April 2010

Post Commander, Frank Molina
Auxiliary President, Deirdre Nye
SAL Commander, Jim Bugg
ALR President, Michael Smith
Lead Bartender, Jeff Sweet
Bingo Chairman, Barb Klein
Adjutant, Don Aiton
Editor, Karen Goodman

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Meetings
Auxiliary Meeting, April 7, 6:30p
ALR Meeting, April 10, 9a
E-Board Meeting, April 14, 7p
SAL Meeting, April 21, 6:30p
Post Meeting, April 28, 7p (Elections)

Pot Luck, Monday, April 5, 6:30pm - Bring a dish to share.

Shuffleboard Night, every Monday night @ 6p. Entry fee, $5.

Pool Night, Every Tuesday @ 6:30p. Happy hour drink prices for all players. The entry fee is $5.

Karaoke, Every Thursday @5:30p. And it’s Taco Night too!!!

Bingo, Every Friday, Doors Open @5p, Early Birds @6:30p, Regular Games @7p. Enjoy the Post 24 Kitchen’s Friday Fish Fry!

Play SLINGO, Saturday 3-5p, sponsored by the SAL and Sunday 3-5p sponsored by the Ladies Auxiliary!

The Post 24 Kitchen is now open on Thursday thru Sunday. Come in and enjoy the food. We have a new menu and lower prices….and we have many items that are not deep fried!


FROM THE AUXILIARY PRESIDENT
Deirdre Nye
April is Children and Youth Month, and the month of the Military Child. At the Fall Conference, all Units were challenged to give $1.00 for every member of their Unit to CWF. We were all given a small yellow pig to fill with change. Needless to say we have 366 members and the four yellow pigs and one canister that was given to us by Sheila Galloway, the Department Chairman for Children and Youth will have to be filled several times to make that challenge, especially since a good deal of our members are seasonal. We will have them out at our meetings and on Sundays when the Auxiliary hosts Slingo. Sheila Galloway was the guest of Sencie Patchin at District 3’s meeting in Benson on the 14th of March. A great spaghetti dinner, thank you President Melissa DiPeso and members of Unit 45.

On the 17th of March, The American Legion Auxiliary Unit 24 hosted a suicide prevention class held at the historical Fire Station on Toughnut Street, now used as Tombstone’s Senior Center. The Southern Arizona V. A. Health Care System Coordinator Cheryle Phelan, LCSW administered the training. Twenty-one people attended, including Tombstone Fire Fighters, two Officers from the Marshal’s office and The American Legion Auxiliary. One Auxiliary member came from Unit 62 in Phoenix. All were presented with certificates.

On Thursday the 18th of March 2010, along with celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, which was on the 17th, The American Legion celebrated their 91st Birthday. What a fitting day to honor three of Tombstones best. Anthony Lopez and his twin brother David, both United States Marines, were here briefly to visit their family and friends before deployment again to Afghanistan. The American Legion Post 24 Tombstone, The American Legion Auxiliary Unit 24 Tombstone, The Wild West Detachment Marine Corp League Tombstone, The Sons of The American Legion Squadron 24, and The Lopez Family donated funds to purchase two 550 Organ GPS Rangefinders for these young heroes. Deirdre Nye President of The American Legion Auxiliary read the contents of the documents then handed them to Dee Dee Molina the Auxiliary’s Legion Liaison to present them to the young Marines. Phyllis Deloia an Executive Board member of Unit 24’s Auxiliary received a GPS watch for her son Mathew Deloia who is serving his Country at this moment in Afghanistan.

Kelly and Rita came from the V.A. on the 20th of March bringing with them the Blind Veterans. As always, they had a great time. A big thanks to all that volunteered, and to Terry Dolphin who makes a cake every time they visit, this months cake thanked our Blind Veterans for their Service.

April 1st about 7.30pm there will be a drawing for the wonderful Bunny Rabbit. Good luck everyone.

We will be draping The Charter during April‘s meeting. It is a time to remember our beloved members that have passed away this past year and also those dear to us that remain constantly in our thoughts.

The Nominating committee will bring the slate to the assembly; nominations will be open until voting on May the 5th.

We are happy to announce the inception of a new Auxiliary program. Beginning this month, Unit 24 will modestly reimburse, based on actual mileage driven, any member of the Legion family who assists a veteran, a veteran's family member, or a senior citizen from our community by driving them to a doctor's appointment, grocery shopping or any other essential errand. We realize many of you already assist in this way, so let us know what you are doing. We are also looking for volunteers who can occasionally drive someone who has no one else to turn to. In order to qualify for the mileage reimbursement, we must have a copy of your valid drivers license and current insurance on file, and you will need to fill out a simple form which can be found on the bulletin board in the hall. The data we gather from this program will assist in meeting the future needs for transportation in our area for our veterans and our community.

The Mission of the American Legion Auxiliary is to serve veterans, their families and their communities, and the Vision Statement: The American legion Auxiliary enriches the quality of life of those we serve and our members. At Unit 24 Roy Fourr in Tombstone, we try every day to live up to that statement.

God Bless. Deirdre Nye President, Unit 24 Tombstone.


FROM THE ALR PRESIDENT
Michael Smith
The next meeting of the ALR will be Saturday April 10 at 9am.


VETERANS AFFAIRS
Susan Schubert
Thanks to the generosity of the Tombstone Legionnaires, the Veterans Outpost will soon have a regular column in the Tombstone Gazette. Watch for 'Dispatches from the Veterans Outpost' for news of interest to Veterans.

