November 2009 Newsletter
Greetings, Comrades and friends of Post 3137, Isle of Palms, South Carolina. We escaped another hurricane season unscathed, and oyster roasts have been going on for weeks. It's a great time of year: Free parking, few tourists, football and a great view. There are not too many places where you can watch 4-5 different football games (college or professional) with the ocean just a glance over your shoulder. It's a rough life, but somebody's gotta do it...
The next newsletter will be sent in January 2010. But you'll see other communications from me between now and then, so I won't give you a chance to miss out on what's happenin'.
The Ladies Auxiliary is kind enough to post the newsletter to our website, so you can always find it on our website: http://www.post3137.vfw.sc/ Select 'Monthly Newsletter' from the menu, and choose the month of your choice.
MEETING DATES:
Here's the scheduled meeting dates/times:
Members: 2nd Monday of the month at 7pm
Women's Auxiliary: 3rd Monday of the month at 7pm
Men's Auxiliary: Last Monday of the month at 6pm
WORK PARTY:
We had a work party a few weeks ago, and the place was given a good fall cleaning. All of the outside white trim front and back, was repainted. All lights, fans and wall ornaments were dusted. One of the significant outcomes of this event was the weather-wrapping of the downstairs. This allows us to rent the downstairs for party's during this colder season, without freezing people away. The downstairs has been cleaned up, and looks really good. We're going to invest in some new tables and chairs for downstairs soon. Check it out!
PATRIOTS PEN & VOICE OF DEMOCRACY:
The Ladies Auxiliary reviewed, voted and selected the VFW Post 3137 Patriot's Pen and Voice of Democracy winners for 2009. The winners are:
Patriot's Pen: Josh Ciappa, a 7th Grader at Christ our King.
Voice of Democracy: Chris Ciappa, a 10th grader at Bishop England.
Their essays were sent to District for voting, and we wish them the best of luck! (They were awarded $50 and $100 bonds, respectively)
VETERAN'S DEALS:
I hope everyone was able to take advantage of some of the deals that were available for Veterans Day. I thought I was doing good to find some deals and share, but folks kept sending me more and more deals that they'd learned about, so I passed them along. Thanks to everyone that shared.
SUPPORTING HOMELESS VETERANS:
In honor of Veterans Day, VFW Post 3137 led a donation drive to provide goods for the Good Neighbor Center (GNC). The GNC is a homeless shelter located on Spruill Avenue in North Charleston, just outside of the old US Navy base.
The goal of the donation drive was to collect paper products and non-perishables for the Veterans living at the GNC. (There are 35 men living in 18 rooms at this shelter) I don't want to belabor the message that I had already sent, but I was more than impressed by the results of your effort. We needed five SUV's to deliver all of the donated goods, which was over $2,500 worth of goods. We'll plan to do another event for them in late April/early May 2010, in honor of Loyalty Day.
SUPPORTING TROOPS OVERSEAS:
As we've recently supported homeless Veterans here in the Lowcountry, our troops overseas also need our support. I have two troops in Afghanistan that could use care packages from 'home,' and we're going to be sending them some 'goodies' soon. One is a Marine, and nephew of a member of our Post, while the other is an Air Force EOD specialist that is a member of our Post. I have their mailing address, and am awaiting their 'wish list' in order to try to purchase items of their liking. The Ladies Auxiliary, Mens Auxiliary and Membership will be donating funds to support this effort.
POST INSPECTION:
We had our annual Post Inspection prior to our November monthly meeting on November 9th, 2009. The inspection was conducted by the District One Commander, Betty Hilliard. We scored well on the inspection/audit, and our next inspection should be next fall. WooHoo!
SUPER BOWL PARTY:
The best Super Bowl party that I've ever been too - Period. Why am I mentioning it now, in November? Because, Diz's Super Bowl Board is available for you to pick from now, so hurry up before it's too late to choose a slot. You gotta pay to participate, and it's well worth it, believe me. See a bartender for details, as I cannot list them here. Don't miss out.
WREATH LAYING CEREMONY:
In honor of Pearl Harbor Day, your Post will be included in the wreath laying ceremony aboard the USS Yorktown. We purchased three (3) wreaths, so our Ladies Auxiliary, Mens Auxiliary and Membership will be involved on December 7th, 2009. My personal 'Thanks' to the Mount Pleasant VFW Post 10624 for leading this event, and allowing us to participate.
