… nobody under 21 years old will be admitted to the bingo games because smoking will be permitted. The ballroom where the bingo will be played has a seating capacity of 226.
Moose Lodge prepares for charitable bingo
June 18, 2007
By Greg Rayburn–Editor
By Greg Rayburn–Editor
Arkansas voters last November approved a constitutional amendment permitting non-profit charitable bingo, and at least one fraternal organization in Sherwood is preparing to bring it here.
“We get about 10 calls a day and a few people visit our lodge asking us if we have bingo yet,” said Sherwood Moose Lodge 942 Administrator Bob Douglas.
The lodge has already made a substantial financial investment preparing for its bingo operation, starting nearly the day after the amendment was adopted.
Sherwood’s lodge also was very active in trying to convince voters to adopt the measure. Last fall, Douglas attended a regular monthly meeting of the Sherwood Chamber of Commerce where he publicly endorsed the amendment, hoping that Arkansas voters would approve it.
Wes Adams, three-time past governor for the lodge, said Sherwood members were very instrumental in helping to draft the charitable bingo legislation that eventually was presented to voters. Fraternal organizations such as the Moose Lodges, Knights of Columbus, Oddfellows, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion and Fraternal Order of Eagles unified in garnering support and helping to draft legislation, he said.?? “Some of the meetings we had were held right here in our lodge,” said Adams.
The lodge’s first job after the measure passed was to start turning the ballroom into a bingo hall, Douglas said. The bathrooms have been remodeled the floors replaced and much of the lighting and air conditioning/heating system revamped.
In addition, there is an air circulation system to make sure that cigarette smoke leaves the building.
According Douglas, nobody under 21 years old will be admitted to the bingo games because smoking will be permitted. The ballroom where the bingo will be played has a seating capacity of 226. There will be no cost for admission but players will have to pay for their bingo cards, Douglas said. Also, the new parking lot being constructed behind the lodge will add another 100 parking spaces; the lodge’s current lot can hold 80 cars.?
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“We have spent $50,000 on the ballroom,” Douglas said. “We have worked on it for the past six months.”
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“We have spent $50,000 on the ballroom,” Douglas said. “We have worked on it for the past six months.”
Another $10,000 has been spent working on the kitchen, buying a new ice maker and grill, and the ballroom snack bar also has been worked on. But the lodge’s biggest investment is the parking lot being its building, located on Kiehl Avenue.
“When the parking lot is complete, we will have spent $250,000 on it,” said Douglas.
The lodge’s first bingo game will be held on July 31.
“We are anticipating having charitable bingo games twice a week,” he said. “We will have it Tuesday and Thursday nights, or on a Saturday afternoon.”
Douglas said the lodge has already sent in the paperwork to get its state license.
“We sent in the $100 and were told that our paperwork is in the mail,” he said.
Of the bingo proceeds, 25 percent of revenues will go to the national Moose headquarters near Chicago to benefit the organization’s programs for disadvantaged youths and the elderly. Another 25 percent will go to established local charities, such as Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
The remaining half will be used for local community projects, a practice the lodge followed many years ago until police and local governments started enforcing the state Constitution’s ban on games of chance, which included bingo.
The lodge will also support projects and organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, Keep Sherwood Beautiful, the Police Department and local scholarships, as it has in the past, he said.
Adams said the lodge used to provide funds to projects such as buying police drug dogs.
“We spent $4,000 on providing a drug dog to the State Police,” Adams said.
Douglas said the lodge wants to get back to doing a lot of good for the local community. He said the lodge believes a substantial amount of money will be generated from charitable bingo.
“The games will be run by our volunteer members,” Douglas said. “Just like it was volunteers who remodeled our ballroom.”
