American Legion Post 80 January 1, 2015 Issue 1 of 12 1019 Pennsylvania Ave., St. Cloud, FL 34769 407-892-8808 Website: AmericanLegionPost80fl.org Commander s Newsletter Happy New Year s Everyone! I hope everyone had a nice Christmas and are ready for a terrific 2015 ahead! Remember to renew your membership if you haven t already. Key cards are being changed on January 1 st, and you ll need to be current in order to get your new key card. Remember the Executive Board Meeting will be held on January 5 th at 7:00pm and our General Membership Meeting will be held on January 8 th at 7:00pm. Looking forward to see you all there! For God and Country, Skip Barnette Commander Service Officer Report Attention Veterans: If you need a ride to the VA Hospital for an appointment, please call me so that I can make arrangements to have someone from our Post drive you there. I would like to ask our Legionnaires, if you see or hear of a veteran or a veteran s family in need of help, ask them to call the American Legion at 407-892-8808 or they can call me at 407-485-6992 or contact me via e-mail at bettygary@live.com. Gary Nelson Service Officer Chaplain s Corner Greetings Fellow Veterans, At the beginning of a new year, so-called experts give their predictions on what the new year will bring, regarding the economy, the weather, the political landscape, and a host of other topics. People everywhere have the hope that this year will be better than last and they begin the year filled with optimism. What does the future hold and how will different events impact my life is one question that is on the minds of many and yet not one can give a definite answer to the question. Only God knows the future and has all the answers. The LORD tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord; plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." As we enter a new year, I hope we can remember that HIS plan has always been to prosper His people. God can transform ordinary events and difficult trials into key moments that help HIS plans to prosper. HE is not out to harm us, but the dark times we experience can be part of the most important lessons to help us grow nearer to HIM. Allow the Lord to chart the course for your life. HE says in Isaiah 55:8-9, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. Bottom line: run everything past the LORD! Happy New Year and God Bless You! SDG If you need to speak to the Chaplain, please call 407-922- 2409. For God and Country, Chaplain Dave Nigh Reminder: 2014 Membership Dues are due!! As of January 1 st, you will need a 2015 Card in order to be served!
Page 2 Website: AmericanLegionPost80fl.org American Legion Post 80 American Legion Riders Greetings Fellow Riders: Time has a way of passing without notice. It seems like only a few months ago we were planning events for 2014 and here it is 2015 already. HAPPY NEW YEAR! Once again, December was a very busy month for the Riders. It started with the Christmas Parade on Saturday, December 6 th. We had nine decorated bikes in the parade. [See top three photos at right.] This was followed by Roadkill Bingo that same night. On Sunday, December 7 th, six brave riders participated in the Merritt Island Toy Run. Even though we were few in numbers, there were in excess of 5500 bikes that were in attendance for the 20 mile ride. Unfortunately, the ride was marred by three different accidents; two of the accidents were minor crashes and the other accident resulted in a fatality. Saturday, December 13 th, we participated in Wreaths Across America. We had six bikes ride over to Mount Peace Cemetery. Chris and I had the honor of presenting the ceremonial wreath for the Army. [See bottom photo at right.] Then on Sunday, December 14 th, the riders had six volunteers working the Special Olympics Christmas Party. I would like to personally thank Dennis Tuohy, Donna Palecek, Rick Arreola, Jerry Bennett, and Chris Falkowski for volunteering their time for such a worthwhile cause. MARK YOUR CALENDAR WITH OUR UPCOMING EVENTS: January 3 rd is the Riders Roadkill Bingo at 7:00 pm. This is one of our fundraisers, so come out and support this endeavor. January 6 th is the next monthly meeting of the Riders in the Civic Hall at 7:00 pm. January 8 th is the General Membership meeting for Post 80. This is your Post; let your voice be heard. January 18 th is the 6 th District Bowling Tournament at Colonial Lanes starting at 10:00 am. In Support of the American Legion Family, Ed (Wolfman) Falkowski Director, ALR80
