Monthly Newsletter of The American Legion, J. B. Clark Post 149, Escondido, California

POST AND MEETING NEWS

      Commander Rene Cortez called the monthly meeting to order on Tuesday, April 15, 2008 at 6:00 PM.  Committee reports, and Executive Board minutes were received.  The minutes of the previous meeting were approved and announcements of upcoming events were made. 

      The first reading of the proposed changes for the by-laws was held and copies were provided.  The second reading and vote to accept will be at the May meeting.  A list of changes is in this newsletter and the complete text is available on the Post web site and available for review at the Post.

      First nominations for Post officers were held.  Nominations made and accepted by the nominees were: Commander-Joe Watt, Calvin “Woody” Harris-Sgt-at-Arms, Ernie Pyle-Finance Officer, and Bryan Wagstaff-Executive Board.  This is your chance to pick your leaders for the coming year.  Second nominations and elections will be at the May 20th meeting and the installation ceremony will be on June 7th. 

Commander – Rene Cortez

      Hello to all American Legion Family Members.  On May 2nd please join myself, Joe, Cathy and crew for a Cinco de Mayo dinner.  We are looking for volunteers or the street fair on May 25th to help in the booth.  Memorial Day services will be observed on the 26th of May at the cemetery followed by a luncheon at our Post.  Who can forget the installation of American Legion Officers on June 7th at 1:00 P. M. in the main hall .The next 5th Area Meeting will be held at Buena Park.  June 14th will bring a Flag Disposal Ceremony held by our Sgt-at-Arms and assistants, which happens to fall on Flag Day this year.  June 19th, 20th and 21st are the scheduled days for Department Convention in Bakersfield.  So till you hear from me again, always remember, God Bless All of You.

1st Vice Commander – Joe Watt

      Where in the world has all the time gone?  We are now into May of 2008.  Membership is coming in and we are set to surpass our stated goal this year.  Membership for the year is now at 948, 93% of our goal.

      I know that a lot of you are quite a distance from our Post and if you ever get this way, don't forget to stop in and say hi.  For you folks that are close, come on down for one of our Friday night dinners.  They are great and the Clubroom is open 7 days a week for all our members and guests.  Come in and have a drink or a soda pop.  May 25th is the Escondido Street Faire and we will have a booth set up there.  The Street Faire is always a lot of fun.  We are still looking for some good members to step up and do some things for our Post, call us and let us know that you can.

Chaplain – Louis Miller

      We had two members transferred to Post Everlasting last month: Joseph V. Bogan and Ed Cardinal.  Please keep these families in your prayers and hearts.  Please keep me informed regarding those who have passed away, or are ill.

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American Legion Auxiliary

Auxiliary Membership – Irene Gustafson

      I'm happy to report that we met our goal on March 28th.  At our last meeting we acquired 3 more new members and now we are 3 over goal!  Please welcome Vickie L. Harris, Mary Jane Halbig, and Kimberly A. Black and add these names to your roster.  Hats off to all paid members, however, there are still 12 that are delinquent.  If you no longer want to belong, won't you please let me know?

      Also, long time member, Mary Stephens has relocated to Reno.  Good luck to you there, Mary.  Thanks for the Memories!

Chaplain – Elda Jones

      March is gone and now we are working on April.  How the time flies as we get older.

      We lost one of our ladies, Roberta McCully.  Remember her family in your prayers.

      I want to remind every one to keep talking to others about God and country.  We are losing so many of our rights.  We need to keep on top of the rights.  That is what our military is fighting for.

      The first part of March the Auxiliary put on a breakfast.  Angel Ho was in charge.  We had a lot of good help and served many breakfasts.

      The ladies did a great job serving breakfast at 5th area meeting.  Glenna Asher was in charge of the breakfast.

      When we put our problems in God’s hand he puts peace in our hearts.

Children and Youth – Phyllis Bradford

      On April 20th our Unit held an Easter party for Little Angels of St Claires.  Cookies were provided for decoration.  The children were 2, 3, and 4 years old.  They had a great time decorating the cookies.  We provided pizza and fruit cups for lunch.  There were 36 children.  The staff was very thankful that we thought of them.  My thanks to Stella and Irene for helping me pull this off.

      90 gift certificates from Baskins Robbins were given out to students at Orange Glen Elementary school.  These students worked on essays for Ann Brown's Americanism program.

