Women attending their first Elks convention in LV

Monday, July 8, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

When Medal of Honor recipient Patrick Brady looks out on the crowd of Elks at the organization's 132nd national convention in Las Vegas, he will see a more feminine touch to the group long regarded as a private men's club.

And it is somewhat fitting that Brady, who in Vietnam was credited with saving thousands of lives, is the keynote speaker for the first major Elks convention where women -- in the tradition of battlefield life-saving heroines such as Florence Nightingale and Molly Pitcher -- serve as Elks.

"We have several reasons to be excited about this year's convention," said Jim O'Kelley, spokesman for the event starting Sunday at the Aladdin hotel-casino. "For starters, this will be the first that women can attend as members.

"The delegates at last year's convention in New Orleans voted to delete the word 'male' from the membership requirements, and the proposed amendment was ratified by the local lodges in September."

Since then, more that 1,000 women have joined the organization of 1.3 million members in 2,230 lodges nationwide, he said.

"Women, through Emblem Clubs or as Does, have always provided valuable assistance to the Elks like carrying out charitable programs. Now they do that work as actual Elks," said Bob Lybarger, past president and treasurer of the Hawthorn Lodge in Northern Nevada.

"In some states, there were claims that not allowing women was discriminatory. We could have spent a lot of money fighting it, but we decided instead to go with the times and allow women in. And many have sought to play an active role by being appointed or elected to offices in their lodges."

About 10,000 delegates are expected to attend the Las Vegas convention. About 200 delegates will be Nevadans, 150 of them from the southern half of the state, Lybarger said.

Another reason for the group to be excited, O'Kelley said, is the featured speaker, Brady, is a retired major general who, as president of the Citizens Flag Alliance, is spearheading a constitutional amendment banning desecration of the American Flag.

A patriotic group, the Benevolent Protective Order of the Elks has long been associated with the red, white and blue banner. The organization, in 1907, mandated observance of June 14 as Flag Day.

Several decades later, President Harry Truman, an Elk, signed a declaration naming Flag Day as an official national observance.

Brady, who also is president of the Medal of Honor Society, won his top honor on a mission in which the three rescue planes he used in a single day were pelted with more than 400 bullets.

Despite being under heavy fire in severe weather conditions, Brady evacuated 51 severely wounded soldiers to medical units.

In two tours of Vietnam, he is credited with evacuating more than 5,000 soldiers from the battlefield, which is believed to be a record in the annals of modern warfare.

Brady is a member of the Army Aviation Hall of Fame and a recipient of several other honors, including the Distinguished Service Cross -- second only to the medal of honor in military decorations -- six Distinguished Flying Crosses, a Purple Heart and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.

A 34-year military veteran, he is the father of six.

Brady will speak Sunday at the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts. The event, open to the public, begins at 9 a.m.. It also will feature the winners of the national "Hoop Shoot" youth free throw contest and the winners of the "Most Valuable Student" college scholarship contest.

Also addressing that gathering will be Elks Grand Exalted Ruler Edward Mahan. An Elk since 1959, Mahan was his Massachusetts chapter's Elk of the Year in 1969 and Elk of the Decade in 1990.

The Elks first met in New York City on Feb. 16, 1868, with 15 members. It has grown into one of the world's largest organizations of its kind.

This will mark the fourth time since 1981 that the group's national convention is being held in Las Vegas, making it the organization's most popular convention site during the last 15 years.

Local Elks Lodge 1468, one of six listed in the phone book, is noted for sponsoring the Helldorado Days carnival and rodeo, a springtime event that annually raises tens of thousands of dollars for local charities.