A Message from Commander
Steve Jackson
I have relieved Rick Enriquez as the post
commander. I want to thank Rick for all the service he
provided to the post over the last year.
As you probably know the post is struggling to stay
afloat. There are lots of rumors as to why this has happen
but the bottom line is that business has declined. As
members we all need to attend more post functions and
support our organization. The Planning Committee has
some events scheduled that should help with additional
income, but these events will only work with
membership support. If you have an idea for a fund raiser
stop by the Commander's Office and share them with me.
The more brain storming we do the better our chance for
survival and growth.
July is one of the most important months in
American History. On July 4th we celebrate
Independence Day, and the post will have their
traditional 4th of July picnic. Advance sale tickets are
available in the canteen and will also be sold at the door.
The food and companionship are always great.
I will normally be in the office on Monday thru
Thursday from 1-3pm (1300-1500). If I am out of the
area either Bob Davis (Sr. Vice) or Keith Tremblay (Jr.
Vice) will be there. We want to be available to better
serve you.
Volunteers are always needed for various post
activities. You do not need any special skills, just a
willingness to get involved. We always appreciate
members with special skills such as plumbing or
electrical but also welcome members who are willing to
trim bushes, verify bingo cards, clean the parking area or
other necessary maintenance items.
Stop by the office when you visit the post. I look
forward to meeting as many members as possible. It is an
honor and pleasure to serve you.
A message from Auxiliary President
Marie Robinson
On June 15th we held the first meeting with the
new officers. I would like to thank all for making my
first meeting as President successful. At this time of
the year we are just getting the new committees set up
and making plans to achieve our goals. Within the next
few months we will be busy serving our veterans and
helping with any fund raisers being held at the post.
During our meeting we reminded all to be sure
to get their tickets for the Birthday Party to be held on
September 2nd. for our beloved Bea Hornby, who will
be turning 100 years young. The tickets will be on sale
for post members until July 13th and after that they
will be open to the public. The cost is $10.00 Let’s fill
the hall!! We also reminded all to come to the “All you
Can Eat Pancake Breakfast” being held on Sunday
June 19th in honor of Father's Day and don’t forget
about the 4th of July picnic.
The President and Senior Vice from Post 9272
District 9 in St. Petersburg were in the area and
stopped in to visit our post and stayed for the meeting.
Cherly Plumridge, President and Jelene Mingo, Senior
Vice enjoyed seeing how other Auxiliary’s run their
meetings and had nothing but good things to say and
invited us to visit their post if we are in the area.
Our next meeting will be held July 20th
New Auxiliary Of ficer for 2016-2017
President ------------------- Marie Robinson
Sr. Vice president --------- Eileen Piekarski
Jr. Vice President --------- Millie Maxim
Treasurer ------------------ Kathy Enriquez
Chaplain ------------------- Chrissy Padovano
Conductress -------------- Shirley Cortese
Guard ---------------------- Barbara Kemper
3 yr Trustee --------------- Katie Stark
2 yr Trustee --------------- Pat Davis
1 yr Trustee --------------- Rae Ambach
Action Alert: Improve, Don't Dismantle the VA
Health Care System
It’s a special Birthday Party, September 2nd Background: Politicians, pundits and politically2016.
motivated organizations are using the national crisis
Bea Hornby is turning 100 years young.
in access to care at the Department of Veterans
Affairs as justification to dismantle and privatize the
There will be a special Tim Rippey Birthday
VA health care system, with some even proposing
show, with a chicken dinner all for $10 !!!
that veterans be charged for their service-connected
Reserved seating, this event will be opened to care. The VFW says no!
the public after our July 20th Meeting. So Get Veterans must not stand idle as politicians who
never served or use the VA health care system
your tickets now available at the post.
dictate when and where veterans can receive care.
For almost 117 years, the VFW has worked
tirelessly to identify issues veterans face when
DUTY OFFICER For JULY
accessing their earned benefits, and has worked
The following is the list of scheduled Duty with Congress to ensure a grateful nation fulfills her
Officers for the month of July. The closing of the obligation to those who sacrificed to defend her. In
Post is an important responsibility for our the past two years alone, the VFW has collected
security and the safety of our bartenders. It's not
direct feedback from more than 20,000 veterans
hard work, but it must be done. If you have any
regarding their experiences receiving VA and
questions or are not sure as to what to do, ask
private sector health care. Their message is clear:
Tom Piekarski and we'll walk you through it. If
your scheduled time conflicts with some other “Improve, don’t dismantle the VA health care
activity, Please let Tom know ahead of time (597- system.”
2756) or switch with someone else.
If your not on the list, but could spare one night a
month, again please call Tom. Thank you!
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Weds.
Weds. 7/20
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
BAR Steve Jackson
BAR Nemo Farmer
BAR Jerry Ambach
BAR Don Farron
VFW / AUX Meeting Steve Jackson
After Bingo, Bingo Committee
After Dinner Dance, Doug Bentley
BAR Bill Forget
Palm Coast
Health & Senior Expo
Tuesday July 12 9am – 2pm Free admission, free
parking. Travel & Leisure, Workshops, Retirement,
Free Health Screenings, Nutrition Health & Wellness,
Community Resources, Free Samples, Delicious Food
Tasting, and much more.
VFW Post 8696
47 Old Kings Rd. N.
Palm Coast Florida 32137
Take Action: Contact your Members of Congress
and let them know that VA health care reform
must be based on the needs and preferences of
veterans, not political rhetoric.
BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS
Happy Birthday to the following auxiliary members
whose birthdays occur in July.
Maryellen Cipolla
Sonja Rodriguez
Victoria Kelsey
Sharon Davis
Margaret Shargay
Meghan Lundy
Joyce Edwards
Monica Weeks
Dina Privat
Dauna Harpe
Nancy Katz
Hilda Clemens
Jean Sedlak
Miki Laigaie
Lucy Donnelly
Elizabeth Stark
Kathleen Orr
Catherine Franklin
Connie Williams
My apologies if I have missed anyone. I don’t have
everyone’s birth month. You can contact me at 386586-7742 to update any information.
Kathy Enriquez, Membership
From the Auxiliary Chaplain
If any auxiliary members know of a member that is
sick , or has a family member who has died please let
me know. Also if you know of a auxiliary member that
has died advise of the date they
passed. Call me at 386-445-8253
Thanks,
Mary Beck, Chaplain
VFW 8696 Auxiliary
TO ALL VETS
ROLLING THUNDER FLORIDA CHAPTER 4
INVITES YOU AND A GUEST TO BE PART OF
THEIR POW, MIA, AND GOLD STAR MOTHERS
RECOGNITION DINNER. THIS DINNER IS TO
HONOR YOU, FAMILY MEMBERS OF THOSE
WHO HAVE NOT YET RETURNED AND THOSE
WHO DID NOT RETURN.
DATE: SEPTEMBER 10, 2016
TIME: 2:00PM TO 5:00PM
LOCATION:
MOROCCAN SHRINE AUDITORIUM
3800 ST. JOHNS BLUFF ROAD S
JACKSONVILLE, FL 32224
PARKING IS AT THE REAR LEFT SIDE OF
THE BUILDING.
The Fathers's Day breakfast was well received. I'd
like to thank all those who worked, you know who
you are. Also, Thanks to all those that came to
support the post.
Kitchen Chairman
Mike Vaccaro
The Declaration of Independence
began to circulate again, all with the date July 4, 1776, listed
at the top. The deaths of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams
on July 4, 1826, may even have helped to promote the idea
of July 4 as an important date to be celebrated.
We celebrate American Independence Day on the Fourth of
July every year. We think of July 4, 1776, as a day that
represents the Declaration of Independence and the birth of
Celebrations of the Fourth of July became more common as
the United States of America as an independent nation.
the years went on and in 1870, almost a hundred years after
But July 4, 1776 wasn't the day that the Continental
the Declaration was written, Congress first declared July 4
Congress decided to declare independence (they did that on to be a national holiday as part of a bill to officially
July 2, 1776).
recognize several holidays, including Christmas. Further
It wasn’t the day we started the American Revolution either legislation about national holidays, including July 4, was
passed in 1939 and 1941.
(that had happened back in April 1775).
And it wasn't the day Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft
of the Declaration of Independence (that was in June 1776).
Or the date on which the Declaration was delivered to Great
Britain (that didn't happen until November 1776). Or the
date it was signed (that was August 2, 1776).
So what did happen on July 4, 1776?
The Continental Congress approved the final wording of the
Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. They'd been
working on it for a couple of days after the draft was
submitted on July 2nd and finally agreed on all of the edits
and changes.
July 4, 1776, became the date that was included on the
Declaration of Independence, and the fancy handwritten
copy that was signed in August (the copy now displayed at
the National Archives in Washington, D.C.) It’s also the date
that was printed on the Dunlap Broadsides, the original
printed copies of the Declaration that were circulated
throughout the new nation. So when people thought of the
Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 was the date they
remembered.
In contrast, we celebrate Constitution Day on September
17th of each year, the anniversary of the date the
Constitution was signed, not the anniversary of the date it
was approved. If we’d followed this same approach for the
Declaration of Independence we’d being celebrating
Independence Day on August 2nd of each year, the day the
Declaration of Independence was signed!
How did the Fourth of July become a
national holiday?
For the first 15 or 20 years after the Declaration was written,
people didn’t celebrate it much on any date. It was too new
and too much else was happening in the young nation. By
the 1790s, a time of bitter partisan conflicts, the Declaration
had become controversial. One party, the DemocraticRepublicans, admired Jefferson and the Declaration. But
the other party, the Federalists, thought the Declaration was
too French and too anti-British, which went against their
current policies.
By 1817, John Adams complained in a letter that America
seemed uninterested in its past. But that would soon
change.
After the War of 1812, the Federalist party began to come
apart and the new parties of the 1820s and 1830s all
considered themselves inheritors of Jefferson and the
Democratic-Republicans. Printed copies of the Declaration
From Tom Piekarski
Chairman of the House Committee
we are looking for volunteers for two areas:
1. We need volunteers to close the post (DUTY
OFFICERS) they would be on standby for when
the regulars are sick or away. I will train them on
what to do and give them a printed check list for
the same.
We need volunteers for the new position at
the POST call information secretary. This is a
position where they would be at the front double
door by a table. Their job would be to answer the
Post phone and direct or give information to walk
in visitors. A logbook would be maintained so we
would have a record of all business that transpires.
The book has been started and Mondays and
Fridays is covered, but Tuesdays, Wednesdays,
and Thursdays are open. I will train those
individuals that need to be trained by con acting
my E-mail, [email protected] or home phone 386597-2756.
2.