C.L. Elms Post 9951
Department of Pacific Areas
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the
March 16, 2010
1. CDR Oden opened the C.L. Elms Post 9951 regular monthly meeting IAW the VFW ritual at 11:01 on 13 March in the Conference Room of JUSMAGTHAI located at 7 South Sathorn Road, Bangkok, Thailand.
2. There was a roll call of officers and all were present or properly excused, SO Harrison, JVC Key, and Trustee Hudson were absent. There were 16 members attending.
3. There were two applications for annual membership to our post, Gary Thompson and William Meng. After discussion Chaplain Owens motioned that we approve the requests and Comrade Picha seconded, the motion carried. Membership welcomed Comrade Thompson and Comrade Meng and they received the Cross of Malta pin.
4. Minutes of the previous meeting were distributed by the Commander to those in attendance. Advocate Nestle made a motion to accept the minutes subject to correction and Quartermaster Neutzler seconded it. The motion carried.
5. QM Neutzler delivered the Quartermaster’s Report for the period 1 to 28 February 2010. Advocate Nestle moved to approve the report subject to audit. Comrade Riopel seconded and the motion carried.
6. There was one bill presented for collection. Commander Oden presented a bill for photocopies of Post minutes in the amount of Baht 20. Chaplain Owens motioned to approve and Comrade Brose seconded, the motion carried.
7. Service Officer Harrison was absent, no report
8. Comrades in distress: Comrade John Wendzonka suffering with blood clots in his leg; Joe Duffy getting Chemo for Colon Cancer. Ronald Wise is also suffering from Cancer. Pete Evers is doing good recovering from back surgery; Tom-Tom attended and is recovering.
9. Committee Reports: (a) Membership: goal 265 and we now stand at 270 members for 101.89%. (b) Bingo: No receipts. (c) Buddy Poppies: no receipts. (d) POW/MIA: Comrade Picha gave a report on current searches and finds. (e) Community Activities: Commander Oden gave the report on post activities for February 10; there were 11 projects; 60 volunteers; 737 hours expended and 2,110 miles driven. (f) Safety Report: Safety Officer Owens gave a report on being cautious going near where the Red Shirts plan to stage demonstrations later this month. (g) Independence Day: Commander Oden gave a brief on the first meeting of the I-Day committee. Tentatively the function will be held at the KIS Int’l School in Muban Kissanee off Phra Atit Road in Huay Kwang. The pickup point for attendees will be the subway station for the Thai Cultural Center on Rachadapisek Road. The VFW will handle burgers and beer, post the flags on opening. the AVWC will handle Bingo. This will be Americas 234th birthday.
10. Remembrance of our National Home was at 11:59.
11. Old Business: (a) Convention Chairman Jon Brazee reported receiving 25 registrations to date, none from Post 9951 excluding the Commander. The facilities are very good on ground floor level and room rates are in the $40-43 range. The dates for registration will be 19-21 June just past the Hotel Registration desk. The AVWC has volunteered to assist with registration. The survey of the area has not been done yet, but hopeful of getting some discounts or convention support from the local establishments. (b) The post is responsible for the Convention Book; Comrade Gale has volunteered to do the layout of the book as the ads come in. We have already received ads for the book. Rate sheets for selling advertising we passed out, we need to start selling locally. Advertising deadline is 14 May and any post member who sells an Ad gets a commission. (c) Commander Oden gave an update on the District meeting held in Phnom Penh, there were 29 VFW members in attendance and the Post in Phnom Penh did an excellent job hosting considering it was the first District meeting ever held in Phnom Penh. Nominations for District officers were opened and will remain open until the District Convention in Chiang Mai during May. The Cootie Scratch was well attended with 9 members in attendance and a 10th member that did not realize the Scratch was being held. Nomination, election and installation of new officer were completed. Cootie Bob Owens in the new Pup Tent Seam Squirrel (Commander). (d) Commander Oden gave a brief on the Legislative Conference he attended in Washington, D.C. and the presentation by the VFW to the combined Veterans Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill. VA Secretary Shinseki also spoke to the group and commented that even they have added 2000 new claims adjusters; the volume of pending claims still grows while the adjusters are trained.
12. New Business: (a) District V will organize a luncheon on March 20th hosted by SVC Richard Eubank at the Tara Hotel. Buffet Lunch will be at 12:00 hours and all members are invited. Meal is free, drinks for your account. Post 9951 has scheduled an extra event, so please come. (b) District V Convention will be held in Chiang Mai 14-15 May at the Lanna Palace Hotel which is near the Night Market. Any member interested in standing for a District V position should attend or prepare a letter stating your acceptance of a position if nominated and elected. Good training and the trips to various posts are relaxing and allow us to meet fellow comrades around District V. (c) Nominations for Post 9951 officers were opened and will remain open until April when elections will be held. Nominations were: Commander; Brazee/Oden; SVC; Brose/Brazee; JVC; Key/Brazee/Haugh; QM; Meng/Neutzler; Advocate; Nestle; Surgeon; Gale; Chaplain; Owens; and Trustee 3 year; Dyste. As with District nominations remain open until the April meeting when they will close and elections will be held. If you are interested in holding a post position, come and get you name in the hat, or send a letter stating your acceptance of a post position. Get involved.
13. For the Good of the Order: The Post raffle of Baht 900 was won by Comrade Meng. Comrade Haugh mentioned he has completed his course work for Masters Degree and will be able to devote more time to VFW activity. First on his list is to update the Honor Board of deceased comrades. It was also mentioned by Comrade Brazee that he stopped in the VA Clinic in Manila on a trip last week and was able to get an examination. This is contrary to what we had been advised before that the VA Clinic in Manila only accepted Philippine residents for medical issues.
14. CDR Oden closed the meeting at 12:35 IAW with the VFW ritual. The next regular meeting of C.L. Elms Post 9951 will be at 11:00 on April 10, 2010 in the JUSMAGTHAI conference room.
FOR THE COMMANDER:
Bill Riopel
William (Bill) Riopel, Acting Adjutant