Winter Park Memorial Post 112

PO Box 910 Goldenrod, FL 32733

See Bob to sign up!

Do you

It’s that time again and here we go. First off I would like to thank you for calling Marian and wishing her well while she’s in the hospital…again. And a special thanks to Liz Padgett for her help at our monthly breakfast. Speaking of breakfast, the numbers are picking up so lets keep it rolling. I hope that we can get more volunteers for our monthly food projects.

What a show we had at our February meeting. Mr. Tim Lizert, head of the local VA administration, gave an in depth presenta-tion regarding the new VA hospital. We had a total of 59 enrap-tured people for the meeting. Mr. Lizert answered many valid questions from the audience. Our April meeting guest speaker will talk about “suicide prevention.” Current numbers of suicides have been very high. Come learn how to help stop it. Another highlight of the evening was the selection of three very deserving Winter Park high school juniors for Boys State. These young people were very sharp and I do mean VERY SHARP. Also Jerry outdid himself with the fantastic spaghetti dinner, he de-serves an ATTA-BOY!

A THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: Go climb a ladder –that’s where the top is.

At our recent meeting there was some controversy as the eligi-bility for Auxiliary membership. Here is the scoop directly from the Auxiliary Constitution and By-Laws as mandated by not only the Auxiliary but the American Legion national organization. “The Mothers, wives, daughters, sisters, granddaughters, great-granddaughters and grandmothers of members of The Ameri-can Legion” are eligible for membership in the American Legion Auxiliary. If the veteran is LIVING, he or she MUST be a Legion member; if the veteran is deceased, the Auxiliary applicant must provide proof that the veteran not only served during the eligibil-ity period but either died in the line of duty during such service or was also honorably discharged from the service and died after such service.

I know it’s a little early but elections are coming up in May, so if you have someone that you feel should fill in one of the elected posts by all means be ready to nominate he or she for that post.

Check your calendar for upcoming events. I know that we some-times plan events when there are other programs going on…well we can’t stop everything we planned. If we did that than we would get NOTHING accomplished.

In May our medal and awards program will be starting as well as our ROTC awards. How about stepping up to the plate and be one of the presenters. The pay is minimal (zero) but the rewards are immeasurable.

As you know our current adult beverage policy is BYOB (bring your own bottle.) This plan is working just fine but there is one small catch however - the cost of cups and ice…SO if you would kindly help out the cost by putting a few shekels in the can in the door we would greatly appreciate it. Water and soda remain the same.

Still looking for a portable dish machine.

Enjoy life now-it has an expiration date!

COMMANDER’S MINUTE 2009-2010

Officers

Commander Thomas (Tom)

Roberts

1st Vice Cmdr. Richard (Dick) Padgett

2nd Vice Cmdr. Gerard (Jerry) Dress

Sgt. at Arms Tim Healy

Adjutant Bob Colbert

Judge Advocate John McCormick

Asst. Judge Adv. Terry Brown

Finance Officer Dyke Shannon

Service Officer Mike Dixon

Chaplain Cliff Buhrow

Historian Ted Costello

Sea Cadet Liaison Richard Meredith

Newsletter Editor Nell Colbert

Inside this issue:

Reports from the: 1st Vice Commander 2nd Vice Commander Adjutant Public Relations Update Auxiliary Update Chaplain’s Report Boosters

2 2 2 3 4 6 7

Birthdays Boys State Report Veterans Issues 2010 Census Cautions & Updates

3 3 4 5

6th District Bowling Tournament 6

Calendar Officers Contact Info

8 8

Special points of interest:

• 6th District Bowling Tournament

• Cautions and Info about the 2010 Census

• Boys State Update

• Veterans Issues

March—April 2010

Volume 2, Issue 5

Thanks to all that helped make our meeting night on Feb. 9th. a success.

March and April will be busy and I will need your support on Mar. 20th. 2010 during our Semi-annual Yard sale, to set up, take down and store the rented Tables. Bring your unwanted items, rent a space and table. Turn your items into a bank roll that is easier to take home. Remember what you consider junk could be a treasure to others.

Bring the Kid’s out on April 3rd. to our annual Easter Egg Hunt. Time has been set for 12:00 Noon until 2:30 PM. Hope to see you there with the Kid’s.

