By David W. Myers

Special to the Observer

Culver City Elks Lodge 1917, one of the oldest fraternal and community-service groups on the Westside, installed its newly elected officers for its 2012-2013 Lodge Year in a ceremony last week at its headquarters on Washington Place.

Roy Johnson, a member of the club for more than 25 years, took the reins as Exalted Ruler. Johnson is a retired federal agent who worked for the Department of Defense for 35 years.

The Exalted Ruler is the highest elected position in each of the 2,021 Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks’ lodges across the nation. A key job of the ER is to coordinate and oversee a wide range of programs that benefit the community, with a special emphasis on young people and veterans of the armed services.

Roy Chamberlin was installed as Leading Knight, the club’s second-in-command whose primary duty is to run a myriad of programs for both active and retired military vets. He is a retired flooring contractor who has worked for thousands of local homeowners and businesses, and is another longtime member of the Culver Lodge.

Marilyn Marble, the outgoing Exalted Ruler, was elected to the post of Leading Knight and will organize the lodge’s youth-oriented events that include its annual scholarship and drug-awareness programs. She serves as Zone 6 Director of the Mar Vista Community Council, part of the Los Angeles’ Neighborhood Council system that bridges residents of LA’s hundreds of individuals neighborhoods with city officials to solve their local problems.

Becky Johnson was installed as Lecturing Knight, the officer who focuses primarily on in-house issues such as training and membership growth. She is the wife of Exalted Ruler Roy Johnson and is a manager at a local technology firm.

The Culver City Elks Lodge was incorporated in 1917 and is part of a network that has more than 870,000 members across the United States.