ARLINGTON VFW POST 981 Meetings: 7:00 PM 1 st Weds. Of Each Month Wheeling AMVETS Post #66 Website vfwpost981.org MIKE MCINERNEY COMMANDER 2016/2017 is underway! I introduced myself last year this time. I am honored to be your Commander for another year and you already know me. Farther in this newsletter, your 2016/17 officers are listed. Along with your support, we plan to make 2016/17 a great year for the Post as well as accomplishing our mission HELPING VETERANS! We had a busy second quarter as we held nominations (March), elected officers (April), installed officers (June), Poppy Days (May; see write-up), Memorial Day Parade (May; see writeup), and our Spring Outing (June). Please see Upcoming Events as well as our tentative 2016/17 calendar for all the things we have planned. RECRUIT! RECRUIT! RECRUIT! The VFW needs veterans and veterans need the VFW. Please be sure to refer interested qualified veterans to our website (vfwpost981.org) for more information pertaining to the organization and membership information. Please continue to help us grow the Post! Our future success is dependent upon it. HELP US SAVE MONEY $$$ (more money THE MORE WE CAN DO FOR VETS!) We want your e-mail address!!! Please help us out and provide us your e-mail address. We continue to add to our Post 981 e-mail distribution list. E-mail is a great way to communicate key messages and upcoming events that might fall outside the next monthly meeting or in-between newsletters. We will not share your e- mail information elsewhere. In addition, we can save the Post money. The more comrades we have on e-mail distribution for receiving this letter, the less we have to spend on printing and mailing. That is more money for helping veterans! Please send your email address to Mike McInerney (mcinerney.michael@comcast.net) or Tony Kochanny (tonybaloney42@att.net). DONATIONS: Remembering VFW Post 981 with either annual donations or with a bequest is the perfect way to help us continue our mission to support worthy veteran s oriented organizations. Please send checks made out to VFW Post 981 to PO Box 825, Arlington Heights, IL 60006. Yours in service, Mike McInerney SUMMER 2016 NEWSLETTER TONY KOCHANNY SENIOR VICE- COMMANDER Comrades, All Post 981 members attending enjoyed the Arlington Heights Memorial Day parade and especially the people standing and applauding them as our Post float passed by. It really hit home for the older veterans and you could see they were touched and happy to be so welcomed. Our color guard with their new uniforms looked great, the bystanders did appreciate all of those marching. One of the most heartfelt happiness feelings was the Brownie girl scouts handing out heart shape cards they made with words thanking all veterans. The huge number of people was heart felt by all of us. Thank you Arlington Heights and all Post members who were
there to show that we are a viable Post with many activities supporting the community. Any questions on membership please call me at (708) 598-8000. Remember we still have the 50% off Life Membership offer for those over 61 years of age. All other annual dues are only $45.00 per year. Questions, suggestions and discussions we welcome from you. Membership is every member's job at Arlington VFW Post 981 and now we all need to give it a huge push and get men and women to join our Post. TAPS Thank you, Tony Kochanny MIKE KOLBUK JR. VICE-COMMANDER Thanks to our former Jr. Vice-Commander, Adolph Strasky, for all the outings, the Christmas dinner, and the food for our monthly meetings during 2015-2016. I encourage all to attend the upcoming Arlington Park outing. Previous events at the park have been a lot of fun. Make plans to attend now and turn in your reservations early so we can have a good turnout. See the form attached in the newsletter. UPCOMING POST EVENTS Buffalo Grove Farmers Market Recruiting Table July, August, September Taste of Arlington Recruiting Table Aug 6 Buffalo Grove Parade Monday, Sept 4 Buffalo Grove Recruiting Table Sep 2-4 Arlington Park Race Track Outing Sept 15 Post Christmas Holiday Party Dec 3 The members of Arlington VFW Post 981 Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States of America, pay their last tribute of respect to our departed comrades. The following comrades passed away, or we have been notified of their passing, since the last newsletter came out: Howard Leggett Edmund Sokol Don Brady Frank Dawson Anthony Lauria Len Zaehler As brave men and women they marched away with abiding faith in their God, their country, and their flag. DEATH OF A POST MEMBER As soon as is possible we request that family members notify the Post via telephone (listed on our website) if a comrade has passed away. Too many times we must rely on seeing an obituary in
