VFW September 2010 Scuttlebutt

August 17th, 2010

Dear Fellow Comrades,
Our Post Commander Terry McNitt did another fantastic job at our August meeting. We also had a near record number of members attending, with 17 members at our meeting. It was great to see some old faces and a couple more new ones this month.

We are continuing our planning for the new fiscal year. We will again be sponsoring the Patriots Pen Essay Contest and also the Voice of Democracy and the applications are on order, once the forms arrive, they will be taken to the respective schools.

We did order 10 books title “America’s White Table” which explains the POW/MIA Table and meaning at a child’s perspective. We will be presenting these books to all the local schools and also the Rice Lake Library for everyone to enjoy.

We started something new at our August meetings and plan on continuing it at each meeting. We will have one of our members give a brief history of what they did in the service. This month Herb Zimmer gave a 5 minute or so summary of what all he was involved in leading up to and after the Battle of the Bulge during WWII. Come to our next several meetings as we have several more members lined up to talk about what they did during various wars/conflicts.

The National Convention is scheduled for 21-26 August in Indianapolis, Indiana and currently Pete Breed, Betty and I will be attending. During the convention, Betty and I will be taking a day trip to the VFW National Home in Eaton Rapids, MI. During our visit, we will be presenting a check from our post to the Wisconsin House to let all the children know that we do care about them.

You all should know by now that the Scuttlebutt is now being published and mailed every other month. If you would like to see the monthly issues and have Internet, go online to www.rlvets.org and just click on scuttlebutt. If you are getting the articles from the website, please let us know and we will take you off the mailing list and save a few dollars.

The 9th District Fall Conference is scheduled for 02 October and it will once again be held in Altoona. If any member would like to attend, please let us know by the September meeting.

**** If you know of any member who is sick or could use some sunshine, please contact Steve Clark at 715-234-2848.

Upcoming Event:

  • 21 September 2010 – Monthly Meeting
  • 02 October 2010 – VFW 9th District Meeting (Altoona)
  • 19 October 2010 – Monthly Meeting

John L. Fredrickson
Sr. Vice Commander

DAV September 2010 Scuttlebutt

August 10th, 2010

Hi Comrades,
We had an outstanding August meeting with 13 members present and 1 guest Diane Harris from Seattle, WA. Diane is a friend of Joe Anderson and came to the meeting to see how we hold our meetings. Terry McNitt was on the road again doing 4th District Inspections and several other members had other commitments and could not attend. We did pick up a couple more new members this month, John Cline from Chetek and Junior Grabinski from La Crosse. Welcome aboard John and Junior.

Speaking of fundraiser, Bill Dent has been working on a Corn & Brat Feed for early this fall. He just got a call and due to the hot weather, the corn will be ready before we can get everything set up. So at our meeting, we decided to cancel the event for this year. Thanks Bill for all your hard work in trying to coordinate the event for the chapter.

We will be holding a breakfast buffet at Rice Lake Hardee’s on Sunday, 26 September located at 1819 S Main Street from 9-11AM. The menu is Biscuits N Gravy, Pancakes, Eggs, Bacon, Hashrounds, Cinnamon N Raisin Biscuits, Coffee, Orange Juice, Milk or Soda. Price is $6.00 for adults and $4.00 for children. This will be our last big fundraiser for the year, so come and bring your friends, family or whoever you can drag along. Our Adjutant has tickets for the breakfast, any member who would like to purchase or sell advance tickets, please contact John. Tickets will also be available at the door at Hardee’s the day of the breakfast.

A big thank you goes out to all the members that visited the DAV MSO (Mobile Service Office) during the two stops it made in Rice Lake in July. The NSO stated that they wish all chapters in the state would give them the same warm welcome they received during their visit here in Rice Lake.

Our Adjutant/Dept Jr. Vice Commander John Fredrickson reported that both his wife Betty and him had a great time at the DAV National Convention in Atlanta, GA. He briefed the membership about information gained during the convention. He also said he will be going again to next years convention that will be held in New Orleans.

