Commander s Report By: Jan Lepinski

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Commander s Report By: Jan Lepinski www.mortongrovepost134.org Greetings Comrades!

1 Commander s Report By: Jan Lepinski Greetings Comrades! As you know, there has been a lot of controversy and drama with the Village of Morton Grove and the spaghetti fundraiser that our Post held to benefit the seniors of Morton Grove. The day before the fundraiser, the Champion chose to run an article that attempted to discredit our Post's intentions. Thanks to the many people who came to the fundraiser, we were able to raise over $6000 that will be held in a special fund, pending discussions with the Village Board as to exactly where those funds would be of most benefit to our seniors. Many thanks are due to everyone who had a hand in making the event such a success. The volunteers, too numerous to name all in this short space, but just a few: Rick and Christy Krier for the wonderful food, Patti Kim and Marguerite Wisniewski, and Gerry Mokosaik for serving it up, our wonderful Morton Grove and Niles merchants and friends for their donations for the auction, Past 1st Division Commander, Al Coughlin and Ken Trumbull for bartending, and everyone for their time, energy, and generosity. This month is Children and Youth Month for the American Legion. If you would like to donate to the Children and Youth Programs at the department level, it would be very appreciated. Some of the programs include the Special Olympics, Youth Police School, the Children's Miracle Network, and Toby Tire (which is available to come to schools and teach safety). These are all very worthwhile programs, and Post 134 will be sending a donation to support these programs. This month will be our Post Everlasting on April 22. If you have not attended one of these, I think you will be very moved by the ceremony. Please come and help us honor our comrades who have passed on to Post Everlasting. Commander s Report (Con t.) Lastly, but not least, I am proud to represent you wherever I go. Our Post is well respected within Illinois, and throughout this nation. That is because of the work that we do, and will continue to do. Remember, we cannot sit idly by and allow injustices to occur. It is incumbent upon all of us to give of ourselves to help others. That is what we agreed to do when we raised our right hands and took the oath inducting us into our military. We continue to serve, and will gladly work with our local government and organizations to benefit all members of our community. Still Serving America, Corporation Elections The Corporation Elections took place last month and the newly elected officers are: Ron Daum Ken Trumbull Phil Hutchins Joe Piento Kurt Lepinski Corporation President Corporation Vice Pres. Corp. 2 nd Vice President Finance Officer Secretary

Fear is the single greatest weapon the enemy has to keep you from God's best. If you don't face your fear, it can pollute your thinking, steal your joy and rob your dreams.

2 A quote from Joel Osteen Ministries... "It's time for us to have a renewed expectation of good, to believe that God is about to do something great, that He wants to bring us into a new season of His favor and grace. Fear is the single greatest weapon the enemy has to keep you from God's best. If you don't face your fear, it can pollute your thinking, steal your joy and rob your dreams. Our world pays so much attention to negative news that focuses on fear. 'What if I lose my job? 'What if my child gets sick? 'What if the new business venture fails?' 'What if I never find anyone, and I end up all alone?' Every day these kinds of poisonous thoughts come against us, but we don't have to yield to them. You can choose not to listen to, act on or focus on fear. Instead, you can face your fears and you can overcome them by placing your trust in the promises of God's Word." Remember... fear is the enemy... let's treat it as such! A Happy, Blessed Easter to all - Chaplain Phil CLUB 134 LOUNGE is open Monday thru Friday 3:30 pm to 8:00 pm and on Sundays 12:30 to 5:00 pm. APRIL, 2010 APR 2 Village Eggstravaganza APR 7 7 th Dist. Auxiliary, all units, MG 7:30 pm APR 8 Rifle Squad 7:30 pm APR 12 Corporation Meeting 7:30 pm APR 13 Auxiliary Meeting 7:00 pm APR 19 Executive Board 7:30 pm APR 21 7 th Evanston 7:30 pm APR 22 Post Mtg., Post Everlasting 7:00 pm APR 23 Burn your own steak 4:30 pm MAY, 2010 MAY 1 Kentucky Derby, MG 3:30 pm MAY 2 Past 1 st Div. Commander s Dinner 1:00 pm MAY 5 7 th Dist. Aux. Mtg. MG 7:30 pm MAY 10 Corporation Meeting 7:30 pm MAY 11 Auxiliary Mtg., Memorial Svc. 7:00 pm MAY 13 Rifle Squad Meeting, Elections 7:30 pm MAY 15 Armed Forces Dinner 6:00 pm MAY 19 7 th District Election of Officers 7:30 pm Post Everlasting MAY POPPY DAYS MAY 24 Executive Board 7:30 pm MAY 27 Post 134 Mtg., Election of Off. 7:30 pm MAY 28 Burn your own steak 4:30 pm MAY 30 Memorial Day Celebration 12:30 pm MAY 31 Memorial Day GUN RANGE ACTIVITIES MON. GUN CLUB PISTOL SHOOT All TUES. SENIOR GUN CLUB range WED. JUNIOR GUN CLUB functions THURS. ARLINGTON HTS. CLUB begin FRI. OPEN SHOOT approx. 4 th & 5 th FRI. AIR RIFLES 7:30 pm CHECK WITH RANGE OFFICER FOR EXACT TIMES.

