May
2005
May 5th
.................. Cinco
de Mayo
May 8th
................... Mother’s
Day
May 21st .................
Post Birthday
May 30th.................
Memorial Day
For the month of May we will
temporarily suspend our writings about famous American Military leaders and
cover some issues that are more close to Post 639. We will cover our Remembrance Day Celebration, our new static
display, Bingo and a golf tournament and maybe have a little fun.
Remembrance Day
Post
639 had a wonderful birthday celebration last May; it was our first annual
event to give credit to our founders and to those that work so hard to make
our post successful. We will have
our second annual celebration on Saturday the 21st of May (this is
also Armed Forces Day) starting with an opening session at 11:00 AM.
During the day we will have various activities scheduled including a
“Fly-in or Fly-over” depending on weather conditions.
We will have booths representing the various military branches of
service along with the Military Museum, and our Ladies with T-shirts, caps and
other Post 639 merchandise. There
will be food, including hot plate lunches and hot sandwiches with all the
fixing’s. There is also a rumor that we may have a “dunk tank” with
post officials on the “stool” (Grumpy, you better watch out).
Our distributor is going to have a “beer truck” with all the beer
you can drink at special pricing for your enjoyment.
The Auxiliary is also going to sponsor a “Cake Walk” and we all
know how great the ladies do with their baking.
We are trying to schedule a group of bands and are now talking with
“Redneck Rockers”, Lance’s “Rockin L’s”,
and Gene has agreed to have Karaoke inside during the afternoon.
We will have a full service bar inside the post and did we mention
there would be a “beer truck” with beer specials?
The Ladies Auxiliary is planning a SHHH, silent auction with some
really good stuff to get at some really great prices, just be the low bidder.
We will be getting radio coverage and maybe some TV coverage to show
off our newest display item, the “conning tower” from a nuclear submarine
that is now back in one piece and should be “standing tall” for our
celebration. There is a rumor
that someone is planning some special late night entertainment and did we
mention there would be a “beer truck”?
Please mark your calendars (we’ve already marked ours) for Saturday,
May 21, 2005 starting at 11:00 AM. Check
out last year’s celebration on the post web site.
The
Lapon (SSN 661)
The
USS Lapon was a nuclear submarine that was launched on December 16, 1966 and
received its commission on December 14, 1967.
It was decommissioned on June 25, 1992 and after a quarantine period it
was recycled in 2003 and ceased to exist in 2004.
However the conning tower was preserved (originally slated to go to the
Naval Academy for display) and a group of submariners (Ozark-Runners) were
successful in getting the Navy to release the sail to their organization in
2004. The conning tower arrived at Post 639 on December 4, 2004 at 0900 in
three pieces with a total weight of about 90,000 pounds and stayed in that
condition until her final resting place was prepared.
The conning tower is now welded back together and as 
weather
permits will be established in a permanent static display with a walkway and
flowers. There will be a
dedication ceremony and festivities starting on July 1st and
culminating on July 3rd, 2005.
There will be a feature next month on the history of The Lapon and its
role in the “cold war”. There
will also be more about the events and celebration in next month’s
Newsletter, so look for it. Check
out more on the Lapon at www.usslapon.com
and www.angelfire.com/mo3/ozarkrunner
and on our web site at www.post639.com.
Bingo at Post 639
A
lot of members at Post 639 think that their 20 bucks pays for all the
privileges of membership, and it does. But
they also think their $20 and the bar revenues pays all the bills at Post 639
and it doesn’t even come close. Our
bar has the least expensive drinks on a full time basis of any bar in
Springfield and that’s even after a 25-cent increase in prices.
We have cheap songs on the jukebox, cheap pool games, cheap pinball and
even cheap “shuffle alley” play for our members and guests.
We have expanded the bar area and doubled the luxury seating in the
bar. We have 25 acres of grounds
including a ball field, 2 helicopters and now a conning tower from a nuclear
submarine and they all need to be maintained.
How do we manage to keep our bar open every day for your pleasure and
pay for all the other areas including our benevolent works?
B-I-N-G-O is how it has been done for almost 20 years.
We had a terrible year last year with Bingo.
That was because we are losing our bingo players (they are getting old
and dying out) and the remaining players now have over 20 games per week, some
with “super jackpots” and some “deep pockets” to attract those
players. 10 years ago the post
bingo games were drawing over 300 people per week, now we are very lucky if we
are able to break 200 people and that is only once a month when the checks go
out.
(Continued
on page 3)
From
the Commander
It's
election time and nominations are being taken. If you would like to be part of
the Executive Committee put your name on the nomination list or see Harvey
Williams the Nominations chairman. We have openings in all positions from
Commander to Members at Large. Gotta
a hat, toss it in....
