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IOOF set to host awards ceremony

ELKINS — Randolph Lodge No. 116 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Delphia Rebekah Lodge No. 62 will host the annual Humanitarian Awards Dinner March 11 at Orchard Hall to recognize two people from Randolph County for their outstanding volunteer service.

The IOOF created the Humanitarian of the Year award in 2003 to recognize local people who showed exemplary service to the community. The first award was given to Dr. Farukh Khan for sending medical kits to Camp Kno-Koma. The camp was designed for children with diabetes who could otherwise not attend camps because of medical reasons.

Some of the former award recipients include Dr. Gloria Payne, the late U.S. District Judge Robert Maxwell, Margaret Gutshall, the late Jack Basil and legendary country singer Loretta Lynn.

In 2006, The Good Samaritan of the Year award was added to the program in order to recognize a local person who helped someone in need.

It started when the late Honorable Maxwell prompted members of the Order to recognize former state Sen. Mike Ross for his rescue efforts during the Sago Mine disaster. On Jan. 2, 2006, Ross, a resident of Coalton, helped coordinate rescue drilling efforts through the mine’s ceiling in hopes that it would improve air quality and communication to the trapped miners.

That same year, the Sovereign Grand Master from Tennessee, Michael W. Dutton, attended the awards dinner. He was impressed by Ross’s story and later arranged for him be presented with an international award in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This rare award previously was given to Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York in England.

The Humanitarian Awards Dinner has continued to gain the recognition of top Odd Fellow and Rebekah dignitaries. In 2011, The Sovereign Grand Master from Ohio, Delmar L. Burns, presented a plaque to the IOOF Randolph Lodge No.116 recognizing its efforts in reaching out to the local community.

The current SGM, Larry Ferguson, said, “Mr. Burns mentioned that in all of his travels, we are the only one in the world reaching out like we do.”

Past dignitaries to present at the Humanitarian Awards Dinner include Joyce Link, president of the International Association of Rebekah Assemblies, and Vivian Purcell, secretary of the IARA.

Multiple esteemed sovereign grand masters from around the nation also have attended. This year’s attendees have not yet been confirmed.

In August last year, Ferguson became the current sovereign grand master and the first SGM to come from the Randolph Lodge No.116. He now represents members in 26 countries. He is the third person from West Virginia in 197 years to become a SGM.

The sovereign grand master is a chairperson on all of the IOOF’s committees including those for scholarships, low-cost nursing homes, low-interest student loans and grants, youth pilgrimages, memorials, youth summer camps and annual donations to charities. This includes the Visual Research Foundation Committee, which donates special machines to those with bad vision so they can see details again.

“We help people but we don’t advertise what we do. For example, we also just raised money for a lady who had a house fire. But recipient names are kept anonymous,” Ferguson said.

Although the local lodge is receiving positive attention, Ferguson noted that statewide membership is decreasing. Today, there are 1,500 members as compared to 40,000 members in 1940.

“Before Social Security, people would join the Lodge and be taken care of. If both parents died, young children would be raised as orphans until high school in an Odd Fellow’s orphanage like the one that still stands in Elkins on Georgetown Road,” he said.

Between 1911 and 1954, the Odd Fellows Home in Elkins was home to more than 700 children.

One reason for the decline in membership is that government and private entities have taken over the social work that fraternal orders, like the IOOF, once provided. Another reason, Ferguson explained, is that the IOOF kept some aspects of its work quiet. He said he hopes that by reaching out to the community with programs like the Humanitarian Awards Dinner, there will be renewed interest in the organization’s work and membership will rise again.

The Humanitarian Dinner is free to each member as well as one guest. Social hour is set from 5 to 6 p.m. when dinner will be served. The awards celebration will start at 7 p.m.

The stated mission of Odd Fellowship is to “Improve and elevate every person to a higher, nobler plane.” The Humanitarian Awards Dinner is an important part of this mission. More information about the organization is available online at www.wvioof.org.

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