Moose Lodge kicks Joe Camel out the door

Hey, Joe Camel: The Moose is calling you out.

After more than 50 years, two-thirds of the members of the Fort Mill Moose Lodge 1240 on Harris Road voted recently to ban smoking inside the lodge. York County banned smoking in indoor public places back in 2009, but private organizations are exempt from the ordinance and allowed to decide for themselves.

Lodge Governor Joey Williams is a former smoker who said his main goal when he was elected was to ban smoking, including e-cigarettes, from the building.

“We have members that won’t come because of the smoking and we have people that would like to be members that, other people have voiced to me, they don’t want to join because of cigarettes,” he said.

As of May 1, all that changed.

“Just in the time that we have been nonsmoking, when I walk in the front door I don’t smell cigarettes right off the bat, and that’s the way it used to be,” Williams said.

One major benefit to going smoke-free is the chance to get grant money from Moose International to help clean up the lodge and rid it of all traces of tobacco and smoke.

“If you show what improvements you want to make like repaint the walls to clean up the smell, the carpets, the floors, they’re pretty favorable to giving grants out for that,” said Wyatt Smith, past governor of the Fort Mill lodge. He is also a former smoker and is involved with the organization as a board member on an international level.

With up to $25,000 in grant money at stake, Williams said, the change – though it comes with growing pains for some – will be well worth it.

“Hopefully because we are doing this, this will make people who are smoking ease up a little bit, you know, give their lungs a break, it might make it easier for (them) to quit,” he said.

The lodge has provided a covered patio area with seating for smokers. Smith said the group will install a television outside and plans on installing fans in the summer and heaters in the winter.

“We have to give them an option, too, but that option is outside,” he said.

It’s a big step for the organization, Smith said, in an attempt to welcome back members who stay away because of the smoke and to encourage newcomers to walk through the doors.

“We know that there are going to be a few that are going to gripe about it, but we know in the long run it is going to bring back a lot of people that don’t come out because of (smoking), or can’t because they’re allergic to it,” Smith said.

The Fort Mill Moose Lodge celebrated 50 years in the community in April. Smith said he believes this new policy will help propel the organization into the future and welcome a new generation of men and women into the fraternal organization to learn more about its history and philanthropy. The international organization supports both a school near Chicago and retirement community in Florida.

Locally, Moose Lodge members spend time together shag dancing, playing games like pool or corn hole, cooking dinners together and hosting turkey shootouts. Smith said the group’s leadership is always looking for new ways to get the newest generation of Moose members involved.

“We need to give the younger generation stuff to do to bring them out to the lodges and bring them into the organization,” he said.

Williams said the Moose Lodge tries hard to be family-friendly, even welcoming children with their parents or guardians. He hopes the new smoking ban will strengthen the message the group is trying to send.

“It’s a family organization and we’re trying to get it back to where it’s more family-oriented as opposed to a place where you can get a cheap drink and smoke cigarettes,” he said.

To learn more about Moose International, visit mooseintl.org.

This story was originally published May 27, 2016 at 10:10 AM with the headline "Moose Lodge kicks Joe Camel out the door."