Thomas F Welch VFW 706 Online Newsletter

                                                                        THOMAS F. WELCH                                                                                                                                        VETERANS of FOREIGN WARS                                                                  POST 706

COMMANDER’S CORNER

 This is a great holiday season for the Post, our Comrades and Sisters.  We proudly provided 20 dinners for Thanksgiving and opened the Post for a free dinner to all who came.  Thank you for your donations and support for our fellow veterans and their families.  You made many feel the warmth of true comradeship.

 Another heartfelt thank you to all who made donations to our maintenance fund.  Many of our “improvements” will be “behind the scenes” repairs.  We are still graciously accepting donations from our membership, if you are inclined to do so.  Thank you Post 706 Comrades!

 Our Voice of Democracy winner advanced to the State competition.  Amelia Breitling submitted the absolute best oral essay this year in District I.  Congratulations Amelia!

 Now is the time to renew your membership.  If you BRING or mail in your 2011 dues, it only cost $20, but if you wait until 1 January, the cost goes up to $30!  RENEW TODAY FOR $20 and save some money for Christmas.

 Rumor control is one of the biggest issues inside our Post.  Before anyone “spreads” a rumor, how about going to the source and finding out if the information you are passing on is accurate or even true?  Recently, we experienced a rather upsetting event because someone started a rumor concerning an event that supposedly occurred at the Post.  The rumored event DID NOT HAPPEN! Therein lays the crux of the problem.   If you overhear something, don’t take it as gospel.  Find out the facts for yourself.  If it was meant for widest dissemination, you can bet your boots it will be published one way or another.  Always ask the question ~ “Can this be for real?” ~ BEFORE you become part of the problem. 

 Keep visiting our website for some interesting events coming in the future.  Want to know what they are?  Stay tuned or come in to the Post to learn what is going on. 

 Visit the Post website for the newsletter and updated information & activity calendars for this month.  Log on to www.vfw706.org. 

 It is the best time of the year!  Celebrate all the good that has happened and help those who need our help.  Don’t be a Grinch!  Be one of Santa’s great, little helpers.

 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all Comrades, Sisters, and their families.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Richard Mullen, Commander

 SR. VICE COMMENTS

Veterans know well the phrase “It is better to give than receive.” Just ask any grunt! The Post has comrades as well as our community that need our collective skills to make their lives better. Take some time during this holiday season and help a comrade. The commander posted telephone numbers and names of our veterans in need of immediate help. Give them a call, grab your tool belt, and attack!

Just reminder annual membership dues are reduced during December. It is a good bargain.  Slip by the post and renew. Not valid if sent to VFW National Headquarters.

“During WWI, the winter of 1914, on the battlefields of Flanders, one of the most unusual events in all human history took place. The Germans had been in a fierce battle with British and French. Both sides were dug in, safe in muddy, manmade trenches six to eight feet deep that seemed to stretch forever.

All of a sudden, German troops began to put small Christmas trees, lit with candles, out of their trenches. Then, they began to sing songs. Across the way, in the “no mans’ land” between them, came songs from the British and French troops. Incredibly, many of the Germans, who had worked in England before the wear, were able to speak good enough English to propose a “Christmas” truce.

The British and French troops, all along the miles of trenches, accepted. In a few places, allied troops fired at the Germans as they climbed out of their trenches. But the Germans were persistent and Christmas would be celebrated even under the threat of impending death.

…..A spontaneous truce resulted. Troops left their trenches, meeting in the middle to shake hands. The first order of business was to bury the dead who had been previously unreachable because of the conflict. Then, they exchanged gifts, chocolate cake, cognac, postcards, newspapers, tobacco. In a few places soldiers exchanged rifles for soccer balls and began to play games.

….For a few precious moments there was peace on earth good will toward men. All because the focus was on Christmas. Happens every time. There’s something about Christmas that changes people. It happened over 200 years ago in a little town called Bethlehem. It’s been happening over and over again down through the years of time.”