Page 3 Website: AmericanLegionPost80fl.org American Legion Post 80 Unit 80 Auxiliary Greetings to all Auxiliary members! American Legion Auxiliary Mission: 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. Another great year for American Legion Auxiliary Unit 80 has come to an end. We as a Unit have done some great things for our veterans and their families. It has been an awesome year, thanks to all of your efforts and dedication. Here are just a few of the projects that we have accomplished during 2014. We started off the year with our election of officers and were also able to install Junior officers under the guidance of Paula Fox. These Juniors are a great asset to our Unit. They have held a garage sale to benefit our troops, made cards for our veterans, wrapped Christmas presents for the Christmas Parties for the C.L.C. and The Sons of American Legion s (SAL) Special Olympics Christmas Party and also attended the Christmas Party and helped wherever they were needed. Keeping in the Christmas Spirit, the Juniors' Chairman, Paula Fox, dressed up as an elf. The Juniors also attended the Wreaths Across America Ceremony and assisted in passing out programs. We are proud of our Juniors and what they have done for the Post 80 family. The Unit, along with the help of the Post 80 family, has collected items for the Give 10 to Education Drive, allowing us to give school supplies to a local elementary school, collected items to send to our troops, collected food for the local Food Pantry and also gave non-perishable items to the OASIS/McDonalds food drive for the homeless students and their families in Osceola County. We have collected Box Tops for Education and pop tops for the Ronald McDonald house. As part of the American Legion family, we participated in the Osceola County Veterans Stand-Down, the Veterans Day parade, and the St. Cloud Christmas parade. Along with the help of the American Legion Post 80 Family, V.F.W 3227 Ladies Auxiliary, Amvets Post 33, and businesses throughout St. Cloud, we were able to place 477 wreaths on Veterans' graves in Mt. Peace Ceremony for Wreaths Across America. We were honored to have Mayor Rebecca Borders and American Legion Department of Florida Membership Chairman Stephen Shuga as our guest speakers. With that said, we are going to start collecting donations for the Wreaths Across America 2015 Program in February. We found out that we can start sending money for Wreaths all year long. Our goal is one day to have all 3,500 Veterans interned at Mt. Peace Cemetery to have wreaths on their graves. In January, the American Legion Auxiliary National President Janet Jefford will be visiting the 6th District and possibly our Unit for a meet and greet. As soon as I receive her itinerary, I will let everybody know when she will be here. I would like as many of our Auxiliary members as possible to attend and to show our support of the National President. Please note that our next meeting will be on January 8 th at 7:00 pm since the first Thursday happens to fall on New Year s Day. Therefore, we changed our meeting from January 1 st to the 8 th. We will be starting off our meeting with the Legionnaires in the Civic Hall and then finishing our meeting in the backroom. Please try to make this meeting as we will be planning some of our projects for the upcoming year and would like to have everybody's input. First Vice President Betty Nelson will be presiding over this meeting as I will be at Unit 53 in Sanford for my official visit there as 6th District President. We would like to get everyone s input so that all our efforts and activities in the coming months will be successful! We will have Auxiliary Dinner and RoadKill Bingo on Saturday, January 17 th. So we will need all hands on deck for this evening! We are in need of additional volunteers for Monday evening bingos. If you can help, please let me know as soon as possible! Thank you so much for a successful 2014! I wish you and your family a healthy and prosperous 2015! If you are not receiving my e-mails, please e-mail me at cmbass43@hotmail.com so that I can add you to my contacts. Charlotte Bass 6th District President Unit 80 President My phone numbers are 407-738-3356 (cell) and 321-766- 7039 (home). Remember, you can also follow us on Facebook at American Legion Auxiliary Unit 80 St. Cloud, FL.
