MAY NEWSLETTER Page 1
Commander s Corner May is a month of transition. Our high school seniors will soon be off on their new adventures, and our Post will play host for one young man s sendoff party as he completes his studies at Park Hill and reports to Fort Jackson, SC for basic training. This same young man spent time at our Post for the last 11 years as a member of Cub Scout Pack 393 and Boy Scout Troop 393; he earned his Eagle and received the award in our hall. We re making a difference in our youth programs. We completed elections for our 2018/2019 slate and have our team from this past year returning for another tour of duty. This stability will help us have a great year. Our Auxiliary also recently concluded elections and they chose a new slate of officers because our Auxiliary President, Cheryl Hainkel, will now be leading the District 3 Auxiliary. Congrats to Cheryl; we re excited to see what you can do for all our organizations across Northwestern Missouri. We re set for a great 2018/2019. We ve welcomed several new groups into the Post these last couple months. In March, we welcomed Warriors Ascent and in April we welcomed Brandon Russell s Flash Dash team and Habitat for Humanity. In all these cases, we committed time, talent and some treasure to make an impact in the Kansas City Northland. To support this effort, some of our members are expanding their volunteerism and taking a larger role in our Post life; we need that to continue and increase. We re improving our community. We are living up to our charter in many ways, but we ve got some work to do as well. Our membership is active, but it s down a bit. That s ok. I d rather have a leaner, more effective outfit than a large enrollment / low involvement one. We still rely on less than 25 members to do most of our volunteer effort that needs to increase if we are to build on what we ve done this past year. We can start with a few short term events: We will distribute Buddy Poppies again on Memorial Day weekend; this is a great chance for our community to see us and for us to explain the role veterans play in our community. Please consider donating some time during this opportunity to interact with Kansas Citizens. In June, we ll prepare for our 4 th of July parade. We will again partner with our scouting and CAP organizations to provide Parkville a multi-generation demonstration of patriotism and commitment to the next 241 years. Our committee that prepares for the parade will need help. In August we ll look at an end-of-summer fest featuring a whole hog and a chance to bring all the groups we host in the post together. We will need some volunteers to assist with the planning of this event. We re on the road to great things this next event year. I m thankful for the opportunity to continue serving with all of you. Bob Bennett, Commander - 2016-2017 Post Officers - Commander Robert Bennett 816-298-0852 Judge Advocate Larry Maher 816-587-2213 Sr. Vice Commander Jeff Fox 816-584-2688 Chaplain John Bugg 816-741-8359 Jr. Vice Commander Tara K. Arteaga 816-726-7777 Surgeon Mike Vogt 816-522-5944 Quartermaster Robert Eckerle 816-741-8766 3-year Trustee Rick Butler 816-739-0693 Adjutant Tara K. Arteaga 816-726-7777 2-year Trustee John Hoffman 816-728-6760 Post PSO Philip Duncan 816-587-1117 1-year Trustee Jerry Felker 816-587-8026 Page 2
Spread the word! Breakfast has begun! Every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. we will serve our traditional breakfast at a new low price of $6 for adults and FREE for children 10 and under. Please advertise at your churches, local businesses, with friends. Let s pack the house! Flyer attached to the newsletter for easy distribution. The scholarship winners for Post 7356. These students won for Voice of Democracy, Patriot s Pen, Scout of the Year, Patriotic Art Winner of the year. Congratulations to our wonderful students! Need help with VA Claims? Veteran Service Information Officer Philip Duncan is available to assist any veteran with VA claims. Order your VFW Uniform Cap today! To place your order today, go to http://www.vfwstore.org/category/vfw/uniformcapandnametags or call 1-800-821-2606.VFW Post Quartermaster Bob Eckerle also has some sizes available. See below. Currently in stock at the Post, are sizes : 7 = 4 each, 7 1/8 = 2 each, 7 3/8 = 1 each, 7 ½ = 1 each, 7 5/8 = 5 each, 7 ¾ = 3 each, and 7 7/8 = 3 each Page 3
