South Platte Memorial Post 7356 Commander s Corner Recruiting isn t over! We have 2 members until we reach 100% and need 25 more to be considered for All-American. Always keep recruiting in mind when you re out and about, if you meet someone who might be qualified, but are too shy to have that conversation, send them my way! I ll even give you recruiter credit for them, lets just make them a member. Membership is an important part of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Our numbers make us strong, so lets get out there and contact our friends and neighbors to see if they are eligible to join. Encourage current and new members to choose Life Membership, and more specifically the Life Membership Installment Plan, it is affordable and will ultimately save our new members a lot of money over time. IMPORTANT Notice: We are ramping up for our Veteran Fair on April 23. Currently we have commitments from: VFW Veteran Service Officer, Social Security, Platte Co. Health Dept. AMR Ambulance Service doing blood pressure screenings, Humana Insurance, Park University to talk about education benefits, and many others! The postcard is listed on the second page if you know of a veteran or family of a veteran, please cut it out and pass the information along! We are here to take care of veterans, and what better way to start that conversation than to educate ourselves and each other on what benefits are available. This would be a great event to invite a new member to, or a potential member! We are at almost 500 members encourage your spouse to join the Auxiliary and if you have any military buddies, make sure you remind them of all the VFW has done to preserve veteran benefits throughout the years. Post 7356 PARKVILLE, MO NO ONE DOES MORE FOR VETERANS Rick Butler, Commander - 2015-2016 Post Officers - Commander Rick Butler 816-739-0693 Judge Advocate Larry Maher 816-587-2213 Sr. Vice Commander Robert Bennett 816-298-0852 Chaplain John Bugg 816-741-8359 Jr. Vice Commander Lloyd Blair 816-645-9180 Surgeon Mike Vogt 816-522-5944 Quartermaster Robert Eckerle 816-741-8766 3-year Trustee John Hoffman 816-728-6760 Adjutant Tara K. Arteaga 816-726-7777 2-year Trustee Jerry Felker 816-587-8026 Post PSO Philip Duncan 816-587-1117 1-year Trustee Debra Anderson816-968-2785 Page 1
The updated Missouri Benefits and Resource Guide for Veterans and Military is now available online! You can download a pdf copy of the guide at: http://mvc.dps.mo.gov/docs/veterans-benefits-guide.pdf Order your VFW Uniform Cap today! Department Conventions are quickly approaching and officer changes will be taking place. The peak season for ordering Membership/ Officer caps is April to July, when the VFW Store processes over 10,000 cap orders! During this period, it can take up to 10 weeks to receive your cap. To place your order today, go to http://www.vfwstore.org/category/vfw/uniformcapandnametags or call 1-800-821-2606. Regular membership caps are available at the Post from the Quartermaster. VFW Department of Missouri Convention Information The 2016 Department Convention will be held at the Ramada Oasis, Springfield, Missouri, June 9 June 12, 2016. Hospitality room information will be mailed to District Quartermasters and posted on the Missouri web. This is a great opportunity to see the VFW in action on a larger scale, and new members are encouraged to attend, if possible. Reservations for sleeping rooms became available on February 1. Currently, sleeping room reservations are restricted to a three (3) day stay and may be made by calling the hotel direct at 1-888-532-4338. Be sure to let them know you are with the VFW. Please feel free to cut out the image and distribute to anyone/location you know might have veterans and their families who could benefit from the information that will be at the fair. Page 2
With a Life Membership, you will no longer pay annual dues and receive a 10% discount on VFW Store merchandise for one year. CONSIDER LIFE MEMBERSHIP! Right: Vietnam Veterans of Post 7356 pose for a photo with a certificate of appreciation from the Daughter of the American Revolution on March 26, 2016. Bottom L: Auxiliary 2 Year Trustee Sharon Bugg reads off the certificate. She organized and presented the pins to Vietnam Veterans from Post 7356. She is also a member of the DAR. Bottom R: Sharon reads off the Vietnam pin that will be given to all Vietnam Veterans in attendance. Need help with VA Claims? Veteran Service Information Officer Philip Duncan is available to assist any veteran with VA claims. Page 3
