| Post #1009 News Past Entries |
11/11/10 Cmdr Laughlin opened the meeting. Gerry Knapp reported that 86 of our 134 members have paid their 2011 dues so far. That is a good start for us. Grounds Chairman Tom Brady reported that we need to do one final fall clean-up and hope to do it this Saturday. Volunteers are needed to blow the leaves and get ready for the winter snows. Tom also reported for George Hansen that George had met with the Police Chief about the Post helping during any emergencies. The Chief thanked us and said the main mobilization location for the Town in emergencies is the Yorktown Community Center. They discussed the possibility of our members getting First-Aid or CPR training to be ready for any emergencies. Cmdr Laughlin reminded everyone that the Veterans Day Parade is this Sunday, 11/14/10 at 1:40 PM at Lakeland HS. Cmdr Laughlin introduced our Post's new Service Officer, Bob Gorsuch. Bob volunteered to help get information for any veteran who might need assistance. The Post had received a letter asking if we would be taking part in the American Legion's Oratorical Program this year. We would love to but we would need someone to step up and run it. The members present were asked if anyone wished to take this on, with no response either way. We said we will try again next year. Adjutant Pat McDonough mentioned that the County runs parties at the Montrose VA hospital usually once a month to cheer the patients up there. In the past one or two of our Post members would go and help out running them. If we arrange to meet and car-pool from the Post would anyone be interested in going and helping out with this effort. Several members agreed that this would be easier since they had no idea where at the VA anything was located. E-mails will be sent out offering the carpool suggestion and we'll see if we can add this work to our 'helping fellow veterans' work we do. The Post Holiday Party is 12/12 at 1 PM. A quick head count of who planned on attending was done with 25 - 30 people responding they would be there. The Post Toilet Fund has $481 in it and Pat McDonough is working on a letter to send out to the membership requesting donations for the work. We can not start the fix-up until we have the money in the bank. The DeVito flagpole has been repaired and we need to get training from the Town to use it. Training will be scheduled. Gerry Knapp reported that three of the four clergy invited for the Four Chaplains Ceremony have accepted. We need to increase the publicity for this year to increase the attendance. If we get a light turn-out again the clergy might start declining the ceremony. Sick Call had Rod Corrado recovering from surgery. 10/14/10 Cmdr Laughlin opened the meeting and welcomed two new faces to the Post. John Marone and Mark Levandoski stood and introduced themselves. Gerry Knapp reported on Membership. The Post roster has 132 members. The Post, through Gerry and the Adjutant, now has the ability to see our member's information via computer on the National HQ's database. If anyone has questions about their status we can verify it right away now. Gerry gave the breakdown of the Post's membership. We have 32 Korean era vets, 7 Lebanon/ Grenada era vets, 54 Viet Nam era vets, 36 WWII era vets, and 3 indeterminable era vets. Gerry also reported that the DeVito flagpole is back in service. The flagpole will support the casket size flags but we should not fly flags that large on icy or inclement weather for obvious reasons. The Veterans Day Parade is set for 11/14 at 2 PM starting at Lakeland HS and proceeding to the Hart library. Our Food Pantry Collection was a success. We collected 8 shopping carts of donated food and $450 in cash donations which is a little less than last year but still great. The Street Fair and Festival was also a success. We made about $200 in sales but we had everyone stopping by to see the Hall and talk about their military service with us. This was great for the Post to be seen and talked with. The Westchester County Raffles are due back by Thanksgiving so don't forget. We have more in case you need them. The Post gets a percent of the sales from them. Cmdr Laughlin reported that the Post had been vandalized a second time this month. The lights out front were damaged again and the front sign plexi-glass was shattered. We know its neighborhood kids but no one has been identified. Pat McDonough is preparing to order more Post shirts, jackets and Legion uniform caps so contact him to get in on this order. New Business began with the announcement that we are looking for a guest speaker for the Memorial Day Parade which we are running this year. If anyone knows of a local Vet or active duty service member who might be interested