3 POST 134 March Executive Meeting News Finance Report Finance Report accepted subject to audit. By: PC Joe Hedrick Commander By: Jan Lepinski There were false statements in the Morton Grove Champion about our Morton Grove Senior Fundraiser. All communications outside of the Post must be on official Post letterhead and approved by the Post. Oratorical Contest was on March 6, Dan Staackmann is suppose to attend our meeting on Thursday. Sr. Vice Commander By: Mathew Ingram Membership is now 788 people and we are now 95.6%. The Public Initiation will be postponed until Jr. Vice Commander By: Mathew Ingram The St. Patrick s Day dinner was a success. Would like to see the St. Pat s Dinner on a weekend night instead of actually on St. Pat s when it s on a weekday. We just have to make sure we don t conflict with the Moose s dinner. Thanks to Wally, Ken and Cheryl for making the dinner possible. 2 nd Jr. Vice Commander By: Wally Zawisza Wally will serve spaghetti and Italian bread at the meeting on March 25, Adjutant By: PC Ken Trumbull The Annual Post Data Report has been completed and will be mailed to Department this week. Post Everlasting letter to family and friends will go out to all those who entered Post Everlasting this past year. A $200. donation is being sent to David Kurtz, Adjutant, Dept. of Wisconsin for Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. Adjutant will send a letter to the Village of Morton Grove about using the parking lot for our Memorial Service. SAL SAL membership is now 160%. By: PC Ken Trumbull Memorial Room By: PC Phil Hutchins Phil Hutchins, Joe Piento and Ken Trumbull cleaned out the Memorial Room. All additions into the room must be approved by the Memorial Room Committee. Donna Hedrick has asked us to let the Historical Society know about articles or items that we cannot use in the room that relate to Morton Grove. Poppy Days By: PC Ken Trumbull This year Poppy Days will be a week earlier on May 20, 21 and 22. If you wish to volunteer for Poppy Days get in touch with the Poppy Day Chairman, Ken Trumbull (847) The Post Office is charging us the full $.44 for the Poppy Day mailing because of the thickness of the envelope. We are out of Poppies so we placed an order for more. The Poppies will cost us $1,620. They are charging us $ per 1,000 Poppies. $500. was donated to the Honor Flight Program. Rifle Squad By: Bob Ferraro The 50/50 Rifle Squad Drawing was held at the St. Patrick s Day dinner. All winners are listed in this newsletter. Thanks to everyone who participated. We discussed not having a Memorial Day Parade through Morton Grove because of the cost and the construction on Dempster. The Memorial Service will be held in the parking lot. Service Officer By: PC Don Stotz Bill Smith is in Alden for therapy on his knee replacement and Al Abuja is in St. Matthew Center for Health in Park Ridge. New business Joe Hedrick discussed giving the department a donation for the Gift to the Yanks. A $100 donation check was sent a few months earlier. For the good of the Legion Joe Piento suggested that we use the float for our platform on Memorial Day. Ken and Joe will take a ride out to the float this week to check on it s condition. Auxiliary Message By: Donna Hedrick (847) During the past few months, the Auxiliary has lost two of our over fifty year members, Dodee Connolly and Bette Lach. We paid tribute to these members with our memorial service. Besides the regular monthly visits to Jesse Brown and Hines, we gave ten valentine presents to women veterans at North Chicago through the 7th District. I attended the Auxiliary Patriotic Conference which was very informative and they had great speakers. One of the speakers talked about Honor Flight which is the program that flies World War II Veterans to Washington DC for a day. We are looking into the mail call program that they use for Honor Flight. On the essay contest, checks and certifications were mailed to all students who wrote essays from our local grammar schools. We are still looking for any girl who is a junior in high school for participation in the Illini Girls State for this summer. If you have a candidate, please call me Our next meeting is April 13, It would be nice to see some new faces.

