Auxiliary President – Sharon Pierson

AUXILIARY AUGUST EVENTS: Hot August Nights:

Our Parliamentarian, Linda Ross and the entertainment committee, outdid themselves in preparations for this event. The decorations were great, the finger food excellent and Linda Amdal’s karaoke rendition of “Hey Bobby” . . . in diving mask, snorkel and hot bikini T-shirt . . . was outstanding!

 General Membership Meeting:

Drape the Charter:  Unit 44, unfortunately, had to drape the charter again this month. We lost our Chaplain and Poppy Chairman Emma West as well as members Pat Speers and Fran Shuey. These ladies have contributed so much and will be greatly missed.

Get Out The Vote: We welcomed Connie Greer as our guest speaker this month. Ms. Greer is our County Clerk and spoke to us about “Get Out the Vote”, the duties of the County Clerk’s office and the rules governing the issuance of copies of DD214’s.

Budget: Our 2012-2013 budget was discussed, amended and approved by the membership.

Clothing Sale: The turnout for this event was disappointing but we still made $320 for Mary Heiligenthal’s homecoming dinner. Many, many thanks to Ginny Ashley (who organized and worked so hard on this event) and to everyone who spent long hours in a hot garage, setting up for and then helping with the sale itself. And a special “Thank You” to Johanna and Warren Roberts for allowing us to invade their garage yet again

Youth Baseball Team: This year our Unit sponsored a youth baseball team for $200 and the money was indeed well spent. Please read the heartwarming story below from our Chaplain Marty Novak:

“The Youth Baseball Team we sponsored this year made 14 or 15 boys and girls, age 7-10 very happy because they got to play baseball but for one boy on the team it was a memorable experience. He has Cerebral Palsy and uses a walker but he wanted to play baseball. The only concession they made for him was they let him bat off a T. His mother would stand behind him and support him while he held the bat with both hands and hit the ball. He could only hit it about 10-15 feet and the dirt on the infield was soft and almost impossible to push the walker through. So his mother would hold him from behind while he pushed the walker and they “ran” to 1st base. Obviously he never ever made it to first…but still had a big smile on his face. One game, toward the end of the season, I saw the coaches conferring between innings. I think they must have agreed to see that Robert made it at least to 1st base one time. When he hit the ball, the throw to 1st was wild and Robert and his mother made it to 1st base…Big Smile. As it would happen the next few batters up were good hitters or were walked and Robert and mom made it to 2nd, then 3rd, and finally home! REALLY BIG SMILE and both teams and the fans for both teams cheered him all the way around. I think this is something he will never ever forget. And I’m sure many others will find it hard to forget too.”

UPCOMING EVENTS

Flea Market and Bake Sale: This event will likely be over by the time you read this newsletter since it is being held over Labor Day weekend, Saturday-September 1, beginning at 8:00 a.m. This is a big fund raiser for our Unit so we are hoping for a good turnout and we’ll post the results in the next newsletter.

Elephant Butte Days Parade: The parade is on September 8th this year and our Unit is entering a float. Elaine & Jerry Garlow have generously agreed to let us use their pontoon boat, pulled by their truck and Jerry will drive for us! We’ll be decorating the “Float” on September 6 at 8am – place to be determined. If you’re interested in decorating or riding on the float please contact Sharon Pierson at skpierson@live.com .

“Give 10” Box:

Marty Novak has placed a box at the Post for our annual “Give 10” drive for the school children in Sierra County. The idea behind this program is to give 10 of some item – 10 boxes of pencils or 10 packs of crayons, 10 spiral notebooks, etc. but please donate whatever you can. All Sierra county schools are Title 1 schools and every little bit helps.

Fall District Meeting:

We have received the call for our Fall District meeting which is to be held on September 22nd in Silver City at Post 18. The cost is a registration fee of $1.00 and $7.00 for lunch which will be a Mexican Combination Plate. All members are invited and encouraged to attend. Please notify Sharon Pierson, Ginny Ashley, or Carmen McCleery if you plan to be there.

Golf Scramble:

Plans are moving ahead with the Golf Scramble which will be held on October 8th. A BBQ luncheon for the participants will be held at the Post immediately following the Scramble (approx. 1:00-1:30) and we’ll be looking for Auxiliary volunteers to help with the side dishes for the luncheon – cole slaw, potato salad, etc. Anyone who would like to may join the golfer’s for the luncheon – the cost is $7.50 – but you must make a reservation by September 29th. If you’re willing to help with the side dishes or would like to make a reservation for lunch please contact Linda Nenno at (575) 642-6164.

Walk In The Park:

Unit 44 will be putting a team together for this annual SCCA (Sierra County Cancer Assistance) event to be held October 20th from 9am-3pm at Ralph Edwards Park. If you’re interested in joining the team and participating in the walk please contact Steph Ross srfoxie@gmail.com or Sharon Pierson skpierson@live.com .

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The third Friday of September (Sept 21st) is “POW / MIA Recognition Day”.
The women of the Moose are hosting an Enchilada Dinner on September 21st from 5pm-7pm to raise funds for the SCCA. Steph and company will have tickets for sale ($7 each) so please help the SCCA help our cancer patients in Sierra County and enjoy a great Enchilada dinner for the cause! Continue reading →

Auxiliary President – Sharon Pierson
AUXILIARY JULY EVENTS

Poppy drive: Our Poppy drive on July 4th was a huge success raising over $800, thanks to all the members who helped man the tables in Elephant Butte and Truth or Consequences. Congratulations to Emma West, Poppy Co-Chair, for successfully taking on the logistics (and headaches) of coordinating the drive.

