OCTOBER 2006
COMMANDER’S CORNER: THANK YOU GOES OUT TO THE FOLLOWING: Jimmy Taylor, Larry Turner, Jim Dunning, John Donaho, Gary Henaire, Jim & Barbara Spradlin, Kim Bernard, and helpers for the car show for Boys/Girls State. Great. Johnnie Maples and staff for a wonderful Labor Day picnic and, of course, Byron Pianalto, for his push on membership. We are above the quota. Mike Gordon – Program Director for “America Salutes You Freedom Walk”. Post 327’s family had 17 people for this walk that was outstanding. Of course, our own Color Guard, with flags, led the walk. Was I ever proud, and I’m sure the rest of you were also. The ALA Juniors have been such a help to the Post, planting flowers, placing flags down Tidewater Drive to Granby Street for the Freedom Walk, and the Junior’s President, Ashley Evans, had the privilege of presenting the Legion family check of $1,500.00 to MDA on Channel 10 TV. Way to go Juniors! We’re lucky to have you. NEWS RELEASE: If you are interested in filing a VA claim, we now have a newly trained Service Officer to help you. You may contact Sabrina Smith at (757) 560-5941 to make an appointment. We also have limited handicap equipment, should you need it. At the Post’s last business meeting, we voted to have a door prize drawing every monthly meeting that we have 25 or more members in attendance. This prize could be worth your time, so come on out and join us at 8:00 p.m. the second Tuesday of every month. An anonymous member who is also helping with the funding made the suggestion. The District Fall Conference will be held at Post 190 at 3:00 p.m. on Monday, 8 October. The Department Fall Conference will be held FRI-SAT-SUN, 27-29 October at the Holiday Inn in Hampton, VA. This is a good learning experience. Since it’s so close to Norfolk, I hope to have a great turn out of the Post family. The Commanders and Adjutant’s Meeting will be held at VA Medical Center in Hampton, Bldg. 83 at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, 30 October. It will last about 2 hours. For God and Country, Mary Lee Lupejkis
FIRST VICE COMMANDER: Membership is currently over 65%. Remember to renew before Dec 20th to avoid the increase in dues for the current year. After Dec 20th the dues will be $30.00 for 2007.
The meeting for the Thursday night American Legion Dart League will be on 5 October at 7:30 p.m. There are only 8 teams signed up as of Sep 25th. If you have any recommendations to the rules, be sure to bring them up at the meeting. For God and Country, Byron Pianalto
SECOND VICE COMMANDER: The Labor Day Picnic went well. THANK YOU to all volunteers. It could not be done without you. The (C&Y) Children’s Halloween Party will be on Sunday, 29OCT06 from 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. The Norfolk Fire Dept. will be here to speak to the kids about safety. The Norfolk sheriff’s Dept. will be here for the Ident-A-Kid program. Please bring a picture if the kids are wearing make-up. There will be plenty of treats for all the kids. Let’s come out in numbers. New Year’s Eve is in the planning. Suggestions are welcomed. Please contact me at 425-0520. Hope to see you all there. This has been a busy month. We would like to say THANK YOU to all the guard members and Post members who came out to support the families during the Memorial services and those who come out to all the programs the Legion supports. New members are always welcome. For God and Country, Johnnie A. Maples, II
CHAPLAIN: Family and friends are invited to attend the Post Everlasting on Tuesday, 10 October at 8:00 p.m. for Dale “Klu” Callison, Ronald S. Johns, Albert J. Sands, and Ray D. Weaver. For God and Country, Tony Moore
AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY PRESIDENT: Hello Ladies. Our Vets will be at the Post on Friday, 6 Oct to join us for a fish fry. We will perform a “skit” for them. The ALA Juniors will have installation of officers on Sunday, 8 October at 1:00 p.m. Please bring a covered dish. The “Southern Gentlemen” male dancers will be here on Friday, 13 Oct at 8:00 p.m. Cost: $5.00 for members and $10.00 for non-members. All proceeds go to VA&R, the VA Hospital. The Dept. Fall Conference will be 27-29th Oct. in Hampton. The Children’s Halloween Party will be on Sunday, 29 Oct from 1-5:00 p.m. Membership is doing well. Please keep sending them in. For God and Country, Dawn Thomas
