.
The Elks mission on it’s website states…
"To inculcate the principles of Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love and Fidelity; to recognize a belief in God; to promote the welfare and enhance the happiness of its Members; to quicken the spirit of American patriotism; to cultivate good fellowship; to perpetuate itself as a fraternal organization, and to provide for its government, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the United States of America will serve the people and communities through benevolent programs, demonstrating that Elks Care and Elks Share".
Note that their mission states; To inculcate the principles of Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love
At the top of their web Elks.org site it says "The Benevolent and & Protective Order of the Elks". In their Motto and Creed, they state "Elks Care – Elks Share".
In our case, the Elks have proved that they are NOT Benevolent, do NOT care, have shown no Charity, Justice or Brotherly Love.
I think most people would also agree that it is JUST that since the Elks trees damaged our property, they should fix the damage.
The fact that NONE of the Elks I notified about this did anything in the past 5 years is an OUTRAGE. Every member of the Elks who I notified and who failed to do anything has violated the Elks Mission, Motto and Creed, and they should be reprimanded and expelled as members. They have proven themselves to be UN-caring, UN-sharing Hypocrites.
If average Joe good neighbors all over the state of Florida can accept responsibility for damage caused by trees to their neighbors property and repair the damage, the Elks who touts themselves as a philanthropic organization, should more than any neighbor in Florida do the right thing and remove their trees from our property and repair the damage to our fence.
The Elks failure and refusal to do so is hypocrisy personified. This Elks Lodge's claim of an "Act of God" to avoid responsibly is an outrage.
Since the Elks have proved in our case that they are NOT Benevolent and do NOT care and have failed to show any Brotherly Love for their own neighbor then it seems evident that the Elks are in violation of their own Mission, Motto and Creed… AND they only apply their Mission, Motto and Creed when it’s convenient or when there’s good publicity to be had (i.e. promising aid to Florida Victims).
It also appears that we are either being discriminated against OR the Elks Organization are advertising False Claims to the public on it’s website.
The Elks Organization (National, Florida State & Local) has behaved in a disgraceful, stingy, selfish, UN-Brotherly and UN-Caring manner by their failure to have the damage to my property repaired, which was caused by the Ocala Elks trees.
As of this date, September 25, 2009 the damage still exists and the Elks has done nothing!
It seems that the Elks loves doing good for others as long as they are getting good publicity and positive press.
This is an outrage which needs to be reported so people will know what hypocrites the Elks are.
I intend to do everything in my power to let the WORLD know about this, including notifying the NEWS media such as 60 Minutes, Dateline, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News Channel, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, the New York Times, etc.
If you want to help, here's a few things you can do.
1. If you own a website or blog, please put this link on your site;
2. Let you friends & family know how the Elks Lodge has treated us.
3. If you know anyone in the News media at TV, Radio stations and Newspapers, let them know about this.
4. If you want to let the Elks know what you think about the way they've treated us you can call them at;
Ocala Elks; 352-732-7091
Elks Headquarters: 773-755-4708
If you are an attorney and would be interested in representing us in this case, please contact me using the contact link below.
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