I wish you and yours a warm, safe, and wonderful Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

                                                                                      Victor Looney, Sr. Vice Commander

CHAPLAIN’S CORNER

Thanksgiving is over with - it is with Thanksgiving that we as Christians have given thanks to God for our many gifts we receive from God.  Yet we have another part of that holiday — the giving part where we give to others less fortunate than we.  We have now entered into that season of waiting, of hopefulness. It is a time of preparing and waiting.  It is called Advent.  All Christiandom is awaiting the celebration of the birth of Jesus.  Christ was born not because there was joy in the world, but because there was suffering in it.  He was born not to riches, but to poverty; not to satiety, but to hunger and thirst; not to security, but to danger, exile, homelessness, destitution, betrayal, and crucifixion.  His human birth now, in us, is in the suffering world as it is. It is not reserved for a utopia that will never be; it does not differ from His first coming in Bethlehem, His birth was in squalor, in dire poverty, in a strange city.  It is the same birth here and now. Thus there is Incarnation always everywhere.

May the presence of the Prince of Peace bless our world with peace-the poor with care and prosperity, the despairing with hope and confidence, the grieving with comfort and gladness, the oppressed with freedom and deliverance, and the suffering with solace and relief.

Oh divine Savior, fruit of Mary’s womb, may we love you in union with the holy Mother of God. May our lives be filled with the obedience of St. Joseph and the missionary fervor of the shepherds so that the witness of our lives may shine like the that led the Magi to your manger We ask this with the great confidence in your  holy Name.  May the birth of the Prince of Peace bless all of our veterans, their significant others, ( and all of our auxiliaries of the VFW).   Merry Christmas to all.

                                                                     May God bless you–everyone,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           May God bless America!!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Doc

COOTIES CORNER

 

MOC and MOCA Ladies:

Steak Night is on for December starting at 1800, but if you want to make sure you get a steak, you’d better be there early.   Come on out and get some of that good down home Cooties Steak and some other good vittles, and remember, come early, eat lots!

Our Scratch will take place on Saturday, 11 December at 1101.   We will not be having our Steak Nite in January,  Shuckie Darn ~ but that is New Year’s Day!  Recovery period for all the partiers.

The MOC and MOCA will do our best to “Keep ‘Em Smilin’ in Beds of White” in 2010.

                                                                            Yours in L.O.T.C.S.,       Nate Bass   SS PT 66

LADIES AUXILIARY

Hello Ladies, Sorry I was not able to be at the last meeting, but I heard everything went well and a big thank you to Sherri for conducting the meeting.

I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to the ones of you that helped John’s and my wedding go so smooth.  You know who you are, and I really do appreciate each and every one of you.

Don’t forget on December 11th from 1:00 – 3:00 is the Children’s Christmas party.  Please sign your kids up ASAP.  We will have Mr. and Mrs. Claus coming. We need to go shopping, so we need the names.

Our General Meeting is on the 15^th. We ask that everyone bring a covered dish for fellowship after the meeting. No gifts need to be brought in for exchange; just food.

We need you to get your dues in as soon as possible and your cancer dues please. I would like to wish everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR.

                                                                                      Cee Cee Forte Madam President

MEN’S AUXILIARY

 Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  Be safe and hope to see you at the Post during this holiday season.

                                          John Forte      President

POST CANTEEN CORNER

Canteen Kudos, We will not have Bingo on the 15^th as that is the night for our General Meeting.  We are going to have food and fellowship with Happy Hour prices for an adult Christmas gathering. No gifts need to be brought for this event.  We just ask that everyone bring a covered dish.  On the 18th we have another Party (private) on the books and, of course, we have our New Year’s Party on the 31st.  We will have food and party favors with a toast at midnight. We have a live band playing. And the best part we have NO COVER charge. So let’s bring in the New Year right come join us at the VFW.

