Shortly after becoming an Elk in July of 2016, he saw a need to raise money for children's charities and started, with the help of his wife Kathi, the Kards For Kids Texas Hold'em Tournament at our Lodge. This very successful endeavor raised thousands of dollars for our participation in the Florida Elks Youth Camp as well as other worthwhile areas such as Cookies for Soldiers.
As a result of his efforts, Rich was twice selected as Elk of the Month and received the Elks Distinguished Citizenship Award in 2018.
Rich was elected Esteemed Lecturing Knight the following year where he focused on Community Activities and the Florida Elks Youth Camp. Among other successes, Rich was responsible for re-establishing our relationship with the Hibiscus Children's Center in Vero Beach whose mission is to save and rescue the lives of teenagers. Rich worked closely with their Development Director to identify and fulfill their needs to support their Positive Behavior program as well as providing Christmas presents. Through Rich's endeavors, our Lodge partnered with the SAFIR Coalition: Substance Abuse Free Indian River to use our facility for meetings, training and fund-raising events. For these an other community involvement too extensive to list here, Rich was again selected twice as Elk of the Month; finally, in 2019 he was selected as Officer of the Year.
Rich served as Exalted Ruler during the 2020-2021 Fiscal Year and, thru very challenging times, kept the Lodge afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During and after his term as ER, Rich continued the Kards For Kids and his support for Hibiscus Children's Center. Beginning in 2021 we received and Elks National Foundation Beacon Grants to extend our financial support for the Hibiscus Children's Center.. He and spouse Kathi also picked up support for the Christmas and Easter parties at the Wabasso School, a special education center school serving students ages 5-22. In 2022, Rich also served the Florida State Elks Association as Chair of the Elk's National Foundation Committee. In 2023, Rich served as Southeast Central District Esquire.
Rich accomplished all of this while being employed as Vice President of Business Development at United Pharma.