From the Desk of the Commander

Welcome to the final two months of the year. November and December are going to be busy! Following another successful Trunk or Treat we have District meeting on the 5^th, Veterans Day dinner on the 11^th, Marine Corps Ball on the 12^th, Kids and Adult Christmas Parties on Dec 17th , as well as all the fantastic dinners that come out of our kitchen on Friday nights. Keep a calendar on you at all times so you don’t miss anything!

For those who weren’t able to make the last meeting, Trustee Boman reported on the success of the Post Picnic. We raised $1,500 and another $1,000 was donated by the POWER COUPLE, Hondo and Ellen Robinson.

Membership, Membership, Membership! Last year our Post membership rose to 400 members! That made us the 4^th largest Post in the state. We currently need 129 renewals to match that number. Since July 1^st we have only managed to renew 13 members. You don’t have to do the math to realize that those efforts won’t cut it. We need all annual members to pay their dues. Doing so early would be an even bigger help. It wont effect the date in which you expire would just renew you early and remove you from the expiring reports. There is a price incentive if you reach out to one of the officers to renew early!

Garrett Dickey

Post Commander

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From the Desk of the Auxiliary President

I hope everyone is well and getting ready for the many Holidays!

We would like to thank those who helped to raise $5,300 in the Blue Teardrop Walk. We had 19 walkers this year. All the money is going to the VA’s suicide prevention program. A special thanks to Michelle Lawrence who did most of the coordination for this event. We are looking to have a bigger turnout next year!

Each newsletter I would like to highlight 1 or 2 VFW organizations we help to support. At fall conference we learned of some real needs at Camp Trotter. Camp Trotter as you may know is in Newaygo, MI and is owned and operated by the Department of MI VFW. For 5 weeks each summer they run a weeklong camp for 7-12 year olds from all over the country. Every year the Auxiliary donates to Camp Trotter to

help pay for a camper. In the past we have had members volunteer their time to help in clean up and do some maintenance. This year, there are 9 large trees that need to be taking down, the rock wall needs to be moved to a new location and the playscape is falling apart. Early estimates are tens of thousands of dollars in work before campers can arrive. If you or someone you know has experience and is willing to help out please let us know. They will also accept monetary donations. You can find out more about Camp Trotter at VFWMI.org

We are in the early stages of planning some donations and fundraisers for November & December to help out locally. We will post about these on our Facebook page & the VFW 2144 website, VFW2144.org. We will have some advertising at the Post as well. We are helping the Daughters of the Revolution with their National Wreaths Across America Day on December 17th.

We still have a need for additional workers to help with Bingo on Monday and Wednesday nights. Even one night a month would be a great help.

The winner of our Lifetime Membership is Elaine Nyenbrink. Congratulations!

Our upcoming meetings are Thursday November 10^thand Thursday December 8th at 7:00, all members are welcome! We would love to get your input!

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone these next couple of months!

Laura Kinne

Auxiliary President

                                                                               

Veterans and Family Support 

 

Ellen Robinson

Membership

Dues are coming in, get yours in if you haven’t already. They are $25 or pay for life and forget about it. What a great feeling!

Ellen Robinson                                                                                     

Dads Post 132

Next meeting will be in January

Hondo Robinson                                                                                 

Meeting Reminders

Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 73 meets the 2^nd 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.          

 

Officers and Contact Info

Post: (616)392-2144

Commander:   Garrett Dickey (937)570-8254

Senior Vice:   Michael Mennes (616)402-3502

Junior Vice:   Adam Cameron (309)212-1148

Quartermaster:  Robin Bailey (616)994-2239

Chaplain:   Ken Vanderwall (616)212-7570

Auxiliary President:  Laura Kinne (616)283-9565

Auxiliary Treasurer:  Nancy Vredeveld (616)422-1403

Honor Guard:  Bob Van Dyke (269)751-8858

 

Social Media

Website: VFW2144.org

Facebook:   Facebook.com/VFWPost2144Holland

Instagram: VFWPost2144