DECEMBER 2014 - JANUARY 2015 Post 880 News Happy Holidays! COMMANDER’S CORNER I hope everybody had an enjoyable summer. Veterans Day weekend and Tuesdayʼs service was very busy and it was worth it. I would like to thank our Legion Family for all the help. Once again everyone pulled together to make this happen. December events will keep the post busy. The Meat Raffle is on December 13 starting at 7 PM. This is one enjoyable evening with sandwiches and refreshments. Tuition assistance applications will be available January 1st in the Postʼs club room and are due by March 1, 2015. Requirements for applying are with the applications. Enjoy the holiday season, and please be careful, because Santa is watching you! Thanks, Jim Blidy, Post Commander We will be decorating the hall for Christmas on Thursday, November 20th at 6:30. All are welcome to come out and help. " CORRECTION: In our last issue, I gave you an email address for Post 880‘s Facebook page. Please note Jim Trembath’s daughter, Jenna Barney has had a Facebook page for Post 880 for well over a year. Going forward, we will use this site. We have 84 “Likes” and 144 visits to the page already! Jenna uploaded a bunch of pictures taken at our Veterans Day service so check it out. Thank you Jenna! Here is the address: Newell - Faulkner American Legion Post 880, Eden, NY Newell Faulkner American Legion Post 880, Eden, NY 2912 Legion Dr., Eden, NY, 14057 (716) 992-3304 View on www.facebook. com Preview by Yahoo The newsletter can be found on our website at www.Post880.com as well as on Facebook. The deadline for the February/March issue of Post 880 News will be Friday, January 16th. Karen Ferguson 3099 Milford Terrace Hamburg, NY 14075 716/870-2857 [email protected] PAGE 1 DECEMBER 2014 - JANUARY 2015 AUXILIARY NEWS Hello Ladies, It seems at Post 880 there are 2 seasons, Corn Festival and Christmas! In the last issue I was thanking you for your help during the Corn Festival and now in this issue I am looking for help for our upcoming Christmas events. It never ends! The numerous events taking place at our Post are listed on the back page of this newsletter and you are encouraged to help out if you can. In particular, we need pies to serve for dessert at the Senior Citizens Christmas dinner on December 14. You can bake your own pies or bring a store bought pie anytime after 8:30 on the 14th. Contact me if you have any questions. The Auxiliary Christmas dinner will be on Thursday, December 11 beginning at 5:30. RSVPʼs are due by Friday, November 28. To save postage costs, forms were passed out at our November meeting, and I also emailed it to those with email addresses. I did mail forms to local Auxiliary members, however, if you did not receive one and would like to attend, please contact me ASAP so I can put your order in. All Auxiliary members are welcome. The dinner choices this year are: prime rib and shrimp $16.95, chicken cordon bleu $9.95 or breaded pork chop $10.95. T h e W N Y V e t e r a n s H o u s i n g C o a l i t i o n www.wnyvhc.org provides housing to homeless Veterans (primarily men however there are a few women). Items needed are winter coats, gloves, hats, scarfs, sweaters, pants (anything warm) and household items such as pots, pans, dishes, silverware, bedding, towels. A container will be placed in the Post during the month of December to collect these items to be donated to the Coalition. Over the past couple of months we have welcomed a few new members to our Unit. Itʼs great to see new faces. Our quota this year is 170 members. Last year we missed our quota by only 2 so letʼs see if we can make it this year! If you havenʼt paid your dues yet, please do so as soon as possible. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! God Bless our Troops and our Veterans, Karen Ferguson, Unit 880 President " PAGE 2 DECEMBER 2014 - JANUARY 2015 AVTT - VIETNAM WALL UPDATE You may remember back in 2012 Post 880 hosted the American Veterans Traveling Tribute Vietnam Wall display. We raffled a Harley Davidson motorcycle as part of our fundraising efforts to support this event. Gold Star Mother Holly Baker won that motorcycle. What is a Gold Star mother? A Gold Star Mother is a mother who has lost her son or daughter in a war. Holly rides her motorcycle at many charity events especially those supporting veterans’ programs, as seen here recently. The Business Development Committee would like to thank those of you who supported the Post by purchasing a $5 ticket for the month of October. We had a total of 18 winners during the month and 2 of them won twice! We plan to do this again when it doesn’t interfere with other fundraising events sponsored by the Post, Auxiliary, Sons and Guests and Boosters. There are a lot of holiday activities taking place at the Post so we are not going to have any bands during the month of December. We do have 2 bands booked to play at our Post in January and February. Help us spread the word. On Saturday, January 17th, Danger Us Blues will be playing from 8 pm until midnight. And on Saturday, February 21st, the Riverdogs are returning for an evening of Dixieland Jazz. Those who heard them back in July really enjoyed themselves and we are pleased to bring them back, just in time for Mardi Gras so mark your calendars, tell your friends and come out and support the Post. FREE admission to both of these