PRESIDENT'S PARCHMENT

Happy New Year to everyone! There will be lots of happenings at the Post in the coming months, so check out the board often for any changes.

Western District Convention is hosted by Post, Unit and Sqd 1. Come out and help us put on this event. It will be March 11-12, 2011.

If you haven't paid your dues please do so ASAP. As of February 1, 2011 you will be asked to see your current membership card and if you aren't current you won't be able to participate in anything until you pay your dues.

Thank you for all your support this past year.

For God and Country,
Peggy Bateman
President, Jack Henry Unit #1

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A FEW WORDS ABOUT MEMBERSHIP

It’s that time of year again…National has mailed out the dues statements for 2011 dues and you should have received yours around the 3rd or 4th week of September. This is done to be sure your dues are paid and processed before the end of the current year so that there is no lapse in your membership. Please send your 2011 dues in as soon as possible. If you haven’t received a statement, contact me at the numbers below.

If you haven’t already mailed yours in, take a good look at it. Make sure the address is 100% correct. If not, use the space on the back to send in the correction. It would also be helpful if you would write your phone number and email address on the statement Also, there is an error on the amount of dues for Junior members. This Unit charges $5 per Junior – not $6 as printed. If you have already sent $6 for a Junior, unless you contact us for a refund we will put the extra dollar toward the care boxes we send to the Troops.

I have been your Treasurer for many years and it has been a long time since I was Membership Chairman. I am trying very hard to improve the time it takes to process and get your membership cards out. Sending the dues in early will assist in those efforts. First of all, with one person doing both jobs it cuts out one set of hands that handles the payments here at the Unit. But there are still more….from here the payments are processed to the Department of Alaska Secretary-Treasurer. She then processes them to National. Just time in the mail alone can jeopardize your continuity if paid late in the year.

We encourage you to mail your dues with the statement, but they can also be paid at the Post. There is a locked Auxiliary drop box at the rear of the game room near the office doors where you can deposit payments. I check the box frequently during “dues season”. If you are not enclosing a statement, please make sure name, address and phone number are attached. This year, the bar is also accepting credit card payments for dues. This adds about a week to the time it will take to get your card, but may be worth the convenience to you. It is preferable that you do not ask the bartenders to accept cash – they are busy and have more to do than write and handle receipts. If you must pay cash, put it in an envelope with your information and deposit it in the Auxiliary lock box.

I hope this has been informational for you. If you have further questions or problems I can be reached at 279-9822 (h), 229-0554 (c) or email to: itstartedhere@yahoo.com.

For God and Country,
Barb Thaman
Treasurer and Membership Chairman

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History of the Silver Tea

On November 6th, 2010, The American Legion Auxiliary Jack Henry Unit 1, will host the Fifty- first (51) Silver Tea benefiting the Veterans Gift Shop, the Domiciliary, hospital outreach and deployed troops and their families. From Bethel to Klawok what began as a local effort has now become a statewide program, still hosted by Jack Henry Unit 1.

For many years prior to 1959 the members of jack Henry Unit 1 made gifts and handcrafted items to send to the VA hospitals in Washington and Oregon. These are not gifts for the veteran, but for him or her to give to their families at Christmas. As postage and shipping became a major item, economizing had to be instituted.

In 1959 Alice Bouwens PDP was president of the Unit and Merrilyn Stock PWDP was the Rehabilitation Chairman. A Silver Tea to raise funds allowing the hospitals to purchase gifts and distribute them, cutting out the transportation problem, was initiated. There were twenty-five guests at that first tea. Invitations were handwritten and mailed to all Units in the area, local dignitaries, military and political figures.

Unit Presidents have traditionally set the theme. The roster of these ladies is a peek at the history of Anchorage, Nola Campbell, Edith Davies, Selma Smith, Dorothy Ellis, Sophie Lottsfield, Muriel Pfiell and Carolyn Bailey from the World War I era. The Unit President each year serves as hostess, and Past Unit Presidents "do the honors" and pour tea and coffee. Refreshments are furnished by members of Unit 1. Entertainment has been as varied as the population and changing of the times.

World War I era ladies followed the tradition but made changes when the Domiciliary was built in Anchorage and the hospital was finished at Elmendorf Air Force Base. The Veterans Gift Shop is now held at the Dom and gifts are purchased locally. More changes have taken place as this is no longer the total fundraiser for the Dom., we now sponsor other veteran programs, sending out packages to deployed troops and helping the families of deployed troops. A special committee is set up by Department to purchase gifts during the year, and Legionnaires, S.A.L. and Auxiliary members set up the shop for veterans to choose their gifts. The gifts are then wrapped and mailed to their family members at no cost to the veteran. Gifts are also taken to the hospitals for hospitalized veterans to procure remembrances for their families. The gift shop program has become a statewide effort, but the Silver Tea is still hosted by the ladies auxiliary of Jack Henry Unit 1.

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2007 King and Queen of Post 1 who are recognized as the volunteers of the year in the Fur Rondy Parade. King is Randy Harmon and Queen is Aurora Courtney

Mileage and hour tracking…

The members of the American Legion Auxiliary are very generous and Alaskan Auxiliary members are considered some of the most generous in the nation. Turning in all donated time, monies and mileage helps the Auxiliary on all levels lobby for our Veterans. Fill out as you donate and turn in the amount before April 1, 2009 to the Unit or Unit 1 Chairman. This will help you to keep a record for time and money and donations to Charity/Organizations, any charity hours, how much you spend to include drive time and mileage to and from destination. Dollar Amount is how much you donated or the value of items donated. Donation/Item is what was donated. Program/Comments - one donation may fit several American Legion Auxiliary Programs. So remember if you donate clothing or an item to Salvation Army there is time and value maybe mileage and it’s community Service. You can get the Donation Form at Jack Henry Post #1.

For God and Country,
Jill Pawson , Secretary
Unit 1