Fountain Hills Elks Lodge continues support for local schools

By Allison Kotzbauer
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The Fountain Hills Elks Lodge donated four American flags to the Fountain Hills Unified School District during the district’s Sept. 16 Governing Board meeting.

Elks Lodge member and FHUSD staff member John Engels presented the flags to the board.

“I’m representing Fountain Hills Elks Lodge 2846 and in a spirit of patriotism and other beliefs we hold here at the Elks of charity, justice and brotherly love, the lodge would like to donate four flags to the schools so you guys can use them wherever and however you like,” he said.

Superintendent Val Riechler spoke to the board about how amazing the support from the Elks Lodge has been for FHUSD.

“They have provided teachers with donations so that they get to do wonderful things in their classrooms, they purchase things for their programs that they’re doing in their schools,” Reichler said. “We have rooms that we’ve built with their money and our gym has been provided with different sports equipment.”

At the district’s Sept. 2 meeting, the board also approved multiple donations from the Fountain Hills Elks Lodge. The lodge provided grants to support students and classrooms.

Kristin Hatfield at McDowell Mountain Elementary School received roughly $1,200 for STEM and math materials, while the fourth grade received about $1,100 for back-to-school materials.

Heidi Mortensen also received an Elks grant for counseling and recess equipment.

Engels responded to Reichler’s gratitude by thanking the district for the opportunity to support local schools and students.

“I’m glad we can support the schools,” Engels said.

Allison Kotzbauer can be reached at akotzbauer@iniusa.org. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines

Allison Kotzbauer
Reporter | Paradise Valley

akotzbauer@iniusa.org

Community: I live in central Phoenix and my writing  focuses on Fountain Hills education, and the Paradise Valley and Scottsdale communities. 

Education: I graduated from Arizona State University in May 2026 with a bachelors degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. My studies focused on writing and visual story-telling.  

Random Fact: Growing up I had over 10 pets including 6 cats, 1 dog, 2 hermits crabs, and too many fish to count! 

Hobbies: I like to spend my free time hiking, crafting, cooking, reading, and spending time with friends and family.