March 17th is a spring festival to support our

Sea Cadet Scholarship Fund is scheduled. This year lets support our future with your presence at the festival. If you have ideas that will enhance the success of this function please call me (Jerry) at 407-671-6404 (Post) or at home 407-671-8616.

Don’t forget our monthly (third Saturday 11:00 AM until 2:00 PM) BURGER’S AND MORE with trimmings for only $2.00. For only $3.00 (on the last Saturday) All YOU CAN EAT PANCAKE BREAKFAST beginning at 8:00 AM until 11:00 AM. It is your POST come out and support it.

A work day is scheduled for April 3rd. beginning at 09:00 till 12:00. Various issues around the Building and Yard needs attention. Again call me Jerry at the above listed numbers.

Adjutant’s Report The year is underway and so is our Post!

We have seen the six young men who want to go to Boys’ State with three of them selected and three as alternates! Thanks to Ted Costello for chairing this process in selecting the boys to go. Our Breakfasts are growing in participation as are the Burgers and More. We have several major events coming up in the next couple of months, too. We will have BOTH a Yard Sale (in March) and a Spring Festival in April. If you have some time, Jerry Dress needs help with set up and break down as well as help throughout the day on both of these events.

And, the Sixth District is active, too. In case you weren’t aware, our Post is located in the Sixth District for the Depart-ment of Florida, and there are additional activities that our Post members can participate in. For example, there is a Bowling Tournament coming up in March and the Department will be holding a “Homecoming” event for the National Commander in April. Much of this information is available on the WEB, but for those without computers, we will try to out-line the events of interest.

The Department Oratorical Contest will be held on March 4th at the Department on Lee Road. Our Post does not have an entry this year, but there is no reason as to why we can’t have a representative in next year’s contest.

The 6th District is also holding a bowling tournament on 3/21 to support the transportation fund for Boys State. See the article on page 6 for details.

See you at the next meeting!

1st Vice Commander’s Report

2nd Vice Commander’s Report

Page 2 Newsletter Title

The Department has a goal of 90% Renewals targeted for March 3rd! We are at 88.6% as of this writ-ing, so it will only take a couple more renewals to carry us over the mark. We have received the 100% award over the last several years, so we want to keep that going. Since we only have a few members left to renew, Dick Padgett will be contacting everyone who has not yet paid their 2010 dues to be sure that there are no challenges. Our Auxiliary is doing an outstanding job with their membership. The unit hit 100% of their member-ship goal by early February and are now looking at achieving the +3 target needed by May. Con-gratulations ladies—keep up the momentum!

are selected for the program and continues through September or October when the boys debrief the post on their experiences at Boys State. I thank all of you for your efforts in the selection process. The following are the three delegates and alternates: Delegates Alternates Greg Noorigan Jacob Wladis Ryan Payne Desmond Pressey Scotty Hupp Michael Nguyen

Boys State selections were held at the post home February 9, 2010 at 7:00PM. A total of 18 members were present to participate in the selection process. Six young men were nominated from Winter Park High School to vie for the three delegate positions representing Post 112 in Tallahassee. As usual Ms Norhorn the guidance counselor sent the post out-standing young men. There is much time and work that goes into the Boys State Program, starting in De-cember of the previous year with appointments with the school faculty to ensure that the finest young men

Boys State Update : Ted Costello, Chair

Happy Birthday to YOU! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear ____. Happy Birthday to YOU!

March 01 Geroge W Leonard III 04 Anthony DiMarino 05 J R Ottinger 07 Clark R Schmidt 08 Clyde E Wade 11 Terry R Shaw 13 James J Sterchele 14 Billy G Dover, Jr 16 Joseph A Henriquez, Jr 18 John J Reedy, Jr 18 Edward Rockwell

Print Media Releases were developed and communicated to a number of local select media for two of our new "Information You Can Use!!" workshops/seminars: 1) "Veterans Benefits: VA Aid and Attendance (A & A)" Tuesday, 12 January 2010; and for 2) "New VA Hospital at Lake Nona" (Update and Progress Report), Tuesday, 09 February 2010. This second Media Release was given very good attention by the print media and resulted in a number of telephone calls to both myself and to the Post for more information and in a number of instances, to convey an intent to attend.

The database and personal contact information for media contacts and for various local area veterans service organiza-tions continues to be developed and has grown. When/If you see an item in the print media pertaining to our Post activities, please save it and bring/send a copy to the Post.