let us know. May comes awful quick. We are looking to have group of members participate in the County VA Parties each month. We can meet at the Post and carpool, or whatever, to make it easier. It is a quick and easy party that we should be helping to provide to our fellow vets in the hospital. The next one is 10/27 at 7 pm in Ward 15 A/B. Rich Calbo reported on a couple of events that are coming up. Army vs VMI football game at West Point for only $10 for Vets. A free concert at Eisenhower Hall on 11/14 at 3 PM Several items were contributed by the members present for others to benefit from. Ed Donovan announced that Applebee's Restaurant will again have free meals for Veterans on Veterans Day. American Legion ID is good for this benefit. Ken Blish reported that on 11/04 there will be a Town Hall meeting for Veterans covering various items like Tricare and pensions. Al Laughlin reported that Home Depot has a 10% discount for all veterans all the time. Most members weren't aware that this was going on. The 50/50 drawing was won by new member Mark Levandowski, who donated it back to the Post's Toilet Fund. Thanks, Mark. 9/09/10 Cmdr Lauglin opened the meeting and introduced the one new member that was present, Mike Laughlin, Cmdr Laughlin's son. Welcome aboard Mike! The Financial report was given By John McQuillan and accepted. Rich Calbo gave the Membership update. We have 74 members paid up as of the meeting which is about half-way. Rich then updated us on the County news. Dept Cmdr Triolla will have his Visitation Dinner on 11/10 at Mt Kisco Post. Dinner is only $20 and starts at 6 PM. The Dept Cmdr stressed mentoring of new members. We get new members coming in but if they don't have something to do they go out the back door soon after. Rich also reported that he was stepping down as Post membership Chairman due to his responsibilities at the Dept level and County level. The new Post Membership Chairman is Gerry Knapp. George Hansen reported that Homeland Security has no information to give out to the posts. he was going to touch base with the Yorktown FD and PD to see if we could be any assistance in disaster preparedness for the Town. Old Business recapped the Post's Summer BBQ which was a success. The Post now has an ongoing Fund-raiser to re-build the Post bathrooms. We will have a 50/50 drawing at every Post function to go into this fund. The toilets in both bathrooms need replacing and we will also retile the floors at that time. Adjutant Pat McDonough gave an update to a court case we have been involved in. Back in November 2009 a person, named John Drenga, rented the Hall and paid with a bad check. No reparations were made and we took them to small claims court and won. Still no payment came. Finally we ran their DMV record and were going to have the Sheriff seize their car for non- payment. Surprise... they contacted us about paying this bill off in installments. We just received the first payment, so hopefully this will come to a satisfactory ending. Pat McDonough plans to put photos up in the lobby to show who we are. He is looking for 'before ' and 'after' photos. A military graduation photo and then a recent photo of each of our members side-by-side in the lobby. The Post started rendering honors to ANY VETERAN who passes and whose family requests it. We started this in June and two times we performed this ceremony to the pleasure of the families. We will continue to do e-mail notifications to summon the Legionnaires for this. New Business started with signing up volunteers for the Grange Fair Flag-raising Ceremony on 9/10. We signed up volunteers for the VA Food Pantry Collection on Sat. 10/02 at both A&P supermarkets in Yorktown. Then we discussed and had volunteers sign-up for the Yorktown Street Fair and Festival on Sat 10/09 where we cook up burgers and hot dogs on our grill for attendees and have an 'Open House' for all to see our facilities. We had a motion to change our annual Membership raffle where members who pay their dues before the Jan 1 deadline are put into a drawing and one winner has their dues paid for by the Post the following year. Now the additional requirement will be to have attended at least 50% of the previous Post meetings to be eligible for the drawing. This will reward those members who are present and doing the work of the Post every month than those who have no contact with the Post or its events. The motion passed unanimously. We finished up with welcoming back Ken Blish from being out sick for a while and promising to keep in contact with Fred Wooding's cousin who is being deployed to Afghanistan soon. The 50/50 was won by Past Post Cmdr Ken Blish who donated it to the Toilet Fund. 8/15/10 The Post's Summer BBQ was