      Friday, April 18th was our Children’s Miracle Network Fundraiser.  Hospital representative Megan Avery was present from Children’s Hospital.  Our fundraiser was a huge success.  We served 60 dinners.  Thanks to all who attended helping make a check to the hospital in the amount of $625.86.  The SONS were very generous donation of $500.00 making a grand total of $1,125.86.  A very special to Stella, Irene, Margaret, Carolyn, Vicky, Toni Lynn, Charlotte, and her daughter for helping me put this dinner on.  A special thanks to SONS Commander Ray Bradford for helping to cook steaks. 

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Sons of the American Legion

            If you still have not renewed your membership yet, do it soon.  In the District, we are at 52.86%.  Contact our adjutant Jeff Flynt.  His phone is 760-803-5080.

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American Legion Riders

President – Woody “Gunny” Harris

      As usual we have been busy since my last newsletter.  We had our annual Riders dinner at Sorrento’s Italian restaurant and a very good turn out from the Riders and families.  It's funny how we get a better turn out for a free dinner than on some of our rides!

      We have a new member Curtis Webb.  He is retired from the Navy and we welcome him to our Legionnaire Brotherhood.  We also had a guest at our last meeting Rudy Gomez.  He was the guest of our member Sam Pacheco, and looks forward to joining our group in the near future. 

      The Area 5 meeting was a success with the chili cook-off a highlight.  Many thanks for the participants, and all the good food and meals prepared in addition.  The winner of the cook-off was Dan and Helen Lloyd.  Cathy Watt and her helpers put on the Prime Rib Dinner which was not only scrumptious, but we ran out of food!  Great Job Cathy, Joe, and all the Helpers.

      Joe Watt and I attended the first meeting of Oceanside’s new Riders group.  Chapter 146 with support of the Oceanside Legion Post will move to be chartered at the American Legion Riders Convention in Turlock on 20 April.  Although we will lose some of our Riders to a Chapter nearer there homes we welcome the growth in the ALR Brotherhood.

      James “Bama” Lowery has advised me we have received our charter from the California DOT for our service project near the San Diego Wild Animal Park on Hwy. 79.  This will be a much better clean up area than Fallbrook Hwy 76.

      Update on Tony “Top” Desiderio.  He is up and around without crutches, and his wife must have felt sorry for him as he purchased a new 2008 Softail.  Our Rider, Richard “Dirty-red” Cross is doing much better as many of you know, and we hope for his quick recovery. 

      In the near future we have the Escondido Street Fair Booth, election of new officers for the Riders, and then fireworks for the 4th of July. 

      Tim Heck, DC Murphy, and I attended the National Funeral directors convention as not only Legion Riders but also as Patriot Guard Riders.  The Association made a donation of $2,500 to the PGR, and we were proud to be in attendance for this worthwhile event (They didn't solicit us for anything!)

      On April 6th your riders participated in the “Ride Stride and Roll” ride.  This ride benefited Paralyzed Veterans transportation programs and we had a good turn out for the ride from our chapter.  Brian “Trailerhitch” Wagstaff bid in auction for a mobile of all of the Armed Forces then donated it to our Post for placement in the club outdoor area.

      Well that's it for this month. Keep your wheels on the road.  Semper Fi, Gunny

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Proposed Changes for the By-Laws

1    Change the Executive board by limiting the vote to elected members only.

2    Reduce the number of Executive Board members elected from 6 to 4.

3    Split Section 1 of Article VI - Finance, into 2 sections

4    Move Section 3 of Article VIII - Procedure, to Article VI - Finance, and change wording to apply to this Post only.

5    Article X, Section 5 moved to Article IX, Section 3 (Board of Directors)

6    Change the number of members of the Finance Committee from 4 to 2 plus the Chairman and the Clubroom Committee from 6 to 4 plus the Chairman

7    Add the building and other standing committees.

8    Add provisions approving the SAL and Riders.

9    Changed wording of Article IV to simplify and refer to National rules for membership.

10   Ensure that the members of the Post have approval of Board of Directors actions including financial matters.

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Editor – Art Lubben

      The year is winding down and I want to thank all of the officers and committee chairman for sending me their announcements and articles through out the year. 

      June is a very busy month for the Legion, so be sure to check the calendar for all the events coming up. 

      I am still looking for some help with the newsletter.  If you have basic computer skills and are willing to put in some time, I will be happy to teach you all you will need to know to put it together.  You don’t need to commit to doing it every month, just fill in once and around.

      Thank you again for all your help and I look forward to working with all the new officers next year.

      As always, remember, the deadline is the 15th of the month