Archive for June, 2009

July 2009 Scuttlebutt

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

16 June 2009

Dear Fellow Comrades,

By the time most of you read this letter, my term as District Commander will be over. I will miss the comradeship of members at other posts in the district, but I will not miss the running around to visit the various posts. I did manage to visit and inspect 31 of 33 posts and our new District Commander Merlin Kosmosky has asked it I would inspect them this year. I said I would be happy to do it so I can complete the visit to all post.

I have been asked if I would take an appointment to the Wisconsin VFW Trust Fund Committee this year and I said I would. Chairman of the committee is Past State Commander Bill Hustad and it will be a joy to work will Bill once again.

9th District is now in 1st place, we are currently at 98.13% and we need 77 members to reach our 100% membership goal. Post 2204 is leading the district with 110.62% and no unpaid members. Our post gained another new member this month, Randy Engness joined our post as a life member. Welcome aboard Randy. It was good to see Randy and a few other new members at our monthly meeting.

On 12 July our post will be celebrating 75th years as a post. It was chartered on 12 July 1934. To celebrate this event, we are planning a picnic/party for 12 July 09, 1:00PM – until, at the Rice Lake Veterans Center. This is for ALL VFW Members, Auxiliary Members and families of members. All food and refreshments will be provided by the post, all you have to do is show up. We do request you let either Sam Samshal (715-434-4827) or me (715-234-8050) know it you are planning on attending by 06 July 09.

We have started our monthly meeting one hour earlier the last three months. All members agree that it is a good idea. Therefore starting in July our official meeting start time is being changed to 7:00PM. If you have any comments regarding this new starting time, please let me know.

Betty and I will be heading to the VFW National Convention to be held in Phoenix, Arizona, August 15-20, 2009. Hopefully we have better weather than we did in Orlando, FL last year during Tropical Storm Faye. Arizona in August, sure sounds like it will be hot.

All of the National Guard Units from our area are now in Iraq. I am still working on a list of members who have special skills and would like to be available to help if the need would arise. (Plumbing, electrical, auto repairs, etc) Please let me know if you are willing to assist. I now have two electricians 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 Ted Kuchera at 715-434-3123.

Upcoming Event:

    12 July 09  - VFW Picnic/Party 1:00PM – Until
    21 July 09  - Monthly Meeting **7:00 PM**
    25 July 09  - OTI Training (Wisconsin Rapids, WI)

John L. Fredrickson

9th District Commander

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July 2009 Scuttlebutt

Monday, June 8th, 2009

Hi Comrades,

We had another great meeting this month and it was nice to see a few more new members attending. We gained three new members this month. Maurice Knutson (North Branch, MN), Howard Krech (Balsam Lake, WI) and Brian Sanbusch (Springbrook, WI). Welcome aboard and we hope to see you at our July meeting. Just a reminder, our new Chapter Officers will assume their new office at our July meeting.

The DAV Department Convention was held in Appleton, WI on 11-13 June 2009. We had five chapter members (Ben, John, Joe, Terry and Lenny) attending the Convention. A lot of information was presented during the convention and we will brief the membership with information attained at our July meeting. Our Adjutant, John Fredrickson is happy to report that he made it away from the Convention with NO Department Office or Appointments. Maybe he will be able to make it to a couple more meetings this year. Next year the Convention will be held in Green Bay. Hopefully we can have as many members attending.

The Fall Conference will be held in Appleton, WI on 08-10 October. The Service Officer Training will be held on the 08th and will be followed the next two days with training for Adjutants and Commanders. There will also be several workshops on Social Security, TRICARE, and CHAMPVA to name a few. This is a great time to ask question and gain more information of the various programs available to all veterans.

FREE Access to Wisconsin Start Parks and Trails. If you are a POW or 70 percent or greater permanent or temporary disabled you are eligible to received free admission. Check with the County Veterans Service Office for certification and details.

During our meeting we discussed having some kind of fundraiser later this summer. Bill Dent and a couple of other members are working on ideas. If you have an idea someway we can raise funds, please be at our next meeting. Time goes by fast and we need to start working on it now. We are always looking for new ideas.

We pray for a speedy recovery for Debora Stoeberl. If you know of any other member who is sick, please contact our Chaplin Bill Dent so we can send a little sunshine their way.

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:

  • July 13   - Monthly Meeting
  • August 10  - Monthly Meeting

God Bless, Love Ya

Yours in Comradeship,

Ben (Walking Eagle) Anderson

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