South Lake Tahoe man awarded Moose International’s highest degree

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Dr. Barry Keil, a member of the South Lake Tahoe Moose Lodge, was awarded the Pilgrim Degree of Merit, the highest level of achievement awarded by Moose International. He was recognized at a ceremony held on June 3 at Moose International Headquarters, located just west of Chicago in Mooseheart, Illinois. There were also 117 additional Moose members from the United States, Canada, and England who received the Pilgrim Degree. Moose Pilgrims from all three nations gathered at Mooseheart to attend the celebration.

Mooseheart is a residential childcare facility, located on a 1,000-acre campus 38 miles west of Chicago. The Child City is a home for children and teens in need, from infancy through high school. Dedicated in July 1913 by the Moose fraternal and service organization, Mooseheart recently celebrated its 110th year of continuous operation. Funding for Mooseheart comes from the membership of the Moose organization, founded in 1888 with nearly 650,000 members in roughly 1,600 Lodges in 49 states and four Canadian provinces, plus Great Britain.

Dr. Keil joined the South Lake Tahoe Moose Lodge in 2007. He served as the Lodge Treasurer for two years, Governor (President) for three years, and Lodge Administrator for seven years. He became a member of the Moose Legion, a step toward the higher degrees in the Moose, and in 2015 was awarded the Fellowship Degree of Service to acknowledge the work and support he provided to the South Lake Tahoe Lodge. Based on his exemplary service to the Moose Lodge, the Sacramento Area Moose District 4, and the Sacramento Area Moose Legion 190, Dr. Keil was nominated to the International Pilgrim Council for the Pilgrim Degree.

Besides holding various offices in the Moose Lodge, Dr. Keil served for seven years as the chairman of the Free Annual Kids’ Fishing Derby, held for the past 20 years in September (except during Covid) at Lake Baron in Meyers. He also participated every year in the “Longest Day of Golf”, which, to date, has raised over $150,000 for the South Lake Tahoe Cancer League. Dr. Keil has also co-chaired the Lodge’s annual Christmas Box event, where the Lodge prepares 50 boxes containing a complete Christmas Dinner and supplementary food for 50 food-insecure families in the Lake Tahoe area.

In 2016, he took over as editor of the Lodge’s bi-monthly newsletter and was responsible for merging the Lodge into the Sacramento Area Moose District, joining 11 other Lodges and the corresponding Moose Legion 190 Jurisdiction, where he has represented the South Lake Tahoe Lodge since 2018. Dr. Keil has been a member of the Moose Legion 190 Board of Directors since 2020 and currently serves as the Legion's Financial Director.

Dr. Keil is only the third member of the South Lake Tahoe Moose Lodge to achieve the Pilgrim Degree, and the first in over 25 years. Cass Amacker, a charter member in 1978 of the South Lake Tahoe Lodge, is the only other local Pilgrim currently living in the area. He was awarded his Pilgrim Degree in 1990. The other awardee, Bob Swift, has since moved to Arizona.