SQUADRON 327 COMMANDER: Membership is doing well, but if you need to renew, please feel free to do so. We will be having a fishing trip on Oct 21st on the head boat “SALLY “T”. The cost will be $30.00 per person for a half-day trip to include the rods, bait and tackle. Sign up sheet will be onboard. The boat can only hold 35 people, so sign up as soon as possible. For God and Country, Brook Gillespie
ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT: As dedicated Legion family members, we have earned the right to vote. Ensure your voice is heard on Tuesday, 7 November 2006, know the candidates and where they stand on issues that may affect you and remember to vote. We will be holding nominations for all Association positions at our Association Meeting on Tuesday, 16 January 2007. If you intend to run for an Association office you must be nominated and accept the nomination at this meeting. If you cannot attend the meeting you may accept a nomination to run by providing the Nominating Committee with a letter stating your intentions prior to the meeting. Elections will be held on Sunday, 17 February 2007 with results announced at the Association Meeting on 20 February 2007. On Election Day, ballots will be available at the Post Home from noon until 6:30 p.m., when election voting will be closed. You must have a current membership card from American Legion Post 327 in your possession to receive a ballot. A voting officer will be assigned to verify eligibility and monitor voting procedures. When the poll’s close, the voting officer and two appointed Association members will count the ballots and provide the results to the Association President. For God & Country, Jim Norton
THANK YOU: I would like to thank Association President Jim Norton, Club Manager Sandi Wright, and the Sons of the American Legion for the hospitality provided in the recent 40/8 function. Post 327 has once again gone above and beyond the call of duty to show our guests an outstanding time. Great chow, Vinnie! For God & Country, Roger Harner, Chef de Gare, V-86
ASSOCIATION CLUB MANAGER: The schedule for October dinners is: 6th – Fish Fry; 13th – Meatloaf: 20th – Shrimp Pasta; 27th – Club Sandwich & Fries. The Karaoke KJ’s in October are: 7th – Walt DeGraaf; 14th- Linda M. & Tim; 21st – Mike & Linda Rios; 28th – Allen Woodruff. Thanks again for supporting our fundraiser dinners for charities. Please check your newsletter calendar for our breakfast schedule. For God & Country, Sandra Wright
EDITOR/ADJUTANT: I look forward to seeing you at the District Fall Conference. Come on out and let’s bring home the membership banner again for Post 327. The Boys/Girls State Dinner will be on Tuesday, 24 October 2006 at 6:00 p.m. I hope to see you there. Don’t forget to set your clocks back on 29 Oct. Daylight Saving Time ends at 2:00 a.m.
Combat-Related Special Compensation (CRSC) is a benefit that provides military retirees monthly tax-free compensation that concurrently supplements their VA disability pay (VA waiver) and retired pay. However, many vets do not complete the application process because they find it too difficult to document their combat injuries. American Legion Service Officers and VA counselors can provide assistance for vets seeking to apply for CRSC. You may also get a claim form online at www.crsc.army.mil or call the CRSC Service Center at (866) 281-3254 to request a form in the mail. Complete your claim and send it with the appropriate documentation. Make sure to include all DD-214’s with the application.
Please remember to submit your hours to the Post Adjutant or leave them behind the bar for her. You may do this weekly or monthly. If you do something like take a neighbor to the store, the doctor, or in anyway help someone out, turn in the hours, mileage, and any out-of-pocket expenses, and B.J. will submit the reports to the 2nd District Adjutant John Schenk. This helps our Legion in many ways.
HUMOR: From the Sep ’06 issue of Reader’s Digest by Father Bryce Sibley – A priest, a rabbi and a minister sat in a boat out in the middle of a lake. The priest says, “I’m thirsty. I’m going to get something to drink.” So he steps out of the boat, walks across the water to shore, gets a soda, walks back across the water and gets back in the boat. The minister says, “I’m thirsty too.” So he walks across the water to shore, gets a soda and walks back to the boat. The rabbi says, “My turn.” He gets out of the boat and immediately sinks. The priest turns to the minister. “Think we should’ve told him where the rocks were?” May God bless each of you with good health and happiness. For God and Country, B.J. Miller-Nobles