a success. We had 36 people, members and their families, show up for the afternoon of free hamburgers and hot dogs. We continued with our tradition of everyone bringing a dish or dessert to put on the buffet. The result was a beautiful display of salads, fruit, cookies, cakes, pies, and cheesecakes to compliment our Post Commander's expert grill work. Once again we had the tables and set-up outside in the cool summer breeze and the weather(rain) held off until we were putting the tables away! Perfect timing! It was a pleasant afternoon of conversation with old and new friends. Commander Al Laughlin announced that the Post will run a 50/50 raffle at every Post meeting and Event this year. The funds will be set aside for the Building Fund to replace the Post's 5 toilets which are so old that they are at their collapsing point. The 50/50 money will be used to replace the 5 toilets and re-tile the bathroom floors at the same time. This is a needed update to keep the Post in running order. The winner of the 50/50 drawing at the picnic was Maryanne Calbo. Maryanne then turned around and donated the $88 prize back to the Building Fund! Maybe we'll put a plaque on one of them for you, or better yet you can have a 'cut the line' pass whenever you need to use them!! Thanks to everyone for coming and making it a pleasant day. If you missed it, keep it in mind for next year!6/10/10 Our new Post Cmdr Al Laughlin opened the meeting. Past Cmdr Blish was still out sick. Financial Officer, John McQuillan reported that the Poppy-fundraiser was very successful this year. The addition of people going to Turco's gave us enough money to cover all expenses from Memorial Day Parade(flags on almost 400 graves, wreaths for memorials, hot dogs and water for the visitors to the Post). No other Committee Chairs were available for reports. 1st Vice Cmdr Al Laughlin reported that he, Bill Lewis, and Fred Wooding went to the County Convention in Ossining. Turnout was light but the updates were interesting. Fred Wooding was nominated to the County Executive Committee. Al and Richie Calbo went to the Rye Playland Veterans Appreciation Day on Memorial Day weekend Sunday. The demonstrations by the Marines were a nice touch. It was a worthwhile effort for the day. Al also thanked everyone who helped out at the Poppy-fundraiser. 14 members helped us man three locations and that made this a success. Thanks to George Hansen, Gerry Knapp, Joe Larsen, Ed Augustine, Terry DeVeau, Al Laughlin, Bill Lewis, Charlie Ludlum, Bob Dagnino, Jim Guerra, Tom Brady, Cas Faughnan, Rich Calbo, and Pat McDonough. The Memorial Day Parade was a nice success. We had the largest contingent of veterans organizations marching that consisted of 17 marchers! We looked even sharper in formation in our new Post golf style shirts. We hope that all members who are too busy to make the meetings will think about just coming and marching with us twice a year. Two members, Patrick McDonough and Gerry Knapp went to Strang Middle School the Friday before Memorial Day to talk to the students there about the sacrifices veterans go through every day. The students then held a memorial service out in front of the school at the Viet Nam memorial right at the school. It was a nice group of kids and a great exchange of ideas. Under New Business Cmdr Al Laughlin pointed out new plans for the Post building. The Past Post Commander's plaque has been in the office where no one can see it for years. It was moved out and mounted in the lobby for all to see. We will also be putting up recent photos in the lobby for guests to see. People here for parties can look and see who they know from their neighborhood. We have also set the dates for the Grange Fair(9/10) and the VA Food Pantry Collection(10/02) for early next year so keep them in mind. Gerry Knapp has volunteered to coordinate the DeVito Flagpole certificates. Anyone who donates a flag to fly on the flagpole gets a memorial certificate commemorating the date of flying and the name of the veteran its flying for. The Post has sent a letter to Clarke Funeral Home offering our services in rendering honors to ANY VETERAN who passes away, whether a Legionnaire or not. Clarke was recently involved in releasing the 6 urns of remains of veterans who had been abandoned there to an organization who arranged military honors and burial. Cmdr Laughlin wants to meet with the VFW Post Commander to coordinate the rendering of honors as a possible joint unit. A point was made that veterans can drop off a copy of their DD-214 at the Westchester County Clerk and they will keep it on permanent file. One last update on the court case against a person who rented our hall and paid with a bad check. Mr John Drenga owes the Post $714 for the open bar and party rental for his party back in November. He hasn't responded to any letters or calls. In February the Post won a civil judgement against him and the Westchester County Sheriff was notified. He doesn't own the house he lives in so we are checking if he owns anything else the Sheriff can sell to get us our money. We will not let this rest. Have a great summer! 