Good Day Post #57 Member!
MESSAGE FROM THE COMMANDER:
I have sad news to pass on to everyone. One of our members, Melvin Dixon, a 22-year
member of the American Legion, has passed on to Post Everlasting. Our prayers and condolences are with his
family. We have draped his 20-year
certificate with a black cloth and will keep it that way for the next 30 days
before we retire his certificate.
As just about all are aware, the evening of 18
September we received a heck of a lot of rain that caused flooding around the
area. On the 19th we were
hosting the District meeting here at our Post and this torrential rainfall
prevented many of us from being able to attend until the roads to town were
passable. However, thanks to Ed Newcomb,
Jim and Lucy Kreutzer and Richard and Alva Brown for stepping up to the plate
to ensure all attendees were taken care of, fed and the meeting was
successively held. I was also informed
that our visitors from the other posts jumped right in to help out as
well. Thank you all for showing how the
Legion Family takes care of one another!
Now for “The American Legion Discount
Prescription Program.” This
program which can save you as much as 20% (has an average savings of 17.5 %
based on location) was approved in 1995 by the National Executive Committee and
is administered by RxAmerica. This program has two parts: a network of
pharmacies and a mail order service. I
called the 1-800-770-8014
number to see what pharmacies, if any may be in our area. I was informed that the following could be
used: Wal-Mart, Frye’s, Safeway, Osco and Walgreens
are all participating pharmacies. They
said all you need to do is present your current American Legion, SAL,
or Auxiliary membership card when purchasing a prescription to receive the
discount. For the mail service call 1-800-905-9818
and ask them to send you the mail order request form, complete it and send it
to: RxAmerica, P.O.
Box 960125, Fort Worth,
TX 76161-9863. They indicate that this mail service is
guaranteed to be more cost-effective than AARP mail service.
Douglas Gorniak
Commander
POST
NEWS
Our post meeting was on
21 September and our next meeting is 19 October at
6 pm. Remember,
dinner is served after the meeting and the bar is open. Hope to see you there!!
Starting 1 October, the
Friday/Saturday evening hours will only be held on the second and fourth
weekends to match up with the weekends Bingo is held. Doors open at 4pm.
We’re having our 4th
Annual Halloween Dance on 30 October from 8 pm
till midnight and Bonnie Lou
and her Stealth Band will be providing the music. If you don’t remember her, she played at our
last two Independence Day barbecues and she was great! For those who live in the area, there are two
tickets enclosed. Hopefully you’ll buy
one for yourself and try to sell the other.
Our Labor Day BBQ on 6
September was a huge success! We had a
great crowd. Thanks to all those who
volunteered their time to work the barbecue.
We had a Blood Drive on 11 September, Patriots Day and it was my fault
I didn’t put it in the last newsletter.
I must have been asleep! The Blood Drive wasn’t a huge success but we did do better than
the last drive in March. Last drive we
ended up with 13 units of usable blood, this time it was 18 units. The next one is planned for March 2005. A lot of folks think they can’t give blood
because they are too old or because of a medical condition. Let me tell you that there is NOT an upper age
limit. And a lot of the rules have
changed regarding illnesses. If you have
diabetes, you can give blood even if you are taking insulin but it depends on
the type of insulin you are taking. If
you’ve had or have cancer, you might be able to give blood. It depends on the type and what type of
treatment and how long you were on that treatment. In any case, if you are interested in giving
blood but aren’t sure if you can, sign up for the next drive and come and find
out if you can!! All blood collected
stays in Northern Arizona with the majority of it going to the Trauma Center
and the new Cardiac Center in Flagstaff.
LADIES AUXILIARY
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT:
We did it! We’re first in Arizona to get our 100% membership goal for the third year
in a row. Thank you to all that pitched
in and helped.
We also have 14 new members—welcome
to all of you: Helen Miller, Diane
Moore, Chisteta Major, Lillith
Newcomb, Debra Aleshire, Dorothy Zettler,
Carol Miller, Karen Rockhold, Vicki Jones, Rowana Cernusak, Vicki Carman,
Janet Huckaby, Marjorie Orean
and Linda Repony.
