B.P.O.E. NORRISTOWN LODGE 714

Submission for The Elks Magazine

December 4, 2002

What do you get when you cross Lodge 714’s 2001-2002 Elk of the Year with a challenge to raise money for the Pennsylvania Elks Home Service Program? You get fellow Elk Maureen DeStefano with a shaved head! What started out as an idea for a costume for a Halloween Trip to Key West turned into a major fundraiser for Norristown Lodge 714. A suggestion was made that the vacationing group get dressed up as “The Addams Family” and that if Maureen shaved her head she could be “Uncle Fester”. Maureen’s co-workers said they’d raise $500 if she’d do it. Mo turned it back around on them and raised the ante to $1,000 with a promise to donate the money to the Pennsylvania Elks Home Service Program. When the news got back to the Lodge, a collection jar with a sign announcing the challenge to “Bank Your Bucks for Baldness” went up on the bar and the Elks ran with it! Within 2 weeks more than $1,100 had been raised and Maureen lived up to her end of the bargain. On October 18, 2002, her co-workers and fellow Elks got together at a local restaurant to watch “Mo Go Bald”. As was to be expected, there then was much rubbing of Mo’s head for luck! This is just one small example of Maureen’s dedication and commitment to Elkdom. In many ways she shows us what it really means to be an Elk! She should be an inspiration to us all! Way to Go Mo!