It’s not easy being at the top.

For Dale Sandri, wearing the title of president with the Oak Harbor Emblem Club means at times he’ll wear different hats.

Club members have found that Sandri’s quite the cook, is mechanically inclined and holds the sort of dependable leadership and social qualities that make him a natural in charge of bingo night at the Oak Harbor Elks Lodge every Monday night.

His biggest responsibility, however, is ensuring the club’s success and properly representing its 104 members at state and national meetings.

This is all new to Sandri, who was installed into his new role in March, and he knows he needn’t worry about carrying too much of the weight of the club on his shoulders.

“I have a lot of mothers and sisters here,” said Sandri, one of only five male members in the Oak Harbor club. “They keep me in line and tell me what I’m doing wrong and make sure I’m dressed properly.”

As the first male president in the Oak Harbor club’s 46-year history, Sandri is apparently off to a good start.

“He’s our treasure,” Harriet Dailey said.

A car mechanic by day at Jack’s Auto Repair, Sandri is the new face of a club that’s been doing its part to serve the needs of many causes around the community for five decades.

Performing charitable acts and deeds in communities is the foundation of the Oak Harbor Emblem Club No. 450, which is a branch of the Supreme Emblem Club of the United States and one of 17 clubs in Washington state.

In doing so, the organization bears “true allegiance to the Constitution and the flag of the United States,” as indicated on its website, hence, the name.

Emblem Club roots date back nearly a century, and the club has evolved into its own separate identity from the days when it was largely considered the female counterpart to male-dominated Elks clubs.

“It used to be if your husband became an Elk, you became an Emblem,” said Betty Leitch, former president of the Oak Harbor Emblem Club.

The Oak Harbor Emblems have dug deep into community causes over the years, offering assistance to programs related to literacy, eye care, drug awareness and many others.

The club holds roughly eight fundraisers per year so it can offer help and also provides $1,000 scholarships each year to a handful of graduating seniors from Whidbey Island high schools. This year, five such scholarships were given out.

“This is my passion,” said NaDeane Jensen, a past club president who continues as an officer.

“We’ve gotten wonderful responses from students in what they’ve done with their lives,” Dailey said.

Bingo is a weekly fundraising event on Monday nights at the Oak Harbor Elks Lodge, which is the site of most Emblem Club functions.

The group also holds a fashion show in May and holiday bazaar in November, among other fundraisers.

Some of the charities and causes the Oak Harbor Emblems have helped include the North Whidbey Help House, Medical Safety Net, Meals on Wheels, Habitat for Humanity, WAIF and Marjie’s House, which provides emergency and transitional housing for homeless women and their children.

“I saw what wonderful things they were doing,” said Dailey, who joined the club seven years ago.

“I’ve belonged to a lot of different groups in my day,” Leitch said. “This is the first one where I felt like it was family. They just took you and accepted you.”

“Helping people is my passion,” Carolyn O’Dell said.

Sandri became an Elks Club member 17 years ago and couldn’t help but notice and admire the activities and efforts of the Emblem Club, so he decided to join them five years ago.

“I found out that if you help the Emblem Club with their functions, they’ll be right there to help you out,” said Sandri, who maintains dual membership with both clubs.

“They’re a fun group of ladies to hang out with.”