- The meeting was presided over by the President of VVA Chapter 1069, Leonard Sternadel.
- 25 members were present, 8 visitors and 6 member spouses attended the meeting - total attendance - 39. Two of the guests were Sarah Hudgins (local coordinator for Wreaths Across America program) and Chris King (Wharton county commissioner Pct 2)
- Special guest, Eugene Ott, representing the Wharton county youth fair, gave brief invitation to all veterans to attend Veteran's Appreciation Day at the Wharton county Youth Fair, Tuesday, April 29, 2014. Gates open at 10:00 AM. Admission is free to Veterans and their immediate family. A section of the stands will be roped off for Veterans and their immediate family, and the Veterans will be recognized during the rodeo. Call Eugene Ott (979.543.0210) for more information.
- A brief report on the bus trip to the TCVVM dedication ceremony was given by Leonard Sternadel and Bob Supak.
- A brief report on the trip to the VVA Texas State Council (TSC) meeting was given by Leonard Sternadel and Bob Supak.
- Chapter members were encouraged to make every effort to ride the chartered bus and attend the upcoming "Everyday Heroes" fundraiser and Veteran Appreciation Day event, being held at Surfside Marina on April 26, 2014. The bus will leave the El Campo American Legion Hall at 12:30 PM on Saturday, April 26, and travel to Surfside Marina. Please plan to be there around 12:00 noon. The bus will return you to El Campo around 8:00 PM in the evening. All food and drink at the event will be free to Veterans. The fundraiser auction will start around 5:00 or so and all Veterans will be recognized before the auction begins. Additional information below is provided by Dwight Winkler, our county VSO. The bus leaves the American Legion Post 251 parking lot in El Campo at 12:30 p.m., arrives in Surfside at about 2:00 p.m., eat supper at about 4:00 p.m., auction begins at about 5:00 p.m., Veterans and family members recognized at about 6:00 p.m. and bus leaves Surfside at about 6:30 p.m. and arrives back at American Legion Post 251 parking lot at about 8:00 p.m. I am making a list of veterans and spouses who want to go. Please call me as soon as you are definite you are going. The first 56 to tell me, get a bus ride. Dwight Winkler (979.532.1311) or dwight.winkler@co.wharton.tx.us You may also contact Leonard Sternadel (979.332.1747) for more information and to let him know you want to attend. We currently have 32 members & spouses attending, but have room for more. Note that this is the same charter bus (and driver) that we used for the TCVVM trip to Austin. And again, this is a 56 passenger bus. More information about the Everyday Heroes organization, including the fundraiser & Veteran's Appreciation Day event can be seen HERE on our chapter website:
- The date for the county-wide Veteran's Benefits Seminar is Saturday, August 23, 2014, being held at the El Campo Civic Center. This event is being organized by Dwight Winkler, the Wharton County Veteran's Service Officer (and VVA life member of our Chapter). He is hoping for 100 booths of all nature to be available for area wide veterans. He is also hoping to have 1000 Veterans attend!
- It was also announced by Sarah Hudgins that the Traveling Vietnam Wall is coming back to El Campo in the summer of 2015!
- The annual "Catch-Clean-Fry-Eat" Catfish Fishing event will be held at the Sternadel's house on Saturday, May 17th. This event is for Chapter members, their spouses and family. Please plan to attend and have one heck of a good time.
- Our local Wharton county Veteran's Service Officer, Dwight Winkler, provided an important Veteran's news handout to everyone. The handout subject matter was: "DD m214 Increased Social Security Benefits for Vets". In short, if you were a Veteran on active duty between January 1957 to December 31, 2001, you qualify for a higher social security payment! The handout has been posted on our website, specifically on the VSO webpage. Use the link below to view the handout material. CLICK HERE to view the handout material
- Sternadel then informed everyone that a "Vietnam Veteran" folding chair was available for each Veteran member in the Chapter.
- Sternadel then stated that the decision to fund a local Boy Scout flag purchase at the last meeting should have first been presented to the Chapter Board members for consideration. He stated that the chapter is made up of veterans from many surrounding counties, not just El Campo. He also added that any future funding requests would first be presented to the Board, and a decision would be made regarding the request, on a case by case basis. He also stated that it was time to review the bylaws and add more Director positions to include more involvement from outside the local El Campo area, such as the East Bernard area, Eagle Lake area, Jackson county area, etc.
- The 50/50 drawing was won by Louis Milder - Congratulations Louis!
- President Sternadel declared the meeting as adjourned.
- Next meeting is Wednesday, May 14, 2014 - same place, same time.
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A slide presentation of photos taken at the event was included in the presentation. Special thanks was given to Chris King, King Construction, Sarah Hudgins, Steven Goetsch & Phil Stephenson for their donation of the folding Vietnam Veteran chairs to Chapter members. Additional thanks was given to Chris for setting up the chairs early on the morning of the event and thus allowing us to have a reserved seating area. |
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A slide presentation of photos taken at the event was included in the presentation. Election of TSC officers was held at this meeting. Election results are shown below.
- TSC President: Luther Newberry
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The chairs, with "Vietnam Veteran" printed on the back, were purchased by Chris King, King Construction, Steven Goetsch, Sarah Hudgins and Phil Stephenson. |
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These are the same unique folding chairs that were setup at the TCVVM dedication ceremony, held in Austin, and were reserved for our Chapter members use during the ceremony. The Chapter wants to thank each of these Veteran supportors for their generosity. Each Chapter member veteran gets one chair. |