Post Commander
Hello Everyone! I wanted to start out by thanking Maria,
Vickie, Mark, Adrianne (& her DEPS), Jerry, Lupe, Oscar, Todd, Veronica,
Lawrence, Vern and Lisa for volunteering and keeping this Post operating and
thriving.
The problem is that the numbers do not add
up. Between the Post and Auxiliary we
have more than 700 members yet the 12 members above are carrying the
weight. That is simply ridiculous. If you want to continue to see YOUR Post grow,
then step up and volunteer. You don’t
need to volunteer every Friday but at least once a month. If enough members volunteer, then it will be
much easier. A load shared is a load
made easier. We need volunteers in the
kitchen, to clean and to help do maintenance and repairs. I said I did not want this Post to survive
during this Pandemic, I wanted it to THRIVE. The 12 volunteers above have done that but think how much more we could
do with more help.
Unfortunately, because of the pandemic I
have made the decision to cancel the Past Commanders Banquet for this
year. Hopefully, we can be back next
year and have our annual gathering.
We need members to renew their annual dues
as we work hard to get to 100% again this year. If you are having a medical or financial problem, please let us know so
we can help.
It is important that you come to the Post
meetings. Your voice is not heard if you
do not attend. Good ideas do us no good
if they are not presented to the membership.
Michael Martin
Post Commander
________________________________________________________
Auxiliary President
I hope everyone is doing well and staying
healthy. Our days are getting longer,
and Spring will be here before you know it.
We are just over halfway through the year
and nominations and elections are coming soon. We have 339 members, and I would like to see more than 7 to 9 members
attend our meetings. Hopefully, the
weather and the pandemic cooperate. I’m
encouraging all member that are able to attend and willing to donate 2 or 3
hours a month to our Great Auxiliary that you please come to our meetings on
the second Thursday of each month. We
need more of our members to step up and fill officer positions. Men and Women, we are ONE auxiliary now. It would be a terrible thing to lose our
Charter because we cannot fill the Officer positions for the 2021-22
years. Let’s keep our great Post and
Auxiliary alive and well.
I am willing to continue the position of
Auxiliary President one more year, unless of course someone else is nominated
and elected. I will continue to mentor
our incoming officers as I am able for the ensuing year. Again, if our officer positions are not
filled, we no longer exist. Hope to see
more of our great members at our next meeting March 11. Thank you to all Auxiliary members and
volunteers for your continued service and support.
Lisa
Blauwkamp
Auxiliary
President
Veterans and Family Support
Hello
Everyone! It
won’t be long, and Spring will be welcoming us, so keep happy thoughts. Would love to see more of you at our meetings
now.
Welcome our
new members with a smile and "glad to see you”. Most of all stay safe. Adhere to
responsible, sensible guidelines for your safety. Lastly keep our troops in harm’s way in your
thoughts and prayers.
Ellen Robinson
Dad’s Post 132
Hope everyone is staying
safe and healthy. We’ll have a Post
meeting Saturday, April 3rd at the Post. See you then! Hondo Robinson
Chaplain
Took Bibles to the family of Byrne Douma,
Thomas Fierro, Gerald Brink, Don Wiersma, Gus Feenstra, Louis Hallacy and John
Bronkhurst.
Hondo Robinson
Meeting Reminders
Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 73 meets
the 2nd Tuesday of every month at 7pm. All Vietnam Veterans are welcome.
Vet to Vet support group meets every
Wednesday from 630 to 730pm. Veterans of
every era are welcome to attend.
Marine Corps League meets the Third Saturday
of each month at 10am. Everyone is welcomed
to attend.
House
Committee
It is so great to see Comrades and Auxiliary
Members back in the Post. This when we
really appreciate our huge Post. Even at
25% capacity we can still have 87 customers in our Post at one time with lots
of room for social distancing. I have
been told that we are about the only restaurant in town still open that you can
walk right in with no waiting to sit. Come to your Post and show some support! Our great kitchen staff is serving approximately 80-100 meals every
Friday. On Friday the 19th we
served over 160 meals! Just found out
that we will have Smelt starting February 26th. We own a huge thank you to our Volunteers in
the kitchen and bar. We really can use
more volunteers so some of them can have a break sometime. It takes at least 6 or 7 volunteers every
week to put out that many meals. Please
come and have some fun with the team. It
can be very rewarding for everyone.
