Members of the Elks Club gathered for the ceremonies at the 10 acre site off the Puckett Road inside the city limits.  For most of them, the new building ,will represent a dream come true.

Plans for this building began 11 years ago in 1954 when the Lodge started a building fund. The fund has grown over the years to make construction of the new lodge pos­sible.

The new facility will not only provide additional space and improve activities for the 300 member Elks Club, it will be  an asset to the whole community.  The Elks Club has been, and  will continue to be, made available for use for  worthwhile community projects and programs. Dimensions of the new building will be 80 x112 feet with a 4,000 square foot dining room that will seat 200 people. It  will be brick and block construction with terrazzo floors.  The cost of the land and building is $85.000.

Plans for the new facility were drawn by Henry Dorsett, chairman of the Club's building committee. The construction contract was let to Ted Baumgardner, a local builder.

The new building will be a big step forward for the Elks.  The Club, since its installa­tion in April of 1952. has used the old officers club building at the Perry Air Base which it bought in 1952.

 Members of the building committee and trustees who helped make these plans become a reality are Henry Dorsett, chairman, Lionel Louque, Ed Linton and George Miler.  Trustees are Louque, Powell Puckett, Miller, L. A. (Peck) Smith and Willie Joe Moody.

A relatively young Elks Lodge, the Perry Elks, in just 13 years, have grown from a charter membership of 53 to the present 300 who comprise most of the business and civic leadership of the community.

It all started when Levis Taylor (now deceased) of Mayo, a member of the Live Oak Elks Lodge began organizing an Elks Chapter here. It took about 60 days, and installation ceremonies were held April 10, 1852.

First officers installed were W. M. McGill, Exalted Ruler; Lionel J. Louque, Esteemed Leading Knight; C. Declan O'Grady, Esteemed Loyal Knight; Willie Joe Moody, Esteemed Lecturing Knight; J. F. Gilmore, Secretary; Nathan Fleet; Treasurer; M. S. Linton, Tyler; L. E. Parker, Esquire; J. F. Sheffield, Inner Guard; Frank B. Leverette, Chaplain.

Charter members were H. Bolton, Byron N. Butler, W. L. Clark. Jr., Bishop Clark, W. Aubrey Cox, Jerry D. Dickert, J. B. Faircloth, Jack E. Fowler, Nathan Fleet, Isadore A. Friedman, J. B. Friedman, D. L. Frith Jr., J. F. Gilmore, H. S. Glickman, Donald E. Grant, W R. Hagin, Dr. Wilson T. Hendry, O. A. Bolton, J. O. Huxford Jr., Edwin Jackson, Ernest L. Jackson, T. A. Jackson, Marion W. Kasell, Jr., Harry E. Lauland, I. R. Lilliott, M. S. Linton, Ferdinand Louque, A. L. Louque, B. R. Mangum, Hal Marsh, Willie Joe Moody, J. Pharo Morgan, Joe Nola, Barney O'Quinn Jr., J. P. Puckett, R. L. Robertson, J. F. Sheffield, J. N. Slaughter, Ogden Smith, E. Leon Walker, Bill Towles, Frank M. Warren, Ed. J. Williams, S. L. Wilson. Myers Wilson, W. J. Wilder, W. M. McGill, Lionel J. Louque, Declan O'Grady, L . P. Gibson, W. E. Whitlock. L. E. Parker and Frank Leverette.