Legionarre of the Year Bill Bickley, 7th

Joe Piento were just some of the volunteers

4 Legionarre of the Year Bill Bickley, 7th District, presented Ken Trumbull with his Legionnaire of the Year, 2010, plaque. February 21, 2010 Department Commander, Bill Flanagan and Dept. Membership Director, Denise Fields spoke at the LOY Dinner. Christy Krier and Patty Kim worked hard in the kitchen. Al Coughlin, Ken Trumbull, Cheryl Cubine and Joe Piento were just some of the volunteers who worked the fundraiser. Commander Jan with a few of the Morton Grove Trustees who supported the fundraiser. Fundraiser Morton Grove Seniors March 12, 2010

5 Phil Hutchins helped Matt Ingram with the Rifle Squad 50/50 Drawing Charlie Matz came all decked out in green for the St. Pat s Dinner. March 17, st Division Bowling Tournament - March 7, 2010 SAL Sr. Vice Commander, Greg Nelson, Mathew Ingram and Ken Trumbull joined the 134 bowling team. 7th District Kentucky Derby Joe Piento, 7th District Jr. Vice Commander, is selling Kentucky Derby Tickets for all those interested. The race will be held on the first Saturday in May.

Poppy Days May 20, 21 & 23, 2010 Friday, April 30, 2010 $9.00 a person 4:30 pm We are going to hold a BURN YOUR OWN STEAK dinner on the last Fridays of the month (April thru September).

6 Poppy Days May 20, 21 & 23, 2010 Friday, April 30, 2010 $9.00 a person 4:30 pm We are going to hold a BURN YOUR OWN STEAK dinner on the last Fridays of the month (April thru September). All steaks will be marinated 12 ozs or more with a baked potato and corn on the cob. You must call for reservations so we ll have enough steaks. RSVP with Ken at (847) by April 23, AMERICAN LEGION DEPARTMENT OF ILLINOIS SECOND DIVISION Armed Forces Day Dinner 2010 Guest speaker National Commander, Clarence E. Hill Saturday, May 15, 2010 American Legion, Post W. Main Street Rockton, IL 6:00 7:00 pm cash bar 7:00 pm dinner $20.00 per person Make checks payable to: American Legion, 2nd Division RSVP by May 7, 2010 Send checks to: Tom Marciciak 204 Mooregate Trail Hawthorne Woods, IL Any questions, contact Gary Keegan at (815) Reservation forms can be found on the First Division website at: We need volunteers for Poppy Days! Please sign up with the Poppy Day Chairman, Ken Trumbull (847) The winners of the Rifle Squad s 50/50 yearly fundraiser were: 1st prize Jim Karp $225 2nd prize Rich Lunardini $170 3rd prize Paul Yaras $110 4th prize Jan Lepinski $ 60 Jan donated her winnings to the Morton Grove Senior Fundraiser. This year Premier Boys State will be from June 5 thru 11 at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. Boys between their junior and senior years in high school can attend. All Post 134 members can recruit for this event. Post 134 will fund the participation. It is strongly recommended that the participants take the bus provided. The bus to Charleston will pick up at the Morton Grove Post and the Evergreen Park Post. The transportation form can be found on the First Division website: The Boys State application form can be found on: (click on forms then download the Boys State Registration form). If you have any questions, you can call John Slater at (847)

