From
the Commander
Last
month was not much of a pleasure for me.
I spent 3 Fridays in a row at the cemetery for 4 of our members and
that’s 4 more than I would like to attend, so let’s not wake up to any
more chalk marks. Other than that the month went pretty good.
The building and grounds committee came up with 3 options as to enlarge
the seating area around the bar to present to the Executive Committee for
evaluation and action. The
entertainment committee has scheduled events through February (see Rick’s
Article).
We hosted the 17th
District’s Fall Meeting and a super thanks to the Auxiliary for an excellent
meal and decorations. Your effort
showed and was truly appreciated. Thanks
Ladies.
I was a little disappointed at the
low turn out for the early bird party, but all of us that showed up had a
great time and the band, The Rockin’ L’s, was great as usual.
Thanks Lance.
Every Saturday in September was
scheduled for an afternoon or evenings entertainment.
We have a small but great area for receptions and parties, rent-free
for 2 year or longer members, see Angel to schedule your group.
I hate to say goodbye to Kathy, our weekend bartender, but she got a
full time job (best of luck), we’ll come by and see you.
A replacement has been hired, come by and visit on Thursday nights and
alternating days and nights with Pat on weekends.
I receive a list from Department
every month for members in Department Post 1000 and Project stay alive for
members that have moved into the Springfield area.
I have included all of them for the mailing to receive the newsletter
in hopes that they will come and see what we have for a Post and meet some of
the membership. Our Post is
unusual to most of the other American Legion Posts, in that the majority of
our members still hold down a full time job, still have children of school
age, our name is misleading, as it is The Vietnam War Memorial Post.
Not, Vietnam Veteran’s Post, our membership consists of WW II, Korea,
Vietnam, Grenada, Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans, Combat and
Support. We have almost 25 acres with a ball field, swings, horseshoe
pits, picnic tables and a 100’ X 50’ building with heat and air for you
and your families enjoyment. Do I
sound proud? I sure hope so.
Phil Richardson
Post
Judge Advocate
I
would like to thank the membership for allowing me this opportunity to be of
service to the Post. As I carry out the duties of this office, I hope to renew
your interest in the American Legion and your role in the democratic process
offered through participation.
Many of you may ask what is a Judge
Advocate?
The American Legion Officer's Guide
and Manual of Ceremonies defines the office...
JUDGE ADVOCATE-----"To you, my
comrade, is assigned a most important duty for which your legal training
and/or past Legion experience so aptly prepare you. You are the interpreter of
the Constitution and the By-Laws of your Post, and may at any time be called
upon by the Commander and other officers and members of the Post to rule on
the legality of their actions and decisions insofar as they affect the good of
The American Legion. You are also charged with protecting the integrity of our
organization and keeping alight the torch of truth and fidelity that
symbolizes the high and ennobling ideals under which our great American Legion
was founded. Protect wisely that heritage."
The primary duty of the Judge
Advocate is to supply professional advice in the conduct of the post business
or to procure proper counsel and is the guardian of constitutional form of
post government.
Your Judge Advocate can supply
valuable assistance to other post committees and officers. That officer should
be available to the Service Officer for legal advice and to the Americanism
committee on matters relating to education and naturalization laws. Any post
committee can benefit from the Judge Advocate’s contacts with the office
holders of local government.
The Judge advocate and the legal
committee are charged by the suggested post constitution with the duty of
auditing post financial accounts. This should be done annually just before the
election of officers or more frequently at their discretion.
In fulfillment of these charges and
the input I have received from many of the Post members, I suggest to the
Executive Board and the General Membership action be taken to:
1. Call for an audit of the General
Account and the Bingo Account. I believe this can be done with an in-house
committee under the leadership of Bob Jestes, Chairman of the Accountability
Committee. Should this not be possible the Post should provide funding to hire
an outside bookkeeper or accountant.
2. Update the Post Constitution and
By-Laws to reflect the National guideline and legitimize our Post practice and
policies.
The
Veterans Voice
Page
3
3. Form a Past Commanders Club. The
Purpose of this club would be to advise the Judge Advocate on legal issues and
American Legion policies, and to also act as a respected voice representing
the good of the Post. Their experience is invaluable.
4. Hard file Record. I believe each
member should have a permanent record at the post. Even if the file only held
a copy of his discharge paper and legion application. It could also hold other
items, which the veteran or his family may need at some time.
I encourage each member of the Post
to become active in post activities, and come to general meetings the first
Tuesday of the month. It is your idea, your voice, and your vote,
that is not being heard, that is keeping this post from realizing its
creed...Together
Then...Together Now.
Rick Stephens
Ladies
Auxiliary
Renewal
time is here again. There will be an Early Bird party for members who
have paid their dues by September 25th.
Dues can also be paid on the date of
the party. There will be entertainment and prizes, so get those dues in
ladies. Send your dues to me at: Luanne Spradling, 5181 W.