Thanks to all for a great year. I wish all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a very HAPPY NEW YEAR. May this new year bring all of us closer together as a family, forget all the hardships and just move on.

                                                                            CeeCee Forte    Canteen Manager

AMERICANISM

 

We now have 12 Flag Disposal Sites all around Pensacola. 

On occasion we replace flags around our community with flags we receive from donations.  We are running out of flags and could use some help obtaining new ones.  If you are in a store that sells flags, why not ask the manager if they will donate a couple of 3’X5’ flags for the Post.  And remember, it is better not to fly a flag at all than to fly one that is tattered and torn.

                                        Ebbie Jermyn    Americanism Chairman 

GOOD OF THE ORDER

Don’t forget about our Comrades in need this Christmas.  Contact one of them to see if they could use your help doing small chores around their house.   Or just call them and wish them a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  If someone you know is not on the list, please let us know and make sure you ask if they mind having their telephone number listed too.  Also, if you know of anyone needing assistance around the house, please call and describe the “job” that needs attention.

 Here is a partial list of our Comrades in need:

 Oscar Bergman                            Larry Childers                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Karl Jordan                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Harvey and MaryAnn Patterson                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Skip and Roni Bennett   

NEWSLETTER

GOING PAPERLESS…..Heard that before?  Well, everyone is doing it, so in an effort to save money we are going to discontinue mailing the newsletter to those with internet/email capabilities.  The newsletter is available 24/7 online at www.vfw706.org.  If you receive a paper copy of the newsletter and have an email address, how about sending an email to the Post with your preferred email address.  In that way, you will receive a monthly email as soon as the newsletter is posted on the internet.  It is usually up a couple days before the paper copy gets assembled and mailed.  You can save the Post the costs for printing and mailing if you would just send in your email address.  Every little bit counts!

  SUPPORT YOUR POST

Do your part.  GET INVOLVED!!!

  

 KEY EVENTS

CHRISTMAS DINNER BASKETS FOR THE MARINE CORP / NAVY RELIEF SOCIETY

Please bring in your canned goods, mashed potatoes, gravy mix, green beans, corn, yams, etc. so we can put together the baskets for this worthy cause to aide those in need.  We need to have these items delivered no later than 21 December so we can deliver them to the Marine Corp / Navy Relief Society at NAS on Wednesday, 22 December.  THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF OUR MILITARY VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES.

 4 DEC – Cooties Steak Nite @ 1800

11 DEC -  Children’s Christmas Party @ 1300

22 DEC through 31 DEC ~ NO BINGO ~ !

31 DEC – New Year’s Eve at the Post; Delta Storm Blues Band will be playing oldies, some blues and some jazz for your dancing and listening.  This band is GREAT!

OLD CELL PHONES

Don’t toss out those old cell phones! Bring them to the Post so we can get our deployed military members some free phone time so they can call home!   Our collection box is on the long table.

 OLD PRINTER CARTRIDGES

Don’t throw those old printer cartridges away!  Bring them to the Post so we can recycle them.  We saved over $200 on costs for the newsletter by recycling the old cartridges you’ve brought in.  Keep it up!!!

 

Know anyone who might benefit from a little advertising to our members?  Anyone can place an ad in our newsletter for only $10 per month or $100 a year.      That’s a bargain, and it goes on our website too!

 

 

THOMAS F. WELCH

VETERANS of FOREIGN WARS

POST 706

COMMANDER’S CORNER

Wow!  What a month.  Thanks to our Riders for an amazing fund raiser for the USO.  The Post had a fantastic day raising over $2400.00 for this worth cause.  AND the Post had a great day at the Canteen.  Your support is most appreciated on this event.

This Saturday, 2 October, is the District 1 meeting being held at Post 4833, Milton.  State Commander Pete Nicholsen will be there along with the State Ladies Auxiliary President. This is one meeting you will not want to miss.  The meeting starts at 1100 and lunch will be served at 1200 for $7.00.

