Rice Lake Area Veteran's Center

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

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

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

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

Dear Fellow Comrades,

We had a great meeting with 16 members present. It was good to see a few old faces once again at our meeting. Herb Zimmer was at our meeting and doing well. Also Denny Leuthner is doing well after his knee replacement and said he can’t wait to get back out on the golf course this spring.

We did discuss Loyalty Day activities. The Auxiliary will be sponsoring the event and it will be held on 01 May 2010 at the Veterans Center. We will eat at 1:00PM and have the program after the meal. We will be honoring Mr. Stene (Teacher of the Year), Madison Glaze (1^st Place Patriot Pen winner) and Herb Zimmer (Person of the Year). If you would like to make reservations for this event, please contact the auxiliary.

We also discussed the Scuttlebutt issue. The Legion is now mailing out a bi-monthly newsletter and we have now calculated the exact cost per issue. It was decided and voted on that we would pay the Legion to add the VFW to the mailing list. Hopefully, if every thing goes as planned, this article will be in the next issue. 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 a tentative date of 08 May for the drive. The poppies have been ordered but are not yet in. We will discuss the Poppy Drive more at our April meeting.

We did hold nomination of officers for 2010-2011 and will hold elections at our April meeting. We are looking at a few changes in officers for the upcoming year. If any member would like to hold an elected office, please attend our April meetings, as nominations are still open until the elections are held.

The 9^th District Spring Conference will be held on 10 April at Chippewa Falls. During this conference we will also be holding election of district officers. We currently have 4 members planning on attending and still have room for a couple more members if you would like to attend.

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 715-719-0218.

Upcoming Event:

• 10 April 2010  - 9^th District Meeting (Chippewa Falls)
• 20 April 2010  - Monthly Meeting (Elections)
• 01 May 2010  - Loyalty Day (RL Vets Center)
• 18 May 2010  - Monthly Meeting

John L. Fredrickson

Jr. Vice Commander

Dear Fellow Comrades,

Post Commander Anderson, my wife Betty and I all had a great time at the VFW Mid-Winter Conference in Appleton. A lot of information was gained by attending the various training meetings that were held during the conference. I would be more than happy to discuss what information was learned if anyone is interested.

It was a very quiet month with not a lot of action items to discuss. I have talked to the Auxiliary members and they are planning on holding a Loyalty Day Banquet at the post on 01 May 2010. Current plans are to honor our posts Yearly Honoree (name not yet released), Chuck Stene (Teacher of the Year) and Madison Glaze (First Place Winner of the Patriot Pen Essay Contest). We are still in the planning stages and I will hopefully have more information at our March meeting. I did hear that both Herb Zimmer and Denny Leuthner are doing great but I have not talked to them lately.

Patriot Pen Essay judging has been completed, Post Winners are as follows:

• First Place - Madison Glaze
• Second Place - Grace Schock
• Third Place - Jordan Lundberg

At our March meeting, we will be holding nomination of officers for 2010-2011 and will hold elections at our April meeting. Any member who would like to hold an elected office, please attend our March & April meetings.

We are still working on the Scuttlebutt issue, we are still working on the exact cost to print and mail each copy. We are still discussing it and we believe it will be a bi-monthly mailing. We will discuss it more at our March meeting. We are continuing to update the web site for the Veterans Center. The web site is www.rlvets.org

**** If you know of any member who is sick or could use some sunshine, please contact Steve Clark at 715-719-0218.

Upcoming Event:

• 16 March 2010 - Monthly Meeting (Nominations)
• 10 April 2010  - 9^th District Meeting (Chippewa Falls)
• 20 April 2010  - Monthly Meeting (Elections)

John L. Fredrickson

Jr. Vice Commander

Dear Fellow Comrades,

Great news this month, our Rice Lake National Guard Unit made it home safely on the 17^th of January. We had approximately 300 people attending the program at the armory. Yellow ribbons were made up prior to their arrival by the FRG and my wife Betty and tied up to light poles around the city. The City of Rice Lake put up American Flags on Main Street to welcome the troops home. Our Veterans Center Color Guard along with several other members from the VFW, Legion and Auxiliaries were at the armory for the ceremony. Market Place Foods, VFW, American Legion and both Auxiliaries donated food for the event. Thanks also goes to my wife Betty who helped coordinate all the food with Jean Malsom of the FRG and the ladies auxiliaries that helped during the event. If you missed the event, you missed out on a lot of great cookies.

