Benson VFW Post 2503

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1 POST & AUXILIARY MEETINGS 3RD Thursday both 7 p.m. Benson VFW Post 2503 MAY Honor Guard Meeting 2nd Thursday every month 7:00 pm POST 2503 OFFICERS Commander: Ricky Johnson Sr. Vice Commander: Duke Humphrey Jr. Vice Commander: Ross Winn Quartermaster: Ryan Sudbeck Chaplain: Dennis Kerr Surgeon: Terrence White Judge Advocate: Tom Penke Officer of the Day: Bill Fead Adjutant: Tom Penke Guard: Ron Karm Service Officer: Robert Brown AUXILIARY OFFICERS President: Lynn Krause Sr. Vice President: Pat Dembowski Jr. Vice President: Judy Erb Treasurer: Sue Stark Secretary: Pat Dembowski Chaplain: Nora Van Cleave Conductress: Geri Brown Guard: Linda Humphrey Patriotic Instructor: Geri Brown INSTALLATION OF NEW VFW POST 2503 OFFICERS and AUXILIARY OFFICERS SUNDAY, MAY 20TH, 2018 VFW POST 2503 AT 2:00 PM EVERYONE IS WELCOME AND ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND Cake to be served afterward please see page 3 for the list of new officers Greetings! From the Commander I hope everyone is enjoying the Spring days that took a long time getting here. Sorry the Spring Clean-Up Day had to be cancelled, but when the schedule permits, we ll have another Clean-Up Day. Another thing about Spring is the month of April. The VFW Post 2503 Charter was issued on 29 April Because of all the volunteer work done by Post and Auxiliary members, VFW Post 2503 has been in existence for 86 years. Thanks to all who have done so much for Veterans for a long time. Congratulations also to all the new Post and Auxiliary Officers who were elected at the April Post and Auxiliary meetings. Please see the list of new officers on page 3. On Memorial Day we ll have three Honor Guard services: 0900 at Evergreen Memorial Park, 1100 at Mount Hope Cemetery, and 1300 at the Post. I wish everyone to have a blessed Memorial Day and be sure to fly your flag. And if possible, please decorate a veteran s grave. This will be my last news letter as Commander. Thank you for allowing me to serve. Ricky L. Johnson, Post Commander From the Auxiliary President Hello Auxiliary Members May is just around the corner and hopefully it will bring Spring with it. Myself like many of you are ready to enjoy some Spring like weather! At the April meeting, officers were elected for the ensuing year, there were a few changes not many: President- Lynn Krause Sr. Vice- Pat Dembowski Jr. Vice- Judy Erb Treasurer- Sue Stark Secretary- Pat Dembowski Chaplain Nora Van Cleave Conductress-Marcia Jones Guard-Linda Humphrey Trustees: 1 yr- Karen Cox 2 yr- Evelyn Westergarrd 3 yr Terry Pellitier VFW Post installation will be May 20th at 2 pm. These officers will take their positions after the new officers are installed at the State Convention, which is in Omaha this year. The Convention is June 8-10, at the Comfort Inn & Suites, 7007 Grover Street. Hope many of you can attend; this is where all the hard work of Posts and Auxiliaries are recognized and awards are given. It is exciting to see what other Posts and Auxiliaries have done throughout the year. And sometimes you can get a few new ideas that your own Post and Auxiliary can try. continued on page 2

