Killarney Guide

BY JAY STRUTH

A $5,000 donation to STARS Air Ambulance has kicked off Elktober for the Killarney Elks Lodge.

The big STARS donation, which came entirely from the local lodge itself, was a good fit for the Killarney club, said its members. 

“We’re so far from any immediate help, as far as getting to Brandon or Winnipeg, so getting that helicopter in here quickly and getting you to help quickly is really important,” said Ethel Zolinski, Killarney Elks Lodge secretary. “And we’ve got such an aging population in this area too, and I’m sure there will continue to be a great need for it.” 

And, as far as STARS goes, there’s always a need for donations. 

“STARS has to raise millions each year to top up government funding, and a lot of our donations are in the range of $25 to $500, so this is a significant donation for us,” said STARS representative Daryl Braun, just before the $5,000 cheque presentation at the Killarney Airport on Wednesday. “We say that a flight costs about $5,000. So this will cover the cost of a flight, which is huge. We’re flying an average of just over two missions a day right now in Manitoba, and so it’s significant that we get this in a lump sum.”

In fact, the STARS helicopter was just at Killarney Airport on Monday for an urgent call.

“It took 53 minutes to fly from Winnipeg to here, and 53 minutes return,” said Braun who took a look at Monday’s mission statistics. “So the patient got quick delivery with an extremely highly trained flight nurse and paramedic, and at the same time that means that the local doctor and nurse don’t have to jump into an ambulance to accompany this very sick patient to Winnipeg. So your local healthcare stays strong, and it accomplishes both things at the same time.” 

Braun also stressed that as emergency care in Manitoba becomes more centralized, the air ambulance becomes more important. 

“The helicopter is equipped like a flying emergency room,” he said. “We have ultrasound on board, cardiac monitors, blood analysis equipment; we carry blood on board…basically it’s a flying ER that brings the service wherever it’s needed.”

And Braun is extremely appreciative of the donors in Manitoba who support STARS annually, and sometimes much more often than that.  

“We have Hutterite colonies, we have businesses, we have community groups like the Elks, and together it makes us strong,” said Braun.

And the Elks feel very strongly about supporting essential workers, from medical staff to the frontline workers who’ve kept things running during the pandemic. They’re encouraging you to show your support for these essential workers by colouring the picture on page 8 of this week’s Killarney Guide and putting it up on your window for the month of October. This picture is also available to print out below.

Elktober promotion about new members 

“It’s about promoting your lodge within your community, and hopefully attracting new members, because that’s one thing that the Elks are having a big problem with these days, is attracting new members,” said Zolinski, when asked about the significance of Elktober. “Most of our lodges are older members, and young people don’t seem to be interested in joining.”

However, the Elks aren’t just looking for young people, they’re looking for anyone interested in joining.

“Even people who have recently retired, they still have a lot of life left in them, so they would be a good group to attract as well,” Zolinski said. “I joined the Elks 20 some years ago, and there were about 30,000 members across Canada at that time, and now we’re down to about 11,000, so it’s really dropped.”

Despite their decreasing membership, the Killarney Elks are a very active group, and they’re extremely happy with the amount of community support they receive.

“We really need the support of the community when we have fundraising events, and so far we’ve had that, and we certainly appreciate it,” added Zolinski. “Otherwise we wouldn’t be in existence.” 

The Killarney Elks meet every second Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. in the Killarney Legion Hall. Come to a meeting if you’d like to know more about what they do, or if you’d like to become a member. 

Since forming 91 years ago, the Killarney Elks have donated more than $1 million to charitable projects in the community.

ELKS DONATE TO STARS – Killarney Elks (from left) Floyd Sager, Gwen Archibald, and Delores Mason of the Killarney Elks present a cheque for $5,000 to STARS representative Daryl Braun on Wednesday afternoon at Killarney Airport.

JAY STRUTH/KILLARNEY GUIDE