Christina Ramirez doesn’t give much extra thought to her status as the first woman ever to be elected exalted ruler of the Iola Elks lodge.
Unless it convinces others to join.
“We’d really like to see young families join the Elks,” said Ramirez, 39, who assumed the exalted ruler’s position this month.
Akin to a club president, Ramirez is responsible for coordinating with the Elks lodge’s multiple committees on various tasks, from their annual Hoops Shoot contest and Shocktober activities for youths to the club’s annual Christmas basket campaign for needy families.
“My grandfather always explained it to me by comparing the Elks lodge to a buggy with horses,” she said. “A buggy will only go places if you have really good horses. And we have some really good committees here.”
Ramirez joined the Elks about six years ago, shortly after offering her bartending services at the Elks lodge in downtown Iola.
“A couple of people asked me why I hadn’t become a member yet, so I joined,” she said.
By then, the Elks had long since done away with its “men only” policies.
Almost immediately, she took a keen interest in the club’s operations, attending board meetings when possible.
“I was elected as treasurer one year, and “and then made my way up the chain,” she said.
She was installed as exalted ruler April 1, replacing Kyle King.
Ramirez is eager to see the Elks continue, and even expand, its family-friendly activities, such as the annual July 4 fishing derby.
The goal, she said, is to provide an incentive for others to join.
While the Elks has close to 400 members, only a small fraction are active with multiple functions, she said.
Other concerns in the coming year include repairs to the Elks Lodge building on South Jefferson Avenue.
“We really hope to get a lot of people to join,” she said, “or if they’ve been with us in the past, to get reinstated.”
