In honor of moms, living and lost, the region’s Elks paid tribute on Mother’s Day.

They called it a “simple, public ceremony” that touched on values such as remembrance, benevolence, protection and inspiration.

“Members and guests, we are here to honor our mothers whose influence is – and has always been – a continuous force in our lives,” said Deborah Mangina, at the outset of the event.

People like Mangina, who is the Exalted Ruler of the Warwick-based Tri-City Elks, and past Exalter Ruler and trustee Robert Hartington, made Mother’s Day 2021 extra special. The brief Sunday ceremony was followed by a bountiful buffet breakfast, highlighted by two volunteer chefs cooking individual omelets for more than five-dozen people.

Ladies like Carol DeLory, one of the many mothers who enjoyed the mandatory pomp and circumstance ritual and special social setting, added to the day’s mouth-watering menu with her famous homemade cinnamon coffee cake.

The cake received nearly as many compliments as the large decorative platter she placed on the tabletop alongside muffins, croissants and small containers of maple syrup for the cinnamon-raisin French toast.

“A special thank you to all who made this special,” said Mangina, who would later celebrate Mother’s Day with her son Michael, who had to work into Sunday afternoon. “This was such a beautiful event and I’m ever so happy that everyone that came here had a great time.”

Hartington delivered a warm greeting and explained to the crowd that the red and white carnations placed on a table at the entrance to Tri-City’s lodge meeting room were offered to commemorate those mothers both living and deceased.

Sunday’s breakfast and ritual ceremony – mandatory for all Elks lodges in the country – attracted the largest turnout in recent memory.

Each of the black tuxedo and silver jewel-clad Tri-City officers played a special part in the ritual ceremony, and many of the men performed a number of duties to ensure, as Hartington said with a wide smile on his face, “our mighty mothers and wives enjoyed their special day.”

The day’s featured guests included Rhode Island Elks State President Mark Eaton and Elk-of-the-Month Jim Fletcher.

The two Elks not only prepared everything from crispy bacon to sausage links, hash and grits, they offered a wide variety of ingredients for each and every omelet, which they cooked individually in two small pans heated by counter-top burners.

Tina Bertrand, a mother and veteran “mixologist” at Lodge 14, kept up with ongoing orders for her famous Mimosas, which drew rave reviews from some of the dear old dads who were in attendance.

Likewise, Lodge 14 officers like Chaplin Beth Marsh, Leading Knight Kristine St. Pierre, Loyal Knight Rick Swanson, Lecturing Knight Marcia Rapone, Inner Guard Ann Licciardi and Tyler Mark Merlino enhanced the ceremony during their part of the ritual and later served as part of the clean-up committee.