School is back in session so we are continuing with bi-weekly entertainment, Bingo, and we are getting ready for the Holiday Season.  It is not too early to start collecting food for our needy veterans and their families.  Thanksgiving is right around the corner.  Last year the Post donated enough food to feed 14 families for Thanksgiving.  We will have a list of items needed for this year’s food drive for the needy.

On 30 October the Ladies Auxiliary will host the annual Children’s Halloween Party, so get your kids ready for some freaky costumes and a howling great time.

I would like to introduce our newest members voted into our Post in August and September:

Christopher M. Bates, Roger B. C

lark, Mertz B. Goodwin, Rick L. Hazen, William A. Hill, Jr., Wayne M Odom, Robert A. Robinson, and Gerald S. Smith.

A special thanks to Mike Sakalarios for bringing in the chili and then the cornbread, beans, and sausage snacks.  Thanks from us all, Mike!

The State’s website has a lot of information posted for all to review.  It has links for the SunVet, Florida’s VFW Magazine which has gone paperless and   is at: www.myfloridavfw.org. There are several other links to access information you may be interested in.  For details, check out the website.

The Post is currently at 80% membership.  If you haven’t paid your dues for 2011, Bring your check or cash to us or send a check to National.  Mailing your dues to National can lead to delays in getting them posted.  You can now go online to www.vfw.org and pay your dues.   On the main screen, click on Membership then click on Current Members; then click on Secure Log In; fill in the required blanks and you can pay your annual dues electronically.

Visit the Post website for updated information and activity calendars of the new VFW fiscal year, 2010.  Log on to www.vfw706.org.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Richard P. Mullen    Commander

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SR. VICE COMMENTS

If you did not attend the Pig Roast or the VFW Riders’ 9/11 USO events you missed some wonderful chow as well as super entertainment.  “WELL Done”- VFW Riders you spruced up the Post like nothing I have witnessed before.  The POW/MIA Commemoration went well.  Thanks to everyone that participated especially the Escambia HS NJROTC cadets.  What a great group of young folks.  Get active and be pro-VFW Post 706.

The Post has a large number of members, about 80%, whose bodies never darken the Post’s door.  If there is something you don’t like about the Post or its governance, it will never change until you get active.

                                                                                                   Victor Looney

                                                                                                   Sr. Vice Commander

CHAPLAIN’S CORNER

Let’s not forget our comrades and their families who are in distress:

Comrade Harvey Patterson continues with his dialysis.  Comrade Harvey is 82 and would like to hear from his fellow comrades.  Please give Harvey a call at home.

Comrade Skip Bennett’s wife, Roni, continues with her treatments at Baptist Hospital.  She’s a darling!

Comrade Rob Lambrecht is working on his rehab following his radiation treatments.

Please keep these Comrades and Sisters in your thoughts and prayers.

“Unfortunately, this month came upon me so quickly that I am, as usual, unprepared for my monthly visit to the corner. I received an e-mail from my cousin reminding me of how fond I was of telling children about Indian legends. It’s the Legend of the Cherokee Indian Youth’s Rite of Passage and goes like this - His Father takes him deep into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone.  He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shines through it.  He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he is a Man. He cannot tell the other boys of this experience because each lad must come into manhood on his own.  The boy is naturally terrified; he can hear all kinds of noises of the night.  Wild beasts must surely be all around him.  Maybe even some humans who might surely do him harm.  The winds blew, the grass and earth and shook the stump upon which he sat.  But he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold.  It would be the only way he could become a Man! Finally, after a horrific night, the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold. It was then that he discovered his Father sitting on the stump next to him. He had been on watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm. We, too, are never alone. Even when don’t know it, God is watching over us-sitting on the stump beside us. When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out to Him!! Just because we can’t see God, that doesn’t mean He is not there! “For we walk by faith, not by sight”.   If you liked this story and the moral , pass it on. If not, you the dawn.”