LADIES AUXILIARY - AWESOME APPETIZERS - 1st WEDNESDAY:
The Ladies with their appetizers on the first Wednesday of the month is a great meal and social event at the beach. It's always a good time with good eats! For November, they actually teamed with Chef Jeff and Allen Sinkler to fry turkey's, and had a couple sides to go with its not too bad for $5. With the holiday season, the Ladies are going to enjoy taking a break for December and January, but kickoff again in February. Be ready!!
HAVE YOU PAID YOUR DUES?
Year-end is quickly approaching, and to keep our positive standing in the eyes of the State and National VFW, we need you to pay your dues before the end of the calendar year. We were at 85.22% paid as of November 9th, so there's just a few of you that need to loosen the purse strings and pay up!! We have had a very active year as a VFW Post, and have received a flood of positive feedback for our actions. We have a Post that you can be proud of - please pay as soon as possible and continue to support Post 3137.
T-SHIRTS & KOOZIES:
We have an assortment of T-Shirts, along with can and bottle Koozie's available for sale. Be sure to support your Post and show pride in your Post by purchasing these items (either for yourself, or as a gift!!).
NEW FACES:
You never know who you're gonna meet. For the first time in three weeks, I was not traveling for work, and I was able to arrive at my favorite watering hole on a weekday. That was Monday this week, November 23rd. We were lucky to have some VFW members from Murrell's Inlet, SC at our Post, and I was fortunate to meet them. They were in town for a doctor visit, but had heard about Post 3137 from some other Murrell's Inlet folks who'd been in our VFW, and decided to check us out and spend the night at the hotel next door. I can't tell you the treat it was to spend time talking with them, and to personally know that they had a great time at our Post.
What's the message here? People talk, good and bad, about the places they've been, whether it's a hotel or a restaurant. I do it. You do it. Someone from out of town had obviously been in our Post, and enjoyed themselves enough to promote our place to others, which brought more visitors. Think about how you treat someone that you don't know.
FREE PARKING:
It's always good to have places to park when you come to your favorite VFW. Well, you have no excuses now. There's free parking on the street through March, and your Post Quartermaster is allowing free parking in his "Island Time Beach Shop parking lot for the off-season. Come on out!
NATIONAL VFW "RETURN to VIETNAM DRAWING:
If you received a Purple Heart for being wounded in Vietnam, you could be one of 15 lucky Veterans to win the VFW's "Return to Vietnam trip. Entries must be received prior to the drawing on January 15, 2010. Check this link for details:
http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=news.newsDtl&did=5181
UPCOMING EVENTS at YOUR VFW POST:
Every Friday from 6pm to 8pm:
Friday night is "Burn Your Own Steak Night with baked potato and salad.
The price is only $12.00 for a steak dinner at the beach!!
We buy the entire RIBEYE, cut it up, and you select your own steak!!
How many places offer this kinda deal?!?! Don't miss out!
NOVEMBER 28th: Clemson vs. Carolina at noon. Odis is opening the "V at 11am, so come early, and bring some snacks for a good game!!
NOVEMBER 30th: We'll be putting up our Christmas tree inside the VFW.
DECEMBER 3rd: The Isle of Palms Christmas Tree lighting ceremony. Special drink prices for everyone that night so come on out and enjoy the festivities!!
DECEMBER 7th: Wreath laying Ceremony at USS Yorktown.
DECEMBER 17th: Our annual Christmas Party! Details to follow.
JANUARY: NFL Playoffs!! Great TV's, Great Views, Cold Beer!
FEBRUARY: CHILI COOKOFF AND SUPER BOWL PARTY!!
THIS N' THAT'S:
- I want to say "Thank You" to all who have volunteered time and effort to make VFW Post 3137 a friendly post for all to enjoy, and a valuable entity to support and service our troops and Veterans. We ask that God watch over all of our troops, our members, their families, and all veterans, especially those that have been disabled while performing their duties of great sacrifice to maintain our freedom and precious way of life.
- Please be respectful and courteous to everyone who comes into the VFW. First impressions are lasting impressions. If you see a face you don't recognize, please introduce yourself.
- Please support those businesses and individuals that support Veterans of Foreign Wars. My personal 'Thanks' to Malcolm and Mike for their large contribution to our Good Neighbor Center donation. When was the last time you visited The Windjammer or the Sea Biscuit Caf? We appreciate their support, and need to return the favor.
POST 3137 WEBSITE:
Be sure to visit our website: http://www.post3137.vfw.sc/ .
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Regards,
Darrin Voke
Commander Post 3137
Dvoke.post3137@yahoo.com