With every private club it takes members and
volunteers to make it work. We have
added at least 13 new members since July 1st, 4 of them Life Members
who never have to pay any more dues every year. Thank you so much for joining our great Post. Now we need our annual members to please
renew your dues. If you are having a
rough time, we will be happy to assist you with your dues. It can happen to anyone, especially in these
times. We have been 100% for the past 3
years and want to continue the great record we started 3 years ago. The Honor Post banners look great hanging in
our Post.
Nominations and elections will occur during
this newsletter time. We had 387 members
on June 30 last year. We need attendees
and members that are willing to contribute 3 to 3 hours a month to keep our
Post alive and well. We can do so much
more to help Veterans in our area, but we need your help to make it happen.
Vern
Blauwkamp—
House
Committee Chairman
|
Officers and
Contact Info
Post: (616)392-2144
Commander: Mike Martin (616)594-9151
Senior Vice: Jenna Schaub (231)649-1745
Junior Vice: Adam Cameron (309)212-1148
Quartermaster: Garrett Dickey (937)570-8254
Chaplain: Robin Bailey (616)994-2239
Auxiliary
President: Lisa Blauwkamp (269)206-1810
Auxiliary
Treasurer: Nancy Vredeveld
(616)422-1403
Honor Guard: Harold Kuipers (616)886-0462
March 2021
Sunday
|
Monday
|
Tuesday
|
Wednesday
|
Thursday
|
Friday
|
Saturday
|
Watch Facebook and Flyers
for Details
|
1—Euchre 1230
|
2—Soup Night
|
3-- 75¢ Wings
|
4—Burger Night
|
5—Fish or Rib Dinner
|
6—
|
7—Closed
|
8—Euchre 1230
|
9—Soup Night
|
10— 75¢ Wings
|
11—Burger Night
Post & Auxiliary
Meeting 7pm
|
12—Fish or Lasagna Dinner
|
13—
|
14—Closed
|
15—Euchre 1230
|
16—Soup Night
|
17-- 75¢ Wings
|
18— Burger Night
|
19—Fish or Scalloped
Potatoes with Ham
|
20—St Patrick’s Day
w/Corned Beef and Cabbage
|
21—Closed
|
22— Euchre 1230
|
23—Soup Night
|
24-- 75¢ Wings
|
25—Burger Night
|
26—Fish or Enchiladas
Dinner
|
27—
|
28—Closed
|
29— Euchre 1230
|
30—Soup Night
|
31—75¢ Wings
|
|
Watch Facebook and Flyers
for Details
|
Prices Subject to Change
|
April 2021
Sunday
|
Monday
|
Tuesday
|
Wednesday
|
Thursday
|
Friday
|
Saturday
|
Watch Facebook and Flyers
for Dinner Details
|
Prices Subject to Change
|
|
|
1—Burger Night
|
2—Fish Dinner or Wet
Burrito
|
3—
|
4—Closed
|
5— Euchre 1230
|
6—Soup Night
|
7—75¢ Wings
|
8— Burger Night
Post & Auxiliary
Meeting 7pm
|
9—Fish or Spaghetti
w/Meatballs
|
10—
|
11--Closed
|
12— Euchre 1230
|
13—Soup Night
|
14--75¢ Wings
|
15— Burger Night
|
16—Fish or Steak Dinner
|
17—
|
18—Closed
|
19— Euchre 1230
|
20—Soup Night
|
21--75¢ Wings
|
22-- Burger Night
|
23—Fish or Chicken Dinner
|
24—District 8 Testimonial
Dinner
|
25—Closed
|
26—Euchre 1230
|
27—Soup Night
|
28—75¢ Wings
|
29—Burger Night
|
30—Fish or Smothered Pork
Chops
|
|