POST 44
American Legion NEWSLETTER – February 2016
PO Box 1073 – 1005 Hwy. 195 – Elephant Butte, NM 87935
575-744-4144
COMMANDER – Al Norton
The year 2015 was a year of a major turnaround for our post. Your continued participation in the events all year has made this post very successful. I applaud every single one of you, Great job.
Another important time of year has come around again.
ELECTION TIME, it is absolutely necessary to have a group of responsible and dedicated people to guide us thru another great year. The nominations board is up on the west side wall. Sign up by the office you wish to hold. You may also contact the nomination committee Bob Acre or Neil Thornton. They will be happy to accept your nominations. It would please me to no end to see a full slate of officers this year.
God bless this post, our veterans and GOD BLESS AMERICA.
Finance Officer– Bill Conklin
Like to start off with hope everyone had a great holiday season, I sure did. Now with the good information : for the month of Nov it was a profit of $ 10,580.38, Dec was a small loss of- $128.30 and for the year we stand at $ 8,864.73. For being half way through the year we are in a lot better shape than past years. Gaming is staying pretty even month to month charity Nov $3,682.79 and Dec $ 3215.69. The other contributions from gaming is over $ 6,000 a month. The office staff is working hard to keep your best interest in the front line. February is going to be a busy month with The Bar D Wranglers show and Super Bowl with soup potluck. Hope to see you around the post.
Activities Committee – Kathy Norton and Linda Amdal
Many thanks to Melanie Millsap, Gene Barton and Joe Lopez for all their work putting together a GREAT meal for Papa Vince’s Party!! Was that a great party, or what?? Much appreciation and many thanks to Papa for all he has done for our Post over the years! (The best part of the evening was the $$ dance with Papa!! As usual, Papa, you had all the girls waiting in line!)
There is much ado this month!! In addition to the Tuesday Jams with Sue Barr (Thanks Sue!!), Wednesday dinner/dances & Friday Grills, the first big shin dig will be the Super Bowl Party, Sunday Feb. 7th. Kick off between the Broncos & Panthers is at 4:15, so come early to get a seat. There will be a pot luck soup supper, so break out your favorite recipe & share with the fans! At half time, we will be drawing the 50/50 from foot ball sales(still time to get your football at the bar) and giving away some other prizes. Footballs are $1.00 each or 6 for$5.00.
Come on in to celebrate Mardi Gras on Fat Tuesday, Feb. 9th at 5pm. A pot luck (pulled pork provided by Mae Benjamin), costume contest and cake walk are planned. Break out your beads and masks! All jesters welcome!
Thanks to all members that have purchased tickets and sponsorships to the Bar D Wrangler Concert, Sat, Feb. 13th. We have been successful in getting some great prizes to raffle at the concert. Your ticket stub will automatically get you in the running! General Admission ticket ($15 adults, $10 kids, 16 & under) are still available at the bar & for sponsor VIP seating, contact Linda A., Joyce Hudgens, Ginny Lucero, Linda Nenno or Cindy Wipf. There will be a pre-concert hors’d oeuvre party for Sponsor & guests at the Post at 5:00 pm. Treat your sweetie to a fun evening!!
Sat, Feb. 20th at 1:00 there will be a Celebration of Wally Fluckey’s Life service, followed by a finger food pot luck. Moose Lodge 2050 will also be participating in the service. The general membership meetings will start @ 10:00 instead of 10:30, to allow time to set up for the service.
Sun, Feb. 21st, there will be a Scotch Doubles pool tournament and Sat, Feb. 27th is our monthly Lucero Challenge pool tourney.
Next month, day light savings comes back (& hopefully, some warmer weather!). We also have Saint Patrick’s Day & Easter, so start thinking about a winning Easter Bonnet design for the Easter Bonnet Parade on Saturday, March26th! More on that later…
We look forward to seeing you at the Post and thank you for supporting our many activities!
Sons of the American Legion- Commander Gene Hill
The SAL held their monthly meeting January 19th.
Membership
We are at 81% on membership. This includes 13 new members for 2016 with 2 transfers. Let’s keep up the good work and exceed last year numbers.
Members
One SAL member Donnie Polstin was in Houston January 21 to have surgery. I’m happy to say our thoughts and prayers were answered and the surgery was a success. He is home now and you will see him at the Post. Good job Donnie.
