Volume 60 No. 33 ROBBINSDALE/CRYSTAL Aug/Sept 2016

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1 SNAFU Official Publication of The Westphal American Legion, Auxiliary and Sons of The American Legion Volume 60 No. 33 ROBBINSDALE/CRYSTAL Aug/Sept 2016 Monthly meetings: Legion (2 nd Thursday) Aug 11 th & Sept 8 th PM Auxiliary (1st Tuesday) no meeting in August/next meeting is Sept 6 6pm S.A.L. (1 st Tuesday) Aug 2 th and Sept 6 6PM westphallegion@comcast.net Commanders Column Well, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that as you may have read dues are increasing in This was considered necessary to support the National Organization and programs. The good news is that you can avoid this and future increases by becoming a Paid Up For Life member. For those of you who don t know, State and National both raised their dues $3.00 each and we went up $1.00. I hope everyone is having a great summer and this finds everyone in good health. Remember we are still coming into the really hotter weather. We are still in the final stages of completing a new lease that will keep us in place through and beyond our 100 Year anniversary in For God and Country, Thomas K. Juergens Commander Sons of the American Legion As a new year starts for the SAL, I am starting by reminding all members that the 2017 membership cards are in. Please contact Gene Gustafson for your new cards. I am the SAL Commander for the year I attended the SAL convention that was held in Brainerd. it was well represented with 36 squads in attendance. This year for the Camporee, the SAL will be in charge of the event. Take some time and come on up and relax and have some fun. (See page 5 for more information) Let get some renewals and put Gene to Work.(joking). Gods Speed! Scott Singleton SAL Commander Auxiliary President s Column Greeting One and All Our unit sponsored my granddaughter Meghan Gustafson to attend Minnesota Girls State in June this year. There is a picture of her with me and Jan Walker elsewhere in this newsletter. She will be giving us a report on her experience. 1

2 July is the month for the Department Convention. This year it was held in Rochester at the Kahler Hotel. Jan Walker and Laura Wendt attended. All of the program chairman gave their reports and gave out Certificates of Merit and trophies. Robbinsdale Unit received two Certificates of Merit, one for Constitution and Standing Rules and the other for Community Service. Our new President is Carol Kottom from Buffalo Unit in the 10 th District. She will make a wonderful president. Jan Walker attended the American Legion Family Hospital Association meeting, were she serves as secretary. We will be talking more and more about getting information out to our members in the Legion Family. This year the ALFHA helped 38 families with medical expenses. If you have any questions about this, please give Jan a call and she can help you. Our first meeting for the New Year will be September 6 th. Please come and join us. Kathy Gustafson, Auxiliary President Legion Chaplain s Corner Greetings Westphal Family, I am Crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life I now live in the flesh I live by the Faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. The preceding is a Bible verse found in Galatians 2:22 and is one of many magnificent verses of the Bible. Does anyone enjoy studying the scriptures? It can be very rewarding and can help strengthen your testimony. With diligent day-to- day reading and application of the scriptures in your lives, you ll be surprised as to how many verses you can get to know by heart. Which verses do you decide on to put to memory? Do you stick with the most popular, or do you pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit, close your eyes and open the Bible and focus on the first verse that jumps out at you? Going for the easiest to 2 memorize, or do you look for verses that have a special meaning to you? One thing for sure is that once you have them memorized, you ll find that you re never leaving home without them. They are not only in your memory, but also in your heart. In closing I would like to leave you with a few verses that I have found somewhat easy to memorize, inspirational, and their meaning is straightforward. Verses: Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Philippians 4:13 All things are possible through Christ who strengthens me. Psalms 118:24 This is the day the Lord hath made; rejoice and be glad in it. Matthew 22:37,39 (The Greatest Commandments) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul. Love your neighbor as yourself. Until our next issue, a closing prayer: May the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen Chris Erickson Post Chaplain Chaplains Calendar for August/September 2016: 08/15/16 Assumption Day Having completed the course of her earthly life, the Virgin Mary was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory. TAPS: Roger G. Johnson age 87 of Robbinsdale. Passed away on June 11, yr. member.

3 Auxiliary Membership A new year is starting for the Auxiliary year. Please contact me and pay your dues. When you receive your new membership card. Please sign on to go to My account and follow through with the information requested. It will only take less than 10 minutes to do this. You are eligible for Legionnaire Insurance Trust accidental death insurance policy for $1000 at no cost to the members. Please let your family members know about your insurance policy. They are making it available for all members of the Legion family. (Legion, SAL and Auxiliary) It will go up to $5,000 after it has been okayed by the Legion. They will notify us when that happens. All members of the American Legion have had this policy. Diane Laniel, Membership Chairman Auxiliary Chaplain s Corner God give us strength and understanding for the election year. Guide us to make the right decisions when we go into the voting booth. No matter the outcome, let us be a nation of peace and understanding. Love thy neighbor. Joannie Stanhope Auxiliary Chaplain As of July 20th, our post membership stands at 224 paid thru This includes 59 PUFLs and 47 paid online. We ended the 2016 year with 506 paid members. Since then we have lost 14 of those paid by passing away or otherwise dropping out. Thank you Don Gold, Membership Director Gambling Report May Little League Baseball $ June Armstrong Legion Baseball $1, EJ Cooper Scholarship Fund $3, Veterans Camp Ground at Big Marine Lake $4, American Legion Foundation (MN) $4, July Minnesota Special Olympics $ Robbinsdale Cooper Football $ NOTE- $14, We have added a new $3.00 game that has 7 winners of $ that has been working quite well so far. Again; I want to thank all our players for their continued support. Post Membership: By now, most members are aware that the National Legion office has raised the annual dues buy $5.00 making each ember's dues $43.00 per year. If you consider that it covers 12 months, it is only 42 cents per month. 3 Due to the drop in attendance at our Wednesday Bar Bingo sessions, and without an increase in attendance, we will discontinue our weekly bingo sessions after the April 27th session. If attendance grows during the month of April, we will continue, but without the support of members and guests, we cannot continue at the current level of participation. Our monthly bingo sessions in conjuncture with Northridge Senior Facility is continuing to grow and will continue.

