EXPRESSIONS Post 162 American Legion Post 162 8210 Legion Drive Lorton, VA 22079 ( 703) 690-1107 Inside this issue: Commander’s Corner 1 1st Vice Report 2 2nd Vice Report 3 3rd Vice Report 3 Auxiliary Unit Report 4 Squadron 162 Report 4 ALR 162 Report 5 GM Report 5 Chaplain’s Report 6 Thoughts of the Month 6 Veterans Day Ceremony 7 Welcome 7 Calendar 8 December 2014 The Commander’s Corner It’s that time of year again. December has come and with it all the joys of the holiday season and spending time with family and friends, making new memories to cherish. Right now, many of us are looking forward to exchanging gifts and ringing in the New Year with loved ones. As you spread the season’s greetings, I encourage you to take a moment to recognize our military troops who cannot be with their families at this joyous time of year. Perhaps you know of someone like them who cannot make it for the holidays or someone who is less fortunate and struggling during this time of economic uncertainty. I encourage you to reach out and support our Veterans, their families and the community during this holiday season; invite them to our Post Home and share in what our Legion Family has to offer. The gift of giving is certainly in the air! Did you know that there are benefits of American Legion membership? These benefits include: December 2014 Events December 6: Joint Kids Christmas Party at the Moose from 1-3pm December 13: Riders Lay Wreaths at Arlington Cemetery at 8am December 20: Post Christmas Party from7pm to 12am December 22: Ham Give-away from 7pm-9pm December 31: New Year’s Eve Party from 9pm to 1am Volume 3, Issue 6 money-saving discounts for you and your family; a monthly magazine featuring in-depth analysis, historical stories, and news about Veteran issues; a voice on Capitol Hill; and assistance with VA benefits, to include preparing claims and obtaining full military healthcare benefits. So, if you have not renewed your membership for 2015 I encourage you to do so before the end of the year. The American Legion has so much to offer! I look forward to seeing you next year as a member of our Legion Family! There will be no Executive Committee or General Membership meeting held this month. We will resume our normal meeting times in January. Best wishes for a wonderful holiday season and a New Year of Health and Happiness! For God and Country, Patty Veld Post 162 Commander Hiring Our Heroes Virtual Job Scout By Andrea C. Dickerson Modern advances in technology, which allow content streaming and put the world at our fingertips, are benefiting transitioning and unemployed veterans and spouses across the nation through the Hiring Our Heroes Virtual Job Scout, a free online platform that includes all the resources and opportunities of a live Hiring Our Heroes job fair. Sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation, the Virtual Job Scout puts all the benefits and resources of a Hiring Our Heroes career fair in a virtual format, available to military-community jobseekers and recruiting employers. Since its inception in August, more than 500 employers and 5,500 veterans and military spouses have signed up to use the site. While on the site, applicants can create personal, professional profiles and showcase their skills all while accessing job postings and interacting with recruiters. Hiring Our Heroes hosts a Virtual Job Scout job fair monthly, allowing new and current site users to interact in live chats with recruiters. For more information, please visit: www.virtualjobscout.org. Expressions Post 162 Page 2 First Vice Commander’s Report It has been a busy month for me: 155 letters sent; a new 141 database created; and at least two dozen transfer requests or inquiries processed. It seems that there is no end in sight! I have been spending the majority of my time trying to work our 141 list and the “Project Stay Alive” referrals. You may ask, what is 141 list or Project Stay alive? Well here are the answers, or as close as I can get to answers (chuckle). The Department of Virginia maintains the unaffiliated members at Post 141 at the State Headquarters in Richmond. These unaffiliated members are processed by the Legion National headquarters and then distributed to Department Headquarters. The American Legion Department of Virginia sorts all incoming 141 members by zip code and these printouts are sent to the nearest American Legion Post. In our case, the zip codes are 22308, 22309, and 22079. These zip codes are for areas like Engelside, Mt Vernon, Lorton Valley and Lorton. I take the information given and send each member a letter describing our Post and some of the events that happen throughout the year and I ask that the member consider transferring to our Post. Through the “magic” of mail merging, I created over 155 letters, signed each one and our General Manager Ann Kuntz took care of the rest. (Thanks Ann for your welcome assistance.) It is hoped that out of this mass mailing, several of these Post 141 Legion members will transfer their membership to our Post. This is just