POST AND UNIT NEWS AND VIEWS
Minutes of Executive Committee
10 March 2010

Ø 1900: Commander Frank Molina called the meeting to order.
Ø Roll taken, all present.
Ø Minutes of the last meeting, Posted and approved.
Ø Discussion/Action; Motion made and passed to pay a $4.99 per month fee a maintenance contract on the video system to ADT that the Sons of Legion at a cost of $1806.00 is paying to have installed.
Ø Discussion; Report from house committee chairman, First Vice Commander, from meeting 2nd Tuesday of every month. The Auxiliary is having a Yard Sale on the 27th of March and will accept donations. Spruce up the entryway to the Legion. There will be a suicide prevention counseling/training session on 17 March sponsored by the auxiliary. The polygraph tests were inconclusive but the stealing from veterans has got to stop.
Ø Discussion/Action: motion made and passed to give the head bartender a $1500.00 bonus for his hard work getting the kitchen operating.
Ø Discussion/Action; Motion made and passed to make Cindy Cole the T-Shirt Tzar.
Ø Motion/Action; Motion made and passed to have any employees that have not worked in 90 days to be removed from the employment roles, the Adjutant will write letter to persons affected. This is necessary to keep our employee number below ten.

Ø 1945 motion to adjourn, Commander Frank Molina closed the meeting.

Minutes of Regular Meeting
24 March 2010

Ø 1900: Commander Frank Molina called the meeting to order.
Ø Roll taken, All present.
Ø Minutes of last meeting approved, posted on bulletin board.
Ø Finance Officer briefed on state of A.L. accounts, finance report approved subject to audit and posted on bulletin board.
Ø Discussion/Action; Motion made and passed to accept new and transferring members.
Ø Report from nominating committee: The following expressed interest in the following posts and are placed in nomination, Mike Stout Commander, David Duboise, 1st Vice Commander, Mike McKay, Bill Pakinkis, Mike MacFarland, 2nd Vice, Jim Burns, Finance Officer, Russ Freeman, Don Aiton, Ernie Molina, Kenny Seifert, Bob Schwartz, Executive Committee. The elections will be held at the next regular meeting, nominations will be accepted from the floor at that time. Nominated persons must be present or have a letter accepting the nomination given to the Adjutant.
Ø Discussion/Action; Motion made and passed to re-raffle shotgun to have the drawing during Helldorado the proceeds will be shared equally with the Legion, Auxiliary, Sons, and Legion Riders.
Ø Discussion/Action; Motion made and passed to give a voucher to BINGO volunteers for a free meal from the kitchen.
Ø Discussion/Action; Motion made and passed to buy new light weight tables for the meeting room, there has been $120.00 donated for this effort, the E-Board will explore the cost and create a fund for this.
Ø Discussions; Dick Perry thanked the post for their support in his run for Commander. John Schweitzer gave a report on the Boots For Troops program; it is in Arizona only program with ninety six percent of the proceeds going to returning troop and veteran’s support. Our Outreach program received a significant grant from this program. The Post needs to get behind and support this.
Ø 1945 Commander Frank Molina closed the meeting.

Happy Birthday
Mike Stout April 1, Mary Jo Burns April 2, Edwin Smith April 4, Hillary Ciochetti April 10, Lenny Gilberg and Abraham Gonzales April 12, Dave Rockwell April 13, Claire Richardson and Olivia Richardson April 15, Marty Towner April 16, John McCullough April 17, Dave Shahn and Dave Weed April 21, Judy Morton April 22, Evelyn Holder April 23, Anthony Molina April 26.


FROM THE EDITOR
Karen Goodman
If you would like to have a copy of the newsletter emailed to you, send your email address to karengoodman66@msn.com or leave the information at the Post.

A Poem Worth Reading
He was getting old and paunchy And his hair was falling fast, And he sat around the Legion, Telling stories of the past. Of a war that he once fought in And the deeds that he had done, In his exploits with his buddies; They were heroes, every one. And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors His tales became a joke, All his buddies listened quietly For they knew where of he spoke. But we'll hear his tales no longer, For ol' Bob has passed away, And the world's a little poorer For a Soldier died today. He won't be mourned by many, Just his children and his wife. For he lived an ordinary, Very quiet sort of life.

He held a job and raised a family, Going quietly on his way; And the world won't note his passing, 'Tho a Soldier died today. When politicians leave this earth, Their bodies lie in state, While thousands note their passing, And proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell of their life stories From the time that they were young But the passing of a Soldier Goes unnoticed, and unsung. Is the greatest contribution To the welfare of our land, Some jerk who breaks his promise And cons his fellow man? Or the ordinary fellow Who in times of war and strife, Goes off to serve his country And offers up his life? The politician's stipend And the style in which he lives, Are often disproportionate, To the service that he gives. While the ordinary Soldier, Who offered up his all, Is paid off with a medal And perhaps a pension, small.

It's so easy to forget them, For it is so many times That our Bobs and Jims and Johnny's, Went to battle, but we know, It is not the politicians With their compromise and ploys, Who won for us the freedom That our country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger, With your enemies at hand, Would you really want some cop-out, With his ever waffling stand? Or would you want a Soldier-- His home, his country, his kin, Just a common Soldier, Who would fight until the end. He was just a common Soldier, And his ranks are growing thin, But his presence should remind us We may need his like again.

For when countries are in conflict, We find the Soldier's part Is to clean up all the troubles That the politicians start. If we cannot do him honor While he's here to hear the praise, Then at least let's give him homage At the ending of his days. Perhaps just a simple headline In the paper that might say: "OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING, A SOLDIER DIED TODAY."

Pass On The Patriotism!
YOU can make a difference
A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life,
wrote a blank cheque made payable to 'The UK' or
'The United States' , ‘Canada’, ‘Australia’, for an amount
"up to and including my life."
That is Honour, and there are way too many people
in this country who no longer understand it.