The VFW 9^th District meeting was held on 16 January at Altoona. Commander Ben, Herb Zimmer and I attended. During the noon meal, Chuck Stene was honored as the 9^th District First Place Winner for the Teacher of the Year Award 6-8 grades. Sorry to say, Chuck did not win first place in state competition. Chuck will be honored again at our post during our Loyalty Day Banquet. Our Patriot Pen entries did not do as well as in the past and none of our entries took top honors. Our winners will also be honored at the Loyalty Day Banquet.

We did have a short but productive meeting this month. We did miss a few of our comrades and hopefully they are doing well. Herb Zimmer had a mild stroke on the 18^th of January but returned home the next day and is doing well. Denny Leuthner is over at the VA Hospital in Minneapolis and is getting his knee replaced on the 21st. He said he wanted it done now so he can get back on the golf course for a little recuperation this spring.

We are still working on the Scuttlebutt issue, we are trying to resolve the issue of how much it actually cost to print and mail each copy. We are still discussing it and we might be mailing a bi-monthly or quarterly letter but not yet sure. We are continuing to update the web site for the Veterans Center. The web site is www.rlvets.org

The VFW 9^th Mid-Winter Conference will be held on 05-06 February at Appleton, Wisconsin. Commander Ben Anderson and I will be attending. We will provide information gained at our February meeting.

**** If you know of any member who is sick or could use some sunshine, please contact Steve Clark at 715-719-0218 .

Upcoming Event:

• 05-06 Feb 2010 - VFW Mid-Winter Meeting (Appleton)
• 16 Feb 2010 - Monthly Meeting
• 16 Mar 2010 - Monthly Meeting
• 10 April 2010 - 9^th District Meeting (Chippewa Falls)

John L. Fredrickson

Jr. Vice Commander

Dear Fellow Comrades,

If you didn’t attend our Christmas Party, you missed out on a good time. We had 27 people attend this year and we had lots of great food. Thanks goes out to all the members who brought all the goodies. We held a very short side meeting to discuss upcoming events but no business meeting was held.

We are once again providing our local National Guard Troop Families with some Christmas cheer. We have been waiting to get information regarding a list of families in the Rice Lake area.  With all the new security proto calls in place, we have been unable to get any kind of list. We talked to Sgt Odenbreit and he will get the gift cards to all the members. This should help brighten up their Christmas Spirit.

The entries for Patriots Pen and Teacher of the Year Awards have been judged at district. Our Teacher of the Year entry (Mr. Chuck Stene) has been forwarded to Department level judging. The Patriots Pen Entries (Grace Schock, Jordan Lundberg and Madison Glaze) did not score that high this year and none of them were forwarded to department. We should have all the official rankings at our upcoming 9^th District Meeting.

As was mentioned before the Scuttlebutt will no longer be mailed out monthly to all members. We are still discussing it and we might be mailing a bi-monthly or quarterly letter but not yet sure. We are continuing to update the web site for the Veterans Center. If you see any information in error, please let us know. We have posted all the monthly VFW & DAV articles from the past two years. We will hopefully be adding all the past Scuttlebutt articles as well. A calendar is also being worked on and hopefully that will be completed in the next couple of weeks. The web site is www.rlvets.org and has links to many other sites. If anyone has any questions, please contact me.

The VFW 9^th District Mid-Winter Conference will be held on 16 January at Altoona Wisconsin. Currently, Commander Ben Anderson, Herb Zimmer and I will be attending. If any other member would like to attend and needs a ride, please give me a call and we can make arrangement for you.

I continue to work on a list of members who have special skills and would like to be available to help Deployed NGU families if the need would arise. (Plumbing, electrical, auto repairs, etc) Please let me know if you are willing to assist. I now have three people who have volunteered. We sure could use some other help.

**** If you know of any member who is sick or could use some sunshine, please contact Steve Clark at 715-719-0218.

Upcoming Event:

16 Jan 10 - 9^th District Meeting (Altoona)

19 Jan 10 - Monthly Meeting

05-06 Feb 10 - VFW Mid-Winter Meeting (Appleton)

16 Feb 10 - Monthly Meeting

John L. Fredrickson

Jr. Vice Commander