Dear Members,
I hope everyone is staying warm and dry, crazy Indiana weather.
SAL pizza night was a huge success in January and unfortunately steak and catfish had to be cancelled, because of, none other, than bad weather.
The broasted chicken dinner was well attended, thank you all that volunteered, and DeeDee who works tirelessly day after day.
The prime rib dinners are being rescheduled from every Sunday to every OTHER Sunday so stay tuned to the white announcement board by the front door.
We will have a guest speaker coming to the Post in mid March to talk about Veteran benefits and programs, so stay tuned for final details on date and time and please plan to attend.
This month in history is interesting,
February 2, 1848 – The war between the U.S. and Mexico ended with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe HidalgoTreaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. In exchange for $15 million, the U.S. acquired the areas encompassing parts or all of present day California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Texas. The treaty was ratified on March 10, 1848.
February 3, 1943 – An extraordinary act of heroism occurred in the icy waters off Greenland after the U.S. Army transport ship Dorchester was hit by a German torpedo and began to sink rapidly. When it became apparent there were not enough life jackets, four U.S. Army chaplains on board removed theirs, handed them to frightened young soldiers, and chose to go down with the ship while praying.
February 10, 1942 – The first Medal of Honor during World War II was awarded to 2nd Lt. Alexander Nininger (posthumously) for heroism during the Battle of Bataan.
February 23, 1942 – During World War II, the first attack on the U.S. mainland occurred as a Japanese submarine shelled an oil refinery near Santa Barbara, California, causing minor damage
Birthday – American frontiersman “Buffalo Bill” Cody (1846-1917) was born in Scott County, Indiana. He claimed to have killed over 4,000 buffalo within 17 months. He became world famous through his Wild West show which traveled throughout the U.S. and Europe for 30 years.
A very interesting month in history, check it out in it’s entirety at www.thehistoryplace.com
Thank you all for your continuing patriotism and loyalty to Post 79.
Thank you.
For God and Country
Bart Colvin
Commander
Mission Statement:
The American Legion was chartered and incorporated by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization devoted to mutual helpfulness. It is the nation’s largest wartime veterans service organization, committed to mentoring youth and sponsorship of wholesome programs in our communities, advocating patriotism and honor, promoting strong national security, and continued devotion to our fellow service-members and veterans.
From Vice Commander:
We will be having a Super Bowl Party Feb 4th this will be a pitch in starting at 5:30
Pre Order Broasted Wings for your Super Bowl Party $1.00 each.
Order by Fri Feb 2nd – Pick up starting at noon super Bowl Sunday
Thank you and God bless The USA.
Stuart Konija
1st Vice Commander
From the Auxiliary President:
Good bye January and those cold temperatures. Hoping everyone got through the month ok and looking forward to hopefully a warmer February.
Thank you to all who have donated dimes to the AUX Emergency Fund. The bottle is almost full. The Auxiliary Emergency Fund was created to help Auxiliary members who may have fallen on a hard time financially.
Have an idea of something you would like to see happen at the Post? Bring it to our next meeting on Monday, February 12th at 7:00p.m. so you can let others know and it can be discussed. We hope to see you there.
The Auxiliary will have a Valentine Day basket to raffle. $1.00 per ticket. Be sure to get your ticket(s) as they sell out quickly. Thank you ladies for items donated for the baskets and to Dianna for putting them together.
February Fun Facts:
- Groundhog Day Feb 2nd
- Valentine’s Day Feb 14th
- President’s Day Feb 19th
- Mardi Gras Feb 13th
- Ash Wednesday Feb 14th
- American Heart Month
- Chocolate Lover’s Month
God Bless our Troops past, present and future
Rita
Mission Statement:
In the spirit of Service, Not Self, the mission of the American Legion Auxiliary is to support The American Legion and to honor the sacrifice of those who serve by enhancing the lives of our veterans, military, and their families, both at home and abroad. For God and Country, we advocate for veterans, educate our citizens, mentor youth, and promote patriotism, good citizenship, peace and security.
From Post Service Officer:
If you served in the Southwest Asia theater of military operations (see list of countries included) from August 2, 1990 to the present, you should contact the VA to sign-up for the Gulf War Registry. This also includes Veterans who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003-2010) and Operation New Dawn (2010-2011).
- Iraq
- Kuwait
- Saudi Arabia
- The neutral zone between Iraq and Saudi Arabia
- Bahrain
- Qatar
- The United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.)
- Oman
- Gulf of Aden
- Gulf of Oman
- Waters of the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, and the Red Sea
- The airspace above these locations
VA offers eligible Veterans a free Gulf War Registry health exam to find possible long-term health problems related to Gulf War service. Thousands of Gulf War era veterans suffer from medically unexplained illnesses.