Another discussion was held on who all will be attending the Fall Conference 14-16 October in Appleton. Currently it looks like 5 members will be attending the whole conference. Both Tom Johnson and Pete Breed will be attending the Service Officer School that will be held on 14 October. More discussions will be held at our next meeting.

If you know of any member who is sick, please contact our Chaplin Bill Dent at 715-234-4111 and Bill will send them some sunshine.

Remember all our men and women serving all over the world to keep us safe. Say a big prayer for each and every one of them. May they all come home safe. God bless each and every one of you.

Upcoming Events:

  • 13 September – Monthly Meeting
  • 26 September – Breakfast Buffet @ Hardies
  • 11 October – Monthly Meeting
  • 14-16 October – Fall Conference (Appleton, WI)

God Bless, Love Ya
Yours in Comradeship,
Ben (Walking Eagle) Anderson

VFW August 2010 Scuttlebutt

July 20th, 2010

Dear Fellow Comrades,

Our new Post Commander Terry McNitt assumed the duties as our Commander at our July meeting. Terry did a fantastic job and I know all the post members will enjoy working with Terry during his time as Post Commander.

We did have a good meeting this month and we continued our planning for next year. We will once again be sponsoring the Patriots Pen Essay Contest and also the Voice of Democracy. At the end of our meeting, we presented Herb Zimmer with a book regarding the 3200 Wisconsin Veterans who were KIA during WWII and are interned overseas. Herb said he had seen the book and was very honored to have his own copy, which is personally autographed to Herb from the author.

The Scuttlebutt issue has been resolved and all members and auxiliary should now be receiving the new bi-monthly newsletter. The articles are also available monthly, online at www.rlvets.org and just click on scuttlebutt. If you are getting the articles from the website, please let us know and we will take you off the mailing list and save a few dollars.

The National Convention is scheduled for 21-26 August in Indianapolis, Indiana and currently Pete Breed and I will be attending.

The 9th District Fall Conference is scheduled for 02 October and it will once again be held in Altoona. If any member would like to attend, please let us know by the August meeting.

We did have a short meeting this month but we did not break Duane’s time for the shortest meeting. Commander McNitt kept the meeting rolling and gavel swinging. Believe it or not, we didn’t have to take any breaks during the meeting so the Commander could take a short nap.

**** If you know of any member who is sick or could use some sunshine, please contact Steve Clark at 715-234-2848.

Upcoming Event:

  • 17 August 2010 – Monthly Meeting
  • 21-26 August 2010 – VFW National Convention (Indianapolis)
  • 21 September 2010 – Monthly Meeting
  • 02 October 2010 – VFW 9th District Meeting (Altoona)

John L. Fredrickson
Sr. Vice Commander

DAV July 2010 Scuttlebutt

June 16th, 2010

Hi Comrades,
The DAV State Convention was held in Green Bay, WI 09-12 June. We had 5 members from our chapter who attended. A lot of information was provided to all members in attendance.
The biggest news is that our adjutant John Fredrickson was elected to the position of DAV, Department of Wisconsin, State Jr. Vice Commander. I know he will make our chapter proud.
We had an outstanding June meeting with 18 members present. A lot of business was taken care of to wrap up the end of our physical year. All newly elected officers will assume their new office at our July meeting. John Ovind from Duluth attended our chapter meeting and has since been transferred into our chapter. Welcome aboard John.
Speaking of fundraiser, we discussing ways of raising funds for the chapter. Bill Dent is working on a Corn & Brat Feed for the first part of August. The date will be determined later on when we know when the sweet corn will be available. We are also looking into hold a breakfast buffet at Hardies the first part of September. We still need to see what dates are available and then schedule a date. Once the date is set, we will need members to sell advanced tickets, as we need to sell a minimum of 100 tickets. We will be discussing these events more at our next meeting. If you have any ideas, please attend our next meeting.
The DAV MSO (Mobile Service Office) is coming to Rice Lake. The current schedule it at the Rice Lake Harley-Davidson Store 03 July 2010 from 9:00AM – 4:00PM. It will return again on 12 July 2010 and be at the Rice Lake Veterans Center from 9:00AM – 3:30PM. If you know of anyone who has questions about Veterans Benefits, have them come down and talk to our NSO’s. These services are FREE of charge for ANY veteran. They are very knowledgeable and if they don’t know the answers, I know they will find it for you. All members are welcome to come down and just talk to them and get to know who is working for our benefits.
We have resolved the issue of mailing out Scuttlebutts to all members. Our chapter members should be getting this bi-monthly issue.
If you know of any member who is sick, please contact our Chaplin Bill Dent at 715-234-4111 and Bill will send them some sunshine.
Remember all our men and women serving all over the world to keep us safe. Say a big prayer for each and every one of them. May they all come home safe. God bless each and every one of you.