the first phase, the next phase is “cold calling” those 141 members whose phone numbers we have (approximately 60-70) and follow-up with them. Project Stay Alive consists of members who have moved from another state to our area and are looking for a new Post home. With the dozen or so transfer requests from Project Stay Alive and some of those members at Post 141 wanting to transfer, I have hope that we will be able to exceed our year end goal. As some of you are aware, our Acting Adjutant Alan Amos’ arm is still in a sling which makes it difficult for him to process membership renewals and transfers. So I am looking for anyone who is willing to help Alan with the membership processing. It is a tedious but worthwhile job that needs to be done. As of now we have made 64% of our goal, and we need to be at 75% of goal by Dec 5th. Please renew your membership if you have not done so. Membership is the life blood of Post 162. Merry Christmas to all and to our warfighters still doing a job away from home. 2014-2015 Post Officers Commander 1stVice Patty Veld Vic Graulau 2nd Vice Sam Ramseur 3rd Vice Rick Weinard Adjutant Vacant Finance Officer Alan Amos Chaplain Ken Packwood Service Officer Kurt Petersen Historian David Wallace Judge Advocate Mike Fletcher Sgt-at-Arms George Frank Past Commander Marv Rodney Legionnaire of the Year Wayne Knight Board of Directors: Alan Amos, Bernie Duncan, Mike Fletcher, George Frank, Kurt Petersen, Sam Ramseur, Patty Veld, Chuck Voccio For God and Country, Victor I Graulau 1st Vice Commander 2015 Membership and Renewal Information January 1st is right around the corner and once that occurs, your 2014 card will be invalid. Please renew today! The respective Legion Family Membership Chair, contact information and cost of dues are: Legion: Vic Graulau Auxiliary: Jen Donohue SAL : ALR: [email protected] $35.00 [email protected] $25.00 (Seniors) $10.00 (Juniors) Dave Wallace [email protected] $35.00 (Seniors) $10.00 (Juniors and Dual) Jen Donahue [email protected] $20.00 As always, you can leave your renewal information in an envelope at the bar. Please ensure that you put your name and (Legion Family entity) Membership Renewal on the front of the envelope. Your 2015 card will be mailed to you shortly after. Volume 3, Issue 6 Page 3 Second Vice Commander’s Report Greetings fellow Legionnaires, as expected these next several months will be very busy for us. Some of you will be traveling during the holidays seeing family and friends and I just want to take this time to wish you and yours a very happy and safe holiday season. The General Manager and I, along with input from our ABC Managers, are constantly reviewing ways to identify and promote new programs for the membership. In addition to our established weekly lunch specials (thanks Jen Donohue, Mike Bache, and Vickie Pickering) and our third Thursday of the month steak night, we have also tested food service on two other nights. The initial response was very good and it is something we will build on. Many thanks to Ann Kuntz and Cindy Maslinski who took the lead on this new endeavor and made it a success. Just keep checking our website and our Facebook page for the dates and times of these and other events. The support and participation for the football tailgates this season has been outstanding. In addition to the regular sponsors, the Sons, Riders, Auxiliary, and the Legion Ladies, I would like to thank a special group that without fanfare is always there behind the scene ensuring our members have a great time. You know who they are, but saying thank you doesn't hurt. First of all the Redskin faithful Betty O' Connor, Vicki Pickering, Susan Wroth, the Minnesota flash Doreen Strawsburg, and Patty (yes I got game!) Veld. A very special thanks to Larry and Susan Snyder for their sponsorship for one of our tailgates. The food was outstanding. And last but in no way least “you” our Legion family - thank you for your support. pant in our Post activities and functions. In closing I ask that you keep our sick and shut-in members and all of our service members in your prayers. For God and Country, Sam Ramseur Second Vice Commander Remember that membership is our life blood and we need not only for you to renew but to become an active partici- Third Vice Commander’s Report Greetings Post 162: It's been a busy month of repairs and maintenance for our Post. A huge thank you to Mike Fletcher and Cox cable for bringing in their bucket truck to help restring our flag pole. Another thanks to Ann Kuntz for calling in personnel to work on our current plumbing problems and walk-in cooler issues. The final thank you for this month goes to Mr. Bowser for his continued work cleaning up our back yard area. Your support is greatly appreciated. As the cold weather arrives my focus will turn to inside repairs and improvements. Should anyone see a need for repairs, please contact our General Manager, Ann Kuntz, or email me directly at: [email protected]. For God and Country, Rick Weinard 3rd Vice Commander If you have any suggestions please email me or leave a note with one of our bartenders! Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in. ~Author Unknown Expressions Post 162 Page 4 Auxiliary Unit 162 Report During the month of November we had the great pleasure of the Veterans from the “Old Soldiers Home” coming in to spend the day with us – this is such a special event. The ladies who helped and attended and, more importantly, made this happen are the right hand of the Auxiliary. Deb Mohaupt - thank you for your dedication and hard work in making sure it all happened without a hitch! You run a tight shift but working with you is such a pleasure! We had 42 Vets and staff attend and the Auxiliary was able to send them home with a gift bag. Deb you rocked! Thanks also to Vic Graulau for the tunes. So now, upcoming events…we will share the Children’s Christmas Party with Moose Lodge 583 on Dec 6th from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. at the Moose Lodge. Please sign up your “special one” with name and age so Santa can bring them a gift. The Legion will have the adult “kids” (yeah that’s the rest of us) party on Dec 20th from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. You need to show up because this is a blast! There is a signup sheet behind the bar and we should all bring a dish. At this party, please also bring canned food and a patriotic ornament for our Post family tree. We will decorate the tree and pass on the canned foods to our needy. 2014-2015 Auxiliary Officers President Jen Donohue 1st Vice Deb Mohaupt 2nd Vice Gloria Bannister Treasurer Karen Donais Historian Karen Donais Chaplain Fran Ricker Jen Donohue Sgt-at-Arms Amy Bowser President, Unit 162 Secretary Karen Donais Have a safe and healthy holiday. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Until next month, For God and Country, Squadron 162 Report 2014-2015 S.A.L. Officers Commander John Windsor 1st Vice Dave Wallace 2nd Vice Marv Rodney 3rd Vice Dave Albert Sgt-at-Arms John Yaksima Chaplain Victor Graulau Finance Officer Bill Strawsburg Judge Advocate Steve Levinson Adjutant Victor Graulau November was a busy month and December promises to be more of the same with the holiday season rapidly approaching. During our November meeting, we approved a $100.00 donation to the Carville Star program for the 40&8 Societe. This program supports finding a cure of Hansen’s disease (formerly known as leprosy) through development of medication drugs which will cure the disease at the Hansen’s Research Laboratory in Carville, Louisana. Also, during November, Squadron 1st Vice Dave Wallace and Adjutant Vic Graulau supported the Auxiliary Unit 162’s hosting of the luncheon for our Veterans from the D.C. Old Soldier’s Retirement Home on Nov 19th – always a great event! We postponed our “Early Bird” drawing and will hold two drawings at our Dec 17th monthly meeting. Each winner will receive a $50.00 gas credit card. Squadron Commander John Windsor, 2nd Vice Dave Albert, and Adjutant/ Chaplain Vic Graulau will meet and formulate our input to the Post annual Christmas Party scheduled to be held on Saturday, Dec 20th. Our membership drive continues to proceed at a slower clip than desired; however, we are making progress. As of Nov 219th, we have 47 current year members with our Detach- ment established target of 45% or 63 members by Dec 3rd – so you can see, we still need your help – please renew now! Squadron Chaplain Vic Graulau mentioned that SAL member Brian Mosser was in Fairfax Hospital recovering from a stroke – please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers. All of our Squadron members wish you and yours a Happy Holiday Season and a Healthy and Prosperous New Year! For God and Country, Marv Rodney SAL 2nd Vice Commander Volume 3, Issue 6 Page 5 ALR 162 Report Attention American Legion Riders (ALR) - we ordered new long sleeve shirts! If you would like to order one, please find a Rider and place your order. The shirts are $20.00 each or $23.00 for 2X or larger – add another $3.00 if you would like your name engraved on it. We donated $250.00 to “Wreaths Across America.” We will meet at the Post to go to Arlington Cemetery to lay wreaths on fallen heroes’ graves at 8:00 a.m. on Dec 13th - anyone and everyone is welcome to help. Another project the Riders are supporting this year is the Fisher House. A separate email for their wish list will be sent out by the Post Historian. Please be generous with donations and have them to the Post no later than Dec 15th. The dinners have been a big success! Thank you to everyone who has come out to support the ALR. We will start back up in February or March - check our upcoming calendars for menus, dates and times. Thanks for all your support!! Last month we approved our revised ALR Constitution and By-Laws at our monthly meeting! While this was a long process it was, nonetheless, a very important step forward for our Rider’s Chapter. A special thanks to everyone who came out and supported our tailgate on Nov 30th. The food was delicious!! All proceeds went to the Fisher House. Don’t forget the ALR meetings are the 2nd Wednesday of every month. Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday season. 2014-2015 ALR Officers Director George Frank Asst. Director Jason Hoffstot Finance Jen Donohue Nora Cavanaugh For God and County, Sgt-at-Arms Chris Young George Frank Chaplain Robert Lucas ALR 162 Director Road Captains Randy Hacker Bill Kegelmeyer General Manager’s Report November was a very busy month for us. We had lunch specials on Mondays and Fridays and will be doing the same in December so come in and enjoy lunch with us. We are trying to come up with new ideas for dinner. Cindy Maslinski made stuffed pork chops that were out of this world – we will have them again soon. Our annual “Turkey-Give Away” and sloppy joe dinner made for a very good night - a special thanks to Cindy for spearheading this event. There were a lot of people waiting to win a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. We had our own Thanksgiving dinner here in our social quarters on Thanksgiving Day and everyone seemed to have a good time. We will have our “Ham Give-Away” night on Dec 22nd - we will give one ham away every 15 minutes from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Our annual Christmas Party will be held on Saturday, Dec 20th from 7:00 to12:00 p.m. You may bring a dish if you like. Jeff Magee will be playing tunes and we will have some good food so come in and join us. Our Post hours will be 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p. m. on Christmas Eve with a special burger day from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. for $3.50 a burger. Christmas Day hours are 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. with dinner served at 3:00 p.m. We will have a cooked ham so please bring a dish and enjoy a great holiday meal. We will have our annual New Year’s Eve Party with DJ Jeff spinning the tunes. Enjoy the evening with steak wraps and chips for dinner and hats and noise makers waiting for the champagne for the midnight toast - all for $20.00 a person. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All! Ann Kuntz Post General Manager December Birthdays Dec. 3rd: Dec. 6th: Dec.7th: Dec. 9th: Dec. 11th: Dec. 16th: Dec. 21st: Dec. 26th: Dec. 29th: Dec. 31st: Aaron Farley Robbie DaCosta Rick Weinard Tom Brown Jimmy Lamouroux Mary Hager Candy Mohaupt Dave Tutterrow Tim Shannon Brandon Toy Helen Shemit Volume 3, Issue 6 Page 6 Chaplain’s Report Imagine you awoke in the middle of the night to a spirit from Christmas Past, where would you be and what would you have done different. We all have that hindsight and would like to change a few things; however, the one thing you must remember is that God has a plan for you. Whether you have completed your mission, working on it or even haven’t gotten the warning order, look at what you can do and how you can change someone else’s life this Christmas, whether it be you and your family working at a food bank, ringing the bell for the Salvation Army for an evening or even visiting a location to brighten up just one child’s life. Tis the Season of Giving. It is not just about gifts that can be unwrapped, it is about unwrapping yourself from the hustle and bustle of the season and showing your true gifts that our Lord has given you to share with the rest of the world. Here is a little Christmas History - In the Early Middle Ages, Christmas Day was overshadowed by Epiphany, which in western Christianity focused on the visit of the magi. But the medieval calendar was dominated by Christmas-related holidays. The forty days before Christmas became the “forty days of St. Martin” which began on November 11, the feast of St. Martin of Tours, now known as Advent. In Italy, former Saturnalian traditions were attached to Advent. Around the 12th century, these traditions transferred again to the Twelve Days of Christmas (December 25 – January 5); a time that appears in the liturgical calendars as Christmastide or Twelve Holy Days. I would ask that you keep Helen and Chuck Voccio in your prayers and please pray for a fast recovery for Helen Shemit and Ray Lockett. Please keep Pam Bowyers’ family in your prayers due to her passing. you a most joyous Christmas and a blessed New Year. For God and Country, Ken Packwood Post Chaplain “ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. “ - James 1:17 I wish each and every one of Comrade Albert’s Thoughts of the Month Leadership: The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not a bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly. Friendship: A friend is one who knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still gently allows you to grow. Perseverance: The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Performance: The highest levels of performance come to people who are centered, intuitive, creative, and reflective - people who know how to see a problem as an opportunity. The test of success is not what you do when you are on top - success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom. Expressions