Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 776, November 2010 Newsletter

8/8/2019 Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 776, November 2010 Newsletter

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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 776N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 0 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

NEXT MEETINGNovember 24, 2010Bettendorf Public

Library7:00 P.M.

Service Officers

Clarke Barnes

309 944-3674

Ed Gaudet563 343-9456

David Woods

563 391-3702

Service Coordinators

R.Ernest Ledjte

563 785-6182

Tom Lemons

563 359-3201

Honor Guard

Jett Bork

563 528-0636

Roger Granbois, Greg Paulline, John Lavelle, and JettBork marched in the Bettendorf 4th of July parade.

HUMILITY OF MARY LUNCHEONLarry Witt served his famous Sloppy Joe sandwiches at the

gathering of Chapter members and veterans on October 30th at the

Humility of Mary Homeless Shelter in Davenport. Chapter

members meet with the veterans at the shelter and enjoyed their

visit and the meal. Pat and Maria Koblenske, John and Martha

Lavelle, Greg Paulline, Larry Witt, David Woods and Art

Heyderman all represented the chapter at the luncheon. The

veterans living at the shelter were grateful for the visit and meal.


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Minutes for October Membership Meeting

President 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 our country in uniform was observed by the

membership. Present were President Greg Paulline, Vice-president Marolf, Secretary Lavelle, and

Treasurer Hansen. A short introduction of all members and visitors to our meeting followed. The

minutes of the September meeting were accepted as published in the newsletter. Harold Hansen gave us

a report on the financial condition of the chapter. Larry Witt informed the members that we currentlyhave 146 VVA members (67 IND and 67 LMP) and 18 AVVA members. The members learned that three

of our members in distress are progressing, Lyle Peterson is home and recovering, as is Ed Gilmore and

also Steve Kerr. Steve has lost some weight due to his treatment and is no longer in need of his CPAP

machine. The VSO reported that the VA is backed up by at least 400 claims. There is a need for

someone to cover the VSO office in Iowa City on Wednesdays. Any veteran who has died as a result of

the three newest Agent Orange presumptive diseases needs to have their claims refiled, do not assume

that the VA will have a record of that claim. The widow or widower of that veterans needs to contact a

VSO. The Vietnam Veterans of America national has provided information on veterans health issues to

share at health fairs and veterans health initiative events. If there are opportunities to share this

information in the future with local veterans of health providers please contact President Paulline. The

homeless veterans at the Humility of Mary Shelter in Davenport have expressed gratitude for the

luncheon the chapter sponsored and the gathering that took place. Chapter members took part in the

Moving Wall opening and closing ceremony in Clinton. The pick up date for the auction items is

November 13th at the American Legion Hall on 35th Street in Davenport. Volunteers for this will be

greatly appreciated. The final numbers for the Bridging the Gap Stand Down showed that 153 QC

homeless veterans were served, 102 received shoes and socks. The chapter was the second largest

contributor this year. The one day Stand Down event is to be held on February 22 at the American

Legion on 35th Street, the one day event will provide a breakfast and lunch along with a service fair.

Our chapter will donate $200 for a meal, if the event is canceled the money will not be spent. Chapter

776 is responsible for the Veterans Day event to be held at Bettendorf Veterans Memorial Park. The

chapter honor guard will post the colors at 2:00 P.M. Toys For Tots begins on November 11th and

registration runs until December 11th. Members are asked to bring a toy to the next meeting on

November 24th, no stuffed animals please. There are going to be two days for distribution this year and

volunteers are needed for this project. The chapter has three evenings for toy sorting, November 30th,

December 6th, December 15th. Each of these evenings will begin at 5:00 and run until 7:30 and we will

have pizza at the end of the evening. More information can be found at the chapter web site. The

membership voted to provide Thanksgiving food baskets for local veterans and also for the families of

the deployed Iowa National Guard troops. Ed Gaudet and Pat Kobelenske will organize the food

baskets. This years Christmas Party will be held at the American Legion Post 26 on 35th Street in

Davenport on December 8th. Cost is $17.35 per person. Cocktails will begin at 6:00 P.M. Remember to

bring a gift for sharing and also e-mail pictures from your time inservice to Greg Paulline for the

awesome slide show presentation. Pictures from Vietnam and pictures of associate members and

spouses from 1964 to 1975 are all things that Greg is hoping to receive. On Sunday the 5th of December

American Legion Post 26 will hold a Holiday Party for the families of the deployed Iowa National Guard

troops from 2:00 until 6:00. there will be approximately 150 attending, 75 of them will be children. The

Send Off for the Chinook Helicopter unit at Mt. Joy is set for November 22nd at 6:00 p.m. at the Mt. Joy

airport.

(Minutes continued on next page.)


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(Minutes continued)

All veterans are asked to be there at 5:00 p.m. to form a line for the procession of the unit as they enter

the hanger area. The chapter donated $25 to the family of Sgt. Bradley Marion. On November 5th Sgt.

John Baker will be in attendance at the Veterans Dance sponsored by Chapter 299. The chapter donated

$300 for Toys For Tots. Art Heyderman requested an additional $150 for the visit to the Iowa City VA

Hospital on December 23rd to purchase hats and tee shirts to present to the patients. On November 8th

and 9th Honor Flight of the Quad Cities will be leaving for Washington. The return is usually at 10:00P.M. and it is always appreciated to have members there to welcome home the World War II veterans.

The meeting was adjourned. Minutes submitted by John P. Lavelle, chapter secretary.

On-Line AuctionOn-Line Auction ends with thePick Up Day at American LegionPost 26 in Davenport. From 10:00 A.M. until the last items weredelivered to the highest bidder.Roger and Linda Granbois, Bill

Pinault, and Greg Paulline assistedin delivering the items. To see justhow successful the auction wasthis year, be sure to attend the nextmeeting and hear for yourself howwell we did.

Greg Paulline, Roger Granbois,Marlene Marolf, John Lavelle, and Jett Bork all took part in the Veterans Day activities held at theBettendorf Veterans Memorial

Park. David Woods served as themaster of ceremonies for the event.The day began with HyVeebreakfast the Davenport VeteransDay Parade, the Bettendorf eventand dinner at Applebees. GoldenCorral also sponsored a tribute tolocal veterans with a free meal onMonday, November 15th.

We help on Nov.30th, Dec. 6thand Dec. 15th. Itall begins at 5:00p.m. and endswith pizza at 7:30

CHAPTER CHRISTMAS PARTYSign up at the next meeting for the chapter holiday festivities. Cost is $17.35 per person

and this year the party will be held at the American Legion Post 26 on 35th Street in

Davenport. Cocktails will begin at 6:00 P.M. Please email Greg Paulline a photographof you during your service, 1964 to 1975. [email protected] Pictures of associates

and spouses are also encouraged. There will be a slide show presentation and a guess

who activity. Bring a gift to share with those attending. Party date is December 8,

2010. Come and celebrate with those whom you have done the most good with in life.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

Documents

Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 776, November 2010 Newsletter