Buzzards Bay Eagles Members Will Serve As Next State Presidents
Buzzards Bay Eagles Aerie #3741 hosted the annual state convention of the Fraternal Order of Eagles last weekend in Buzzards Bay. A highlight of the convention, which began Friday morning and concluded Sunday evening, was the election of two Buzzards Bay Eagles to serve as state presidents within the organization.
The Fraternal Order of Eagles, per its mission statement, is an international nonprofit whose primary purpose is to raise funds for charities and “to make human life more desirable by lessening its ills and by promoting peace, prosperity, gladness, and hope.” The Buzzards Bay Aerie, for example, hosts an annual Cape Cod Canal Walk fundraiser, which raised $18,000 in 2022.
The organization is made up of local aeries and auxiliaries. “Aeries,” in nature, mean the lofty nests of any bird of prey; in this sense, however, it is the name given to the meeting place of local chapters. There are also women’s auxiliaries, which have their roots tracing back to 1927.
Last Sunday, Buzzards Bay Eagles James McCormack and Luann Smith were installed as State Worthy President and State Madam President, respectively. Both have been members since the early 2000s and each has held numerous offices within the local aerie and state organization.
The elected state presidents get to choose the charity that their respective aerie and auxiliary will fundraise for in the coming year.
Ms. Smith selected Angel Babies, a Buzzards Bay-based nonprofit founded by resident Alisha Neal more than a decade ago in memory of her daughter, who was stillborn. Angel Babies provides families who have lost a baby with support, resources, and compassionate keepsake items and burial gowns for memorial events. Ms. Smith herself is actually involved, she said, working to break down, trace and cut gowns that will be sewn into baby-sized gowns by other volunteers. She got involved five years ago after the death of her husband and even donated her wedding dress to the cause.
The charity chosen by Mr. McCormack is called Toka’s Friends and helps military veterans suffering from things like PTSD, depression or injuries by providing them with trained service dogs at no cost. The cause is personal to him, he said, because two people close to him took their lives after serving.
Despite the personal connection, Mr. McCormack said that he stumbled upon the organization almost accidentally. He was out with his wife, Donna, one day when they got to chatting with a veteran whose service dog—“he was a cute dog, of course”— caught their eye. It turned out that the dog was from Toka’s Friends, which is based in Westport, and as more conversation turned into an eventual introduction to the nonprofit’s founders, Mr. McCormack said he “just knew” that choosing this charity was the right thing to do.
Both newly installed state presidents introduced their chosen charities to Eagles members from across the state during last weekend’s convention. Fundraising, Ms. Smith told the Enterprise, comes from both private donations and ticket sales/proceeds from events held by the Eagles.
“I’m not sure what the Auxiliary’s got planned for me,” she said. “I know they did quite a few big fundraisers last year with the past president, so hopefully they’ll do the same for me. I have a lot of ideas and things I want to do.”
Looking ahead, Mr. McCormack said he is excited to travel, to visit other aeries and meet new Eagle members. Next month, both Mr. McCormack and Ms. Smith will be representing Massachusetts at the Fraternal Order of Eagles national convention. The weeklong event will kick off at the end of July in Reno, Nevada.