Ocala Elks Lodge are Hypocrites
The BPO Elks USA Web
Site, Elks.Org, proclaim “BPO Elks Pledges Aid to Florida Hurricane Victims” and yet the Elks here in Ocala, FL have not only neglected, but
refused to help their own neighbors who suffered damages from their
trees.
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. 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.
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.
My wife & I wrote numerous officials within the Elks
organization, including a Mr. Sid Carter who is an official at the
lodge in Ocala, their Exalted Ruler Mr Harold Floyd, 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. 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.
On December 5,
2006 I wrote the current Grand Exalted Ruler and the President of
the Elks, Mr. Louis James Grillo about
this matter and have received no reply.
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, and unless they have a change of heart, I feel that
the world needs to be made aware of how we are being treated. This
Elks Lodge’s claim of an "Act of God" to avoid
responsibly is an outrage.
At the top of their web 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
has proved that they are NOT Benevolent and DO NOT CARE.
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 will have to
pay for all of the damages out of our own pocket.
I think this is an outrage which needs to be reported so people will
know what hypocrites and bad neighbors the Elks Lodge has turned out to be.
As of this date,
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.
If you want to help, here's a few things you can do.
1. Let you friends & family know how the Elks Lodge has treated us.
2. If you know anyone in the News media at TV, Radio stations and Newspapers, let them know about this.
3. 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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