Largo Elks Lodge #2159 held its fifth annual bartender auction Oct. 15 with record-breaking member turnout and record-breaking proceeds for the Largo Police Department’s Seniors Program. The bartenders are also lodge members. This year’s event began with Largo PD's Officer Quattlebaum playing a short video about the Seniors Program, which assists senior citizens when they need financial aid, home repairs and other similar assistance. For example, they purchased a bracelet for a senior citizen with Alzheimer’s disease so the family could easily find them if they became lost. They also paid for a hotel room for a veteran being evicted until he could enter veteran housing. Officer Bowling then explained a project that the Largo PD and the lodge collaborated on. Largo PD informed the lodge that people using the library were having their bicycles stolen because they didn’t have locks. The lodge worked with Harbor Freight to purchase bike locks to give to the library. Next, the $4,000 Elks National Foundation Beacon Grant was presented to Officer Quattlebaum. Jeanne Reinhart, PDD, Lodge Advisor and lodge grant writer, has successfully applied for the Beacon Grant for the past six years, with it being donated to the Seniors Program the last several years. After the check presentation, a $20 challenge jar started that quickly went to $477. Finally, the auction began. Some items were available for regular bidding, while others were wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper, concealing the contents. Some items included a weekend beach rental, a Jack Daniels collector’s bottle, Navy Seal memorabilia and a challenge coin. Auction proceeds were $5,692, and along with the Beacon Grant, the total donated to the Largo Police Department Seniors Program was $9,692.

Pictured are Marcia Lowe, bar manager; Officer Quattlebaum; Gloria Todd, Exalted Ruler; Officer Bowling; Officer Soto; and Jeanne Reinhart, PDD.