The Executive Board approved a small budget line item for Media Relations (and for Post marketing activities). You can help defray the cost of future marketing/advertising activities by donating (cash/check) directly to the budget line item. Please help us if you can.

Happy Birthday to YOU!

Page 3 Volume 2, Issue 5

Public Relations Update : Tom Yost

19 Edward N. Blackwell 20 George E Holling 22 Joseph Musil 25 David A Tucker, III 30 Thomas Horas 30 Michael Leri 31 Felix Bonilla 31 Dale L Martin April 03 Carlos Rivera 03 Donald A Sprague 05 Billy L Squire, Sr 06 Gregory A Holcomb 06 Antonio Rosado 07 Epifanio Agosto 13 Charles M Comstock

17 William O Briddell 17 Leo C Hanna 29 Richard L Bosworth 30 Robert H Calderwood

Auxiliary Update Our Auxiliary hit the ground running in January, beginning work on revising our Constitution and By-Laws to add a feature that would allow our members who cannot attend in person the ability to participate in our monthly meet-ings remotely by either calling in by phone or by logging in via their home computer. We believe that this will allow our members who do not live in the area or who cannot drive at night or who may be ill to still be able to actively participate in our unit. The first reading of the proposed changes was done at our February meeting, the second reading will take place in March and the final reading and vote will take place at our April meeting.

If you haven’t checked out our Facebook Group page recently, check it out—the history of the unit has been up-dated to show unit activities since we reformed the unit during the summer of 2008.

Our unit will also be kicking off our first fundraiser for 2010—a fun “Bake-less Bake Sale” - we hope that all of our members and all of our brothers and sisters in Post 112 will support our fundraiser. Funds generated will go to-wards our Reading Rockets service project and 2011 Girls State. To support our fundraiser, please see the news-letter insert and send your donation to the American Legion Auxiliary at PO Box 910, Goldenrod, FL 32733.

We are also looking for a few more ladies who would like to actively participate with us. Please contact Nell, our Membership Chair, for more information.

Veteran’s Issues : Mike Dixon

Page 4

Class Action Law suit. Sentinel article on 1/30/10 implied any Vet rated less than 50% for PTSD could sign on to a suit …..not true. Must have been dis-charged for a ‘mental health issue rated < 50% and primarily covers OIF / OEF Vets. Opinion – this suit will only benefit the Lawyers. Eligible Vets can do the same with a DD 149 to DoD.

Disability Discharge Review Board established. The fact that Service Departments have routinely put members out with less disability than they should have has been established and has received lots of Congressional interest. Result is a special Board being established to review case where the member feels they have been incorrectly rated. Re-lates to those released for Disability rated < 30% by the Service Department. We have always had this option but were thru the Service Dept that originally discharged the member and with inconsistent results Clearly this impacts few if any of our members but they may know some someone.

Projecting no VA, SSA or retired pay ‘cost of living’ increases for 2010 or 2011….ask your Congres-sional Rep how much they got. Projecting an > in Rx co-pays with VA in June 2009 to $9 per 30 day supply.

Almost on a daily basis, new things come out that impact Veterans and possible Veteran’s claims. The following are just a few of the ones I selected that seem relevant to our area.

New Vietnam (“Agent Orange”) related disabili-ties. In Oct 2009 the Secretary announced the addi-tion of 3 new ‘presumptive’ issues. Will take a few more months before it is officially in the Law but need to file now to protect & if any of these issues were previously filed and denied the effective date could be the earlier date.

1) Ischemic Heart Disease, very loose definition so far, essentially it is a restricted blood flow issue. Recommendation is to file the claim for any Heart disease

2) Parkinson’s Disease 3) “B” or hairy cell Leukemia

Related issue would be past death of a Vietnam Vet for one of the above listed issues would entitle the widow the VA benefits now…..

Another Vietnam related issue. VA has now rec-ognized a list of ships they will accept as having had “Agent Orange” exposure thus recognizing any / all of the recognized ‘presumptive disabilities related to “Agent Orange”. Remember this includes 38 Can-cers, Diabetes II and all related Diabetes issues.

Dear Fellow Sisters and Brothers

A bit of news we have today A bake-less bake sale

Is underway.

In these busy days Who wants to bake

Pies, cookies or even cake?

You’d be surprised if you counted the cost Of materials, heat

And the time you’ve lost.

Baking for sales is extra work, Yet nobody really wants to shirk!