4/08/10 1st Vice Cmdr Al Laughlin again chaired the meeting. Cmdr Blish was still out sick. Rich Calbo reported that membership has 122 members paid so far this year. The last reminder from National HQ went out to them in February, so this may be it. Richie also reported that he has Gerry Knapp assisting him with membership now. Richie has duties with our Post, the County, and the Department of NY Legion so the help is greatly appreciated. We also had a new transfer at the meeting, Fred Wooding. A welcoming round of applause greeted him. A head count of those attending the Spring Brunch was taken. 32 people said they would be attending. 1st Vice Commander Laughlin reported that the event would be held because enough people would be attending to make it a worthwhile effort. We are all set for the Poppy Fundraiser on Saturday, May 29 from 9 am to 1 pm. We have received permission from all three locations to be there and collecting donations. We need people to sign-up to help out. Assignments will be made at the May meeting. Pat McDonough showed two sample Post golf shirts with the logo on them for everyone to see. Everyone agreed that they look sharp and Pat took orders from those present for a total of 26 shirts ordered. The vendor stated the shirts should be in about the 23rd of April. Al Laughlin reported that we should be taking nominations for Post Officer positions tonight. Commander Blish has been Commander for 6 years now and he has some health concerns, so will not run for Commander. Al said he would take the position, if no one came forward, but will only do it for two years at most. All other Post Officers reported they would continue their posts, unless someone wanted to take over. The May meeting will be our election of Officers for the 2010 -2011 year. A discussion about Post Committees was started and Pat McDonough explained that many of our Officers are doing double or triple duty for the Post. A list of the Post Committees was read out and several members expressed interest in participating in some. Tom Brady volunteered for the Post Grounds Committee. George Hansen volunteered to take over the Homeland Security Committee with Tom Brady assisting. Gerry Knapp is assisting the Post Membership Committee. Thank you to all these volunteers. Richie Calbo updated all on County and Dept news. Friday is national Commander's Dinner in Antun's. County Meeting is at the Sing-Sing Post on 4/14. VA Montrose Ward Party is 4/28 at 7 pm in ward 15 C/D. Rye Playland will again have a Vet Appreciation Day on 5/30 from 9 am to 5 pm. Volunteers are needed to man grills and help out that day. The County Convention is 6/5 at the Ossining Post from 12 noon to 5 pm. We are sad to report that Post member Leon Bloom passed to his final Post on April 3, 2010. The service was private and donations may be made to the Yorktown Fire Department in Leon's name. 3/11/10 1st Vice Cmdr Al Laughlin chaired the meeting. Cmdr Blish was out sick. Al reported that our new insurance carrier had came and inspected the Post building and found a few items they wanted brought into compliance. We had to install smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms in the bar, kitchen and basement areas, which we did. We also had to get the kitchen exhaust fan steam cleaned to reduce the chance of grease fire, which we also did. Rich Calbo was away so there was no Membership update. Adjutant Pat McDonough updated everyone on the search for a vendor to get Post golf shirts made from. He presented the 4 vendors #1 Eagle Awards, shirts will be $25 each, it's Korean War Vet owned, local so no shipping and handling charges, and they have the Legion logo already in their computer. #2 Legion Emblem Sales, price $37.95, no discounts for bulk orders, shipping and handling charges will be additional. #3 our Post jacket vendor, price $36.75, shipping and handling charges will be additional, additional charge for Legion logo prep. #4 Sports Barn in Yorktown, price unknown because they never had the one girl who takes the orders in to give a price quote, $90 fee to have logo digitized and prepped. The membership present voted to go with Eagle Awards. Pat will get two shirts for people to judge for proper sizes for the April meeting and orders will be taken at that time to ensure delivery before the Memorial Day weekend