Last month we held a free seminar on
financial planning, and another is planed, to try giving you information to
think about your financial future.
We
have expanded the Bar area, put in more tables purchased new chairs, all to
make the Post more accommodating to the members, we are trying the be a social
gathering place. We have a new Bar & Kitchen Manager, Pat and she is
working hard with her 2 bartenders Bobby and Nancy to make us smile and feel
good when we come into the Post. Come
by and say Hi.
The sail has been assembled and looks
great, the Sub-mariners are working hard to get it ready for Sam "the
Gardner" to get the Roses in place.
May is here and the Remembrance Day
plans are rolling right along. We
still need some help to get more events for the children, if anyone has any
ideas or time, we sure could use you.
IT'S WE, NOT YOU, ME or I, that gets the jobs done.
Phil Richardson
Adjutant’s
Report
At
the present time paid membership is at 97% for the 2005 year.
We would like to be at 100%, so please pay if you haven’t done it.
We have elections coming up in the
month of June. The post is taking
nominations. If you wish to run
for an office, come to the meeting. They
are still the first Tuesday of the month.
J.C. Ponder
Ladies
Auxiliary
Well,
March is gone and it was a very good month and April is pretty good also.
The Easter Party was fantastic, there were 125 children and their folks
and they all had a great time. Mr.
Braxton Vanthournout & Miss Keagan Branagh won the wagons in the 0-3 year
old category. Miss Shelby
Gorsoulin won the bike that was awarded in the 4 - 7 age group and
unfortunately we didn’t get the boy winners name.
Bikes awards in the 8 years old and older went to Mr. Brandon Armstrong
& Miss Ellen Mertes. We certainly hope they enjoy them and ride safely.
Thanks to all the ladies from the Auxiliary, they did a good job as
always. There will be a special
barrel for the all the things going overseas for our men and women in uniform.
Please fill them with all the things you feel they can use.
We need to help them out as much as we can, after all they are giving
us our freedom. The post wants to
give a special thanks to Justin Parker for his great art work on the barrel.
He did this on his own time, it was a lot of work and it says a lot, so Justin
thanks so much. This fine young
man is our bartender Bobby’s Son. Got
a card from Bill Evans, hope he is doing much better.
Please keep in mind May 21st is just around the corner and
we all need help for our Remembrance Day celebration.
If anyone has some good thoughts about what we can do to make this a
good day Speak up, we need all the help we can get.
And of course the silent auction is now being put together, we need a
lot of items to be place on the “bid-tables”.
There must be something you have that some one would love to have and
you don’t need it any longer. If
you have something in mind that would be fun for the children on the 21st
of May let’s talk about it. This
day is called Remembrance Day, so lets give them something to remember.
We can do this because we care.
The
fish fry on Sat the April 2, 2005 was great -- if any one went away hungry it
was their own fault. Thanks to the Mason’s Post 379 of Billings they did a
really good job and the fish was great.
We’re
going to have party, lots of good clean fun. We’re going to clean the post
inside on the May 14th, starting at 11:00 AM, let’s all pitch in
and do a good job. So bring rubber gloves, rags and lots of energy so we can
shine up the post. The more
people we have the faster the job will get done. Katie our thoughts are with
you. We would like to give
special thanks to Gary Creed for the ham hocks for our Bean dinner.
Well I better close this book so Bill will have room for all of it. Say
Something Nice to someone today and every day.
Beverly Miller VP
Bar
Manager’s Report
Howdy Folks - Just a quick note from
the bar. I’m sorry to report
that Angel is no longer working at Post 639.
She’s staying home to take care of her grandson.
I am your new Bar Manager and I will be working from opening to closing
on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and on Friday nights.
Bobby will be here for you all day on Thursday and then Friday,
Saturday & Sunday during the day. Nancy
will be on duty on Saturday & Sunday nights.
We all hope you will come in and get to know us and give us the chance
to get to know all of you. Remember,
this is your post, so please come in and enjoy the camaraderie of your fellow
members. We look forward to
serving you.
Pat
Chaplain’s
Report
Post
639 has been pretty lucky the last few months.
We have been pretty healthy except for Bill Evans who is getting better
now and I understand is more cantankerous than ever.
Tony had a couple of mild strokes, but with some medication and diet,
he should be doing much better. The
rest of us are just experiencing some aches and pains, but we’re just
getting older and that’s better than the alternative.
Please keep all our troops in harms way in your prayers. God bless us all and God bless America.
