August/September/October 2007


Feature Articles:


Celebration Was Planned to End With a Bang--But Not to Begin With One!


Under dark, drizzly skies, buses brought Conventioners north to Moosehaven from Orlando--where it was sunny and hot, so only a few members thought to bring raingear.

> It’s been said that Moose members are adaptable, willing to “go with the flow”--and those qualities certainly came in handy July 1 at Moosehaven! Nearly 3,000 members who’d left Orlando in mostly sunny heat largely weren’t prepared with raingear when they arrived two hours north in a cool drizzle. So, instead of strolling outside in the sunshine, they ventured inside several residences, the Michigan Recreation Building and the New York Exercise Center.

Then, there was the 4:10 p.m. lightning strike to further complicate matters (see facing page)--moving dedication ceremonies from the newly renovated Ohio C-Wing into the Auditorium. But things could have been much worse.


After lightning struck and started a roof fire at the Chancellor Residence in the LifeCare Center complex, residents from that structure were quickly moved into the newly renovated “Ohio C-Wing” that was to have its ceremonial dedication and ribbon-cutting. So the 6 p.m. ceremonies were moved into the campus Auditorium, where Executive Director John Capes thanked the gathered leadership of the Ohio State Moose Association for its $5 million funding of the renovation--and total $10 million commitment including ongoing operational funding.






119th International
Convention


Please click on any photograph below to view a larger image.










Leaders of the Ohio and Florida-Bermuda Moose Associations staged a good-natured bowling tournament in the campus’s New York Exercise Center’s four-lane facility--led by Regional Managers Dwaine Brown (left) and Rodney Hammond (right).





Washington-N. Idaho Moose presented a new 15-passenger van.




Lightning Strike Causes $26K Damage--But Could Have Been a Lot Worse


New Moosehaven Executive Director John Capes had to coordinate his staff’s response to the emergency while hosting 3,000 visiting members.

> The huge explosion resonating across Moosehaven’s campus at 4:10 p.m. on July 1 sounded to many of the 3,000 visiting members like an early fireworks blast. It was instead a bolt of lightning that struck the roof of the Chancellor Residence in the LifeCare Center complex. The resulting fire was contained to layers of roofing above ceiling level, but Chancellor’s 43 residents were moved out as a precaution--into the new Ohio C-Wing to be dedicated that day! Latest damage estimates are $26,500, down from an initial $250,000.


Visiting Moose members had a more interesting day than they’d bargained for!


But as darkness descended, at the end of all the day’s frenetic activities--planned and unplanned--it was time to sit back and relax at the spectacular fireworks display, launched from a barge in the middle of the two-mile-wide St. Johns River.








Orange Park and Clay County firefighters had to rip away roughly 400 sq. ft. of roofing materials to get at and contain the blaze.













Moosehaven Chaplain Helen Taylor helped gather and calm displaced residents as they were moved into temporary quarters in the Ohio C-Wing.



Whatever Works to Raise a Few Hundred Bucks . . .



> Amid all of the other activities (planned and unplanned) at Moosehaven on July 1, Director General William B. Airey had to schedule in five minutes to get hit in the face with a pie. All week back at the Peabody Hotel in Orlando, the Moose Charities booth was selling chances for the opportunity to give a pie-face to the Director General. The winning ticket drawn was that of Dale Clark of Warren, PA, who did the deed to the DG outside near the St. Johns River shore. All Airey insisted on was that it be a legitimate chocolate cream pie.