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Arlington American Legion - Post 1302
May - June 2008 Newsletter |
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| Legion Post 1302 |
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Greetings!
Spring is here, and not a moment to soon, ! for one am happy to see the warm weather again. The next couple of months finds us anticipating a number of exciting events here at Post # 1302. We have elections, observances, dinners, breakfasts, etc. all coming up. If you find some free time, please drop by for a dinner, a breakfast, for our Memorial Day Observence, or just to hang out for awhile. This is my last Commanders message since we will be electing a new commander soon.
The past year has been busy, we've accomplished much, and I believe the Post is in good shape for the next commander. It has been an exciting year. Thanks to all who served in an elected or appointed capacity. Also to all the volunteers who help us manage the post and support our monthly events.
Until next time, good bye.
Frank Williams
Elections
Post elections of Officers, Delegates and the filling of key Committee positions will be coming up. County Delegates will be elected at the May Post meeting. Officers will be elected at the June 9th Post meeting and installed on June 23. Anyone wishing to run for office or be considered for a committee position should contact Commander Williams. The Sign Up sheet was posted April 28 and will come down May 19th. Nominations can still come from the floor. The committee list is for the new Commander to work from in filling positions with interested members. The same few members carry the burden of work at the Post year after year. The Post would benefit from some new blood, ideas and energy. Please talk to Frank about being an active member helping out in any way you can.
Congratulations
Richard and Betty Chapland are being honored as "Senior Citizens of the Year" by the Dutchess County Office of the Aging. A luncheon and awards ceremony will be held at the Villa Borgese. Richard is recovering at home from a recent surgery. He is doing well and expects to be up and around for this event and will see his friends at the Post meetings. |
Auxiliary President's Message
At last Spring is finally here!
The Auxiliary will be having elections at our next meeting on
May 18. If anyone is interested in a position please attend the meeting. The
Auxiliary is having araffle for Mother's Day, a matching floral basket and spray. Tickets are available at the Post. We will be drawing at the Mother's Day breakfast. Our Auxiliary will be offering poppies during the
month of May. On Monday, May 26 we will be having Memorial Day services and the Auxiliary will provide desserts for the luncheon. If you can make something it would be greatly appreciated. Reminder, all reports must be in by May 10th. Next meetings are May 8th and June 12th.
No meetings in July and August.
Have a great summer!
Darlene
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From the Back Burner
Our Kitchen continues to remain very active. Chef Nunzio cooked two very good dinners for us in March and April, and of course our trademark breakfasts remain very popular.
In March we had the traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner, and the attendance was quite high. Thanks for your support. If you can make any of our dinners or breakfasts, please do!
The Son*s put together a bowling banquet, which was very successful. Special thanks to Chef Mark Alongi, along with his helpers, Tommy Tune, Steve Kane, Jenn Burns, Bill Doxsey, and Jenn Williams. Excellent job.
To those who without we could not have these dinners or breakfasts, a BIG THANK YOU!!
(Nunzio, Joe Pullen, Bill Doxsey, Tommy Tune, Darlene, Ronnie Shafer, Essy Catanzaro, Elenor Rolla, Helen Murphy, Mike Fisher, Pattie Pultz, Donna and Sarah, Patti Tighe, Jenn Stapleton, Diane Williams, Nessy Brancato, Tony Gentile, Mike Tokarz, Ed Rugar, Jeremy Williams, Jason Williams, and those members of our Scout Troop and their parents and Auxilary members. I apologize in advance for missing any names..)
Frank Williams
Newsletter
We have enclosed cards to be used by our out-of-town members. As the cost of postage and printing keeps going up our newsletters become more expensive. We now mail it to every member on record. However, we wonder if some of our distant members still wish to be advised of our happenings. If you are not interested in continuing to receive the newsletter please return the post card stating same, making sure to sign.
This is the final newsletter with Mike Tokarz as editor. It is time to hand over these duties to someone else at the Post. With all the new jobs I've taken on in the past few years I haven't given up any of my old ones. All this extra work with the Legion comes out of family time, and I need to bring more of a balance to that. Thanks to all of you who have helped with input for this publication over the past years. Anyone interested in helping with this bimonthly task can contact Frank Williams or Helen Murphy at the Post.
