Fourteen years ago, Brian Crawford joined the Jefferson City Elks Lodge and now he finds himself serving as state president of the organization.
"When I joined, along with my wife Betsy, our kids were in college and we were looking for a way to give back to the community," Crawford said.
Crawford was installed as state president in March and will serve until March of next year.
"I was very humbled by the support I received in the district and across the state," he said. "I'm an ambassador to the state. I travel to all lodges and address how do we take our work one step higher."
Born and raised in Northern Indiana, Crawford worked in steel mills until that industry started going downhill.
In 1985, Crawford and his wife Betsy moved to Central Missouri where he took a job as an electrician at the Callaway Nuclear Plant.
"We found plenty of friendly people here in the Midwest," he said. "It is a great place to raise kids."
Helping local youth projects is one of the major goals for the Elks.
"We support the DARE Program, working with law enforcement concerning drugs and alcohol," Crawford said. "We're also the biggest organization in the country that gives money for scholarships, putting out $4 million worth a year."
Another Elks effort is to help with veterans affairs.
"We are committed to helping families of deployed soldiers," Crawford said. "We go to each of the 170 plus VA hospitals in the country to work on the social needs of veterans and soldiers. Most Elks Lodges will put a lot of time into veterans' service. In our later years of life we get more patriotic and Elks take an oath when we join to always defend the rights of veterans."
Crawford also said they are working at getting younger blood into the Elks.
"You look at our lodges in Florida and they are dying out," he said.
"We are fortunate we have a younger group in Jefferson City and we hope that more people, especially those with kids, get involved.