2 SEWING LADIES The VFW Post 2503 Sewing Ladies always welcome new members to create items to be distributed to the Eastern Nebraska Veterans Home, the VA Hospital, Lutheran Family Service, and other nursing homes and hospitals. Assistance is welcomed for various sewing projects: Lap Robes, Bibs, Fleece Cancer Hats, and Neck pillows. Donations of cotton cloth materials are appreciated as well as financial assistance to support the purchase of needed sewing materials. Please contact Nora Van Cleve at to join in on the fun. It really is! TACO THURSDAY is May 10th 5:30 PM STILL ONLY $2.50 PER TACO What a steal for a meal! ANNOUNCEMENT: Please place any paper suggestions or articles for the Post Newsletter in the Post Newsletter Box on the south wall on the canteen bar-top or in the Suggestion Box by the front door. For those with access, please suggestions or ideas to the Newsletter Editor at leighf@cox.net From the Auxiliary President continued from page 1 I am going to ask if Zeta Anderson Auxiliary has any Gold Star members; these are members who have lost loved ones due to battle. If we do please contact me, Lynn Krause at Our Auxiliary would like to honor those Gold Star members for they have made the utmost sacrifice. So please let me know. I would like to close by thanking the Auxiliary. I served for this past year as President. The officers were helpful and stepped up to their duties as officers and the chairmen to did a fantastic job in performing and completing their duties as chairmen. Again I would like to say THANK YOU for all your hard work, and I look forward to being your President for the year Before I forget, our membership is at 96.43% thanks to the hard work of our treasurer Sue. That s a good number for this year but lets make it 100% in Lynn Krause President Zeta Anderson Auxiliary HONOR GUARD Thank you to all the dedicated Honor Guard members for their participation. We still are in a need for new members for the Honor Guard. If you need information on how to sign up, ask one of the Honor Guard members. We will help you. Thank You for your service. Capt. Chuck Wolf. Honor Guard Captain Remember VFW Post 2503 In your will ADDRESS or CHANGE LATELY? If so, please send the new information to VFW by letter to Post 2503 or by to editor at leighf@cox.net Titled Attn: Post Membership or Attn: Auxiliary Membership. Please provide full name and new address and new . ANNOUNCEMENT from the PICKLE COMMITTEE: Whenever you re at the Post, please support the Post by dropping a dollar into the PICKLE MACHINE. NOT ONLY can you win $500, BUT more importantly, you can provide income for the Post s maintenance and projects. AMVETS is looking for new members. To join, please contact Commander Beverly Butcher at

3 From the Chaplain I was asked by a member of our VFW Post to write an article about the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse. I found this to be the most challenging thing to write about because we have a canteen that sells beer. And, after an Honor Guard funeral on a hot summer day, I have been found having a beer with my Honor Guard buddies. And after meetings, I have been drinking just as much as all the other members. Fortunately, I have never heard of any illegal drug abuse going on. I couldn't find a way to start this article until I remembered the last week of my deployment, back in My Catholic Chaplain, Fr. Leone said to us, "It just occurred to me that we never considered starting an AA meeting on base. It didn't seem necessary since we were in a dry Muslim country, but that still didn't stop people from getting in trouble." And that was a palm to the forehead moment for all of us in the room. We at this VFW Post have done a really good job of providing a safe space for veterans to have a beer and share memories and make friends. One thing we can do, as I have seen our church do and other places, is provide a safe space for an AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meeting, or an NA (Narcotics Anonymous) meeting. Nobody else though could provide a space for an AA meeting quite like us with an emphasis on veterans. Sure, the VA does something like that in a hospital and therapeutic setting, and sometimes it is court ordered and mandatory. But we could offer a friendlier place for vets that others simply could not provide (some who attend might also become regular members, too). In the coming months, I will be bouncing this idea off the leadership to see how feasible this is; and then if it is, bring it before the Post in a meeting. If we already have an AA or NA meeting going on, let s see if there is anything more we can do to support them. We already add value to our community of veterans, but we could add some more value in a way that nobody else really could. And let s remember the most important thing, to pray for the well being of our fellow veterans and their families. In Faith, Dennis Kerr POST 2503 OFFICERS Commander: Mike Rosso Sr. Vice Comdr: Duke Humphrey Jr. Vice Comdr: Ross Winn Quartermaster: Dan Raabe 1-year Trustee: Jim Sorenson 2-year Trustee: Randy Davis 3-year Trustee: Gary Knittel Chaplain: Dennis Kerr H&B Comm 3-year: Ron Karm H&B Comm 2-year: Ross Winn H&B Comm 1-year: Leo Harrington AUXILIARY OFFICERS President- Lynn Krause Sr. Vice- Pat Dembowski Jr. Vice- Judy Erb Treasurer- Sue Stark Secretary- Pat Dembowski Chaplain Nora Van Cleave Conductress-Marcia Jones Guard-Linda Humphrey Trustees: 1 year- Karen Cox 2 year- Evelyn Westergarrd 3 year Terry Pellitier

