SYCAMORE LODGE #129 News
Hi! Did you miss us? We missed you! We have been hibernating a lot due to Covid, but are venturing out more this year! Here are some upcoming items. We will send out the lodge meeting agenda and Zoom link for Monday prior to the meeting.
We are always looking for potential new members who play well with others.
Questions? Email Newsletter Editor and Sycamore Member Julie Machado at juliemac@pacbell.net
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2022 New Lodge Officers
The new lodge officers this year are: Noble Grand Gary Howe, Vice Grand Ted Seitz, Treasurer Jon Dickinson, Secretary Laura Brady. Thank you to everyone who stepped up! Let’s hear a round of applause for the new officers! We appreciate the hard work that they do to keep us focused and moving forward.
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Lodge Updates
We were blessed in 2021 to welcome the East Bay Symphony Band (EBSB), which formerly practiced at Chabot College. They are now practicing in the lodge room. Along with EBSB came some new lodge members: Bev Johnson, Melanie Work, and Judy Stewart. Bev also leads a flute ensemble, which has begun practicing at the lodge.
We were also joined in 2021 by new members Marion Borst and Jon Dickinson, who have jumped right in. Jon is now serving as Treasurer for this year. And new members Steve and Charise Desanto also joined in 2021, and we are getting to know them, as well. We are very happy to have grown in membership over the last year!
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Looking for Lodge Member who speaks Cantonese
The lodge may need someone who speaks Cantonese to help interface with a contractor. If you have this skill, could you please reach out to Sycamore member Julie Machado at juliemac@pacbell.net or 510-581-7850 (no texts).
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TODAY Wed. March 9: Trustee Meeting (Zoom)
The lodge Trustees are meeting via Zoom on Wed. March 9 at 6 pm. Agenda items include various construction and maintenance needs at the lodge, including roof, plumbing and electrical repair, and security improvement, etc. If you are interested in attending, please contact Sycamore member Frank Goulart at fgoulart@pacbell.net
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Fri. March 11: Peace & Pizza (Zoom)
Peace & Pizza meets on the 2nd Friday of the month via Zoom and often features a movie or speaker. Their fabulous pot-lucks have been on hold since Covid, but hope to return in person as soon as it is safe. In the meantime, we are meeting on Zoom. If you are interested contact Sycamore member Stephania Widger at oceankayak@aol.com
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Mon. March 14: Lodge Social & Meeting (Zoom)
The lodge’s 1 hour Social and Business Meeting is on the Second Monday of the month. The Social starts at 6:30 pm and the Business Meeting starts at 7:30 pm. We are still doing this via Zoom but hope to return to in-person meetings soon. All lodge members will receive the meeting agenda and Zoom link prior to the meeting. If you have questions, contact Sycamore member Julie Machado at juliemac@pacbell.net or Lodge Secretary Laura Brady or Noble Grand Gary Howe.
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East Bay Youth Orchestras (EBYO)
Sycamore Member Carol Morgan reports that the East Bay Youth Orchestras (EBYO) are having auditions on May 24, 6-9 pm. For more information, see their website at https://ebyo.org/
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Coming 2022 Activities
We have a bunch of activities that we are putting together, including:
–13th Annual Summer Concert Series at Hayward Memorial Park’s outdoor amphitheater on Sundays in August through September – we are putting together a series of 7 concerts. for more information contact lodge member Frank at fgoulart@frank
–Swing at the Turf! Resident lodge big band 3 O’Clock Jump hopes to be playing a series of dates at the World Famous Turf Club’s lovely outdoor patio – stay tuned for dates
–Monthly first-Sunday-of-the-month Good Fellowship Jams will be returning, probably in an outdoor format as soon as the weather is nice enough
–The Chamber Music summer program is back! The 2022 concert is scheduled for Sat. Aug. 6 at 7:30 pm at the lodge
–A new “lodge special outings committee” is working on some fun plans for this year!
–East Bay Symphony Band (EBSB) and East Bay Youth Orchestra (EBYO) may have some concert events, as well.
So stay tuned and watch as details get firmed up!
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Sycamore Lodge Facebook Check out the Hayward Odd Fellows Facebook page! Please “like” us! Invite your friends! Here
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Online Dues or Donation Payment Page
Members and guests can pay dues ($70/year) or make donations online! Use this link to get to the payment page of Sycamore Lodge #129. https://squareup.com/market/independent-order-of-odd-fellows-sycamore-lodge-129If you would like to donate more, go to our online payment page and make either a charitable contribution to our educational and charitable activities (which may be tax deductible), or a donation to the lodge! If you prefer to donate the old-fashioned way, send a check to Sycamore Lodge, P.O. Box 125, Hayward CA 94543.
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Benefit for Members: IOOF Scholarships The EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows began its operation on September 20, 1927. The purpose of the Foundation is to operate a revolving loan fund for qualified students dependent in part, or wholly, on their own efforts for an education, and to award scholarships to students based on scholarship, leadership and financial need. Since the beginning of the Foundation, donations of approximately $3,500,000 have made it possible for over 3,500 young people to receive student low interest loans amounting to over $6,800,000, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarship awards. For more info see here
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Donations are Welcome
Sycamore Lodge maintains the following funds which are each limited to and used strictly and only exclusively for charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes. If you would like to donate to any of our funds, please make a check to Sycamore Lodge #129 and mail it to Sycamore Lodge, P.O. Box 125, Hayward CA 94543. Donations to these funds may be tax deductible; check with your tax preparer.
No. 1 Young Musician Chamber Music Program Fund;
No. 2 Music Education Fund;
No. 3 Art Education Fund.
No. 4 Hank Maschal Memorial Scholarship Fund
No. 5 Ken Lester Memorial Scholarship Fund
No. 6 Young Muralist Program
No. 7 Odyssey of the Mind
We are also accepting donations to the Lodge Elevator Fund, which is designated to help maintain our new elevator for the lodge building (please note that contributions to the Lodge Elevator Fund are not tax deductible).
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Membership
Do you know someone who might be interested in joining Odd Fellows? Hayward Odd Fellows appreciates people who “play nicely with others”, respect organizational rules, and want to pursue “friendship, love and truth” (the Odd Fellows motto). Once you join Odd Fellows, you have “brothers and sisters” at lodges around the world. Applicants must be 16 years old or older (except in areas where there is a “Junior Lodge”, which we don’t have in Hayward). Dues for Hayward Odd Fellows are $70 per year. We do live Initiations twice a year. Please ask about membership.
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Respectfully Submitted in Friendship, Love & Truth,
Julie Machado, Newsletter Editor
Sycamore Lodge #129