events, and 50/50’s will be available. In a cost-saving effort at the Post, maintenance manager Don Johnson has implemented a new policy whereby Legion management will now be required to perform some of the day-to-day cleanup around the post. Here you see General Manager Bob Reed and Pat Puckhaber working up a sweat mopping the floor of the hall after an event that had taken place over the weekend. Who says Post management just sits around on their butts and does nothing!!! " PAGE 3 DECEMBER 2014 - JANUARY 2015 NEWS FROM SAL Hello to all, The weather outside is frightful, but the company inside the Post is delightful. Yes, the snow is falling, the Bills are failing, and the Sabres are faltering. It's a good thing great things are happening at our Post. The Veterans Day ceremony gets bigger and better each year. Commander Blidy once again put together a wonderful program that was well attended by all. Thank you to the Ladies Auxiliary for preparing the food, and for Ben Van de Water for playing Taps, along with Dick Casseri. The Sons will be sponsoring their Breakfast With Santa event this December 7, from 10:30-12:30. All of the organizations within the Post lend a hand in the decorating of the hall. Come on down, have a great breakfast, and bring the kids and grandkids to see Old Saint Nick. Please support all the events at the Post. Many people work very hard and do a great job of putting these events together The Boosters New Years Eve party is coming up. Last year's party was a blowout. Too much fun. Don't miss bringing in the New Year with all your friends at the Post. President Bill says this year’s party is going to be over the top! The Sons would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. Please stop and say a prayer for all of our military, both Veterans, active, and those no longer with us Commander Kenneth D. Szal GUESS WHO? Our last issue featured my husband, Dave Ferguson. The clue about him being a member of the Patriot Guard Riders probably gave it away! This issue features one of our members who served during World War II from 11/8/1942 until 10/19/1945. He was a gunner in the Navy Armed Guard aboard an Army transport ship in the Pacific with the primary purpose of taking soldiers into combat areas and bring out the wounded. When in a combat area port during an air raid, their ship would be covered with a smokescreen and they were not allowed to fire so as not to attract attention. He was Post Commander at the time our present Post Building was built and dedicated in 1957. This WW II veteran also placed the wreath alongside the POW table and chair at this year’s Veterans Day service. Answer will appear in the next issue. I need photos for upcoming issues so please send me yours. You can email it to me or mail it to me and I will scan and return it to you. Send your photo to: Karen Ferguson 3099 Milford Terrace Hamburg, NY 14075 Please be sure to provide your name and phone number in case I need to contact you. If you’d like, you can also include the place and year your photo was taken and which branch of the service you were in. " PAGE 4 DECEMBER 2014 - JANUARY 2015 GUESTS AND BOOSTERS Hello to all, No matter who you talk to, 2014 has really flown by. The Boosters are gearing up for our 2nd annual Drop the Ball Early New Yearʼs Eve Party. Weʼve received a few suggestions and are going to act on them to make this yearʼs party even better. We hope the weather will cooperate. Signs will be up soon and tickets will be available through a G&B member or at the bar. Check the Post bulletin board for all coming events. The Guests and Boosters are keeping Molly Szal and her family in our thoughts and prayers. God Bless our Troops and Veterans, Bill Robison, President It’s Midnight Somewhere! New Year’s Eve Party at Post 880 Wednesday, December 31, 2014 Doors open at 7 pm Tickets are $25 per person - 21 and over Includes draft beer, wine, buffet and music Bring in the new year with us before anyone else! Ball Drop at 10 pm " PAGE 5 DECEMBER 2014 - JANUARY 2015 NOTE OF THANKS Calendar On behalf of the Ken and Molly Szal family, we would like to thank the Post and all those that helped make Molly's benefit such a success. We are truly blessed to have so many loving and hard working people there for us. As we continue our journey, our faith in God and the support and prayers from everyone give us the strength to continue on. Thank you so much and may God bless you all. November 20 Decorate Hall 6:30 November 27 Happy Thanksgiving - Post Closed December 7 Breakfast with Santa 10:30-12:30 December 9 Molly made a brief visit on November 2 to the benefit in her honor which, as you can see, was standing room only. BOCES Christmas Party December 11 Auxiliary Members Christmas Dinner 5:30 December 13 Meat Raffle 7 pm December 14 Senior Citizens Christmas Dinner 1 pm December 25 Merry Christmas - Post Closed December 31 New Year’s Eve Party Ball Drop at 10:00 pm January 17, 2015 Danger Us Blues Band - 8 - midnight FREE Admission February 21, 2015 The Riverdogs Dixieland Jazz FREE Admission March 7, 2015 March Money Madness FUNdraiser Sick Call In Sympathy Molly Szal Janice Carter - at Elderwood Doris Baird For illness or death notification, please call the Post at 992-3304 or Dick Casseri at 549-4975 Auxiliary Contact is June Sercu 649-0772 SAL Contact is Wayne Mintz 941-3966 " PAGE 6