Benevolent Protective Order of Elks (B.P.O.E.)

BENEVOLENT PROTECTIVE ORDER OF ELKS (BPOE) - The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded by Joseph M. Norcross in 1868 originally as a social club in New York City. Today headquartered at Elks National Veterans Memorial in Chicago, Illinois, it is one of the leading fraternal orders in the United States, claiming nearly one million members.

The Elks had modest beginnings in 1868 as a social club for minstrel show performers, called the "Jolly Corks".   It was established as a private club to elude New York City laws governing the opening hours of public taverns.  After the death of a member left his wife and children without income, the club took up additional service roles, rituals and a new name.  Desiring to adopt "a readily identifiable creature of stature, indigenous to America," Fifteen members voted 8–7 in favor of the elk above the buffalo.  Early members were mostly from theatrical performing troupes in New York City. It has since evolved into a major American fraternal, charitable, and service order with more than a million members, both men and women, throughout the United States and the former territories of the Philippines and the Panama Canal.