On the Town: Dinner dance kicks off Elks Club’s dictionary project
Glendale Elks Club members recently kicked off their 11th annual dictionary distribution program with a dinner dance at the lodge.
Each year, 2,500 dictionaries are distributed to third-graders throughout the Glendale Unified School District, as well as private and parochial schools, said George McCullough, the program’s chair for eight years.
He and his Elk team members make the deliveries to the schools and personally hand the dictionaries to each student. It takes more than a month to distribute all the dictionaries.
The funds, about $6,000 a year, are raised by an annual car show held the third Sunday of March.
What makes the program unique is students get to keep the dictionaries while all the other textbooks are on loan to the students during the year, McCullough said. And the dictionaries are more like an almanac with special features such as biographies on all the American presidents. Students can refer to them throughout their college years and beyond.
The Glendale Elks Club has been in town for 104 years and has 560 members. Its members have more than 75 projects throughout the year including providing food and gifts each Christmas for 75 families. They give more than $65,000 a year in scholarships to students in public, private and parochial schools.
Glendale Unified’s Supt. Winfred Roberson Jr. attended the dinner with his wife Yvette.
“First of all, we are just grateful that the Elks put the program together and think about the students each year,” he said. “The dictionaries help support their reading and vocabulary-building skills, and I’ve heard that the looks on their faces when they get their dictionaries are just amazing. We appreciate the partnership and that we have a group of citizens that are looking out for the next generation that eventually will contribute to this great city of Glendale.”
Taking fourth term as president of Rotary Club
Darren Azarian has started his fourth term as president of the Crescenta Canada Rotary Club.
He has already served as president in 2004, 2005 and 2007 and has held all positions within the club since he join in 1995.
His primary goal is to increase the club’s membership, and he hopes to focus on key members of the community who want to support Rotary’s programs and are motivated to recruit new members to sustain the organization that was founded in 1940.
Azarian also will encourage members’ support of Rotary’s district events and being involved with one international project. The final goal is raising funds to support local organizations that rely on Rotary Club to thrive.
Joining him on the board are Joe Kroening, who is treasurer, and Mike Shaar, filling the role as secretary.
Azarian is a native of La Crescenta and runs his own business, Integral Engineering Services.
The club meets at 6:45 p.m. on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital.
Eagle Scout project is installation of rock bench
The La Crescenta Woman’s Club will be honored with the addition of a rock bench installed at the clubhouse — an Eagle Scout project chosen by Kevin Tom of Boy Scout Troop 317.
It’s a way to recognize the club’s more than 100 years of history in the community. Scout leader Richard Toyon suggested the idea to Kevin.
Mike Lawler, of the Historical Society of the Crescenta Valley, has written a book including the history of the Woman’s Club, which was used to create a memorial plaque being placed in the bench.
Club members helped gather rocks and items for a time capsule to be buried there, which include pictures, newspaper articles, roster and a list of club presidents from the beginning to present.
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JOYCE RUDOLPH can be reached at rudolphjoyce10@gmail.com.