So we’ve thought of a plan

That’s truly grand And feel quite sure you’ll understand.

In a little envelope please put the price

Of a pie or cake or something nice.

Without fuss or bother You’ve done your part.

We hope you give With a willing heart.

This is the end of our little tale.

We’re wishing for success For our BAKE-LESS BAKE SALE.

Please make your checks payable to American Legion Auxiliary

Unit 112 and mail your contribution to

PO Box 910, Goldenrod, FL 32733 Or bring your check or cash to the March meeting on 3/9.

Thank you in advance for supporting our Auxiliary Unit.

timeline for the 2010 Census and also to view the ten questions on the form, visit http://2010.census.gov/2010census/

Census workers will ask you for basic financial infor-mation, such as a salary range. However, they will not ask you for your Social Security number, credit card or banking information, such as bank account or credit card numbers nor will employees solicit dona-tions. Also, The Census Bureau will never con-tact you by email. Never click on a link or open any attachments in an email that is supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau, simply delete it. Eventually, Census workers may contact you by telephone, mail, or in person at home. Keep in mind that if you don’t feel comfortable, you do not have to let the Census worker inside your home.

Margaret M. Levins, FCPP, FCP Coordinator, Crime Prevention Unit Seminole County Sheriff's Office (407) 665-6748

This article is provided by the Crime Prevention Unit of the Seminole County Sheriff’s Of-fice. U.S. Census workers just com-pleted the verification of ad-dresses before the actual Cen-sus takes place beginning in March of 2010. We will cover four items of importance in this Elert; Surveys conducted by Census workers; How to Iden-tify a Census Worker; the Time-line for the 2010 Census and what Census workers will not ask you.

Be aware that The Census Bureau is currently going door to door conducting the American Commu-nity Survey. This survey is not associated with the Population & Hous-ing Census slated to be-gin in March 2010 and taken every 10 years. The Census Bureau regularly conducts these type of surveys on an ongoing basis. Click Here to see what other types of data that The Census Bureau collects.

So, how do you tell a differ-ence between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist? The U.S. Census Bureau provides the following Recognition Tips to assure the valid-ity of the field represen-tative. (These same tips may be found at the Census Bureau. Be

aware that Florida is part of the Atlanta Region.)

Must present an ID Badge

which contains: photo-graph of field represen-tative, Department of Commerce watermark, and expiration date.

Will provide you with super-visor contact information and/or the regional office phone number for verifi-cation, if asked.

Will provide you with a letter from a director of the Census Bureau on U.S. Census Bureau letter-head.

May be carrying a laptop and/or bag with a Cen-sus Bureau logo.

When in doubt, please call the Atlanta Regional Office for veri-fication at 1-800-424-6974. Of-fice hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m., eastern time.

Beginning in March 1, 2009 everyone will receive the 2010 Census in the mail. All completed Census forms must be returned by April 1, 2009. Census workers will begin going door to door to visit those households who have not submitted their Census forms. So, if you do not want a visit from a Census worker, then simply fill out and return the Census form by April 1, 2009 and you will not be visited. To view the

2010 Census—Update and Cautions

Page 5

6th District Bowling Tournament Supports Boys State

be purchased in advance by con-tacting myself at the phone num-ber/e-mail listed below.

Your help in making our tourna-ment a great success again this year will be deeply appreciated by the District in our effort to raise funds to ensure the transportation cost for our Boys and Girls State Delegates from all post within the District is paid in full again this year. It could well mean the differ-ence between some of our well-qualified Boys/Girls State Dele-gates going to Tallahassee or be-ing left behind for lack of funds.

For more information contact Tom Roberts. Article submitted by : Bob Koger, 6th District Tournament Director Ph. Home 407-894-8048 Cell 407 359 3995

The 6th District 7th Annual Handi-cap Bowling Tournament is sched-uled to take place on 21 March 2010, and we hope to have 32 teams from throughout the District and the Department to participate. During past annual district tourna-ments, we had great turnouts, and all had a great time, great camara-derie, and lots of great food. The net proceeds from this event will again be used to help offset the transportation cost for all Boy and Girl State Delegates from every post throughout the 6th District. So please encourage members from your post to participate, along with you, to help the district raise funds for this very worthy cause. The winning team and their Post will be awarded the annual roving bowl-ing trophy with their names and the Post Number engraved there-upon for display at their post throughout the year. The tournament will begin at 11:00AM, Sunday 21 March 2010,

and is opened to the entire Legion Family (Legionnaires, Auxiliary, SAL, and Legion Riders). Teams may be mixed or of same gender, and must have at least one Legion Family member on the team. All bowlers must be18 or older, and a post may enter more than one team. The tournament will be played at Colonial Lanes, 400 N. Primrose Drive in Orlando, which is approximately 8 miles from Post 286 where a luncheon buffet along with entertainment will be provided immediately following bowling, all included in the $15.00 entry fee per person ($60.00 per team).

