PHILIPSBURG — Port Matilda’s Robert Wiser was presented a 50-year membership pin on March 25 at the Philipsburg Elks Lodge and Country Club. The pin was presented at the installation of officers banquet by outgoing exalted ruler John Evans.
Wiser joined the Tyrone Elks Lodge in 1967 and served there for 35 years, mostly as an officer. He held the position of exalted ruler twice and was awarded an Elk of the Year award and an honorary lifetime membership.
One of his proudest achievements as an Elk was beginning the annual gun raffle, which cleared $12,000. It continues to this day, 28 years later. He also started a Sunday brunch and several other events during his tenure at Tyrone.
For the past 15 years, he has served as an organist of the Philipsburg lodge and has attended several state and national conventions. He also offered his disc jockey skills at several Elks events at Seven Springs Resort and Hershey Lodge.
Wiser said he is an advocate for what the Elks organization represents, noting the importance of programs such as nursing home visits, school drug awareness and scholarships for young people.
Wiser has also served his community of Port Matilda as mayor, borough secretary/treasurer, sewer authority treasurer and cemetery president. He also served as Bald Eagle chairman of Centre County United Way for several years and spearheaded installation of a veterans memorial that honors more than 250 local veterans of all wars.
He spent 40 years as a postal worker, beginning with in 1940 with a stint working for Penn State’s Campus Mail while an accounting major at Penn State. He joined the State College Post Office in 1967, and retired in 2000, having served 20 of those years as the postmaster of Port Matilda.