Upcoming Events:

  • 03 July 2010 – DAV Service Van (Harley Davison Store)
  • 12 July 2010 – DAV Service Van (Veterans Center)
  • 12 July 2010 – Monthly Meeting
  • 31 July – 03 Aug – National Convention (Atlanta, GA)
  • 10 Aug 2010 – Monthly Meeting
  • ?? August – Corn & Brat Feed

God Bless, Love Ya
Yours in Comradeship,
Ben (Walking Eagle) Anderson

VFW July 2010 Scuttlebutt

June 15th, 2010

Dear Fellow Comrades,
After 4 years as our Post Commander, Commander Ben (WE) Anderson is stepping down from his office. Ben has been a great asset to our post and will be missed as post commander. The only time he had a short meeting was when I was gone. He never did beat Duane’s time for a short meeting. During his reign as Commander, our post made All State Post 3 years in a row and has been 100%+ membership each year. I know he will continue to stay involved with post activities. Our new Post Commander Terry McNitt will assume duties at our July meeting. I have known Terry for several years and I know he will also do a great job.
We did have a very good meeting this month and are starting our planning for next year. We will once again be sponsoring the Patriots Pen Essay Contest and also the Voice of Democracy. Our Quartermaster will be ordering the materials shortly so we will be ready before the school year starts. At the end of our meeting, we presented Herb Zimmer with his Loyalty Day Plaque and presented our PAST Post Commander WE with his Past Commanders Pin.
The Scuttlebutt issue has been resolved and all members and auxiliary should now be receiving the new bi-monthly newsletter. Tom Puig is working on the mailing address to get it current. If you did not receive a copy in the mail, please contact Tom. The articles are still available online at www.rlvets.org and just click on scuttlebutt. If you are getting the articles from the website, please let us know and we will take you off the mailing list and save a few dollars.
The State Convention was held on 23-26 June in Milwaukee, WI. Past Commander Ben Anderson, Pete Breed and I attended. We will provide the membership with the information learned at our July meeting.
The National Convention is scheduled for 21-26 August in Indianapolis, Indiana and currently Pete Breed and I will be attending.
9th District is currently scheduled for 02 October and it will once again be held in Altoona. If any member would like to attend, please let us know by the August meeting.
**** If you know of any member who is sick or could use some sunshine, please contact Steve Clark at 715-234-2848.

Upcoming Events:

  • 20 July 2010 – Monthly Meeting
  • 17 August 2010 – Monthly Meeting
  • 21-26 August 2010 – VFW National Convention (Indianapolis)
  • 21 September 2010 – Monthly Meeting

John L. Fredrickson
Sr. Vice Commander

DAV June 2010 Scuttlebutt

May 10th, 2010

Hi Comrades,

We had a good monthly meeting and we got a lot of business taken care of. At the end of the meeting, we held installation of officers for the upcoming year. As I said before, hopefully we can get a few members to step forward next year and hold an elected office. We have had the same members doing all the work for the past few years and it is time for someone else to pitch in and take over.