Scholarship
This years Catherine Howell Scholarship winner is Jonathan Tokarz. Jon will be going to Dutchess Community College for one year before entering SUNY Environmental Science program at Syracuse University. Jon was a Boys State delegate from our Post last year, 3rd Vice Commander in the SAl, and is waiting for his board of review for Eagle Scout since completing his project a few months ago. Congratulations Jon! |
Grounds
Grounds chairman Joseph Pullen announces the spring planting and clean up of the Post will be held on Saturday, May 17, rain date May 24. Anyone wishing to volunteer for this beautification chore is asked to sign up at the Post. All hands welcome. If anyone has any idea of how the Post can improve and or enhanced our appearance should relate same to Joe Pullen. Let's keep Post 1302 the best in the County!
Membership
It is now crunch time. We are currently at 508 members and still have around 30 of you who have not paid up yet. We are only 8 shy of our goal. Please don't wait until the last minute since it takes a while to get the cards sent in and confirmed by the state. We have seen a lot of renewed interest in our Post by new members and many members of other local Posts. The sad fact is that with such a large Post we still have quite a few WWII era members and we lose around 25 each year. Having the best Post home and grounds in the county helps sell us to new members. Participating in the large number of programs and community service projects that we do helps keep our members loyal to this Post and the American Legion. This is only due to the hard work of all of our committees. If you are one of our final 30 expect a call from me or the Commander in the coming weeks. Thanks to all of you who put us over 500 members again and send those leads into me for next year.
Rich Thompsett
Boys State
Post 1302 is sponsoring two boys state candidates this year. One is a member of our Scout Troop. Candidates and parents from all over Dutchess County will meet for a pizza party and social at Post 1302. The date is to be determined. (Sometime in June)
Participants will be notified.
SAL
The Post SAL Squadron is in first place in the district with a membership of 140%. Congratulations to Commander Tom Royce and membership chairman Bill Doxsey. The Squadron has been helping around the post with numerous projects. The big news for the SAL is their upcoming car show and poker run on June 22. More info on this event is available at Post.
Raffle
The last quarterly raffle almost hit the $1000 mark. Your fantastic response will help keep all our programs of Children & Youth and Veteran support going strong. Last quarters winners were Richard Thorn, Charlotte Craven, and Rich Thompsett. Thanks for your continued generosity.
| Children & Youth
Essay Contest
The annual Memorial Day Essay Contest is now underway. Packets are being delivered to the schools. Arlington, Union Vale and LaGrange Middle School children can compete to win U.S. Savings Bonds for first through third place in each school. The best overall winner is invited to read their essay at the Post Memorial Day Ceremony. We look forward to reading the submissions each year. The teachers work together to grade them as Social Studies and English projects. The Arlington District has worked with the American Legion for years to enhance the curriculum for their children. We all know that not all history is found in books and much of what is in them is watered down and distorted. Through our essay contest, flag day project, and the DVD, "For which it Stands", which was placed in every Arlington School by our Post, the American Legion is making a difference in the education of our kids.
National Commanders Dinner
This years' National Commanders Dinner honoring Martin Conatser was held in New York City on April 18. Post 1302 had quite a large group for this event. We were represented by Mike and Mary Tokarz, Herb Davidson, Nelson and Christina Rivera, Charlotte Craven, and Jon and Joey Tokarz from the SAL. The National Commander spoke about Legion programs ( Boys State, Baseball, Oratorical, Legacy Scholarships, Temporary Financial Assistance, the National Emergency Fund, Heroes to Hometown, the second largest sponsor of Scouting, Junior Shooting Sports, etc.) and all the good they do for this country. He emphasized that we do not do a good job of publicizing all that we do in our communities. We do not do a good job of telling members or prospective members what we do and why they should want to belong to our organization. A bar with cheap beer is not a sales pitch that will bring in new young members, yet that is usually the first thing said to any prospective candidate. He asked why the leaders in many posts don't know the first thing about the legions many programs or if they are knowledgeable, fail to communicate what they do know. This all plays to membership. New members join because it's a good organization. Old members renew because they know what great things we do. He said we should be proud of all we do and that pride and a little knowledge can be the best membership tool we have. It was a great night and well worth the trip in to the city. Talk to one of the folks that went this year and think about going with us next year.
Food Pantry
Food pantry collections are ongoing and with the price is of food escalating it needs help. Each time you shop pick up a couple of cans of food or packet of spaghetti or whatever and bring it to the Post when you stop by. Our service officer Bill Longfield will deliver all collections to Castle point. Every little bit helps. Scout Troop 25 sent a van load of donations in April during their Scouting for Food Drive. It was a large amount but the need is growing.
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