The next big event for the Post is the Bar D Wranglers. A lot of people are working hard to make this a success. Let’s all get tickets and attend this event Feb. 13th.
The SAl donated to two charities at this meeting, Children and Youth Projects and Child Welfare Foundation. These are two SAL National projects.
Meeting
The next SAL meeting will be February 19th at 6:32pm at the Post
Plan to attend and support your branch of the family.
As always, remember that organizations are not really organizations, they are just people. Help out when you can and when you see them, thank those that do help out and let’s all work together for the common good.
Thanks for supporting our Post, our Community and most of all —the Veteran
Legion Riders- American Legion Riders Chapter NMALR 5:
John Bush, President
February 2016 NMALR Chapter 5
Elephant Butte, NM 87935
Membership: We currently have 22 members paid for 2016.
Calendar: Next Riders meeting will be on the first Tuesday of the month: February 2nd at Post 44, at 6:30pm.
Rides & Events
- 01/05/2015 The monthly meeting was held at the Post
- 11/17/2015 Chapter 5 members accompanied Addie and Toby McGarry on a “memorial ride” to honor Joe McGarry, husband and father. Joe succumbed to injuries suffered while returning from a ride to Las Cruces on 14 may 09.
An iron cross decorated with the American flag, a string of Poppies and Legion Rider wristbands was placed at the site on the Old Road just north of Las Cruces.
Our Chaplain gave a short benediction for the group and then several members who rode with Joe during the early days of Chapter 5 shared some of their memories.
- 01-18-16 Chapter 5 members attended a luncheon at Post 44 hosted by the Unit 44 Auxiliary in honor of the Auxiliary National President Sharon Conatser.
- 01/19/2015 Chapter 5 members hosted at the Hamilton Military Museum.
- As a reminder, the 2016 Chapter 5 officers are
President: John Bush
- President: Donacino Armijo
Secretary: Craig Pierson
Treasurer: Craig Pierson
Rd Captain: Bob Duff, & Jim Coslin
Sgt. at Arms: Brian Nikiforow
Historian: vacant
Chaplain: Ron Crom
These officers assumed their duties January first.
Our monthly meetings are held at Post 44 on the first Tuesday of every month at 6:30 p.m. – Feel free to drop in, guests are always welcome.
If you are interested in being in the ALR but don’t have a bike – we have a place for you. Ask any ALR Officer or Member for details – membership is $15 plus vest and patches.
Auxiliary- President- Linda Nenno 575-642-6164
January was a busy month, as usual. I thought after we got the holidays out of the way, things would slow down, but not hardly! We served 8 residents from NMSVH on the 6th. As usual, they had a great time. Our January Bake/Book sale brought in $148. We divided our bakers into two groups so everyone wouldn’t have to bake every month, and we still had leftovers.
Bunco on the 14th was very well attended. We had 14 players. It would have been nice to have had two more, so if you haven’t played before, come join us in February. We also had a nice turnout for our January meeting. Thank you to those of you who attended. It was great to see some new faces and hear some new ideas.
On Monday, January 18, we had the honor of a visit from the American Legion Auxiliary National President, Sharon Conatser. She came to visit the New Mexico State Veteran’s Home, and we held a lunch
for her here at the Post with about 65 members in attendance. The food was great and her message was inspiring. We only get a National President ’s visit about every 4 years, so it was a great honor.
We hope she enjoyed it as much as we did.
Program of the Month: Legislative Program
Every day, hundreds of thousands of troops are fighting for our freedom across the globe. At the Auxiliary, we never stop thinking about what they face while deployed and what they will need when they return home. As advocates for our veterans, we encourage our members to contact their elected officials by phone, email or letter to implore them to keep the needs and sacrifices of our troops and their families, front and center as they go about their legislative work on behalf of their constituents – that’s all of us!
The American Legion Auxiliary supports the legislative priorities adopted by The American Legion. The American Legion’s Legislative Division in Washington D.C. keeps abreast of current legislation relating to veterans’ benefits, national security, and children and youth. Auxiliary members are encouraged to subscribe to The Dispatch, published by The American Legion to keep The Legion Family aware of legislative issues and the official positions of The American Legion on those issues.
