Monroe County Council Veterans of Foreign Wars

200 West Avenue, Rochester, NY 14611

585-436-6130 or e-mail MONROEVFW@PEOPLEPC.COM

·       County Council Meeting 10/06/09 – Perinton Memorial Post  @ 300 Macedon Center Road, Fairport (Route 31F)  – 7 PM (Please note location for this meeting)

·       Ladies Auxiliary Meeting 10/06/09 – County Headquarters @ 200 West Avenue – 12 Noon

·       Fall Conference – 10/16 – 10/18 in Albany

·       District 8 OTI – Post 2670 – Geneva 10/24/09

 Commander’s Message:

Autumn has arrived and before long winter will be upon us. Activities at the posts will be moving indoors before long. November and Veterans Day is just around the corner.

At our October meeting, we will be honored by a visit from our Department Commander. Commander Davenport is coming to Rochester to meet with our State Convention Committee and I extended an invitation for him to join us for our County Council Meeting. Please join me in welcoming the Commander.

At our meeting this month we have some important issues to deal with. We need to elect a trustee to fill the term of Comrade Verzillo. In addition, we need to vote on 3 proposed changes to our County Council bylaws. In sum and substance they are Proposal 1 dealing with language in the County Council Charter; Proposal 2 dealing with frequency of County Council Meetings and Proposal 3 concerning the insertion of County Council Committee Chairman into the County meeting minutes. Please join us so that your post has a voice in these important issues. All Post Commanders should have received copies by mail.

 Post Commanders should be compiling data to enable the completion of the first Community Activity report of this year. It is due at Department Headquarters no later than 11/15/09. These reports are necessary if you wish to achieve All-State status. But more importantly, they are a means for Department and National to gauge the good work done at the Post level.

Post Commanders should also follow up with their Post Trustees to see that their first report is completed for the period ending 9/30/09. These are important reports as well, and it is in your best interest to follow up to see that they are completed. While not required for All State honors, 1500 additional points toward All State honors are awarded to the post turning in all trustee reports.

A review of the recruitment efforts is encouraging. Congratulations to the following posts for recruiting new members (9/29/09):

307                               2 New Members

5465                                1 New Member

6105                                1 New Member

8495                                9 New Members

9483                        1 New Member

Congratulations are also in order for the following posts who have reinstated members:

412                          2 Reinstated

820                          1 Reinstated

6595                        1 Reinstated

8495                        1 Reinstated

9251                        1 Reinstated

As mentioned last month, retaining members is so important. Well done to all of you.

The Fall Conference will be held in Albany October 16^th, 17^th and 18^th. All Post Commanders should have received registration information. Please try to attend. The training opportunities are outlined in your registration material.

District 8 OTI is scheduled for October 24^th. Each of you should have received registration information. Please avail your self of the opportunity to train current and future officers.

November 1^st is the firm deadline for submitting Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen entries. You should all be working with your contacts in your local school districts to make this scholarship program available to your local scholars.

With Election Day falling on our normal meeting night for the County Council, we will have no meeting in November. Please get out and vote! It is one of our most cherished rights, and unfortunately, least exercised.

In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to wish each of you and all our comrades a wonderful Veterans Day. I hope you spend the day with your comrades, share memories, tell tales, share a cup and perhaps break bread together. It is your day, it is their day. Enjoy it! You earned it J

In Comradeship,

Rick Gough, Commander

 Jr. Vice Commander/Membership Chairman’s Message:

     Dues continue to trickle in.  Please remind your members that to remain a “Member in Good Standing”, they must pay their dues by December 31^st (of course sooner is better).  Again I remind you to get out there and visit with the members you haven’t seen in a while.

     Interest continues to grow concerning the formation of a new district.  One At-Large Post (Caledonia Memorial Post 10844) in neighboring 7^th District has also expressed a desire to join with us in that endeavor and possibly join our County Council in the interim.  I hope that those posts who were represented at the September County Council meeting brought this issue up at their regular meetings.  If you have any further questions and would like someone to explain the procedures further, please contact Commander Gough or myself so that one of us may attend your meeting to answer questions.

In Comradeship

Jim Vanderpool.