We’re looking forward to seeing all you at the meetings on the third
Tuesdays of the month at 6 pm.
Those of you that have
not paid your 2005 dues yet, please get them in as soon as you can. Either give them to
an officer or mail them to P.O. Box 504, Ash Fork and I will get your new
membership card back to you.
We also have a raffle
going. The prizes are a beautiful oil
painting by Bernadine Sydow, a fantastic stain glass
sun catcher by Kelly Walsh, a $50 cash prize donated by Dolly Sharp and an
American Flag pillow by Lucy Kreutzer. A very special thank you to these ladies for their donations. Tickets are $1 each or 6 tickets for $5. The winning tickets will be drawn on New
Year’s Eve so buy tickets and good luck!
Our Department President
Paula has made her special project for this year “Homeless Veterans.” This is very special to me also. I worked Stand-Down in San Diego for six years for the VFW. It’s heartbreaking to see these men and women
and their children in the streets. They
can’t get jobs because they don’t have addresses or phones. Our VA in Prescott has a place for only 58 veterans’ beds. What happens when those beds are full? These people are sleeping in the streets,
under bridges or wherever they can find.
These are men and women that went to protect us. We need to help them now. There is a wish list for this project: new socks, underwear, sun block, work pants
(men), heavy-duty washer and dryer (donation $), blankets, pillows and
footwear. If you can help in any way,
they will be very thankful and so will I.
Peggy Gasdorf
Auxiliary President
LETTER
FROM THE EDITOR:
The Federalist Patriot Founders' Quote Daily
"Statesmen my dear Sir,
may plan and speculate for Liberty,
but it is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon
which Freedom can securely stand. ... The only foundation of a free Constitution, is pure Virtue, and if this cannot be inspired
into our People, in a great Measure, than they have it now, They may change
their Rulers, and the forms of Government, but they will not obtain a lasting Liberty."
--John Adams
MONTHLY TRIVIA: September
Newsletter: Do
you know what the elements are of the American Legion emblem and what they
mean? Answer follows:
1. The Rays
of the Sun form the background of the emblem and suggest the Legion’s
principles will dispel the darkness of violence and evil.
2. The Words
“American Legion” tie the ring together for truth,
remembrance, constancy, honor, service, veterans affairs and rehabilitation,
children and youth, loyalty, national security and Americanism.
3. The Outer Rings—The
larger of two outer rings stands for the rehabilitation of our sick and
disabled comrades. The smaller inside
ring denotes the welfare of American’s children.
4. The Wreath forms the center, in loving memory
of those brave comrades who gave their lives in the service of the United States that liberty might endure.
5. The Star, victory symbol of World
War I, also symbolizes honor, glory and constancy. The letters “U.S.” leave no doubt as to the brightest star in the
Legion’s emblem.
6. The Inner Rings—The
smaller of two inner rings set upon the star represents service to our
communities, states and the nation. The
larger outer ring pledges loyalty to Americanism.
This month’s trivia question: What 1960’s television sitcom star served in
WWII as a commissioned Lieutenant in the Coast Guard and served on the USS
Pocatello?
ITEMS OF INTEREST (if
interested in an item listed, contact the Post for further information)
CANDIDATES RESPOND TO AMERICAN LEGION QUESTIONS: The American Legion sent President George W.
Bush and Sen. John F. Kerry the questions listed below. Answers are posted on the Post’s Bulletin
Board or you can go to http://www.impact04.legion.org/vote.php
1) Do you support designating VA health care as a
'mandatory' item within the Federal budget?
2) Active duty military forces perceive an erosion
of medical pay and benefits for retired forces. What actions will you take to
preserve benefits and protect the Veterans Affairs Medical system?
3) What changes will you support to Social Security
to ensure its financial solvency?
4) Thousands of jobs have disappeared in the past
four years as companies move operations to foreign countries. What will your
administration do to curtail this job drain and protect American jobs,
especially for those who will leave the military in the near future?
