MONROE COUNTY VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS AND AUXILIARY
NOW HEAR THIS
County Council Meeting, Tuesday, September 2, 2008, 7:00 PM at County Headquarters, 200 West Ave. Rochester, NY.
County Council Auxiliary will meet at 12:00 Noon, on September 2, 2008 at the County Headquarters, 200 West Ave. Rochester, NY.
COMMANDER’S MESSAGE
As I write this message, I am in Park Ridge (Unity) Hospital for, I hope , a short stay.
However, I am eager to get going on another VFW year as your County Commander. Probably the biggest project of the year will be our Officers Training School (OTI). Enclosed, you will find the application. This school will combine the Eight District Posts with those of the Seventh District. We will have Top Notch Instructors from State VFW. I hope every post will send their Commander, Quartermaster and Service Officer to this school. Also, any other member can attend. Check the form for all details and circle the date (September 20) on your calendar.
At our first Council meeting, I want all post Commanders to introduce themselves to the body and each other. This will be our team for the year.
We have a special incentive this year to excel on all of our programs since our own member, George Whitfield is District Commander, and he will have to report to the State on all activities of each post.
Congratulations to Healy Post #16 for being selected again by National for Outstanding Community Service Post in the Country.
We will again try to get all posts inspected by October 31st. Also, I notice that most post Commanders are holdovers, so I don’t have to tell you how important it is to get going on your membership program. What is hard to believe is that 10 posts last year did not bring in any new members. It looks like they want to go out of business by attrition. Don’t let this happen to your post.
Richard
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Dear Sisters;
I hope everyone is enjoying their summer of fun and relaxation. As I begin my year as Monroe County Council Ladies Auxiliary President, I am energized to meet the challenges for the new 2008-2009 program year.
I would like to extend my congratulations to Past President, Grace Pulver, for being named “President of the Year” at the State Convention on June 27th. Great Job Grace!
During the week of August 1-3, I attended Officers Training School at Binghamton University and returned with new information to share with everyone.
First, I am hoping that each auxiliary should now have their Employee Identification Number (EIN). The next step is to complete your 990N forms online. The 990N electronic form is available for filing now as the filing date started on 7/1/08. All 990N forms need to be filed before 11/15/08. If you have any questions, please contact either myself or Dept. Treasurer, Marianne McLane, as soon as possible. Sisters, please do not wait until the last minute to complete this filing.
It is not too early to start sending in your program reports to our Department Chairman. All reports are due by the 10th of the following month. Please remember that there have been changes to the programs this year. Specifically, Buddy Poppy and National Home are now reported under the Veterans and Family Support Program. In addition, there is no longer a Publicity Program. Publicity needs to be reported with the program you are publicizing. As an example, if your auxiliary should have a fish fry as a fundraiser for Cancer, you would report the publicity under the Cancer Aid & Research Program. Please review your guidebook so you can become familiar with these changes.
As of August 1, Monroe County Council Ladies Auxiliary Membership is at 53% which means that we have some work to do. At present there are 205 sisters that have not sent in their continuous membership dues. Please always remember that membership is the backbone to our organization; therefore, we need to recruit, retain, and reinstate our members. If you have not already sent out dues reminders, I encourage you to send your notices out as soon as possible.
During the month of September the Community Service Dept. Chairman is requesting that all auxiliaries bring non-perishable food items to their Auxiliary meeting and have a picture taken of the food donation. Pictures should be attached to the report and sent to Linda Pisapia to receive credit as soon as the project has been fulfilled. Food items can be brought to a local food pantry of your choice. Thank you for your support of this program.
Patriotic Days in the month of September are: September 11 is Patriot’s Day and September 19 is POW/MIA Day. Please fly your flag and schedule or attend a remembrance ceremony.
Just a quick reminder, County Council dues, Hospital dues, and Hospital Tray Mats are due. Please send auxiliary checks to Monroe County Council Treasurer, Marita Fredette, 32 Alfred Ave., Rochester, NY 14623. District 8 dues are also due and they should be sent to Terry Smith, District 8 Treasurer.
The next County Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 2 at the Danforth Community Center at 12 Noon. I encourage all sisters to attend this meeting.
In addition, the District 8 meeting is scheduled for Sunday, September 14th at 2 PM at Newark Post #2883, Newark, New York.
I ask that you please continue to keep our sisters and comrades in your prayers esprcially those that are ill. I have been notified that Monroe County Commander, Rick Gross is ill and Anne Goss is scheduled to have surgery at the end of August.
I look forward to working with all auxiliaries this year. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at 607-648-9271.
Always remember if “United We Stand for Veterans and their Families” “Our Dreams Become Rainbows”.
Loyally,
Karen A. Dotson
TONY’S REPORT
St Charles Borromeo Church, 3003 Dewey Avenue, Rochester, NY 14616
Dear members, St. Charles Parish is holding its first annual Memorial Golf Tournament in Honor of Fr. Elmer Heindl on August 17, 2008 at Brockport Country Club. On behalf of the Parish we invite you and your post to participate in the event as a sponsor, a participant or both. For further details contact the Parish at 585-663-3230.
VietNam era Veterans accounted for the largest Veteran population in 2000. Nearly one-third of all Veterans, 8.4 million, were from the VietNam era. World War II Veterans made up the next 5.7 million people.
District 8 meeting will be held in Newark, New at Post #2883, please try to attend and get the latest on the upcoming events including OTI and the latest By-Law, Manual of Procedure and Ritual changes made at the National Convention.
Tony Ferrarese