Auxiliary Members, South Platte Memorial Post 7356 Auxiliary Happy May Day! I am writing this on Monday, May 1 st. Today is also Loyalty Day, when each of us should renew and reflect on our loyalty to the United States of America and to our enlisted military personnel and veterans. The auxiliary and the post will be at the Gardens on Barry Road to meet with Veterans who live there. The auxiliary will be giving each Veteran a May Day Basket. If you have not been to the Gardens, I encourage you to attend. Spring is a busy time for everyone. The auxiliary is going to distribute bananas to participants in the Pathfinder Elementary Sharpen the Saw Challenge. The Challenge is Friday, May 5 th, from 5 to 7 pm at Barry Platte Park, 8414 NW Old Stagecoach Rd, Kansas City, MO 64154. The District 3 VFW Auxiliary Meeting is Sunday, May 7, 2017, at 12 noon at the Cameron Veterans Home. There will be a joint meeting followed by lunch. After lunch, the Auxiliary will hold its business meeting and election of officers. All Delegates and Alternates should attend. The Buddy Bench that the Auxiliary gave to Pathfinder Elementary for the playground will be formally presented at the PTA Meeting on Monday, May 8 at 6 pm at the school. Pathfinder Elementary is located at 1951 NW 87th Terrace, Kansas City, MO 64154. Post and Auxiliary members are welcome to attend. If you are interested in participating, please call text or email me as soon as possible. Buddy Poppies will be distributed Memorial Day weekend. An email has gone out with the Sign up Genius. Please sign up for at least two hours as soon as possible. Monies received go to the relief fund. New Officers for 2017-2018. Some of the officers are the same, but may be in different positions. We also have some new officers this year. Thanks to all you agreed to serve in a position. The new officers take over after the close of the Department of Missouri VFW Auxiliary Convention. That will be June 12 th. Dues for 2017-2018 are coming due. Dues payment this year is being changed to allow for online payment by members. You can still send your check for your annual dues to the Treasurer who will then process it online. A benefit of the change is that your membership card will be mailed to you directly from National after the payment is processed. We don t have all the details on how to access the site. More information will be coming in the Auxiliary magazine and training will be given to Treasurer Judith Green as soon as Department Treasurer Jeri Sherwood completes her training. Our membership is very good. We accepted another new member at the April Meeting. We are currently at 113%. With the addition of this new member, the membership is 69. We need more members and we welcome any member who meets the eligibility requirements. We also welcome males. We also want to see more you who are in the commuting area for the post to attend the meetings. We welcome your participation. Thanks to all that you have done for Veterans in the past year. I hope to get some awards for the Auxiliary at Convention. We should get recognition for membership and I am optimistic that we will for Hospital, Veterans and Family Support and Scholarship program work done this past year. Cheryl Hainkel, President Page 4
Auxiliary Information Monday, May 8th is the Buddy Poppy Bench Dedication at Pathfinder Elementary, 1951 NW 87th Terrace, Kansas City, MO 64154. Post and Auxiliary members are welcome to attend. If you are interested in participating, please call text or email Cheryl Hainkel by Thursday May 4th at noon. This will be during the PTA meeting at 6 pm. The PTA has invited those attending to join them for dinner. Child Care During Meetings! The Auxiliary wants all Veterans and 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 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 2016-2017 President: Cheryl Hainkel 806-2796 or Otterhalf@msn.com Senior-vice: Randy Green 663-2236 or randygreen0628@yahoo.com Junior Vice: Jodi Kersten 913-638-7734 or kerstenjodi@att.net Secretary: Lorie Green 816-663-2194 or lgreen_59@yahoo.com Treasurer: Judith Green 741-9489 or hwkeye@kc.rr.com Conductress: Jessica Grogan 739-2781 or gothicfary84@yahoo.com Chaplain: Rosemary Karp 587-5313 or rosemrykarp@gmail.com Guard: Mary Lou Wilkinson 769-1157 Or mwilk6378@yahoo.com 3 Year Trustee: Linda Eckerle 741-8766 or lindae8110@aol.com 2 Year Trustee: Ricki Butler 256-0728 or rickibutler17@gmail.com 1 Year Trustee: Sharon Bugg 741-8359 or sycbugg@kc.rr.com Patriotic Instructor Victoria Messick 824-4127 Or Torisphotos_85@hotmail.com Historian Crystal Deshazer 520-3858 Or crysdesh@yahoo.com Page 5
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 Follow VFWPOST7356 for updates! https://www.facebook.com/parkvillevfw7356 Wireless Internet is available at Post WPA sign-in: post7356vfw May 2017 5 Cinco de Mayo 14 Mother s Day 20 Armed Forces Day 25 VFW Meeting 29 Memorial Day **Note: We will be distributing the Buddy Poppy over Memorial Day weekend. Please sign up for a time slot to volunteer: HERE Calendar Every Monday Night Civil Air Patrol 7-9 p.m. June 2017 6 D-Day (1944) 14 Flag Day 18 Father s Day 21 First Day of Summer 22 VFW Meeting Page 6
Page 7
Page 8