Poppy Fundraiser and parade. Spring Brunch is April 25 from 1 to 3 pm. Price is $5 per person. RSVP's are needed by the April meeting or event will be cancelled. The Post hosted the Westchester County Legion meeting last night and all went well. Thanks to Al Laughlin, George Hansen, Rod Leone and John McQuillan for showing up and helping out setting up and serving food, and cleaning up. Ed Augustine asked if applications and info could be left at the bar for visitors at party rentals to have access to. We already have applications there but we will make them more obvious. Memorial Day 50/50 tickets are being sent out now. Please take part in this to offset the Memorial Day Parade expenses for the Post. The Poppy Fundraiser is on Saturday, May 29 from 9 am to 1 pm at the A&P's in Yorktown and Shrub Oak. We will also be at Turco's this year as well. We need volunteers for all three locations to do this. We will also have a Post clean-up that weekend to get the Post ready for our open house at the parade. Bob Dagnino was back from his recent surgery and looked great. Ken Blish and Bob Gorsuch are both out sick. Anne Samoyla's Dad is having surgery, keep them in your thoughts. 2/11/10 Rich Calbo reported that we have 112 of our 127 members renewed so far. As of February 1st all members who haven't renewed are suspended from the Legion as are their benefits. There is one more mailing from the National HQ after that we will send out a personal appeal to our suspended members to renew. Rich also reported that the VA Ward party this month is on 2/24 in Bldg 28. The National Commander's Dinner is at Antun's on 4/16. Price is $55 per person. John McQuillan reported that the Post won its court case against a person who rented our Hall and then bounced a $700 check paying for it. The person refused to discuss the incident with us and we were forced to take legal action to recoup our losses. The small claims court decision clears the way to getting the Marshall to seize property to pay the debt. Pat McDonough reported on the search for a company to make Post polo shirts with the Post and Legion logo on the left breast. We hope to have the information to make a decision at the March meeting so we can have them for the Memorial Day weekend. We have changed our Post oil company as of February 1st. We had requested offers for heating oil and service contracts from several local companies with no responses back. Al Laughlin contacted RELIABLE OIL of Yorktown and they offered a discount on their service contract and a discounted rate for oil too because we are a not-for-profit organization. The Executive Committee decided to change companies to keep expenses down for the post in the current fiscal climate. Thank you to Al Laughlin we are saving some money. We were contacted by the Hudson Valley Renegades regarding a fund raising opportunity in which we buy discounted ticket packages consisting of a General Admission ticket, vouchers for hot dog and soda, and a Renegades baseball cap. We buy them for $12(a $26 value) and can resell them for what we wish and keep the difference. We will check this out further to see what dates are available and what limitations apply. A group is raising funds to install a memorial at Arlington cemetery to honor the Jewish Chaplains who have given the ultimate sacrifice in battle. There are currently memorials for the chaplains of other faiths already in the cemetery. A member of S.A.L. 50 is coordinating for this area. The pizza after the meeting was delicious and allowed the membership to sit and chat after the meeting and get better acquainted. The 50/50 was won by Jim Guerra who donated the pot back to the Post. Thank you Jim!1/14/2010 The meeting began with committee reports. With the Grounds Report, Pat McDonough reported that a pest control expert had caught 4 skunks in 4 days from under our Hall storage room. The room had been stinking of skunk badly lately with the stink seeping into our main Hall which is used for a children's program. We had to pay to clean this problem up before we lost the school because of it. Rich Calbo reported that we are doing well with our annual membership drive. We have 108 renewals already by the first of the year. As a reward to those who renewed by the January 1st deadline we placed the names of those 108 members into a drawing and pulled one name out. The name was Frank Panebianco. Congratulations Frank your 2011 dues will be paid by the Post! Rich also informed everyone about the opportunity to go to Legion College in Morrisville, NY in June. The program is a 3 day weekend of classes and instruction on American Legion programs. The cost is $200 and applications can be picked up from the Post Adjutant. Filing deadline is April 1st. There was a discussion about a group that has appeared in our area called "VSO" standing for "Veterans Services Organization". They wear pressed camouflage uniforms but are not military, or even veterans. The money they collect is said to be going to veterans causes but recent news articles have pointed out that less than 30% of the donations goes to anything remotely related to veterans. 