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Call her Queen Kim

Kim Martinez grew up going to the Brandon Elks Lodge. She now rules the place, but differently than her father once did.

By LETITIA STEIN
Published November 11, 2005

BRANDON - On Friday nights, Kim Martinez often sits in the back of the Brandon Elks Lodge, watching members dance.

She observes who's having a good time and whose drink needs a refill.

"I'm a people watcher," Martinez said. "My favorite day of the year is Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. I'll be at the mall. I may not be able to shop, but I'll be there people watching."

Busy watching others, Martinez hardly noticed when she broke a community barrier this year. She is the first female to hold the title of exalted ruler of Brandon's Elks Lodge 2383, which counts nearly 600 people as members. Martinez, 49, didn't aim to break ground. Other women were in line to take the position before her but dropped out for various reasons.

Running the lodge doesn't feel like a big deal.

"It feels like a home to me," she said. "I just sign the bills now."

As a child, Martinez and her brother would come to the lodge with their parents on Friday nights. It's where she celebrated her sweet 16 birthday and her graduation from Brandon High.

Every Friday night this month, she's celebrating her 50th birthday there.

Eight years ago, Martinez started going to the lodge on her own. She had just moved home to Brandon after a long-term relationship ended badly.

She set up a room in her parents' house with its own telephone line and television. She calls it her condo. Her father built a small animal house in back for the cats, Smokey and Midnight, whom Martinez calls her children.

Her parents urged her to get involved with the Elks Lodge.

"I needed to get strong. I needed to stand on my own," Martinez said. "I had very low self-esteem. This place gave it back to me and more."

Martinez gravitated toward the Elks' youth programs. She helped give out college scholarships. She volunteered at a fishing tournament to raise awareness of drug abuse.

But she hesitated when Elks organizers asked her to assume a leadership chair, her mother said. Martinez wasn't sure if she could memorize the readings used in the rituals.

With her mother's encouragement, she went for it.

Martinez's father, Frank, was exalted ruler about 20 years ago. In the 1970s, her mother, Silvia Rhea, led the Brandon Ladies of Elks, a women's auxiliary organization, before women were allowed to pledge Elks membership.

These days, Kim spends more time at the Elks Lodge than her parents do, logging 35 to 40 hours a week there.

She seeks their advice on Elks business at home. Mother and daughter talk almost every night.

"I'm in my rocker, and she's in hers," Martinez said of her mother. "She's my sounding board."

She still sees herself as Daddy's little girl and always will. But father and daughter don't always see eye to eye. Especially about the Elks.

He ran things his way two decades ago. Now Martinez wants to try new things to boost membership, especially among younger families that don't seem to join anymore. In December, she plans to expand the Wednesday night dinner into a family affair.

"If we don't try, we could lose everything," she said.

Letitia Stein can be reached at 661-2443 or lstein@sptimes.com.

AGE: 49

FAMILY: Father, Frank Martinez, 72; mother, Silvia Rhea Martinez, 67; brother, Mike Martinez, 46.

WORK: Martinez has worked as a secretary at a Al Spicer Terrazzo and Marble in Seffner for 15 years.

HOLIDAY CHEER: Martinez, who lives with her parents in Brandon, loves to decorate the house for holidays. "At Christmas, you can't even get into the house," her mother said. "Every place you can think to sit down, she has stuff."

ROYAL CONNECTIONS: Martinez is seven months into a yearlong stint as exalted ruler of the Brandon Elks.

WHAT SHE HAS LEARNED: Martinez has developed a better appreciation for her own strengths and weaknesses. Strength: She's a people person. Weakness: She needs to learn to say no.

EXALTED EXHAUSTION: "It's work and Elks, or Elks and work," said Martinez, who is looking forward to reclaiming time for herself. "It's just like my life is on hold."

JOIN THE ELKS: Anyone can join the Brandon Elks Lodge, at 800 Centennial Lodge Drive. Elk members must be U.S. citizens, believe in God and pledge allegiance to the American flag. The application fee is $50, and annual dues are $113. For more information, call 685-6469.

[Last modified November 10, 2005, 09:34:06]