Members and guest who do not care to bowl are still welcome and encouraged to participate in our fundraiser event by joining us at Colonial Bowling Lanes to cheer for their favorite team, purchase a ticket to attend the luncheon buffet ($5.00), and enter the 50/50. Tick-ets for the luncheon buffet will also be available at Post 286, or may

Chaplain’s Report : Cliff Buhrow

Page 6 Newsletter Title

Mary Sanborn, wife of one of Post 112’s former Commanders was re-cently in the hospital. She is at home now but is still very weak. Bob Morris, Commander of Post 243 (Oviedo) recently fell at home and had to have two units of blood. Bob is recovering at home. If you have any news that I should know about, please contact me at 407.644.8878. God Bless You all! - Cliff

Editors Note—Our Chaplain, him-self, was hospitalized the weekend of February 13th to undergo sur-gery to clear blocked arteries in his heart. Cliff exemplified great dedi-cation to our unit by getting his report submitted while he was in the hospital! Thanks Cliff—hope you feel better soon. Many Gomes wife recently had sur-gery. She has been doing fine. Marian Roberts has been in an out of the hospital recently. As of this week,

she is back in Winter Park Memorial Hospital. Dick Padgett’s brother passed away on January 10th in Lake County. Please keep the family in your prayers. Dick’s wife, Aunita, also had eye surgery on 2/9. Bill Adams is doing better—he’s now able to walk without his walker. Russ Kauffman had a leg amputated on 2/4. We’re looking forward to hear-ing from Russ soon.

Page 7 Volume 2, Issue 5

BOOSTERS

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SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!

Our Boosters roll reverted back to zero as of the first of the year. If you would like to support your Post by making a financial contribution or you would like to make an in-kind donation of materials to the post, please contact any of our officers. The starting amount is $25 to be listed as a Booster. The levels are; Bronze at $25, Silver at $50, Gold at $75 and Platinum at $100. The amounts will be cumulative through the year, so that it is easier to attain the next level. At the end of the year, everyone starts over. The Boosters listed below reflect contributions made since January 1st, 2010. Bronze— $25 Silver— $50 Gold— $75 Platinum— $100+

•Chuck Kuhn •Stan Kalmowitz

Note: the Post is looking for a portable dish machine. Please contact Tom Roberts if you can help.

Winter Park Memorial Post 112

PO Box 910 Goldenrod, FL 32733

Winter Park Memorial Post 112 PO Box 910

Goldenrod, FL 32733

CALENDAR

MARCH: 1 Executive Board Meeting 9 Monthly Post Meeting & Dinner (6pm) 13 6th District Meeting at Post 19 (9am) 13 Burgers and More (11am—2pm) 14-20 American Legion Week 20 Arts & Crafts Yard Sale (8am) 21 6th District bowling @ Colonial Lanes 27 Post Pancake Breakfast (8-11am) APRIL: 3 Post Work Day (9am—12n) 3 Easter Egg Hunt (noon—2:30pm) 5 Executive Board Meeting—7pm 13 Monthly Post Meeting & Dinner (6pm) 17 Burgers and More (11am—2pm) 24 Post Pancake Breakfast (8-11am)

OFFICER’S DIRECTORY

Commander: Tom Roberts – 407-657-4608 – tomar2@earthlink.net

1st Vice Cmdr: Richard (Dick) Padgett – 407-678-2330 – rpadgett2@cfl.rr.com

2nd Vice Cmdr: Gerard (Jerry) Dress – 407-671-8616 – dress5@aol.com

Sgt At Arms: Tim Healy – 407-260-0779 – timh-yikes@cfl.rr.com

Adjutant: Bob Colbert – 407-619-9611 – bcolbert@usa.net

Chaplain: Cliff Buhrow – 407-644-8878

Newsletter Editor: Nell Colbert— 321.303.7445— necolbert@usa.net