By Kana Coonce

Contributing Writer

STEVENS POINT – For the first time since permitting women to join the organization 28 years ago, the Stevens Point Elks have elected a female Exalted Ruler.

A former schoolteacher, Anne Cuomo has been a member of the Stevens Point division of fraternal organization the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks since it first began allowing women members in 1995, but her roots in the organization stretch back to her youth.

“I’ve been an Elk for probably 45 years,” said Cuomo. “I was probably 10 or 11. I’ve been around a while.”

The process of becoming Exalted Ruler requires undertaking four years’ worth of leadership roles in the Elks, each with different core responsibilities.

Only then can a candidate be elected into the position.

Cuomo’s interest in the Elks began with her father, a veteran of several wars including the Indo-China War and the Vietnam War.

He was also an Elk, serving as a chaplain in the 1980s.

“Dad was the most honest man I’ve ever known,” she said, recalling that he told her, “Spread kindness wherever you go.”

Cuomo finds that the Elks’ four virtues, “charity, justice, love and brotherly fidelity,” along with an organization-wide commitment to help the community, allow her to do good in a meaningful way.

“Kindness is the way to conquer evil in the world,” she said. “Hopefully.”

Though the Elks involve themselves in the community in various ways, Cuomo’s niches lie in the organization’s scholarship programs for high school

students and the multitude of programs geared toward assisting veterans.

Such programs include Thank a Vet, in which volunteers gather cards anonymously addressed to veterans and deliver them to veterans’ homes.

“It’s not just me running it, it’s everybody. Everybody pulls together and makes this lodge successful, and we can do more in the community, and that’s what it’s all about. It’s helping people.”

Cuomo’s term as Exalted Ruler will only last for one year — a typical length of time for the job — but she looks forward to all of the things that she and her Stevens Point Elks family will accomplish together in that time.

“There’s such a need for helping in the community,” Cuomo said, and the Stevens Point Elks have opportunities aplenty. “There’s something for everyone. There’s something that will spark that interest in just about anyone.”