 

                                                                                 May God bless America and God bless all of you!!!

                                                                                 “Doc” Cloud, Chaplain

 

COOTIES CORNER

MOC and MOCA Ladies:

Our trip to the VA Hospital in Biloxi is over.  Donations of clothing, and books, etc. were exceptional, and exceeded our expectations.

Steak Night is on for 2 October starting at 1800, but if you want to make sure you get a steak, you’d better be there early.   Come on out and get some of that good down home Cooties Steak and some other good vittles, and remember, come early, eat lots!

Denim and Lace will follow the dinner.  Plan to stay and support your Post.  They are great entertainment.

Our Scratch will take place on Saturday, 9 October at 1101.

The MOC and MOCA will do our best to “Keep ‘Em Smilin’ in Beds of White” in 2010.

 

                                                                               Yours in L.O.T.C.S.

                                                                                       Nate Bass

                                                                               SS PT 66

 

LADIES AUXILIARY

Hello Ladies,

I would like to take this opportunity again to welcome all our new members. We are so happy to have you. Don’t forget our Pot Luck Dinner coming up on 9 October and our Children’s Halloween Party on the 23rd. I am sorry to say we will have to cancel our 1st Annual All Male Beauty and Best Legs Contest we had on the calendar for October 9th.  We are not getting the men we wanted to sign up, so we are going to re-schedule for around January. I also want to remind everyone we will be doing our annual Yard and Bake Sale on November 6th. Please bring in your items for donations to the ladies or you may rent your own table for only $5.00. Reminder one of our Ladies will be getting married on October 9^th.  So please come out and join us and congratulate Vanna and Tony and do some partying.

Thank you again for all the support you are showing to the Ladies Auxiliary and the Post.

I hope to see all you ladies at our next meeting October 20th. Have a good month, and thanks again for ever thing.

                                                                                                    Keep Smiling

                                                                                                     Cee Cee Goodwin

                                                                                                     Madam President

MEN’S AUXILIARY

 

Wow! Thanks to you, we ran out of meatloaf for the first time in awhile.  Don’t mean to brag, but it was good!  Our meeting will be held on 14 October at 6:00 PM.  And don’t miss our next dinner coming on Saturday, 23 October, at 6:00 PM.

Thanks again and God Bless!!!

                                                                       John Forte

                                                                 President

 

VFW RIDERS CORNER

Riders and 

Comrades,

Our run on 9/11 was exceptional!  We gave the USO a check for $2,400.00 dollars.  I wish I could thank all that were involved personally; the Riders and Post members that supported the event.  We had all 21 Riders present for this event, and we had 101 riders show up to the event. The run itself was about 96 miles over all.

We welcome anyone interested in becoming a member of the Riders.  Please stop by, fill out an application, and talk to any of the active members, or please join us on any of our upcoming rides.

Our Riders participated in a candlelight vigil at the Wall South for POW/MIA on 17 September and on 18 September 6 Riders went on the POW/MIA Observation run. It was about 110 Miles.

                                                                                                   Joe Spink

                                                                                                   President

 

POST CANTEEN CORNER

Kudos Canteen, Thank you all for coming out and supporting the events we had last month. Without you we will and cannot succeed. Coming up in October on the 2^nd, we have the Cooties Steak Night as well as DENIM and LACE performing and on the 9th we have MICHAEL ZILLEN  ~ “Puttin on the Hits!”  If you have not seen him, he is awesome and so funny. On this same night, we will be celebrating Tony and Vanna’s marriage from 3 PM till about 7 PM.  So please join us.  The ladies will be doing a “Pot Luck” dinner on the 16^th.  We have the Fish Fry on the 23^rd and The Riders will be doing Boston Butt plus some delicious extras and on the 30^th.  Get your party costumes on for our annual HALLOWEEN Adult Party. We will have prize give-a-ways for best costume: 1^st, 2^nd, and 3rd place. We had so much fun last year so let’s make this one even better. We will have entertainment and a Spooky drink mixture. Come out and join us. Bring your friends too!

