MARCH 2007
COMMANDER’S CORNER: Membership – Time is flying by, and we still haven’t made our quota of 100% - close, but not there. We mailed out postcards to all members that have not renewed. If you received one of these cards, you need to send your ($30.00) annual membership dues in now. Your membership helps us do programs for our veterans, and I’m sure that you don’t want our “Vets” to suffer anymore. Take pride that you are able to help. ELECTIONS of Post Officers – FIRST NOTICE – The election of Post Officers will be held in May. If you have been thinking about attending Post meetings and helping Post 327 move ahead, let it be known. Submit your name and the position you would like to fill to the Nomination Committee (W.T. Jones or B.J. Miller). A list of nominees will be posted on the bulletin board after they have been received. All Post positions are open each year, and any member can run. Believe me, we NEED YOU. The Department of Virginia Spring Conference will be held 23-25 March 2007 at the Virginia Beach Resort Hotel. If you have not made hotel reservations – time is getting short. Also, if you plan to attend, but not stay overnight, you still have to register and pay the $5.00 registration fee to attend the meetings. I hope to see you there. For God and Country, Mary Lee Lupejkis
FIRST VICE COMMANDER: Membership is at 93% with a total of 1,050 members renewing. Please renew if you have not done so. Thank you to all Legionnaires that helped with recruiting to get new members. For God and Country, Byron Pianalto
SECOND VICE COMMANDER: All events have gone well. Thank you to ALL who helped. Our next event is the Memorial Day Picnic May 27th from NOON until 6:00 p.m. For God and Country, Johnnie A. Maples, II
CHILDREN AND YOUTH: Our next event will be the Easter Party on April 8th from 1-5:00 p.m., ages 12 years old and under. Thank you. For God and Country, Johnnie A. Maples, II
HONOR GUARD: We will be marching in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 17th at 9:00 a.m. beginning at Northside School. Post members are encouraged to participate in “Blue & Gray”. As the world’s largest veteran’s organization and the area’s largest Post, we would like to see Post 327 represented. Please come out in large numbers. For God and Country, Otha Newton.
AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY PRESIDENT: Hello Ladies, membership is doing okay, but we still need just a few more for our goal. So please help us if you can. This is the SECOND NOTICE for our elections coming in May. If you plan to run for an office, please see Victoria Carney. Don’t forget our dinner on Friday, March 2nd. It will be Italian made by Nancy Bell. Our Jr's breakfast is the 4th Sunday of the month. Thanks to all who helped with the Steak dinner this past month. Ladies, we will be marching in the St. Patrick’s Day parade. Come and march with us. The Spring conference will be March 23-25th at the Resort Hotel in Virginia Beach. Hope to see you there. For God & Country, Dawn Thomas
SQUADRON 327 COMMANDER: I would like to say congratulations to all of you. We have reached 101% in membership. So keep up the good work. I also would like to thank Dave Samson for all of his efforts in making this possible. On March 18th we will sponsor a “POKER RUN" with all the proceeds going to the Child Welfare Foundation, so come on out to Sunrise Cycles and support your Squadron. Our meeting at the Spring Conference will be at 1:00 p.m. on March 24th at Virginia Beach so come on out. After all, it is our 75th Anniversary. Last, but not least, this is our FIRST NOTICE for Election of SAL officers. The Election will be held at the June 11th meeting. If anyone is interested in running for an office, please see any Squadron Officer. For God and Country, Brook Gillespie
ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT: Well, Association elections are over for 2007-2008 year. I think the new voting system went over very well as we had 90 people cast their vote. I want to THANK Luther Smith, Ralph Fritz, Larry Perez, and Jim Martin for an OUTSTANDING job with the voting. The results are as follows: President - Jim Norton, Vice President -W. T. Jones, Secretary - John Schenk, and Treasurer - Leonard Frederick. Elected to the Board of Directors for two years are Jim Dunning, Jim Pearson, Larry Turner and Lee Hemmerich. Congratulations to All. For God and Country, Jim Norton
ASSOCIATION CLUB MANAGER: Jennifer Kravassi will be returning to entertain us on Friday, March 16th. Please watch newsletter for future entertainers on a Friday night. Our KJs will continue to be here for our singers every Saturday night. Reminder to all members: You must have membership card with you at all times when in the Club (ABC law) and be prepared to show it if a bartender asks to see it. Please remember nothing larger than a fifty ($50) will be accepted in the Clubroom. Dinners are prepared by volunteers and all proceeds go to a charity. Please support these endeavors and be less critical when you have to wait for your dinner. Our volunteers work really hard and do their best to give you a tasty and bountiful dinner. If you have a dish you enjoy preparing, why not prepare it for one of the charities? We could sure use your culinary expertise. Reminders: (1) Please do not go behind the bar unless you have the bartender’s permission. (2) Please respect others in the club by not using foul language. Enjoy yourself St. Patrick's Day. Friday night dinners for March are: 2nd – Italian; 9th – Corned Beef & Cabbage; 16th – Spaghetti; 23rd – Chicken Cacciatore; 30th - Wet Burritos. The Saturday night Karaoke KJ’s for March are: 3rd – Walt DeGraaf; 10th – Tootsie’s Karaoke; 17th – Karaoke Soundwaves; 24th – Tootsie’s Karaoke; 31st - Mike and Linda Rios. For God & Country, Sandra Wright
EDITOR: Congratulations to the newly elected Post 327 Association officers and thank you to all who voted. Our 2nd VCDR, Johnnie Maples, volunteered and took the “plunge” at the 15th Annual Polar Plunge and Winter Carnival in Virginia Beach on Feb 3rd. All donations went to the “Special Olympics.” Go, Johnnie go! Recognition goes to one of our Post 327 Exec Board members, Mike Gordon, for his volunteer work at St. Mary’s Home for Disabled Children in Norfolk, Feb 9th, to adapt toys for play for the children. Great job Mike!
FYI: The JROTC Drill Cavalier all Area 5 meet will take place 16-17 March 2007 at NAB Little Creek. Homefront America offers $25,000 in scholarships – Patriotic, military themed essays due April 23rd Homefront America has joined the W. Daniel Tate family and Sara’s Hope Foundation for a second year to host a scholarship contest awarding $1,000 to 25 military dependent children. The organization is a member of “America Supports You.” Contestants are asked to submit essays on one of four subjects: 1. America …It’s a Wonderful Country; 2. Turning Challenges into Opportunities; 3. Why I am Proud to be an American; 4. My Dad/Mom…My Hero. Essays should not exceed 500 words. The essays will be judged by independent volunteers based on content, originality, grammar and spelling. Winners will be announced in May. For more info, visit the Web site at www.homefrontamerica.org.
HUMOR: One day my housework-challenged husband decided to wash his sweatshirt. Seconds after he stepped into the laundry room, he shouted to me, "What setting do I use on the washing machine?" "It depends," I replied. "What does it say on your shirt?" He yelled back, "University of Virginia." And they say blondes are dumb!!
A man and his wife, now in their 60's, were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. On their special day a good fairy came to them and said that because they had been so good that each one of them could have one wish. The wife wished for a trip around the world with her husband. Whoosh! Immediately she had airline/cruise tickets in her hands. The man wished for a female companion 30 years younger… Whoosh...immediately he turned ninety!!! Ya Gotta love that fairy! Be careful what you wish for!
May God bless each of you with good health and happiness? For God and Country, B.J. Miller-Nobles