30% right off the top goes to the person standing at the table as commission! The American Legion and VFW are checking with the State's Attorney General on possible action against them. Our two new Color Guard members need to give their shirt sizes to get uniform shirt in time for Memorial Day. We have our Chapel of the Four Chaplains Ceremony scheduled for February 7th at 2 PM at the Post. Only one clergy member has RSVP'd so far. Gerry Knapp volunteered to call and re-invite the clergy to it. Our Post will be host to the Westchester County American Legion meeting on March 10 at 7:30 PM Volunteers will be needed to help set-up and breakdown the meeting that night. We have discussed having a 'Pizza night' meeting in February. Each person attending puts $5 in the pot. We order pizza for after the meeting and whatever is left over will be the pot for the 50/50 drawing. Something different for the cold weather doldrums. Bob Gorsuch informed everyone that Bob Dagnino has been diagnosed with kidney cancer. Bob is a member of the Post's Color Guard and one of our dedicated members. Our closing prayer was in memory of Bob. 12/13/09 The Post Holiday Party was a cautious success. We had RSVP's for almost 50 people and we had the food all cooked when the rain started. The weather definitely played a factor in everyone's plans that day. The icy rain froze on the all the roads creating havoc throughout the area. 33 dedicated members and their families braved the weather to come down and enjoy the afternoon event. We held off on serving the food for an extra hour to allow everyone who might be stuck on the road the extra time to get to the Post safely. We thank everyone who came for making the party a relaxing and pleasant affair. Check out our Photo Gallery page for pictures of the party. Happy Holidays to All! 11/12/09 Cmdr Blish was sick and 1st Vice Cmdr Al Laughlin chaired the meeting. The meeting was preceded with a guest speaker, Ron Smilowitz, from Rose Hill Memorial Park in Putnam Valley. Ron informed everyone that Rose Hill honors all honorably discharged veterans for their service with a FREE burial space. He also pointed out that a spouse or family member could be included in the plans for the burial plot. This offer could greatly reduce the total expense to the veteran's family as compared to what other cemeteries might charge. Mr Smilowitz also spoke on the need for communication and planning within one's family regarding one's final wishes. If no one knows what your wishes are then your final resting place will be according to their wishes. Mr Smilowitz can be reached for more information at #914-962-2703. For the third meeting in a row the meeting began with the introduction of new members. The Post welcomed Don Roberts, Gerry Knapp, and Jim Guerra with a round of applause. We also welcomed Barry Bell back from his absence, good to see you back! Financial Officer John McQuillan reported that the front of the Post where we had paint peeling had been sand-blasted and repainted so we look good to passersby. Great Job John! Membership report was unavailable as Rich Calbo was away on Dept of NY business. Under New Business, Bill Lewis reported that the Lions Club had helped the Elks Club with a Pasta Fund-raiser at the Elks Club to keep them financially solvent. Maybe we could get the same treatment? We will follow up on this idea.. Old Business - The Post Holiday Party is Sunday 12/13 from 1 pm to 3 pm. It is free to members but we need RSVP's to prepare the correct amount of food. The Yorktown Street Fair and Festival was a success for the town and the Post. We sold a load of hot dogs and burgers cooked right off our BBQ grill and sold some of the County chances which also benefit the Post as well. Thank you to everyone who helped with set-up, cooking, and clean-up especially our usual crew... Pat & Al Laughlin, Sue & Ken Blish, John McQuillan, Bob Dagnino, Tom Brady. Our Food Pantry Collection last month was another success. We collected 12 shopping carts of food and $675 in cash donations for the VA Montrose Food Pantry in just 4 hours with a great team of 14 Legionnaires. We even got a little photo and blurb in the Journal as well as the County Legionnaire. The Veteran's Day Parade had a nice turn-out. We had several tenured members show up to boost our numbers