Post 162 Page 7 Veterans Day Ceremony Held at the Post By David F. Wallace On the “eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month,” a Veterans Day Ceremony was held at Lorton Post 162. Chaplain Ken Packwood provided the opening prayer, and during his solemn words asked for “patience in planning with our fellow men and women a world in which nations may resolve their differences by peaceful means.” Commander Veld proceeded with this time-honored ceremony at the post home which had approximately thirty Legion Family members present and led them in The Pledge of Allegiance, followed by the POW/MIA Observance. Her speech started by saying, “Seventy years ago, President Roosevelt signed what many historians consider the greatest social legislation ever passed by the U.S. Congress. As popular as the GI Bill remains today, it took the horrific cost and bloodshed of World War II to remind many Americans just how great a debt is owed to our Veterans.” She continued speaking acknowledging that most Americans profess to truly love our veterans, especially at gatherings like the one being held and on Memorial Day. “And although the feelings are sincere,” she said, “it is important to remember that these brave men and women are defending us 365 days a year.” Veld talked about the heroism our service members have demonstrated time and again, from the American Revolution to the Global War on Terrorism along with their sacrifice that they have provided. “Our warriors need advocates and that is why The American Legion exists,” said Veld. “We are to serve veterans, their families and our communities. Veterans need each other, but, more importantly, our country needs our veterans.” After Commander Veld completed her Veterans Day speech, she introduced Dave Wallace, Post Historian, who shared the poem, “What is a Veteran?” by Anthony Barton Hinkle. The words not only described what a veteran was but it also set the mood for all present to reflect on the significance of Veterans Day where once a year, our nation honors its veterans. What some may forget is that every day, veterans honor us all, with the fruits of their service. The veteran recalls, reflects and re- members the very personal and unique aspects of time served in uniform. All veterans have a binding thread that only they can know and share: knowledge that they were part of something larger than themselves. Commander Veld came back to the podium to read a Certificate of Recognition from the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia declaring the week of November 9th through the 15th as Virginia American Legion week. Chaplain Packwood followed by providing a closing prayer and then the Veterans Day ceremony concluded with the playing of TAPS. Welcome to our Newest Members!!! Welcome to our 5 newest Legionnaires to our Post: Scott Anderson, Alan Marlboro, Willie Nero, Timothy Bozoki and Russell Peverell! We look forward to seeing you around our Post and again, welcome to the Post 162 Legion Family! Expressions Post 162 is a monthly Newsletter available to the American Legion Post 162 Legion Family Members. Contributions to the Newsletter must be submitted by the 20th of each month. Photos and text submissions are accepted, but subject to review by the Editor and the Post Advisors. Editor: Dave Wallace [email protected] Post Advisors: Patricia Veld [email protected] Marv Rodney [email protected] Post Website: www.valegion162.org December 2014 Sun Mon 1 Tue 2 Wed 3 Thu 4 25 Cent Wings Lunch Special: Auxiliary Meeting 12pm Open Faced 7:15pm Roast Beef & House Committee Mashed Potatoes Meeting 7pm 7 8 9 Tailgate Legion Ladies SkinsvsRams 1pm Lunch Special: Sausage, Peppers and Potatoes 25 Cent Wings 12pm 14 15 16 17 Tailgate 40&8 SkinsvsGiants— 1pm Lunch Special: Meatloaf 25 Cent Wings 12pm SAL Meeting 7:15pm 21 22 28 Tailgate Sam 10 24 Christmas Eve (Open 11am6pm) Burger Day 1pm-5pm 29 31 30 25 Cent Wings 12pm 40&8 Meeting 11:00am Joint Kids Christmas Party at the Moose 1pm-3pm 12 13 Army National Lunch Special: BBQ Sliders Ralph’s Pizza Night 4:30pm Betty’s Jukebox Nite Guard Birthday SUBVETS Meeting 11:00am 19 20 Lunch Special: French Dip Ralph’s Pizza Night 4:30pm Betty’s Jukebox Nite SkinsvsEagles 4:30pm 25 26 Lunch 27 Christmas Day (Open 1pm-6pm) Christmas Dinner 3pm Special: Vickie Surprise Stuffed Pork Chops 5pm Lunch Special: Chicken and Rice 25 Cent Wings Sloppy Joe Dinner 12pm 5pm Ham Give-away 7pm-9pm Lunch Special: SkinsvsCowboys - Meatball Stick 1pm Sub 11 Sat 5 Lunch Spe- 6 cial: Cheeseburger Sliders Ralph’s Pizza Night 4:30pm Betty’s Jukebox Nite ALR Meeting 7:15pm 23 Fri 18 New Year’s Eve New Year’s Eve Party 9pm-1am Post Christmas Party w/ DJ Jeff 7pm12am Don’t forget that our Queen of Hearts game is played EVERY Wednesday at 7pm! If you are sponsoring an event that needs to be on the calendar please contact: Ann Kuntz: (703) 690-1107 or by email: [email protected] Riders Lay Wreaths at Arlington Cemetery 8am
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