C. L. Elms Post 9951

Department of Pacific Areas

Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States

7 South Sathorn Road

Bangkok 10120 Thailand


January 12, 2008


  1. CMDR Owens opened a C. L. Elms Post 9951 regular meeting IAW the VFW ritual at 11:10 on this date in the Conference Room of JUSMAGTHAI located at 7 South Sathorn Road in Bangkok, Thailand.

  2. There was a roll call of officers and all were present or properly excused. There were 19 members attending. DPA CMDR Rhett Webber is visiting all the posts in District V and attended our meeting as our guest.

  3. There were two applications for membership. They are from Ron Boal who wants to transfer his life membership to our Post and Steven Madere who requests an annual membership. Trustee Hudson moved we accept these applications, Comrade Riopel seconded this and the motion carried. We then warmly welcomed these new Comrades.

  4. We gave copies of the minutes of the last meeting to those in attendance. Advocate Oden made a motion to approve the minutes, subject to correction, and JVC Key seconded it. The motion carried.

  5. Quartermaster Neutzler gave the QM Report for the period 1 through 31 December 2007. Comrade White moved to approve the report, subject to audit. Advocate Oden seconded this and the motion carried.

  6. There were no bills for collection.

  7. Service Officer Dyste gave the SO Report.

  8. We discussed some of the health issues of Comrade Pipas. Later in the meeting, we had a moment of silence in honor of a recently deceased colleague of Trustee Nicholls, John Escure.

  9. Committee reports are: (a) Membership: Our goal for this year is 244. We now have 253 members for 103.69 % (b) Bingo: We received nothing this period. (c) Buddy Poppies: There was no activity. (d) POW/MIA: Comrade Picha gave some thoughtful insights on this topic. (e) Community Activities: JVC Key gave an update on what he reported to DPA. (f) Independence Day: There is no news to report. (g) Webmaster: Comrade Petersen did not attend the meeting.

  10. Remembrance of our National Home was at 11:35.

  11. Old Business (a) Our Annual Christmas Party on December 15 at the Tara Hotel on Soi 26, Sukhumvit Road was a great success although there were fewer people attending than last year. It was thoroughly enjoyed by all attendees. The QM detailed the financial results of the function. (b) We are still looking for a replacement for the SO as his age precludes him from being both the Post SO and the RAO. Please volunteer for this vital responsibility. (c) Trustee Nicholls headed a visit to the Prostheses Hospital where we donated 20,000 baht on December 13 as part of our Christmas activities. (d) There was more inconclusive discussion of the need to have an American flag available for use when a Comrade dies. The QM advised that there were none of these flags available for purchase from the VFW Store. (e) The next District V Meeting will be on January 19 in Udon Thani. The MOC Meeting will be at 5:00 p.m. on the 18th. Both functions will be at the Chaorensri Hotel.

  12. New Business: (a) DPA CMDR Webber made some general remarks about various topics. (b) Advocate Oden provided a synopsis of the activities of the new Chiang Mai Post. He also told us about the recently concluded C of A Conference in the Philippines. (c) This year’s DPA Convention will be in Pattaya from June 15 to 20. Therefore, Trustee Hudson proposed that we buy a full page color ad in the Convention Book for $200. Comrade Picha seconded this and the motion carried. Needed is someone to accept the responsibility of being head of the Post’s efforts to sell advertising in the Convention Book. If you will do this, please tell the CMDR. Further, everyone is asked to sell these ads on an individual basis. This is an important source of revenue for us. (d) We received a free life membership from DPA as a reward for attaining 100% of our membership goal before November 30, 2007. The Department awards this with the expectation that we will then donate it to one of our annual members. There was some dialogue about the inherent unfairness of this system to members who have already paid for their memberships as they are ineligible for this gift. There were no conclusions reached on this issue. Advocate Oden then proposed, and Trustee Hudson seconded, that our Post match this by also paying for and donating one free life membership to someone. The motion carried. After some analysis, we decided to draw two names from a list of those eligible for these awards, namely all paid up annual members. Comrade Arai’s name was drawn for the DPA given membership and Comrade Tyree was picked for our Post’s gift. The QM will take care of the details. (e) QM Neutzler proposed that we donate $25 to Post 727 in Taiwan for their use in VOD and Patriot’s Pen activities. Comrade Picha seconded this and the motion carried. (f) We agreed on the wording for the needed replacement plaque for the memorial at Kanchanaburi. Advocate Oden will take this decision to the District Meeting on our behalf in his capacity of District CMDR.

  13. Good of the Order: (a) Comrade Cowperthwaite won the Post Raffle of some cash and a baseball cap. (b) There were a number of inconclusive remarks made about the vital necessity of having a good Website and a proactive Webmaster. These issues are very important to the Post.

  14. CMDR Owens closed the meeting at 12:50 IAW the VFW ritual. The next regular meeting of C.L. Elms Post 9951 will be at 11:00 on February 9, 2008 in the JUSMAGTHAI conference room.



FOR THE COMMANDER:







David E. Neutzler, Adjutant