and we even were in the photos in the North County News. You photogenic bunch you! We don't have a December General Membership meeting because of the Holiday Party, so we won't see everyone until January 14, 2010. We have the Four Chaplain's Ceremony scheduled at the Post on Sunday, February 7th at 2 pm. It is a short ceremony honoring the four Chaplains who gave their lives comforting hundreds on a sinking troopship in the North Atlantic during WWII. Refreshments and coffee will be served. Please join us for it. 10/08/09 For the second meeting in a row the meeting began with the introduction of a new Post member. Joseph Larsen showed up, signed up and joined our ranks. Cmdr Blish introduced him to everyone present and he received a warm round of applause. Good to see you, Joe! Financial Officer John McQuillan reported that there had been some funds left over from a grant we had received from Sen Leibell's office about a year ago. They allowed us to submit receipts from utility expenses from that time period to get reimbursed and use up the remaining money. Every little bit helps as they say. Rich Calbo was at another meeting so there was no membership update. The Grange Fair Opening Flag Ceremony had a good turnout. 1st Vice Commander Al Laughlin, Ted Foster, Cas Faughnan, Tom Brady, and Ralph Garcia represented the Post and looked sharp. They managed to get the flag raised and get under cover when the skies opened up with a heavy downpour. Great Job Guys! The Post's annual VA Montrose Food Pantry Collection was last Saturday(10/03) and we had another success with it. We normally have 8 to 10 Legionnaires collect donations in front of the A&P in Shrub Oak and at the Triangle Center in Yorktown from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. This year 14 members showed up to help out! Thank you to Cas Faughnan, Ralph Garcia, Anne Samoyla, Terry Deveau, Dave Moskowitz, Rich Calbo, Bill Lewis, Charlie Ludlum, Al Laughlin, Ed Augustine, Tom Brady, Patrick McDonough, George Hansen, and Bob Dagnino! We collected 12 shopping carts full of food and $674 in cash donations that ALL went straight to the VA Food Pantry for our brothers and sisters in need of food. We were written up in the Journal Express edition and hopefully there will be an article in the County Legionnaire newsletter about it also. We will be doing this again next year-- count on it! We even discussed expanding the collection to include Turco's next year since we had extra manpower show up and help out this year. Next thing discussed was the upcoming 1st Annual Yorktown Street Fair & Festival on this Saturday 10/10 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Our plan is to have the Post open for visitors to see and also have our BBQ grill up and running with burgers, hot dogs, sodas, coffee and stuff for sale to festival goers. We need many volunteers to pull this off so don't hesitate to stop by and lend a hand. Our hopes are to have people see our Post and inquire about joining us or maybe inquire about renting our Hall for their event. Both situations would benefit the Post and the work that we do. Our October Pasta Dinner had been pushed back and became a tentative Veterans Day Pasta Dinner on Friday, 11/06. We need to have twenty people paid to break even with this event and not lose money. RSVP's are needed immediately! Cost is $10 per person. We will cancel this if there is insufficient response. The Department Commander's Dinner is Wednesday 12/09 at the Mt Kisco Post. Cost is about $15 -20. Hopefully its proximity and price will allow more of our members to attend. The Past County Commander's Dinner/ Dance is Sunday 10/25 at the Westchester Manor and the price is $65 per person. The Post Holiday Party is on Sunday 12/13 at 1 p.m. and the cost is FREE to members and their guests. We need RSVP's to plan this so let us know if you are coming. We are marching in the Shrub Oak Veteran's Day Parade on Sunday, 11/08 at 2 p.m. We form up at Lakeland HS at 1:40 p.m. then march to the Hart Library for the ceremony there. Join us and show pride in your military service. Most communities do not have a Veterans Day Parade because their communities see no veterans turning out to participate in the parades. Our Post is the only Veterans Organization that participates in this parade... Shame on us if we let it die. The Post is currently checking out prices on getting Post golf shirts made up to advertise the Post and make us more comfortable and identifiable when doing the food collection, parades, and other Post events. Let us know if you would be interested in getting one. We hope to keep the price at about $25 each. The next meeting is Thursday, November 12th at 7:30 p.m. See you there. |