The DAV State Convention will be held in Green Bay, WI 09-12 June. We currently have 5 members from our chapter who will be once again attending. Members attending are; Ben Anderson, Joe Anderson, John Fredrickson, Terry McNitt and Lenny Shier. This event is a great opportunity to meet members from around the state and a great way to find out what is really happening at department and national level. If you have never attending a state convention, you are missing out. Our adjutant John Fredrickson has stepped down as District Vice Commander as he is now running for the office of Dept. of Wisconsin Jr. Vice Commander. Wish him well! I know he will make our chapter proud.

Our annual Forget-Me-Not Fundraiser was held on 15th May. We had only 7 members who assisted this year, we could have used twice that many. Most of the members only worked until noon, maybe next year we can split up into a morning and afternoon teams so we can cover the major stores all day long. We will discuss this more at upcoming meetings. This is our main fundraiser for the year and we need your help.

Speaking of fundraiser, we started discussing other ways of raising funds for the chapter. Bill Dent is starting to work on a possible Corn & Brat Feed later this year. We will also be looking into hold a breakfast buffet at Hardies this fall. We will be discussing this more at our next meeting. If you have any ideas, please attend our next meeting.

We have resolved the issue of mailing out Scuttlebutts to all members. Our chapter members will be getting the next bi-monthly issue.

If you know of any member who is sick, please contact our Chaplin Bill Dent at 234-4111 and Bill will send them some sunshine.

Remember all our men and women serving all over the world to keep us safe. Say a big prayer for each and every one of them. May they all come home safe. God bless each and every one of you.

Upcoming Events:

  • June 10-12, 2010 – State Convention (Green Bay)
  • June 14. 2010 – Monthly Meeting
  • 12 July 2010 – Monthly Meeting
  • 31 July – 03 Aug – National Convention (Atlanta, GA)

God Bless, Love Ya

Yours in Comradeship,

Ben (Walking Eagle) Anderson

DAV Roll Call of Officers 2010-2011

April 21st, 2010
  • Commander – Ben Anderson 715-637-4199
  • Sr. Vice Commander – Clyde Shipman 715-967-2246
  • Jr. Vice Commander – Lenny Shier 715-296-1115
  • Adjutant/Treasurer – John Fredrickson 715-234-8050
  • Legislative Chairman – Lenny Shier 715-296-1115
  • Chaplin – Bill Dent 715-234-4111
  • (3-year) Trustee – Ken Dolby 715-497-2975
  • (2-year) Trustee – Delbert Ekenstedt 715-651-1464
  • (1-year) Trustee – Dave Shultz 715-790-0002
  • Service Officer – Tom Johnson 715-364-2649
  • Membership Chairman – Terry McNitt 715-635-8840

NOTE: All meetings are held on the second Monday of each month at the Rice Lake Veteran’s Center. Meetings start at 7:00 PM.

2010 Meeting dates:

  • January & February – No Meeting
  • 10 May
  • 14 June
  • 12 July
  • 09 August
  • 13 September
  • 11 October
  • 08 November
  • 13 December

John L. Fredrickson

Adj/Tres.

VFW May 2010 Scuttlebutt

April 20th, 2010

Dear Fellow Comrades,

We had a good meeting and got a lot of business completed. Denny Leuthner is doing well after his knee replacement and it was good to see him at our meeting. He has been golfing several times and is starting to throw horseshoes to limber his knee up before the season starts.

Loyalty Day activities will be held on 01 May 2010 at the Veterans Center. The meal will be served at 1:00PM and the ceremony will be after we eat. Hopefully we have several members in attendance.

We discussed the Scuttlebutt issue and if everything goes as planned; you should be getting this article in the next new bi-monthly newsletter. The articles will still be available online at www.rlvets.org and just click on scuttlebutt. All articles for the past two years have been posted at this website and we will continue to do so. If you are getting the articles from the website, please let us know and we will take you off the mailing list and save a few dollars.

We discussed our yearly Poppy Drive and have set the date of 08 May for the drive. We will meet at the Veterans Center at 8:30AM and then go to the various businesses for the Poppy Drive. Hopefully we will have several members assisting this year with the drive.

