FEBRUARY President’s Message / MARS BESKJED FRA PRESIDENTEN

Greetings fellow SON Members,

I look forward to our 2011 lodge year with a variety of cultural and heritage events coupled with our strong boat program. I appreciate the opportunity to serve as lodge president and want to thank Eric Nord who led us through 2010. Eric has a very strong passion for our boat program. Over the last decade he has surrounded himself with other like-minded members and together they have established a very strong boat visibility and reputation both within Sons of Norway and our Jacksonville area. Eric will remain involved with the lodge boat program this year.

With my stepping into the presidency, the position of vice president was open. At the January board meeting, I appointed Charlotte Fluker to fill the vacancy of V.P. Charlotte is a long-time SON member and has been on the board for at least the last six years as cultural director, web master, youth director and Adopt a School coordinator. We also reviewed our 2011 budget which was then approved at the January lodge meeting.

Thanks to Cheryl Drabek, cultural director, for a great program on Norwegian/Scandinavian jewelry and a BIG thanks to the three sisters - Carol Scott, Kathy Barket and Bess visiting from Birmingham - Val Lyman and Ann Crisp who brought stews and/or helped in the kitchen. Eric Nord could not attend but he also prepared a stew. The variety of stews was very tasty and filling.

Our two Tubfrim ladies, Hazel Barnett and Flora Ericksen, remain busy cutting stamps that you have been very gracious to provide. They don’t think the stacks of stamps ever diminish so Flora has enlisted the aid of the ladies at her assisted living facility for an afternoon “cutting” party very soon.

We are working on our 2011 programs and are excited about the tour and lunch at the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens, so I hope you will participate. In April we have a very special evening at the Jacksonville Symphony with the Nordic Fusion, so watch for more information. We are finalizing our May event which is normally when we celebrate both our lodge anniversary and Syttende Mai. It will be a fun year so I hope you will join us as we celebrate our Nordic heritage.

Kent Larson

Lodge President