Sunshine Lot 39, Springfield, MO 65802. Don't miss out on this chance to
come to your post and enjoy your post family.
Audra Gentry assisted by Janet
Buckley installed the new 2004-2005 officers on August 3rd.
There will be a Fall Festival at the
Post on October 8th with a silent auction, cakewalk and grab bags. We
plan to have chili and hot dogs. 50% of the proceeds from this will go
to the Rainbow Network. This will be held from 6 P.M. to 10 P.M. so come
out and enjoy. The silent auction depends on donations from businesses
and individuals, so please go out and get donations. Tax sheets are
available at the post for businesses donating to this cause.
At the regular meeting on September
7th, Ann Murrell will be a guest speaker to explain the workings of the
Rainbow Network. Dinner is served at 6 PM with the regular meeting at 7
PM.
We are still selling chances for the
quilt raffle. All the monies from this raffle will go to Quilts With
Love to help make quilts for our servicemen overseas. Tickets are $1.00
each or 6 for $5.00.
Luanne Spradling
Just a note to thank ALL the guys and
gals that labored on Labor Day cleaning, sorting and moving furniture in the
Ladies/Sons office. It was truly a Labor of Love.
Crystal
Adjutant
Membership
for the month of September has the post with 526 members.
Renewals are slowly coming in with 246 unpaid and 278 paid giving us
53% paid already for 2005’s dues. If
you know someone that has not paid for 2005 ask them to send in their dues.
Thanks you for being a member of Post 639.
J.C. Ponder
Bingo Report
Starting
in October our Bingo game will be completely revamped.
The basic 16 games will stay pretty much as they have been for the past
few years with an “early bird” game and a total payout on these games of $
3,600. We have dropped one of the progressive games and will now only have one
progressive game with a starting amount of $1,000.
Each week that it doesn’t win, the payout will increase by $25 until
it reaches $1,199. It will then
be guaranteed to be paid out that week. Consolation
will continue at $300 for the progressive game.
We have decided to drop our “9
on” packets from $15 to $12 and our “6 on” packets from $10 to $8 to be
more competitive with other games in town.
We will also institute “3 on” extra cards that can be played on any
of the base 16 games for 50 cents each. We
feel this will stimulate additional players and give the players incentives to
play more cards. Please tell your friends and neighbors to come out to our
Bingo games every Friday night with early bird game starting at 6:30 PM.
Mark Reed
Building
& Grounds
The
newly formed Building and Grounds Committee appointed under the authority of
Commander Phil Richardson held its inaugural meeting on September 1, 2004. Present was Chairman Harvey Williams, members Rick Stephens,
Bill Irwin and Mark Reed. Doyle
Gardner was excused due to a prior commitment.
Each meeting will have a specific
agenda & format designed to deal with improvement and maintenance issues
related to existing needs and proposed projects.
TVV Page 4 is continued on the
back of the Calendar.
The
Veterans Voice
Page
4
(continued from page 3)
The first meeting was dedicated
entirely to setting prioritized goals feasible for completion in a timely
manner while minimizing financial
burden to the post. The goals set forth are as follows:
1.
Increase seating in the bar area.
2.
Paint and maintain the Helicopters.
3.
Maintenance of floors
4.
Resurfacing of the parking lot.
The mission of the committee is to
deal with each project with a timetable for completion and then move to the
next project only when completion is accomplished.
A complete report with drawing and
plans will be submitted for E-Board review no later than September 27, 2004
regarding redesign of the bar area.
Harvey Williams
Entertainment
Committee
Schedule to Date:
October 30,
2004.…..Halloween/Birthday Party with “Shallow Howl”
November 27, 2004...Birthday Party
with ”Kenny Walker and the Nighthawks”
December 31, 2004...Birthday/New
Years Eve Party with ”ROCKIN' L'S”
Bands will begin play at 8:00 PM
unless noted otherwise.
Finger food will generally be served
at 7:00 PM.
Come out and enjoy your post.
We look forward to a good year.
Rick Stephens
From
your Chaplain
The
last couple of weeks have been pretty trying for me personally.
My grandson, Jordan, in Jacksonville, Florida had to have open-heart
surgery and while we were there “Ivan” dumped more rain on us than I have
ever seen before. Jordan is now
doing well and we are recovering from the 2-week trip.
I would ask that all of us remember Kelly Trotter and Jim Parlier in
our prayers. They were good and
active members of our post and we all will miss them.
Please pray for our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and in harms way at
bases throughout the world. May God protect them in their efforts to protect
the people of the United States.
Bob Carroll
From
the Web
Well
the hits just keep coming. We
have had over 200 hits in the past month on the web site, that’s about 50
per week. Jim Parlier past away
and was put to rest in the Missouri Veterans Cemetery the first of September.
He was a very good friend and a supporter of Post 639.
Please take the time to read about LTC Parlier in his memorial page in
Post Everlasting on the web site. Kelly
Trotter was a friend and active member of our post, so please read his
memorial page. We have a lot of
our brothers that are in Post 639’s Post Everlasting.