Bob Carroll
The
Veterans Voice
Page
3
(Continued from page 1)
Now let’s talk about the good
news. Bingo this year has
produced more revenue in the first 
3
months than it did all last year. How
did it do it? We have changed the
games and manipulated the progressive jackpots, so we can survive on fewer
players than before. We have put
operational controls in place and are really watching our expenses and
counting our pennies.
Now what can you do?
Every Friday starting at 4:30PM (when the pull tab sales start) and at
6:30PM when the first bingo ball pops up, until about 9:30PM when the last
game is over and until around 10:00 PM when all the Talley’s are completed
-- we need help from our members. We
need 12 to 15 workers every week, especially from 6:30PM until a little after
9:00PM. We now are lucky to get
10 people there on a regular basis. There
are about 8 people that are there almost every Friday night and it couldn’t
be done without them.
Every
volunteer job that is done by our members is very important.
We have a core group that will work 20 or more hours per month with no
pay or compensation, just because they love our post and none are more
important than our Bingo workers. They
next time you see someone in a blue jacket with Post 639 Bingo in yellow on
the back, stop them and thank them for the work they do for our post.
As a matter of fact, thank all the volunteers for the effort they put
in to make our post one of the nicest, not just in Missouri, but also in the
whole country. How can you help?
Volunteer for Bingo or for any other job that needs to be done.
If you don’t know what needs to be done, talk with “Grumpy” or
any of the officers of the Post, they will be happy point you in the right
direction. If you don’t have
the time to volunteer, support the post by using the facilities.
Come out often and bring your family and friends to our post, we are
open every night of the week and no one will bite anyone.
We need our members support.
Golf Tournament
Post 639 in conjunction with the USS
Lapon dedication is sponsoring a Veterans Holiday Invitational
Tournament on Friday, July 1, 2005 at 8:00 AM.
VHIT will be a 4-person scramble and will have awards for 3
flights, so it doesn’t matter what your team score might be, since the award
for the 3rd flight will be the same as the first flight.
Island Green Golf 
Club
in Republic, MO is hosting the event and has included all green and cart fees,
unlimited use of driving range and facilities – chipping, bunker and putting
green, plus a sandwich, 2 sides, desert & beverage.
The $60.00 entry fee covers all this, plus prizes and a gift bag full
of surprises. You may register as
a 4, 3, 2 person team, or as an individual.
We will make every effort to accommodate your requests.
VHIT is open to all Post 639, Auxiliary, Sons of the Legion, all
Lapon & USSVI members and guests over 18 years old, male or female.
The Event will be held rain or shine!
More details are on the back of May’s Calendar along with a
registration form or you can sign up at Post 639.
Please sign up early so we can put together some great prizes.
News Brief:
The Army & Air
Force Exchange Service (AAFES) has announced that it is returning $242.3
million to the services' Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) programs. For
2004, this dividend represents an average per capita dividend of $277 for
every Soldier and Airman, a 5 percent increase over last year. With the help
of AAFES dividends, MWR, CFSC and Air Force Services have completed hundreds
of community enhancement projects at Army and Air Force installations around
the world.
Editorial Brief:
Last months financial
seminar was a success. There were
a number of post members that were unable to attend and have requested a
second session. Did you know that
most people spend more time planning for a 2 week vacation than they do on
their whole financial future? Dwight
has agreed to a second session on Saturday, May 14, 2005 at 2:00 PM.
This totally free financial seminar covers, debt consolidation,
new home mortgages/refinances, income protection, legal protection,
investments and retirement planning. This
will be open to all Post 639 members and their guests. All attendees above the
age of 21 that have pre-registered will qualify
for a FREE personalized FNA (Financial Needs Analysis) with a
value of $500 to $1,000. The registration book will be at the Post, or you may
register by calling (417) 886-2649.
Humor:
Although fighting the
enemy is considered normal, the Army frowns upon fighting among the troops.
So much so that after one too many battles royals, my uncle was ordered
to undergo psychiatric evaluation in which he endured some odd questions.
If you saw a submarine in the Sahara what would you do?
“Well, I’d throw snowballs at it”, he answered.
“Where’d you get the snowballs?” the doctor asked.
“The same place that you got the submarine.”
A Platoon Sergeant and his Platoon
Leader are bunking down in the field for the night. The Platoon Sergeant
looks up and says, "When you see all the stars in the sky, what do you
think, sir?" The Lieutenant
replies, "Well, I think of how insignificant we really are in the
universe; how small a piece of such a grand design. I can't help but
wonder if what we do truly means anything or makes any difference. Why?
What do you think of, Sergeant?"
"I think somebody stole our damn tent."
I hope everyone has a great May and I
look forward to seeing all of you for our Remembrance Day Celebration.
Bill Roark, Editor
Together
Then,
Together Now!!!