4 I would like to inform all our members that in an effort to increase sales and thus our ability to continue to contribute to our many charitable causes, We are in the process of working with a local senior facility to add an additional bingo site at their location. They asked us to look into the feasibility of doing bingo one night a month at their facility, reviewing estimated attendance, cost, and expenses, and two meetings with their staff; we have decided to pursue the implementation of adding their site to our license and will seek approval from the Gambling Control Board. We are also pursuing an additional pull tab site but have not as yet worked out any joint venture, but will continue to search out an additional partnership and will keep our members informed. Thanks to all our players for their continued support, All of our $2.00 games now have a minimum payout of 84%. Thanks to all our players for their continue support. Mike Johnson, Gambling Manager If you have any Reflections of your year at Westphal. Auxiliary, Legion or SAL. Please send them to me and I will get them in the Snafu. Minnesota American Legion Commander New Note!! Come to Westphal American Legion Community Room and Hear tomorrows Hits from the Composers. Our Songwriters Showcase is the 1 st and last Thursday each month from 7-11PM. Admission is free and food and beverages are available for sale. Denise Milton, Bagley, Minnesota Minnesota Legion Auxiliary President Come on down to Westphal American Legion for Good Food & Fun 3600 France Avenue North Carol Kottom, Buffalo, MN 4

5 Robbinsdale Unit Sponsored Meghan Gustafson To attend Minnesota Girls State at Bethel College this year. Discount for members Call for availability Jan Walker, Meghan Gustafson and President Kathy Gustafson Watch for information on Auxiliary Fundraisers starting in the fall. Information will follow 5

6 ~August 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 SAL Mtg. 6:00 PM 3 4 Songwriter Showcase 7-11 pm Legion Ex Bd Legion Monthly Mtg. 7:00PM CARD CLUB 10AM to Noon Songwriter Showcase 7-11 pm ~ September 2016~ Decemb Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Songwriter Showcase 7-11 pm Auxiliary Mtg. 6PM SAL Mtg. 6:00 PM Legion Executive Bd at 6: Legion Monthly meeting 7:00PM m CARD CLUB 10AM to Noon Songwriter Showcase 7-11 pm 30 6

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8 WESTPHAL POST No France Avenue North Robbinsdale, MN Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage Twin Cities, MN Permit No WESTPHAL POST 251 OFFICERS Commander Tom Juergens st Vice Cmdr Don Gold nd Vice Cmdr Chris Erickson Adjutant Chris Erickson Chaplain Chris Erickson Sgt. At Arms Brian Stritesky Membership Dir Don Gold Exec. Committee Frank Barthel, George Kramer, Harold members Miller, Mike Johnson, Don Cate, and the officers listed above, Kathy Gustafson and Jan Walker UNIT 251 OFFICERS President 1 st Vice President 2 nd Vice President Secretary Treasurer Historian Membership Secretary Chaplain Sgt. At Arms S.A.L. OFFICERS Commander 1 st Vice Cmdr. 2 nd Vice Cmdr. Finance Officer Adjutant Chaplain Historian Sgt. At Arms Kathy Gustafson Diane Laniel Jan Walker Nila McDonald Chris Friedlieb Diane Laniel Joannie Stanhope Renee Roberts Scott Singleton Gene Gustafson John Hartmann Chris Erickson Keith Stritesky Dan Hutla WESTPHAL POST 251 SNAFU Published bi-monthly and distributed to approximately 1200 Legionnaires, Auxiliary and the Sons of The American Legion News items are welcome and encouraged. Please send all you articles and information via to: Janwalker425@gmail.com. If you do not have , give me a call and I will pick it up at the club. DEADLINE FOR THE NEXT ISSUE OF THE SNAFU WILL BE SEPTEMBER 14TH. POST SERVICE OFFICER I am pleased to have been appointed as Westphal Post Service Officer- a resource for information and referrals on veterans issues, benefits, and resources for our members and veterans in general. Contact me at: (612) (cell) or JVANDEMARK44@gmail.com All the best for our vets! Jim VanDemark WESTPHAL AMERICAN LEGION POST FRANCE AVENUE NORTH ROBBINSDALE, MN PHONE: Bar Business Hours: Monday Thursday 10:00 AM - 11:00PM Friday 10:00 AM - 1:00 AM Saturday 10:00 AM -11:00 PM Sunday.. 12:00 Noon - 10:00 PM 8