We held election of officers for 2010-2011 at our monthly meeting and we are looking at a few changes in officers for the upcoming year. Installation will be at our May meeting. The new officers for 2010-2011 are;

  • Commander – Terry McNitt
  • Sr. Vice Cdr. – John Fredrickson
  • Jr. Vice Cdr. – Sam Samshal
  • Quartermaster – Tom Puig
  • Judge Advocate – Herb Zimmer
  • Service Officer – Paul Lewis
  • Chaplin – Lloyd Meinen
  • Surgeon – Steve Clark
  • OOD – Al Engstrom
  • 3-year Trustee – Ben Anderson

The State Convention is scheduled for 23-26 June in Milwaukee, WI. We will need to know by our May meeting who is planning on attending.

**** If you know of any member who is sick or could use some sunshine, please contact Steve Clark at 715-234-2848 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              715-234-2848      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

Upcoming Event:

  • 01 May 2010 – Loyalty Day (RL Vets Center)
  • 08 May 2010 – Poppy Drive
  • 18 May 2010 – Monthly Meeting
  • 20-23 May 2010 – LZLambeau (Green Bay)
  • 15 June 2010 – Monthly Meeting
  • 23-26 June 2010 – State Convention (Milwaukee)

John L. Fredrickson

Jr. Vice Commander

DAV May 2010 Scuttlebutt

April 12th, 2010

Hi Comrades,

Another good monthly meeting and we got a lot of business taken care of. It was good to see Bob Seibel from Bloomer attending his second monthly meeting and becoming another active member. Of note, when Bob became a new member of our chapter in March, we reached our 100% membership goal for the year.

The DAV 4th District Conference was held in Ladysmith on the 17th of April. We had 7 members who attended. Terry McNitt is again the District Commander and Debora Stoeberl was elected the new District Nominating Officer. Our adjutant John Fredrickson has stepped down as District Vice Commander as he is now running for the office of Dept. of Wisconsin Jr. Vice Commander. It was a very interesting and informative Conference as we also had Dept. Sr. Vice Commander John Hoeft, Dept Jr. Vice Commander Kevin (KC) Johnson and Dept. Judge Advocate Al Labelle also in attendance. All department officers had a lot of information to pass down.

Our annual Forget-Me-Not Fundraiser date is approved for 15th of May. We will decide at our next meeting what time and where we are going to meet. We would like as many members who can to please come and assist. This is our main fundraiser for the year and we need your help.

We held election of officers for the upcoming year. I will be the Chapter Commander for one more year and John Fredrickson will be our Adjutant. Hopefully next year, we can get a few more members to step forward and take over some of the offices. We will hold installation of officers at our May meeting.

We are still working on the issue of mailing out Scuttlebutts to all members. We are working on determining the exact cost per issue to print and mail the newsletter for the rest of the year. We will be discussing it more at our May meeting.

If you know of any member who is sick, please contact our Chaplin Bill Dent at 715-234-4111 and Bill will send them some sunshine.

Remember all our men and women serving all over the world to keep us safe. Say a big prayer for each and every one of them. May they all come home safe. God bless each and every one of you.

Upcoming Events:

  • May 10, 2010 – Monthly Meeting
  • May 15, 2010 – Forget-Me-Not Fundraiser
  • June 10-12, 2010 – State Convention (Green Bay)
  • June 14. 2010 – Monthly Meeting

God Bless, Love Ya

Yours in Comradeship,

Ben (Walking Eagle) Anderson

Loyalty Day Banquet – 2010

April 8th, 2010

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Rice Lake Veterans Center

Door opens at noon

Banquet at 1:00

Honoring Loyalty Day Award winner, Herb Zimmer

Local Teacher of the Year winner, Chuck Stene

Local Patriot’s Pen winner, Madison Glaze

Menu

Turkey with stuffing

Mashed potatoes & gravy

Vegetable

Rolls

Dessert

Beverage

Cost: $8.00

Reservations by Sunday, April 25

Call Lucille Engrisch at 715-434-7351

Sponsored by VFW Post 2204 and Auxiliary