VA’s Gulf War Registry Health Exam alerts Veterans to possible long-term health problems that may be related to environmental exposures during their military service. The registry data helps VA understand and respond to these health problems more effectively.
Contact your local VA Environmental Health Coordinator about getting a Gulf War Registry health exam. You do not have to be enrolled in the VA to register for the health exam.
Do you want to file a VA benefit claim? You can contact me or the County Veterans Service Officer to learn how you may be eligible for benefits.
At your service,
Rick Baum
From Post Adjutant:
Minutes from Joint Meeting:
- 9 officers and 3 members attending.
- Open 7pm. Open in due form by Commander Bart Colvin.
- Auxiliary President Rita Wilson reports that she received an E-mail regarding a sponsorship for the 2018 Little League. It will work out to $93.75 per entity. Need commitments by February 9th.
- With the National headquarters moving to the Zionsville area it is expected that membership will be bigger.
- Thank you to Dianna, Floyd Shultz and Stuart for attending the homeless vet’s funeral.
- Also, thanks To all who went to the Veterans home in Lafayette New Year’s Day.
- Certificate of appreciation was presented to Tony Riley for all his hard work given to the post over the years. A certificate was also presented to Steve King for all his work here at the post. This certificate found during a clean up of the office. It was written out by our past Commander Corrine Scott. Unfortunately, he passed away before the certificate could be presented.
- The mini marathon will be the 1st Saturday in May. Bart and Dianna will be supporting the post. They are encouraging other members to join them.
- Minutes were read and approved.
- Randy Johnson reported that Bob Lear is not doing well. Bart said that Floyd seems to be getting stronger. Long time member Norman LaFoe has passed away.
NEW BUSINESS.
- Andrew talked about what to do about bringing new members and guests to the post.
- Suggestions were to do a Trivia Night and updating the back room. Wanted to bring down the bingo boards but it was said that we are planning to have bingo in the future.
- Randy suggested that we still need to have a P.R. person. Steve King says Beth would be a good person for the job.
- Stuart reports that we need to have a membership committee to decide how to get new members to join the post.
- Rick says we need to Recruit, Engage, and Enhance. Have a monthly report for membership. How to recruit, when , how and who is involved.
- Membership is important. Need to start calling to find out why they quit coming to the post. Need to think of a logical way to bring people back to the legion.
- Motion made by Stuart and 2nd by Andrew to pay $93.75 for Little League sponsorship. Maybe have calendar ready to hand out at the games.
- Rick reported that “Meet me under the bridge” needs firewood.
- Tomorrow is Veterans Legislation Day at the State House and asking any and all to come on down and support the Veteran.
- Adjourned at 7:45pm.
From the ALR Director:
The ALR hopes everyone had a good holiday season and hope everyone got through it without going into too much debt.
Several of the ALR members went to Lafayette on New Year’s Day and delivered goodie bags to our Veteran’s at the Veteran’s home there. We gave several goodie bags to both the women, and men Veteran’s there. They were all very appreciative in receiving the bags. Thank you, Will Reymore, for organizing everything for the trip.
We stopped in at the Legion post nearby and enjoyed Corn Beef and Cabbage and cornbread. They also had some good deserts. They were glad that we stopped in on New Year’s.
We had our installation of officers this month, and we are ready to start a new year with lots of new ideas. We hope to have a good idea on the agenda and time for the Veteran’s Pro Am golf outing in the spring. Also, we are looking for riders to join us on our rides this year. Plans are for a day ride to Cincinnati, and possibly, an overnight ride somewhere close by.
Don’t forget to come out to the ALR Hamburger, Pork Chop dinner on Tuesday, February 20 at 5:30. Good food for a low price. Bring your family and friends. All are welcome.
American Legion Riders response (motto)
We, your American Legion Riders, ride for God and Country, the American Legion Family and Allied Veterans everywhere. Protect those that protect us. Amen
God Speed,
Andy Ricketts
Director of Post 79 ALR
From the Club Manager:
Dates to Remember:
2nd – Legion Pizza Night 5-8pm
4th – Super Bowl Party Pitch-In 5:30pm – Eagles Win!!
6th – SAL Meeting 6pm
9th – SAL Steak & Catfish Dinner 5-8pm
11th – Prime Rib Dinner 4-7pm
12th – Legion/AUX meeting 7pm
17th – Broasted Chick Dinner 4-7pm, John Stevens at 8pm
20th – ALR Burger/Pork Chop Dinner 5:30-8pm
25th – Prime Rib Dinner 4-7pm
27th – ALR Meeting 7pm