 Ladies Auxiliary President’s Message:

Dear Sisters:

The Fall Conference is scheduled for October 16 - 18 at the Albany, Marriott. I hope many of your will be able to attend. As a reminder, below are the lists of items requested by Department Chairman for the Fall Conference:

Cancer Aid & Research - A Star item for the Auction

Hospital/VAVS - pens, note paper, pencils, envelopes, stamps for our Hospitalized Veterans

Ways and Means - $10 worth of scratch off tickets

There will be no November Ladies Auxiliary County Council Meeting due to Election Day. Also, the December County Council Meeting has been scheduled for Monday, December 14th at 1:30 PM as Department President Barbara Hodges will be making her official visit to Monroe County Council. A buffet luncheon will be served at approximately 12:30 PM. Marilyn Heeder, County Council Secretary will be coordinating the luncheon for the December meeting.

Our next District meeting is scheduled for Sunday, December 13th with the meeting starting promptly at 2 PM - Location to be determined. At this meeting, Department President, Barbara Hodges, will be making her official visit. Please encourage all District 8 Auxiliary sisters to attend this meeting so they can meet our Department President.

For our December District meeting, Auxiliaries have been asked to bring new toys for "Toys for Tots" which will be given to the Marines for distribution for those children in need. In addition, Auxiliaries have been asked to stuff Christmas Stockings with items for our Hospitalized Veterans. The stockings will be distributed by Department President Barbara at her visit to the Canandaigua VA Hospital scheduled for Monday, December 14th. Items in the stockings can be: white socks, travel size shampoo, hand lotion, toothpaste, a new toothpaste, comb etc. I will be providing Christmas cards at the December meeting for all sisters to sign so they can be distributed with the Christmas Stockings. If you have any questions regarding this project, please contact me as soon as possible at 607-648-9271.

Please remember to send your legislative letter to our State Senator for support of the Women's Health Care Bill S.252. If you need a copy of the letter, please contact me.

District 8 is sponsoring a "Pink Blanket Raffle" in support of Department President Barbara's Special Project. Raffle tickets are 1 for $1.00 and 6 for $5.00. Tickets will be available from now through the December meeting. The winning ticket will be drawn at the conclusion of the December District meeting. Your support of this project is very much appreciated.

Have you posted your Voice of Democracy and Patriot's Pen flier at your Post, local grocery store, or contacted your local high school? November 1st is the due date for entries to be submitted. If you have any questions, please contact Department Chairman, Lisa Raplee.

During the month of October, your 3Q09 audit is due and need to be completed and received by the the Department Treasurer, Marianne McLane, by October 30th.

Most importantly, Membership is the backbone to our organization and we need to recruit, retain, and re-instate our members. Please do not hold on to your membership dues; Auxiliary Treasures - please forward your dues transmittal to the Department Treasurer as soon as possible. Department President Barbara needs to attain 90% in membership by December 20th in order to achieve VIP status. Let's show that District 8 can support our Department President so we can all be 100% by December.

If you have any questions, problems, or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at 607-648-9271 or email - kdvfwaux@aol.com. Thank you sisters for all your support as we "Shoot for the Stars” for our Veterans and their Families".

Loyally,

Karen Dotson,

District 8 President

Tony’s Message:

At the time of his election to command his post, the Post Commander makes several appointments to certain offices. Certainly, one of the most important is to pick a member who is especially concerned about the welfare of his fellow comrades and all veterans around him. His is the Post Service Officer. This position is so important that it is included in the order of business wherein the Commander calls for a report of the Service Officer. Let me ask you, Commander – Do you have a Post Service Officer? If you do, does he make a report or just slough if off with “No Report”? The VFW Manual of Procedure – Section 218 describes the duties of the Post Service Officer. Among the duties in Section 218 is “the Post Service Officer must attend all training conducted in service work by the Department Service Officer, especially the annual Post Service Officer School”.

Such a school will be held October 24^th at Geneva Post 2670, 80 North Street, Geneva. Each Post Commander received a letter and form for the Officers Training Course. Classes will be held for Post Commanders, Quartermasters as well as Service Officers. However, these classes are also offered to any VFW members interested in attending. I will be conducting the Service Officer School with the assistance of Keith Robinson, Accredited State Counselor with the NY State Division of Veterans Affairs. The very informative, up to date, Service Officers Guide will be given to all who attend the class, as well as other pertinent information. We look forward to seeing you!

In Comradeship,

Tony