School of Instruction: was held in Albuquerque, July 21st & 22nd, and Unit 44 had 8 members attending. A lot of information was distributed regarding our various programs and we all learned a great deal. There was a recurring emphasis placed on “unity” amongst the 4 members of the American Legion family – Legionnaires, Sons, Riders and Auxiliary. 6

General Membership Meeting: Due to School of Instruction falling on the same weekend as our regular monthly meeting, the meeting was moved to July 28th. We draped the charter this month in remembrance of Vivian Earles and Patti Lester. Both ladies will be greatly missed.
Historical Banners: Sandy Squier filled us in on the history of 2 large Blue/Gold star banners recently discovered and donated to Unit 44 by Sherry Fletcher. These banners were handmade in the early 1940’s by ladies of the then “Hot Springs American Legion Auxiliary Unit 44” – now of course known as the Gaines T. Evans Unit 44 of Elephant Butte. The banners are a wonderful piece of our Unit’s history and we are currently working on the best method for storing and/or displaying them. Our Unit is considering reinstating the practice of presenting Blue and Gold Star Banners to families with active military personnel. Elaine Garlow is researching the rules, regulations and costs for us.
Marty Novak presented Home Service Award pins/bars to:

• 50 Hours Home Service: Charlotte Denton, Melanie Millsap
• 100 Hours Home Service: Sharon Pierson
• 300 Hours Home Service: Jackie Stockmar, Steph Ross, and Elaine Garlow
• 500 Hours Home Service: Linda Nenno

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We also had a little celebration after our meeting was adjourned where Linda Nenno acted as Emcee and “presented” the awards our Unit received at Convention in June. We can all be very proud of our Unit – we earned 18 awards, including the Holman Grand Trophy for the Unit who won the most trophies and awards. These awards represent the volunteer hours, hard work and efforts of ALL of our members and so CONGRATULATIONS Unit 44!!!

UPCOMING EVENTS
Leadership Course: Liz Foster (our NM Department Leadership Chairman) will be holding a leadership course at the Post on Wednesday mornings at 10:00am beginning August 22nd. We learned at School of Instruction the course has been updated this year and whether you’ve taken the course before or not, Liz encourages you take it again because of the update. If you’ve taken the course in the last 2 years you can skip the portions of the course that lead up to the year 2000. If it’s been more than 2 years she recommends you re-complete the entire course. National announced that there will be an award given to the Department with the most completions of the course. This is a new award for the 2012-2013 year and wouldn’t it be wonderful if New Mexico were the first state to win it?

Clothing Sale: We are having a clothing sale on August 25th to be held at Johanna Roberts house (garage). There will be new and nearly new clothing, shoes, socks and various other items for sale for children sizes toddler to high school as well as men’s and women’s clothing. We can always use more clothing for the sale (men’s, women’s or children’s but gently used please) so if you have anything you’d like to donate please drop it off at 403 Cactus, located at the corner of Yucca and Cactus in Elephant Butte, between the hours of 8-10am on Tuesday the 21st or Thursday the 23rd of August. All donations are very much appreciated.

Flea Market / Bake Sale: This annual event is to be held on September 1st this year and we desperately need items to be contributed to the Flea Market as well as individuals to bake for the bake sale. If you’d like to help with the bake sale please drop your baked goods off at the Post on Friday August 31st so they can be priced. If you have items you’d like to contribute to the Flea Market please contact me at (575) 740-3639 or skpierson@live.com to make arrangements to drop off the items you are donating.

Fall District Meeting: We have received the call for our Fall District meeting which is to be held on September 22nd in Silver City at Post 18. The cost is a registration fee of $1.00 and $7.00 for lunch which will be a Mexican Combination Plate. All members are invited and encouraged to attend. Please notify Ginny Ashley, Carmen McCleery or myself if you plan to be there

Golf Scramble: Plans are in the works for a Golf Scramble, to be sponsored by the American Legion “Family” (Legion, Sons, Riders and Auxiliary). It will be held at the municipal golf course on October 6 followed by lunch at the Post. All plans are tentative – more information will be coming soon.

School Supplies: School will be starting up again soon and it is time to start gathering supplies to be donated to our Sierra County schools. As I am sure you are all aware every single school in Sierra County is a Title 1 school and the children need all the help we can give them so, please, gather a few school supplies the next time you see some on sale and drop them by the Post at your convenience.
BEGINNING WITH THE AUGUST, 2012 MEETING WE WILL RETURN TO A TRADITIONAL JOINT OPENING OF THE MEETING WITH THE LEGIONAIRRES IN THE SPIRIT OF “UNITY” OF THE LEGION FAMILY. PLEASE JOIN US.

Auxiliary Membership Report – Linda Nenno
The 2013 membership cards are here and I have started Early Bird renewals. Get your card renewed by September 30, and you will have a chance for a free membership for this year. So far we have 74 members who have renewed. If you know someone who is eligible for membership, give them an application or have them contact me. 575-642-6164. Bring them into the Post as your guest and let them see for themselves what a good time we have. Membership is our most important program, and I need everyone’s help to keep it going strong.