If you see a name and would like to honor that person, get me their
biographical information and some pictures if possible and we can put together
a permanent memorial to them. There
are a couple of other projects that are in the works for the web site and
hopefully those will be there in the next few months.
If anyone has ideas about what they would like to see, let me know or
email me at info@post639.com.
A couple of members have been
promising to get some stories about their military experiences, but they have
not gotten them to me, yet. Please
consider writing an article or story for the web site.
If you haven’t done so, please read the story that Kurt (Corky)
Watson wrote, I think you will enjoy it.
From the web, keep clicking.
Bill Roark
Grins
& Giggles
The
Three Pilots
Three pilots are walking through the
forest when they come upon a set of tracks.
The first pilot says, "Those are deer tracks."
The second pilot says, "No, those are elk tracks."
The third pilot says, "You're both wrong! Those are moose tracks."
The pilots were still arguing when the train hit them.
The
Wife!!!
A Navy Chief and an Air Force General were getting shaves in a barbershop. As
the barbers were reaching for some after-shave to slap on their faces, the
General shouts, "Hey, don't put that crap on me! My wife will think I've
been in a whorehouse!" Whereupon the Chief turns to his barber and says,
"Go ahead and put it on me, my wife doesn't know what the inside of a
whorehouse smells like."
Together
Then,
Together Now!!!
The
United States is unique in the history of world politics in that once every 4
years the head of the government is subject to change and the transfer of
power is done in an orderly peaceable fashion.
Our “Head of State” can only be in power for a maximum of 8 years
and then cannot hold that office again. We
take this for granted because it is just the way it has been for well over 200
years and it is the only way we know. Although
over the years there have been other political parties, we have basically the
Republican Party that is called conservative or traditionalist and the
Democratic Party that is called liberal or socialists.
Conservatives believe in limited government and allowing individuals
and private companies the potential to “make it on their own”.
Liberals tend to want the government to provide everything including
health care, welfare and jobs for the people, and to tax the “producers”
to pay for it. Conservatives tend
to be strong on national defense and “hawkish” in dealing with
geo-political unrest. Liberals
tend to want to spend the money on social programs, rather than on the
military establishment. Both
political parties have components that are extreme, usually called the
“extreme left” (democrats) and the “ultra right” (republicans).
Most people don’t generally fall to the extreme left or ultra right,
but somewhere in the middle. These
“moderates” make up the majority of voters and can be swayed to the left
or right depending on the economy, job situation, or national security
concerns or the personality of a particular person that is running for office.
Let’s
look at the 2 presidential candidates for a quick evaluation.
First is President George W. Bush who was elected 4 years ago in one of
the closest elections we have had in this country.
It was so close, we didn’t know for a few days who had really won the
election, but it has now been 100% proven the Bush got more votes in Florida
than Al Gore by many independent auditors.
Bush went to Harvard and has an MBA from there, served in the National
Guard as a jet fighter pilot for 5 ½ years during the Viet Nam War, worked
for his father when he was President, owned the Texas Rangers Baseball team,
made millions of dollars in Texas Oil, and was Governor of Texas prior to
being elected to his Presidency. His
major strength is probably his commitment to the people and doing exactly what
he says he will do. He does not
waiver with the political winds and his vision of what is right has not
changed. He also gets points from a lot of people for his commitment
to his wife, family and God without any apologies for either.
His weakness is that he may seem to some to be too resolute and not
listen to other political forces in the world.
Some have called him a “Cowboy” because of his demeanor and he has
been accused of “grand standing” in certain situations.
Bush could probably be characterized as a fiscal conservative and a
social moderate.
Let’s
now look at John Kerry who has been a Senator from Massachusetts for 20 years.
Like Bush, he also went to Harvard .
After his school deferments were exhausted he joined the Navy and took
his commission as a Lieutenant JG. He went to Vietnam for 4 months during
which time he won the Bronze Star, Silver Star and 3 Purple Hearts and then
requested reassignment back to the US. When
he returned to the US he co-founded Vietnam Vets against the war and in
testifying before the Senate
sub-committee he accused US soldiers in Vietnam of atrocities and admitted to
committing them himself. During
his 20 years as a senator he became known as a Northeastern Liberal, voting
for most spending bills that came before the Senate.
He has voted to decrease military spending and voted to cut the budgets
of the Defense and Intelligence agencies of our government. He has voted for
increasing taxes on gasoline and says that he will repeal the Bush tax cuts as
soon as he can after the election. If
people want the government to provide everyone with health care, prescription
drugs and guarantee that they will provide for a majority of your needs, then
Kerry would be your candidate. Who
would pay for all these programs? The
tax payers of the US would, but Kerry would says he will impose that burden
only on the “wealthy” in this country.
In addition to that Kerry supporters feel he could do a better job than
President Bush has done in forming coalitions with other countries to
handle the threats of stability in the world.