WELCOME TO THE GRAND HAVEN EAGLES 925
Who We Are
The Fraternal Order of Eagles is an international non-profit organization uniting fraternally in the spirit of liberty, truth, justice, and equality, to make human life more desirable by lessening its ills and promoting peace, prosperity, gladness and hope.
The Grand Haven Aerie was instituted on December 14, 1904 as the 925th Aerie in the country. The Grand Haven Aerie is supported by a women’s auxiliary instituted in 1948 and the Eagle Riders chartered in 2007.
Our Membership
F.O.E. membership exceeds 850,000 with more than 1400 local Aeries in the U.S. and Canada. Women’s auxiliaries total more than 1300, with more than 250,000 members. Members are recruited by other members and must be sponsored by two members before the membership process begins.
The Grand Haven Aerie’s membership has grown during the past few years and received an award for having the largest growth in the state in 2004-2005, 2008-2009 and 2012-2013.
Our History
The F.O.E. was founded in February, 1898 by six theatre owners gathered in a Seattle shipyard to discuss a musician’s strike. After addressing the matter, they agreed to “bury the hatchet” and form “The Order of Good Things.” As numbers grew, members selected the Bald Eagle as the official emblem and changed the name to “The Fraternal Order of Eagles.” The women’s auxiliary traces its roots to 1927.
At the F.O.E. State Convention in June, Dean Nash was inducted into the State Hall of Fame for his service to the Eagles. Among his many roles at the 925, Dean served for 10 years as the Worthy Secretary. Under his leadership, the Aerie grew from 400 members to over 2,000, and he also was a key factor in saving the Aerie from some dire financial straits, steering us onto the sound financial path it’s on today. Sometimes it’s good to have a banker keeping an eye on things!
DONATIONS FROM THE GRAND HAVEN EAGLES WILL HELP WITH RESCUE AND RECOVERY
John Knott from the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department, stopped by to thank us for the donation of the AquaEye®.
AquaEye® is an advanced underwater scanner, using the latest in ultrasound and artificial intelligence technologies to identify human bodies underwater. AquaEye® sends a sonar pulse out to 165 feet and listens for the return echo. AquaEye® then decides which echoes match the echoes from a human body and indicates the location of the missing persons on the screen.
The unit the Eagles purchased for OCSD has already been successfully used in efforts in the Detroit area, as well as locally in Lake Macatawa.
L to R: Bill Ellingboe, John Knott (OCSD), DJ Westerhouse, Dean Nash, Jon Lewis, Vince Allen, Tom Nelson, Chris Houghtaling, Allen Homsher, Terry Robertson, Chris Sorensen, John McNitt, Chet Cook.