4 Telephone Number Your Name: Name to be displayed on Poppy Card: to help needy veterans and their families. Buddy Poppies, we are sure you would like to contribute to this worthy cause. Donations received from the sale of Buddy Poppies are used It is time again for the annual sale of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Buddy Poppies. Although you may not be able to help with the sale of See Your Business s Name Here Contact the Post Quartermaster for Advertising Rates at quartermaster@vfwpost2503.org FLY YOUR FLAG ON V E DAY, MAY 1, 2018 AND ARMED FORCES DAY, MAY 19, 2018 AND MEMORIAL DAY, MAY 28, 2018 The Post is in need of a new Kitchen Manager. See Tom Penke for more information if you are interested at AUXILIARY MEMBERS! If you have any news regarding an Auxiliary member s illness or death, please notify the Auxiliary Chaplain, Nora Van Cleave at OR Lynn Krause at

5 MAY 2018 Broasted Chicken Beef & Chicken Enchiladas Viva Cinco de Mayo! Crew Pat Petersen 9 Shrimp Basket Goulash Crew Cabin Crew Chicken Fried Steak Chili Dog Crew 172 Trans 23 Broasted Chicken Hot Roast Beef Sandwich Crew Jerry Becker 30 Broasted Chicken Sweet Italian Sausage Sandwich w/peppers Crew S Schaefer 19 ARMED FORCES DAY

6 SEE INSIDE FOR: Post and Auxiliary Elections New Officers Installation Day Hamburger Night Menu From Your Honor Guard Captain Chuck Wolf MILITARY RITES: March, 2018 Military Members Deceased Cemetery # Hours 03/01/2018 George Wiley Hillcrest /03/2018 Leonard Heavican Calvary /05/2018 Douglas McNeil Omaha National /09/2018 Dale Peterson Omaha National /09/2018 Gary Peterson Omaha National /12/2018 Ruth Hansen Evergreen /13/2018 Grant Blackman Hillcrest /16/2018 Michael Crouse Forest Lawn /20/2018 Richard Rinsche Omaha National /22/2018 Merlin Johnson Evergreen /27/2018 Elmer Whitbeck Omaha National 6 18 *Post Member Month Total: 11 Funerals, 73 Member Participation, 219 Hours V.F.W. Post Military Road Omaha, NE Non-Profit Org U.S. Postage PAID Permit #610 ROOM RENTALS Please keep in mind that the Post is available for your meeting/party plans, Monday through Friday during the day. Contact Geri Brown at to reserve your date. Spread the word to your friends and family. The Post looks great decorated for weddings, birthdays, and graduation parties, too. NOTICE: All articles should be in the Newsletter Box, IN WRITING, at the Post no later than May 21st, for the June newsletter. If articles are not submitted by the deadline, they will have to wait for the next newsletter. Thank you. CANTEEN HOURS Monday Closed Tuesday thru Thursday 4:00 pm 10:00 pm Friday 4:00 pm 10:00 pm Saturday Noon 10:00 pm Sunday Noon 8:00 pm The Post is selling Memorial Bricks around the memorial walk and flag. Memorial Bricks are being sold by Post 2503 to be put around the outside of the Memorial flag pole. These bricks will cost $60.00 each. They will be for VFW, Auxiliary, AMVET & Auxiliary members, their families, and people they sponsor. They will be memorials for living or deceased people. They will be ordered once a year on April 1st, for installation by Memorial Day each year. Max 16 spaces per line, 3 lines, and cost $60.00 per brick. Name Phone # WORDS ON BRICK Line 1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 Line 2 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 Line 3 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 _1 Checks Only No Cash Return this form to the Post