5) What will your administration do to ease the
spiraling cost of health care for all Americans?
6) What changes would you support for military
health care, veterans health care or the TRICARE system?
7) Should all disabled military retirees be
authorized to receive both military retirement pay and VA disability
compensation?
8) Do you support a Constitutional Amendment to
return to the Congress the right to protect the American flag?
9) Do you support veterans preference in the
Federal workforce hiring practices? If so, what percentage of those employed
should be veterans?
10) Do you support Medicare reimbursement for VA?
Are you a retiree and
also have combat or related disabilities rated as service-connection but
haven’t applied for Combat Related Special Compensation pay—do it!! Although CRSC
specifically addresses "combat-related" disabilities, retirees who
developed disabilities from other than actual combat may be eligible.
Disabilities due to exposure to Agent Orange, combat training, simulated war
exercises, parachuting and munitions demolition, along with all other types of
hazardous service, are all examples that may be compensated.
Identity theft is a
criminal offense. It occurs when a person knowingly transfers or uses, without
lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent
to commit or to aid or abet any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation
of federal law or that constitutes a felony under any applicable state or local
law. - Identity Theft and Assumption
Deterrence Act, 18 USC 1028(a)(7)
American
Legion ID Theft Insurance1 Homeland Defense in Your Home is the
security to protect yourself if Identity Theft victimizes you. It is peace of mind
to know you are protected. For more
information or to sign up for this program please visit our web site at http://www.legion.org/idtheft.
Retirees Action Office
(RAO) Bulletins, dated 30 August 2004 (Military records are NOT being destroyed
plus more) and 15 September 2004 (Medicare 2005 rates plus more), available at
Post.
VA will introduce its Electronic Support for
Patient Decisions initiative at all 158 VA medical centers within a year.
Customized software called iMedConsent will provide
patients with information about treatment options and standardize procedures
among clinicians. (See VA News Release,
dated 3 September 2004)
The Area Code 809 (pay-per-call) Scam can cost you
$2,500 per minute. The 809 area code is assigned to the Bahamas
in the British Virgin Islands. You may get a call claiming that you
have won a prize; that a relative has been arrested, in an accident or has died.
The message can be left on your answering machine, appear on the Internet or be
sent via e-mail.
Don't get caught in
crook's 'phishing' net. "Phishing" is an Internet e-mail scam that tricks
individuals into revealing personal information, including Social Security
numbers, bank account numbers and passwords.
Always contact the business in question to verify the message is genuine
and don’t send personal information over the Internet unless you made contact
first. If you think it won’t happen to
you, don’t believe it!! I got an email
on 24 September 2004 trying to get this information. Fortunately, two things happened before I got
the email. One, I was made aware of the
scam. Two, I don’t have a credit card
with the company in the email.
UPCOMING EVENTS TO PUT
ON YOUR CALENDAR:
8/9 October 2004, Evening hours at
post, 4 pm till ??
10 October 2004, Bingo, doors open 1:30 pm, play starts 2 pm
16 October 2004, Food Handler’s
Course, 3 pm. Free to all post members who
volunteer with food preparation or serving.
19 October 2004, Post and Auxiliary Meeting, 6
pm
22/23 October 2004, Evening hours at
post, 4 pm till ??
24 October 2004, Bingo, doors open 1:30 pm, play start 2 pm
28 October 2004, CERT Training, 6-8 pm
30 October 2004, Halloween Party, Music 8pm to midnight
5-7 November 2004, Fall Convention, Lake Havasu
If you have an article
or piece of information that you think would be of interest to the whole Post,
let me know and I will include it in the first newsletter after receiving the
information. You can get me the
information by emailing me, dropping it off at the Post or mailing it to the
Post at P.O. Box 45 or calling me at 637-2240.
Do you have an email
address? Have you sent it to me? If not, please do so. My email address is rockin_g@netzero.com Make sure you let
me know who you are when you send me the email so I know whom the email address
belongs to.
Yvonne
Gorniak
Yvonne
Gorniak
Editor
Post 57