Oh REMINDER!!!!! We still have Bloody Mary Sundays, Two for One, from 12 till 2 PM plus Happy Hour all day.

                                                                                                 CeeCee Goodwin                                                                                                                            Canteen Manager

 

AMERICANISM

We had a great turnout for the Flag Retirement Ceremony; over 100 Post Members and guests participated in this event.  Thanks for sharing and caring.

Colonel Chester (Chesty) Pulley, 1^st Marine Division:    ”We’ve been looking for the enemy - Finally found Them.  We’re surrounded - That simplifies our problem - Finding them and killing them.”  Chosin Reservoir, North Korea - November 1950.

We now have 11 Flag Disposal Sites all around Pensacola.  Check the next newsletter for a list of those sites.  And remember, it is better not to fly a flag at all than to fly one that is tattered and torn.

 

                                                                                                   Ebbie Jermyn

                                                                                                             Americanism Chairman

 

GOOD OF THE ORDER

OLD CELL PHONES

Don’t toss out those old cell phones! Bring them to the Post so we can get our deployed military members some free phone time so they can call home!   Our collection box is on the long table.

 

OLD PRINTER CARTRIDGES

Don’t throw those old printer cartridges away!  Bring them to the Post so we can recycle them.  We saved over $200 on costs for the newsletter by recycling the old cartridges you’ve brought in.  Keep it up!!!

NEWSLETTER

GOING PAPERLESS…..Heard that before?  Well, everyone is doing it, so in an effort to save money we are going to discontinue mailing the newsletter to those with internet/email capabilities.  The newsletter is available 24/7 online at www.vfw706.org.  If you receive a paper copy of the newsletter and have an email address, how about sending an email to the Post with your preferred email address.  In that way, you will receive a monthly email as soon as the newsletter is posted on the internet.  It is usually up a couple days before the paper copy gets assembled and mailed.  You can save the Post the costs for printing and mailing if you would just send in your email address.  Every little bit counts!

SUPPORT YOUR POST

Do your part.  GET INVOLVED!!!

 

KEY EVENTS

2 OCT - District I meeting, Post 4833, Milton

13 OCT - US Navy Birthday

 

23 OCT - Children’s Halloween Party 1300 - 1500

30 OCT - Post Halloween Party - Get Scary!

 

10 NOV - USMC Birthday

11 NOV - Veteran’s Day parade

 

26 NOV - THANKSGIVING at the Post

 An Open Letter to All Post Members and Contributors:

 

VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS                                                                                                                                of 

the United States of America  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thomas F. Welch VFW Post 706  

 

 

                          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                     

5000 Lillian

 

Highway 

 

  

 

 

 

 

                                        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                  

Pensacola, Florida 32506

Founded September 29, 1899

28 September 2010

All Post Comrades & Sisters

Ladies Auxiliary Members

Men’s Auxiliary Members

SUBJECT:  Request for Donations and Support

 

All VFW Post 706 Members:

I am sending this letter to all of our members in hopes of raising a sufficient amount of funds to be able to afford to correct many of the problems our Post building and grounds have endured over the past 10 years.  A $25.00 per member donation will raise more than $18,000.00 and will go a long way to get us back on the right track.

Our Post has been struggling for the past several years due to hard economic times and, specifically, an old building with old, worn out support equipment, e.g., continual HVAC problems, no attic insulation, carpets that are worn, electrical problems, etc., and a building that has seen better times.

I am encouraging you to mail in a tax deductable donation in any amount you choose to help your Post with these problems.   Any amount you choose to donate will go into a special fund to upgrade our Post.

I appreciate your generosity and look forward to hearing from you in the very near future.

Yours in comradeship,

 

 

RICHARD P. MULLEN

COMMANDER

VFW Post 706

(850)455-0026