Page 4 Website: AmericanLegionPost80fl.org American Legion Post 80 Auxiliary Chaplain s Report Sons of the American Legion (S.A.L.) Happy new year to all! I do hope everyone enjoyed their holiday. I know that some of you will be ready for a happier new year, myself included. So much has happened this past year, so I hope that you look to the Lord for peace and faith to know that this year will be better. Our condolences go out to Lucille Ellenwood at the loss of her husband. Our prayers go out to her. I dropped off a plant and a card for her. We are certainly wishing good health to Skip Barnette, Daryl Bass, myself, Sue Kidd, Dawn Kensington, Paul Buck, and to all who need our prayers, if I have forgotten you, I m sorry. I do hope I will be better this next year to do my job a little better. I would also like a special prayer for my new grandson who was born 6 weeks early and still remains in the NIC Unit at Florida Hospital. He is coming along but still can t come home yet. I hope you all have a prosperous new year and may we have peace in our country. Please God, protect our troops, place them in your arms and keep them safe. And a special prayer goes out to Charlotte and Daryl s son who has just gone on his 4 th deployment to Kuwait. We know God will protect him. May God bless you and our country. Please be kind and don't forget to give someone a hug! God Bless America, Becky Adams, Chaplain, Auxiliary Unit 80 407-892-8406 Happy New Year to all! Hoping all is well with your families and friends! First, Ed Mienke won the tricycle raffle for Special Olympics on December 13 th! He said it would be a welcome present in his life. Good job, Ed! Next, the SAL / Special Olympics Christmas Party was the best ever! We had approximately 110 Olympians and parents. Gifts, Santa and Mrs. Claus, music, food, desserts galore! It would take too much space to thank everybody who made this day possible, but here s a try. Thanks to all who donated gifts; Cindy Hoover for donating her time for music; Beth Steinberg for stepping up to be Mrs. Claus; All the Legion Riders, Auxiliary, Post 80 and SAL members. Lest I forget, the Aux Juniors and SAL Junior! Also, Judy and Rita for the cake and cookies. My wife, Monica, for all her help and taking pictures and singing for the kids. Next, a great big thank you to Pizza Hut, Dominos, Hungry Howies, Bella Roma for the pizzas; Sonny s BBQ for mac-ncheese and pork & beans; Jimmy Bear s BBQ for pulled pork and buns. Thank you for your donations to the Special Olympics of Osceola County. Lastly, please get your dues paid before January 1 st to get our 100% membership and your new key card. Hope to see you soon and have a great 2015! For God and Country, George Campbell S.A.L. Commander Our Civic Hall is available to rent for events & meetings of all kinds. For more information, please contact Lady George here at the Post at (407) 892-8808. In Memory Of February 2014-2015 Joan Spears in memory of Jim Wallace October 2014-2015 Dave & Barbara Nigh in memory of Greg, Alban & Lawrence Nigh December 2014-2015 Darren & Cheryl McGhee in memory of Terrence Terry McGhee. Canteen Newsletter Activities are as follows: Mondays - Bingo 6pm in the non-smoking Civic Hall - Open to the public, so bring your friends and family! Grill menu is available. Tuesdays Free Shuffleboard and Pool. Wednesdays Dinner Specials (check the calendar) every week from 5-8pm. Dinner is open to the public, so bring your friends and family! Queen of Hearts Drawing @ 8pm. Thursdays Dinner Specials (check the calendar); $1 Drafts all day. Trivia Game Night starts at 8pm! This is free to play and open to the public, so bring your friends, family and neighbors and have some fun! Fridays Dinner Specials (check the calendar) from 5-8pm; Karaoke starts at 8pm! Saturdays RoadKill Bingo 1 st & 3 rd weeks @ 7pm. See calendar for dinner details. Sundays - Breakfast 8-11am. $1 Bloody Marys. Open to the public, with non-smoking seating available. Bar Bingo 2-4pm.