Purpose Statement
To train and inform our members to become grassroots advocates for veterans and their families with local, state, and national elected officials, supporting the Legislative agenda and initiatives of The American Legion.
What is Unit 44 doing for the Legislative program?
- Local elections will be held March 1, 2016. Unit members are volunteering to drive residents to the polls in Elephant Butte. Contact information has been given to City Hall.
- At our January monthly meeting, we reviewed “American Legion Auxiliary Involvement in Elections and Political Activities’, the Do’s and Don’ts
- Auxiliary members stay on top of the status of Bill #J.J. Res. 9 which is a Constitutional Amendments that Grants Congress the power to prohibit the physical desecration of the U.S. flag. On 1/12/15, the resolution as referred to the subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
- Members subscribe to the Legion’s Legislative Action Alerts to receive notification when they call on all Legion Family members to take immediate action on a topic.Liz Foster, Unit 44 Legislative Chairman
Upcoming events:
January 29—Decorate for Valetine’s Day—12:00
February 7—Soup Supper—Super Bowl Party—4:00
February 11—Bunco—1:00
February 12—Activities meeting—2:30
February 13—Bake/Book Sale—Group B bakes 8:30-10:00
Bar D Wrangler Show—T or C Civic Center 7:00 PM
February 18—Executive Committee Meeting—10:30
February 20—General Membership Meeting 10:00—Note time change
February 20—Wally Fluckey Memorial—1:00
February 26—Decorate St. Patty’s Day—12:00
Membership—Linda Nenno
Door key cards changed color January 1, 2016, so if you have not renewed your membership, you will not be given a new orange card. Until you do renew, you will need to be signed in by a member who knows you and will be staying at the Post as long as you stay. As of January 24, we have 320 paid members, which is 72% of our final goal. Invite your non-member friends to come to the post with you so they can see why they want to join if eligible. If you have any questions about membership, call me at 575-642-6164 or Ginny at 505-453-7401.
The Chaplain’s Corner Linda Ross
PRAYER FOR THE MILITARY: Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen.
GET WELL WISHES: :Linda Ross, Terri Smith, Maida Sanders, Sherry Pearce, Jack Hadges, Tom Novak, Doug Leasburg, Pam Guillot, Karen Mogen, Pam Sallee, Bill Curlott, Charles Bucher, Papa Vince, and Steve Holmes
OUR CONDOLENCES: Susan Buhler on the passing of her brother, Linda and Bill Nenno on the passing of her half-brother, Walter and Viola Armijo on the passing of his brother, and Betty Tyree on the passing of her husband. The family of Earlene Wells
THANK GOD FOR LITTLE THINGS
Thank you, God for little things that often come our way…
The things we take for granted but don’t mention when we pray…
The unexpected courtesy, the thoughtful, kindly deed…
A hand reached out to help us in the time of sudden need…
Oh, make us more aware, dear God, of little daily graces
That come to us with “sweet surprise” from never dreamed-of-places.
What is a Veteran: A Veteran…whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve…is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable to “The United States of America” for an amount of “up to, and including his/her life.” That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today, who no longer understand that act.
Care packages-Cell phones for soldiers-Marty Novak
In January we sent 58 Care Packages. The story in the December issue of Enchantment magazine about our Care Package project resulted in 8 new names of deployed men and women. It also resulted in donations of $250 to help with the Care Packages. For those of you who don’t know about Enchantment magazine, it is put out by Sierra Electric with a circulation of 150,000 going to other rural electric subscribers in the state. We appreciate their writing of this article about us and the response we received from it. Thanks to our American Legion Family for the help and support they give us, to the members, non-members, groups, organizations, and business of our community for their monetary donations, memorials and donations of supplies and to all those who come to pack the boxes. It takes us all to keep this project going.
We always do Care Packages on the 2nd Wednesday of the month. Our next packing day is February 10. Some of us arrive at 10 to start setting things up and making boxes. We start filling the boxes about 10:30 and we are usually finished by 11. Anyone is welcome.
Cell Phones for Soldiers
We are still collecting used cell phones. These phones are sent for recycling and provide calling cards for our Troops. There is a collection container in the entry way of the Post.
What is a Veteran: A Veteran…whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve…is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable to “The United States of America” for an amount of “up to, and including his/her life.” That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today, who no longer understand that act..