7 The American Legion, Post 134, would like to send out a big THANK YOU to all the individuals and businesses that donated money to the Morton Grove Senior Fundraiser. They were: George & Gus Alpogianis, Kappy s Restaurant, M. G. American Legion, Post 134 American Legion, Post 134, Rifle Squad Edward Arlis, Lombard, IL Best Pizza, Inc., Morton Grove, IL Reinold Boettcher, Roscoe, IL Peter Bombicino, Niles, IL Lisa Coleman, Rochelle, IL Community Nutrition Network & Sr. Svcs. Assoc., Chicago Dennis Dziedzic, Park Ridge, IL Virginia Egan, Medford, WI El Sol Restaurant, Morton Grove, IL Iris Escudero, Elgin, IL Daniel Feith, Des Plaines, IL Frank Frederick, Thomasville, GA Carol Fritzshall, Morton Grove, IL Joseph Gesicki, Morton Grove, IL Carl N. Graf, Jr., Attorney, Morton Grove, IL M. Herman, Morton Grove Robert Johnson, Loves Park, IL Albert Kaechele, Arlington Heights, IL Lou Lang, Committeeman, Niles Township Jan Lepinski, Skokie, IL MB Financial, Morton Grove, IL Nano s Pizza, Morton Grove, IL William Neuendorf, Chicago, IL North Shore Center of Dental Health, Morton Grove, IL O Neil Funeral Home, Lockport, IL Rose Pisula, Morton Grove, IL William Randolph, Wilmette, IL Paul Reinwald, Skokie, IL Evelyn L. Ross, Morton Grove, IL St. Martha s Church, Morton Grove, IL Ed Sonkin Leona Swiech, Niles, IL Levon Tamraz, Morton Grove, IL Gerald Taylor, Sycamore, IL Kenneth Trumbull, Morton Grove, IL Gerry Ventrella, Chicago, IL Florence Wachtler, Chicago, IL Donald Waser, Prospect Heights, IL Edward Wells, Skokie, IL Paul Zwik, Mt. Prospect We would also like to thank all the businesses and individuals that gave in kind donations for our silent auction. They were: George Alpogianis, SAL Member Arthur Murray Dance Center, Morton Grove, IL Catered by Design, Morton Grove, IL Catering by Michaels, Morton Grove, IL European Imports, Niles, IL Faust of Italy, Morton Grove, IL Giordano s Enterprises, Inc., Morton Grove, IL Kappy s Restaurant, Morton Grove, IL Patty Kim, DesPlaines, IL Jan & Kurt Lepinski, Skokie Bea & Ken Lipski, Minuteman Press, Morton Grove, IL MG Animal Hospital, Morton Grove, IL Marilyn s Restaurant, Morton Grove Morton Grove Police Department Nano s Pizza, Morton Grove Seven Brothers, Morton Grove Sewing Center Unlimited, Morton Grove, IL David & Marguerite Wisniewski, Morton Grove Last but not least thanks to all the volunteers who donated their time to help out. We would not have been able to pull it off without the following people: Al Coughlin Cheryl Cubine Mary Green Karl Falter Patty Kim Christy Krier Rick Krier Jan Lepinski Gerry Mokosaik Nancy at the Sr. Center Joseph Piento Kenneth Trumbull Marguerite Wisniewski Gone but not forgotten Ted Swed, 55 year member

8 MORTON GROVE POST Dempster Street Morton Grove, IL Change Service Requested Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 19 Morton Grove, IL

FRIDAY NITE DINNERS. Commander s Report By: Jan Lepinski. Auxiliary Message By: Donna Hedrick

FRIDAY NITE DINNERS. Commander s Report By: Jan Lepinski. Auxiliary Message By: Donna Hedrick Greetings Comrades! Commander s Report By: Jan Lepinski Well, it is now official I am the Commander. YIKES! As I think you all know by now, my theme is The Four Pillars Back to Basics. I really feel it