Elks Lodge No. 2379 of Santa Clarita held a roast featuring sheriff’s Cmdr. Robert Lewis as the guest of honor at the annual Charity Roast Event at the lodge Saturday.
Friends and family gathered to either watch or roast Lewis, who was recently promoted from captain of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, at the charity event that raises money for three organizations.
“We ended up with eight roasters,” said Cheryl Laymon, chair of the charity roast for the Elks Lodge. She added, joking, “People were coming out of everywhere wanting to roast him.”
The roast has been a tradition with the Elks Lodge for the past 20 years, according to Laymon. Proceeds from the event, which totaled nearly $10,000, were donated to the SCV Veterans Memorial, the Veteran Services Collaborative and the Elks Lodge Major Project Serving Handicapped Kids.
The event included a dinner and auction before the roast. Once the roast began, Lewis sat on the infamous “roasting chair” and, one by one, friends poked fun at Lewis before he had the chance to get up and “return fire.”
Laymon said a standout moment from the night was a video a former colleague of Lewis’ put together to make it seem as though Lewis’ car was being robbed during the roast.
“Lewis was outstanding,” said Laymon. “I judge success by the atmosphere of the room — people were talking and laughing. There was a sense of camaraderie.”