Page 5 Website: AmericanLegionPost80fl.org American Legion Post 80 Christmas Parade in St. Cloud, December 6th On December 6 th, members of our Legion Family participated in the annual Christmas Parade in St. Cloud. The theme for this year s parade was There is no Place Like Home for the Holidays, and Betty Nelson came up with a great idea for our float. The float portrayed a soldier, sitting on his cot, opening a box of gifts from home. Michael, Betty Nelson s grandson played the role of the soldier. Michael, who is in ROTC at Harmony High School. Members carrying Legion and American flags included: Jerry Bennett, Gary Brunelle, Rita Johnson, Judy Martin, David Nigh, and Mike Turco. Our American Legion Riders had nine decorated motorcycles participating (see photos on page 2). Our Auxiliary members also marched and our Junior Auxiliary passed out candy to children along the parade route.
Page 6 Website: AmericanLegionPost80fl.org American Legion Post 80 Wreaths Across America, December 13 th On December 13 th, members of our Legion Family lead this year s Wreaths Across America ceremony in conjunction with VFW Post 3227 and the City of St. Cloud. Cindy Hoover was in charge of tracking wreath sales and ordering of the wreaths for the Ceremony. Charlotte Bass was in charge of putting together the program s speakers. Gary Nelson was our Master of Ceremonies for the day. Ed & Chris Falkowski, Jerry Bennett, Daryl Bass, Jean Fritz, and John & Sue Wilding all carried memorial wreaths. The Wildings are gold star parents and carried the Marine Corps wreath in honor of their son, LCPL Tyler Owen Griffin. Mike Turco played Taps as part of the Osceola County Veterans Council s triple trumpet performance. Marilyn Cochran, who has been the ceremony coordinator for the past several years, gave the closing remarks for this year s ceremony. St. Cloud s Mayor, Rebecca Borders, gave the opening remarks. Michigan Ave. Elementary teacher & Unit 80 Auxiliary President Charlotte Bass had her students say the Pledge of Allegiance. Stephen Shuga who is the Membership Chairman for the American Legion s Department of Florida, was our guest speaker. He did an excellent job reminding us to Remember, Honor and Teach, Wreaths Across America s mission. We must always remember the sacrifices of our Veterans and honor them for their service. And we must teach our children and grandchildren about all these sacrifices so that they will be remembered and honored in future generations. See photos below and on page 7 of this community event.
Page 7 Website: AmericanLegionPost80fl.org American Legion Post 80
Page 8 Website: AmericanLegionPost80fl.org American Legion Post 80 Special Olympics Christmas Party, December 14 th On December 14 th, our Sons of the American Legion (SAL) hosted their annual Special Olympics Christmas Party. Members of the Legion, Auxiliary, Junior Auxiliary (as Santa s elves) and the Riders were on hand to help out. Thanks to everyone who donated gifts, all the Olympians were able to receive a Christmas gift to enjoy. Dinner Served to the Veterans at the V.A. Community Life Center (CLC) Have you heard the old saying about the best laid plans of mice and men? Well, the original plan was that the V.A. would bring 60 Veterans from their CLC to Post 80 on December 16 th for a Christmas dinner. We made all the dinner arrangements and got and wrapped 60 beautiful holiday themed lap-robes from Dorothy Lyberda. About two weeks before December 16 th, Auxiliary President Charlotte Bass received a call that the V.A. was having transportation issues and wouldn t be able to bring the Veterans down to St. Cloud. She said, that s ok, we ll bring the dinner and gifts to the CLC. Well, that presented it s own issues for Rita and Judy, our wonderful cooks they had to come up with a dinner that would be transportable. About a week before December 13 th, Charlotte received another call now we needed to feed 120 residents! Thankfully we had 36 extra lap-robes and then Lockheed Martin s Canteen Manager donated 24 book lights that we were able to match up with Crossword puzzle, Sudoku and Word Search books to make up the additional needed gifts! On Tuesday, December 16 th, Daryl & Charlotte Bass, Rita Johnson, Gary & Betty Nelson and Mike & Laura Turco met at the CLC and started handing out dinner and gifts to the Veterans. The Veterans really enjoyed their delicious BBQ dinner and having a gift to open.