On June 9th and 10th Gardner Lodge held a Masonic CHIP event (Child Identification Program) FREE of charge to the community during the Festival on the Trail celebration in Gardner. 
The lodge booth for the CHIP program was set up in the lobby of the First Presbyterian Church. The Master of Gardner Lodge, Ralph Jensen ran this event with the assistance of the Civil Air Patrol Cadets of the New Century Squadron. Their assistance was very much appreciated in running the stations for the many families that came through.
A better description of the CHIP program is included below:
“CHIP is a comprehensive child identification program designed to give Kansas families a measure of protection against the ever increasing problem of missing and abducted children. The program uses an Amber Alert compatible computer disc to provide their child’s critical information to the parents. No, Microchips are NOT used in the program.
The parent is armed with a single pre-printed envelope that instructs authorities in the event of an emergency, something a parent in crisis would undoubtedly have trouble with, and a proactive measure to combat the time sensitivity involved in recovery. Within a matter of minutes, the CHIP CD can be loaded into a computer directly from a police officers automobile and entered into the Amber Alert system.
Gardner Masonic Lodge brings this program to our local communities free of charge as a way to assist our local citizens in Gardner, Edgerton, and Wellsville.”
