http://www.al136.com/
American Legion Family:
Membership-Important: Post 136 has been number one in the state, for Posts with over 500 members, the past two months. If we are still in first place at the beginning of Jan., we will receive a monetary reward from Department. As of now we are at approximately 90% of quota. The only way we can hold on to first place is for everyone that has not yet renewed his or her dues for 2010, to do so now. Please send in your renewal as soon as possible so we can end the year with the best showing of any other post. Keep in mind, the more life memberships we sign up, the easier it is to meet quota. Plus you never have to pay dues again. Please consider.
S.A.L. Children’s Christmas Party: A special thanks to all who assisted and were responsible for a very successful children’s party. There were a lot of kids, games and prizes and it ended up being one of the most successful parties in recent years. Special thanks to Greg ‘Santa Clause’ Thompson. He was so convincing, I saw the Navy getting in line to sit on his lap. (They really keep those guys on ship too long). Anyway, it turned out great as it does every year due to the dedication of our members.
The Auxiliary supplied the cookies and decorated the Post. 5th District Commander Deb Lynch donated some of the new decorations this year and the Post looks great. Ho Ho Ho
BOG Election: There were two candidates for the BOG position that opened when Greg Bauer completed his two-year term. Art Beale is the latest to step up to help lead the post. We continually get good, solid leadership and in this case, Art will be replacing one. Thank you Greg for your dedication to the betterment of Post 136.
Dining Room Closed on Friday: We will NOT be having Friday night dinner for the next three weeks. Dec. 11th and 18th will have private parties in the dining room, and of course we will not be having dinner on Christmas Day.
Ceremonial Bugle: The idea was kicked around for the Post to purchase a Ceremonial Bugle. If not familiar with this, it is a full size bugle with an electronic insert that allows anyone to be able to play taps, along with a number of other calls. The military has approved the use of the bugle and it is often seen at funerals. Since we have a number of times we need to play taps, this would be a great fit and so much more meaningful than a cd player. The cost is $525 and we will collect donations and sell 50/50 tickets to cover the cost. We looked into just getting the insert, but they do not sell it by itself unless you already have the correct bugle. When we get it set up, we’ll get the word out.
Scholarship update: The Post and ALR have created $1,000 scholarships and both are complete. We have met with the councilors at Mulvane HS, and of course members’ children or grand children are eligible no matter what school. Please do not let this opportunity get away. Applications are at the post or you can e-mail me if you want one e-mailed to you.
ALR News:
• Nominations for the 2010 officers will be held at the next ALR meeting scheduled for this Sunday, Dec. 13. Elections and installation will be held during the Jan. meeting. Remember, you cannot run for office, nor vote on the officers you want to lead you, unless your 2010 dues are paid up at the time of the election.
• It is absolutely necessary that membership is aware of what your ALR has accomplished this past year. This is a reflection on the entire post when you consider you cannot be a Rider without first being a member of the Legion/Auxiliary/ or SAL.
Check this out:
• Over 15,000 volunteer hours recorded and verified
• Represented 136 at 32 homecomings
• 21 troop send offs
• 87 veteran funerals (6 Patriot Guard missions)
• 15 Parades
• 13 Fundraisers
• 52 special events (i.e.: Quilts of Valor, setting up flag lines, VA flag raisings, Memorial Day ceremony etc)
• Over $7,000 in donations to support veteran and community causes
• Sponsored 1st Veterans Appreciation Day at the Post
• Adopted Patriot Guard Hwy and held clean up day
• Began Operation Troop Care to bring packages to our members when deployed.
• Created ALR Scholarship for HS student
What else can you say!
Year End Thoughts:
It’s a good time to look back over the past year and try to put in perspective what Post 136 has not only done, but what it means to be a member of this organization.
Our little post is on pace to out-perform every post in the state with our membership rolls. Just last Monday at the general meeting we voted to accept eleven new members with one being a life membership.
We have helped veterans and community to the tune of thousands of dollars and untold hours. Some of our outreach went for food at the VA on the 4th of July, donation to assist an abused AF mother, $500 for local children with a rare form of Muscular Dystrophy, $500 to assist a vet get back on his feet after his home was flooded, $500 for McConnell Enlisted spouses club, $500-Mulvane EMS/Police Toys for Tots drive, $300 for Young Marines organization, $200 to help a homeless vet one of our members took upon himself to find help for, $500 to sponsor a vet on the WWII Freedom Flight, plus multiple minor donations.
Besides the money, we were involved with the Vietnam Memorial issue, Gold Star Family legislation, and the Sedgwick County Sheriffs food drive. We started a community flag replacement program and developed our own $1,000 scholarship for a HS student from this post or the child of a veteran.
Our Post image continues to improve with further improvements to the bar. New bar counter top, new ice machine and bar cooler, re-working the bar back to allow better use of our limited space, adding food selections at the bar, re-plumbing the bar sinks and adding new stainless shelves along with a new sink. Tom Knight was the driving force on a lot of the remodeling efforts and needs recognition for such.
While doing all this, we actually improved our overall financial well being and were able to pay off all of our dept, in part, thanks to the post effort at the Fireworks stand and Old Settlers. We must also give a lot of credit to those that do the day-to-day work. Leroy Perkins and Peggy Reynolds cannot be over praised for their efforts at the post. They keep it together with the help of their staff. The BOG has had to make hard choices and always made the decisions based on what was right for the post.
In other words, the post membership, like always, continues to make ours the post others try to copy.
Thank you!
Karen and I wish everyone a blessed Christmas and please keep safe. Keep all who are protecting us overseas in your prayers and remember the Veteran is what has made this country what it is. Despite the politicians in Washington.
Looking forward to another great year at Post 136.