Auxiliary Members, South Platte Memorial Post 7356 Auxiliary Time is flying by and the auxiliary year is drawing to an end in a few months. The auxiliary has been busy with several activities. The annual St. Patrick s Day Dinner was a huge success. Almost all the food was sold by about 6:30 pm. The crowd was huge. More tables were brought out and the bar area was full. Thanks to Sharon Bugg and Betty Gianessi for cooking. David Ruse from the post came and helped with cutting meat and some other things that needed to be done. The post helped with supplies and publicity. I thank all of you who attended the dinner. Judith Green sold tickets, Mary Lou Wilkerson, Randy and Lori Green and their neighbor Ashley helped with the cleanup. All entries for the Auxiliary Patriotic Art Contest should have been received by Sharon Bugg yesterday. Judging will be completed and the winning entry will be sent directly to the department of Missouri. Patriotic Art is a scholarship program for those in high school or who are homeschooled. April and May will be busy months. Officers for 2016-2017 will be elected at the meeting on April 28 th. Installation of officers will be conducted as soon as the meeting adjourns. If you are interested in holding office and will not be present, please send an email stating the office you would like and that you will accept. You can nominate yourself. All offices are up for election except for two trustees as those terms mature one each year and appointed offices of Patriotic Instructor and Secretary. April 23rd from 1 to 5 pm is the Post Veterans Fair. The auxiliary will have a table at the fair. Jodi Kersten is in charge of the table but could use some help. Let me know if you can assist. May 1 st is the 3 rd district meeting at the Cameron Veterans Home. The meeting starts at 12 noon with a joint session, followed by lunch at 1 pm and separate meetings at 2 pm. District officers will be elected. This is a great chance to be able to see the Veterans Home that we support. Committee chairpersons are also needed at the auxiliary and district level. There is plenty for all members to be involved. The Auxiliary is a team. There is no I in "team". If you have ideas and have areas that you are interested in, there is something that you can do. Dues will be due soon. Please keep in mind that the auxiliary at the National Convention in July may vote to increase the cost of life memberships. Nothing official has been announced yet, but please keep that in mind if you want to convert from annual to life membership. The increase could be large. Thanks for all that you do for Veterans and their families. Be sure to put the April meeting on your calendar. Your vote is important to elect officers and delegates to the district and department meetings. Cheryl Hainkel, President Page 4
Eligibility for the VFW Auxiliary has expanded! There are now up to 12 people who may join our organization on the eligibility of 1 veteran! Did you know the VFW Auxiliary offers free online training sessions for our members on a range of topics? There are currently 14 webinars for you, our members, to view including: A Virtual Tour of the 2016 Bylaws and Ritual Podium Edition Ask the National Secretary-Treasurer Local Auxiliary Treasurers and Trustees Training 990 Filings VFW Auxiliary Branding Center Engaging Your Auxiliary s Existing Members To access the webinars, Visit www.vfwauxiliary.org Click "Login" Login to the VFW Auxiliary Member Portal. On the left-hand side of the screen, select "Online Auxiliary Academy" A list of webinars will display. Simply click on the webinar you'd like to watch and it will open in a new window. Page 5
Auxiliary Information VFW Auxiliary Membership Information. The Auxiliary now accepts male and female members. Members must be age 16 or older and a US citizen. Membership is open to spouses, parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, siblings, widows or widowers of Veterans who served in a qualifying foreign war. Please contact Cheryl Hainkel if you have questions and to get a membership form. Child Care During Meetings! The Ladies Auxiliary wants all Veterans and Ladies Auxiliary Members with small children to know that we are offering child care during meetings. If you are interested in bringing your child, please email the Ladies Auxiliary at southplattevfwla@gmail.com. Please give your name, the first name of your child, age of your child, any special needs and a contact phone number. Auxiliary Officers 2015-2016 President: Cheryl Hainkel 806-2796 or Otterhalf@msn.com Senior-vice: Burnell Duncan 587-1117 or philduncan@kc.rr.com Junior Vice: Jodi Kersten 913-638-7734 Secretary: Linda Eckerle 741-8766 or lindae8110@aol.com Treasurer: Judith Green 741-9489 or hwkeye@kc.rr.com Conductress: Crystal Deshazer 520-3858 or crysdesh@yahoo.com Chaplain: Rosemary Nollette 741-6932 or kcrosecan@sbcglobal.nat Guard: Mary Lou Wilkinson 769-1157 3 Year Trustee: Betty Gianessi 891-9468 or betty@gianessi.name 2 Year Trustee: Sharon Bugg 741-8359 or sycbugg@kc.rr.com 1 Year Trustee: Ricki Butler 256-0728 or rickibutler17@gmail.com Patriotic Instructor Victoria Messick 824-4127 Or Torisphotos_85@hotmail.com Page 6
South Platte Memorial Post 7356 P.O. Box 12121 10125 Tom Watson Parkway Parkville, MO 64152 816-746-8010 http://myvfw.org/mo/post7356/ We now have https://www.facebook.com/parkvillevfw7356 Follow VFWPOST7356 for updates! Wireless Internet is available at Post WPA sign-in: post7356vfw Calendar of Events April 2016 1 April Fools Day 6 Army Day 9 Nat l Former POW Recognition 11 Persian Gulf War Cease Fire 11 The Gardens Social Hour 18 Income Tax Day 22 Passover Begins 22 Earth Day 23 Veteran Fair @ Post 7356 27 Admin Professionals Day 28 VFW / Auxiliary Meeting 29 Arbor Day Monthly Every Monday Night Civil Air Patrol 7-9 p.m. May 2016 1 Law Day 5 National Day of Prayer 6 Military Spouses Day 7 German Surrender 1945 8 V-E Day Declared 1945 15 Women s Army Corps formed 21 Armed Forces Day 22 National Maritime Day 26 VFW / Auxiliary Meeting 30 Memorial Day Observed Page 7