Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 776 February 2011 Newsletter

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

  • 8/7/2019 Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 776 February 2011 Newsletter

    1/3

    Officers and Board of Directors

    President Greg Paulline 650-3055 Dir. Mike DeGeeter 391-8427Vice-President Marlene Marolf 391-9621 Dir. Ed Gaudet 659-5421Treasurer Harold Hansen 391-7776 Dir. Ed Gilmore 792-2415Secretary John Lavelle 355-4213 Dir. Art Heyderman 359-4186Web Master Roger Granbois 650-4958 Dir. Larry Witt 388-7179

    I N S E R V I C E T O A M E R I C A .

    THE SPIRIT OF 776F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 1 N E W S L E T T E R

    V I E T N A M V E T E R A N S O F A M E R I C A C H A P T E R 7 7 6

    Service Officers

    Clarke Barnes

    309 944-3674

    Ed Gaudet

    563 343-9456

    David Woods563 391-3702

    Service Coordinators

    R.Ernest Ledjte

    563 785-6182

    Tom Lemons

    563 359-3201

    Honor GuardJett Bork

    563 528-0636

    THIS WAS OUR HONOR FLIGHT

  • 8/7/2019 Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 776 February 2011 Newsletter

    2/3

    Minutes of Membership Meeting January 2011President Greg Paulline called the meeting to order at 1900 hours. A pledge of allegiance and a moment

    of silence for all POW/MIA and all those still serving out country in uniform were observed by the

    membership. A short introduction of all members followed. The secretarys report was accepted as

    published in the newsletter. Larry Witt, membership chair informed the group that we have reached an

    all time high with 155 members. Welcome to Bobby Baker of Davenport and Gary Jansen of Bettendorf

    who joined the chapter during the January meeting. We have 72 Life members, 65 Individual members,for a total of 137 VVA members and 18 AVVA members for a grand total of 155. We grow as a chapter

    because we do things for veterans. Treasurer Harold Hansen gave an accounting of our financial status.

    Greg Paulline spoke to the members to inform them on the chapter members who are distress, Lyle

    Peterson is still at home and cards and phone calls are appreciated, Ed Gilmore was in attendance as

    well as Tony LaMantia which was occasion for applause by the members. Keep getting stronger guys.

    Jett Bork and John Lavelle spoke about the honor guard and its most recent activities at funerals and

    also praised Ernest Ledjte for making a couple of funerals on a broken foot in freezing cold weather.

    David Woods, Ed Gaudet, and Ernest Ledjte informed members about the VSO concerns. Ernest will

    travel to meet with the Deputy Warden at Oakdale and help arrange medical evaluations for the inmates

    there. Ed Gaudet asked for $1,000 to assist the state office for the VVA State Council in Des Moines sothat they might meet some of their financial obligations. Ed also asked for $100 to be distributed by the

    Bettendorf VA clinic as $10 gift cards for veterans in need who would be visiting the clinic. Both of those

    requests were voted on by the membership and approved. Greg Paulline mailed the last of the DVDs

    and music CDs to the troops in Afghanistan, a total of 20 boxes. Cost of the mailing was $103 and it was

    voted on that Greg be paid for this service. Ed Gaudet told the members about the holiday baskets that

    the chapter delivered to needy veterans and the families of deployed National Guard troops who also are

    in need. The chapter received a number of thank you cards from those who received those baskets. Art

    Heyderman told the membership about the most recent visit to the Iowa City VA Hospital and also said

    that he will be serving as the volunteer liaison. He asked for a volunteer from the group to assist in that

    assignment. Greg Paulline asked how the members felt the Christmas party went and we will discuss the

    future of this event as time allows. Jason Kerr announced that the February Stand down was canceled

    and that no funds were used or spent on this event. The membership voted to offer two $500

    scholarships again this year. Contact Larry Witt concerning the scholarships. Information about the

    scholarships needs to be in the hands of local high school guidance counselors and college and trade

    school financial assistants. Arlen Beck from the Marine Corps League was asked if they could donate

    100 blankets to help a Marine in Afghanistan who wants to assist the locals who sleep on dirt floors

    during the cold winters. The chapter voted not to fund this project, but Greg Paulline will accept any

    blankets that members wish to donate for this Marine and his effort to help to the local civilian

    population in his AO. At 6:30 on March 26 at the COL we will host a 50/50 raffle and present the colors

    for Don Valleys Oldies Dance. The Veterans Health Initiative will be presented at the Red Cross Health

    Fair on March 5th, we will pay $25 for a table at this event. Next Honor Flight is April 26th or 27th.

    There are still 245 veterans on the list. Davenport will be building a Veterans Park on the river front

    west of the railroad bridge. The chapter has had a number of members in attendance at the Davenport

    City Council meetings making inquiries as to how and when local veterans will be honored with a park.

    The financial committee will hold a meeting and finalize the description of their duties and present that

    to the board of directors and then to the membership as a whole. It is felt that some of the discussions

    and voting that occurs during a membership meeting could be dealt with more effectively through the

    workings of a financial committee. The meeting adjourned, John P. Lavelle, chapter secretary.

  • 8/7/2019 Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 776 February 2011 Newsletter

    3/3

    Hello, my name is Mike Berry,\aka "Docker." lama Viet NamEra vet on a mission and I need\your help.OperationHaircut"Fundraiser

    The Mission: to collect $10,000 dollars for "English River Outfitters" and 10,000 inches ofI hair for "Lock of Love", two great causes: I am cutting my hair for Charity and would likeyou to join me in my cause. Please help by making a cash donation, a hair donation orboth. If you wou ld like to join me on stage as a hair donor on the 26th of March, pleaseI call Chuck at 563-357- 4923 or me at 319-631-1013.

    1st ....English River Outfitters Resort... is"Designed by Veterans for Veterans" their main priorityis to help Disabled Veteran's through a positive outdoor experi-ence through fishing, hunting, hiking or a campfire. They providea safe outdoor experience with other veterans to help promotehealing and closure all at no cost to our veterans. You can visittheir website at www.englishriveroutfitters.ore

    2nd...Locks Of Love.... Locks of Love is a public non-profitorganization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantagedchildren, Most of the children helped by Locks of Love have losttheir hair due to a medical condition called alopecia areata, whichhas no known cause or cure. You can visit their website atwww. locksoflove. org

    Time Line of Events:ALL Donations can be made from January through 26 March 2011 What; Official Haircutting at 5:00 pm, Saturday, 26 March, 2011 Time: 2pm till closingPlace: Shuey's. 1158 Club Rd. SW, Shueyville, Iowa 52404Raffles, 50/50, Live Music, Haircutting, Live andSilent AuctionsHoir Donor's on the 26th of March 20111. Mike Berry2. Teresa Blanchard3. Ed Zemon4. Steve Black5. Lvndsev Lue

    Donations may be madeat:

    1. Shuey's Restaurant & Lounge; 1158Club Rd. SW, Shu eyville,Iowa2. any participating hair Salon3. can be mailed to:English River Outfitters"Operation Haircut"210 W. llth St .Tipton, Iowa 52772

    Your donations are tax deductibleMake check or money order out to:English River Outfitters"Operation Haircut"For more informationcall

    Docker at319-631-]0]3 Chuck at 563-357-4923

    http://www.englishriveroutfitters.org/http://www.locksoflove.org/http://www.locksoflove.org/http://www.locksoflove.org/http://www.englishriveroutfitters.org/