Rick
Commander
American Legion Family:
Membership-Important: Post 136 has been number one in the state, for Posts with over 500 members, the past two months. If we are still in first place at the beginning of Jan., we will receive a monetary reward from Department. As of now we are at approximately 90% of quota. The only way we can hold on to first place is for everyone that has not yet renewed his or her dues for 2010, to do so now. Please send in your renewal as soon as possible so we can end the year with the best showing of any other post. Keep in mind, the more life memberships we sign up, the easier it is to meet quota. Plus you never have to pay dues again. Please consider.
S.A.L. Children’s Christmas Party: A special thanks to all who assisted and were responsible for a very successful children’s party. There were a lot of kids, games and prizes and it ended up being one of the most successful parties in recent years. Special thanks to Greg ‘Santa Clause’ Thompson. He was so convincing, I saw the Navy getting in line to sit on his lap. (They really keep those guys on ship too long). Anyway, it turned out great as it does every year due to the dedication of our members.
The Auxiliary supplied the cookies and decorated the Post. 5th District Commander Deb Lynch donated some of the new decorations this year and the Post looks great. Ho Ho Ho
BOG Election: There were two candidates for the BOG position that opened when Greg Bauer completed his two-year term. Art Beale is the latest to step up to help lead the post. We continually get good, solid leadership and in this case, Art will be replacing one. Thank you Greg for your dedication to the betterment of Post 136.
Dining Room Closed on Friday: We will NOT be having Friday night dinner for the next three weeks. Dec. 11th and 18th will have private parties in the dining room, and of course we will not be having dinner on Christmas Day.
Ceremonial Bugle: The idea was kicked around for the Post to purchase a Ceremonial Bugle. If not familiar with this, it is a full size bugle with an electronic insert that allows anyone to be able to play taps, along with a number of other calls. The military has approved the use of the bugle and it is often seen at funerals. Since we have a number of times we need to play taps, this would be a great fit and so much more meaningful than a cd player. The cost is $525 and we will collect donations and sell 50/50 tickets to cover the cost. We looked into just getting the insert, but they do not sell it by itself unless you already have the correct bugle. When we get it set up, we’ll get the word out.
Scholarship update: The Post and ALR have created $1,000 scholarships and both are complete. We have met with the councilors at Mulvane HS, and of course members’ children or grand children are eligible no matter what school. Please do not let this opportunity get away. Applications are at the post or you can e-mail me if you want one e-mailed to you.
ALR News:
• Nominations for the 2010 officers will be held at the next ALR meeting scheduled for this Sunday, Dec. 13. Elections and installation will be held during the Jan. meeting. Remember, you cannot run for office, nor vote on the officers you want to lead you, unless your 2010 dues are paid up at the time of the election.
• It is absolutely necessary that membership is aware of what your ALR has accomplished this past year. This is a reflection on the entire post when you consider you cannot be a Rider without first being a member of the Legion/Auxiliary/ or SAL.
Check this out:
• Over 15,000 volunteer hours recorded and verified
• Represented 136 at 32 homecomings
• 21 troop send offs
• 87 veteran funerals (6 Patriot Guard missions)
• 15 Parades
• 13 Fundraisers
• 52 special events (i.e.: Quilts of Valor, setting up flag lines, VA flag raisings, Memorial Day ceremony etc)
• Over $7,000 in donations to support veteran and community causes
• Sponsored 1st Veterans Appreciation Day at the Post
• Adopted Patriot Guard Hwy and held clean up day
• Began Operation Troop Care to bring packages to our members when deployed.
• Created ALR Scholarship for HS student
What else can you say!
Year End Thoughts:
It’s a good time to look back over the past year and try to put in perspective what Post 136 has not only done, but what it means to be a member of this organization.
Our little post is on pace to out-perform every post in the state with our membership rolls. Just last Monday at the general meeting we voted to accept eleven new members with one being a life membership.
We have helped veterans and community to the tune of thousands of dollars and untold hours. Some of our outreach went for food at the VA on the 4th of July, donation to assist an abused AF mother, $500 for local children with a rare form of Muscular Dystrophy, $500 to assist a vet get back on his feet after his home was flooded, $500 for McConnell Enlisted spouses club, $500-Mulvane EMS/Police Toys for Tots drive, $300 for Young Marines organization, $200 to help a homeless vet one of our members took upon himself to find help for, $500 to sponsor a vet on the WWII Freedom Flight, plus multiple minor donations.
Besides the money, we were involved with the Vietnam Memorial issue, Gold Star Family legislation, and the Sedgwick County Sheriffs food drive. We started a community flag replacement program and developed our own $1,000 scholarship for a HS student from this post or the child of a veteran.
Our Post image continues to improve with further improvements to the bar. New bar counter top, new ice machine and bar cooler, re-working the bar back to allow better use of our limited space, adding food selections at the bar, re-plumbing the bar sinks and adding new stainless shelves along with a new sink. Tom Knight was the driving force on a lot of the remodeling efforts and needs recognition for such.
While doing all this, we actually improved our overall financial well being and were able to pay off all of our dept, in part, thanks to the post effort at the Fireworks stand and Old Settlers. We must also give a lot of credit to those that do the day-to-day work. Leroy Perkins and Peggy Reynolds cannot be over praised for their efforts at the post. They keep it together with the help of their staff. The BOG has had to make hard choices and always made the decisions based on what was right for the post.
In other words, the post membership, like always, continues to make ours the post others try to copy.
Thank you!
Karen and I wish everyone a blessed Christmas and please keep safe. Keep all who are protecting us overseas in your prayers and remember the Veteran is what has made this country what it is. Despite the politicians in Washington.
Looking forward to another great year at Post 136.
Rick
Commander
