WESTFIELD – Members of the local Elks Lodge voted unanimously last night to accept members of the West Springfield/Agawam Lodge who requested the merger with the Westfield club.
Christopher J. Chistolini, Exalted Ruler of the Westfield Elks Lodge 1481, said this morning that the merger required a two-thirds approval by the members present for the vote.
“We had 55 members present and the vote to merge with the West Springfield/Agawam Lodge 2174 was unanimous.” Chistolini said. “Now we have to send the merger documents to the Grand Lodge in Chicago and they have to approve the merger which should take 10 to 14 days.”
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks Lodge 1481 will accept the West Springfield and Agawam members. The West Springfield/Agawam club has about 180 members who can now join the Westfield lodge after voting on Oct. 2 to close their lodge.
Chistolini said that the West Springfield/Agawam members “have the choice to commit to any lodge” in the region.
“We’re hoping to have them as involved as they were in West Springfield and Agawam,” Chistolini said. “We now have to cover that West Springfield, Agawam area for all of the Elks programs, the dictionary program, scholarships, the hoop shoot and all the other programs.”
“We have to have a large membership to support that, people who are familiar with West Springfield and Agawam, people who have all the contacts to coordinate the programs,” Chistolini said.
The Westfield club accepts both the assets and liabilities of the West Springfield/Agawam club. The assets include the present lodge facility.
Members of the two merging lodges will form a committee to evaluate options for the future use or disposition of the Lodge 2174 on Morgan Road, Chistolini said. That facility, which is located in a residential zone, includes the club building, parking and athletic fields.