the newspaper which leaves little or no time for members to pay their final respects. If a family in the Arlington Heights area wishes a 21-gun salute, they should contact American Legion Post 208 in Arlington Heights (847-253-6632). NEW POST OFFICERS At our June 2016 Post meeting the officers for the fiscal year 2016-2017 were sworn in by Tom Davidson, National VFW Assistant Inspector General. There was not much change in the officers from last year, with Michael Kolbuk becoming Junior Vice- Commander, Dale Berg becoming Chaplain, and Adolph Stansky becoming Three-Year Trustee. Here is your list of officers: Commander Mike McInerney Sr. Vice-Commander Tony Kohanny Jr. Vice-Commander Mike Kolbuk Quartermaster Roger Santagato Chaplin Dale Berg One Year Trustee Chuck Vassallo Two Year Trustee Pat Hickey Three Year Trustee Adolph Stransky Judge Advocate Bob Henderson Adjutant Vince Cipolla Officer of the Day Steve Macinnes Service Officer Mike Smogor Poppy Chair Henry Mueller Newsletter Editor Mike Kolbuk Voice of Democracy/ Patriot s Pen As Written by Mike Smogor The theme for the 2016 Voice of Democracy is "My Responsibility to America" and the theme for the 2016 Patriot s Pen is "The America I Believe In." If anyone knows of any interested high school students who wish to participate in the VOD or any Junior High students (6th, 7th, 8th grade) who wish to participate in the PP, have them contact Mike Smogor at our Post 981 for details. Schaumburg Boomers Outing June 26 It was a cloudy morning to start, but by game time the sun was out and 26 Post members and their guests enjoyed an afternoon of baseball in Schaumburg. The day began with an all-you-can-eat buffet of hot dogs, bratwurst, hamburgers, kraut, potato salad and the complete fixings along with soda and water to drink under the tents in the picnic area. Dessert was cookies, brownies and ice-cream sandwiches. No one could complain of not getting enough to eat. The game seats were right next to the visiting dugout, but a combination of hot sun and not so great sight lines drove most of our group to move farther up into the shady area of the stadium. The game itself was a pitcher s duel for the first 6 innings, with only 1 hit apiece for the Boomers and their opponents, the Washington Wild Things. It looked like the Boomers would emerge victorious as they took a 2-0 lead in the 7 th, but the Wild Things tied it up by the 9 th inning, and then took a 5-2 lead in the top of the 11 th. The Boomers got back 2 of the runs in the bottom of the 11 th, but fell short 5-4 as the game ended. Thanks to Adolph Stransky for arranging and organizing what is becoming our annual summer event.
5040 due to his moving to Palatine. Alan is a Navy veteran who served in Vietnam with the Bluewater support. He is married, has 4 children, 9 grandchildren, and 1 great-grandchild. Alan has a consulting business covering project management, quality assurance, human resources, and product support. New Post Members Charles Meyer became a Life Member on April 6. He served in Vietnam with an engineering unit, receiving the Vietnam Service & Campaign medals. Alan Carlson, a VFW member since 2000, transferred into our Post from Woodstock VFW Everyone say hello to Charles and Alan as you encounter them at our meetings or outings. Poppy Days 2016 As Written by Henry Mueller After a rocky start due to a disconnect with Arlington Heights on our planned date of May 28, we were able to have an Arlington Heights Poppy Day on May 14, with 7 locations, including all 3 Walgreens and 1 Jewel. We were also able to add a Buffalo Grove Poppy Day this year on May 28 at 3 more Walgreens, a Jewel and Zimmerman Ace Hardware, resulting in 12 business locations total for the year. Also, Roger Santagato and Pat Hickey made collections at the Arlington Heights train station on Friday May 27. Our total collection for the disabled and wounded vets was our highest ever, $2,868. A big thank you goes out to our 15 members participating, to all the businesses and
especially to the Walgreens Company for accommodating our requests at all 6 locations. If we have enough volunteers next year, we can add even more locations. Memorial Day Parade & Post 981 Color Guard As Written by Steve MacInnes VFW Post 981 and American Post 208 combined forces for the Arlington Heights Memorial Day Parade to honor those who sacrificed their lives. The TAPS were also performed by the two posts together. There were over 12 marching vets honoring every military service flag of the United States Armed Forces. Check out the slide show on YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v =OxPjW7Wxw7U This was the first official event of the newly reformed color guard which is now up to nine comrades. Thank to anonymous donors the color guard was able to buy new uniforms including jackets for both the summer, fall and winter events. The color guard will be more involved in activities this year including special memorial services when needed. If you are interested in being a member of the color guard. Please contact Steve MacInnes at stevemac1027@gmail.com or contact him via his mobile phone (815) 687-6472. Thank you to all Post member who participated in the parade along with the color guard.
VFW POST 981 RACETRACK OUTING Arlington Park A Day at the Races JOIN US ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 FOR 1 PM POST TIME AT ARLINGTON INTERNATIONAL RACECOURSE. BOX SEAT AND LUNCH INCLUDED. ENTRANCE AT EUCLID AVE BEGINNING 12:00 NOON. Post Members and 1 Guest - $5 a piece; Added Guests $17 ******************************************************************************************************************************************************* Send your reservations and checks (made out to VFW Post 981) to: Mike Kolbuk, 654 Briarwood Drive; Wheeling, IL 60090. Deadline for reservations will be the night of the September Post meeting September 7, 2016. Name $5 Member Number of $5 Guest Number of $17 Guest Amount enclosed $
ARLINGTON VFW POST 981 C/o Mike Kolbuk P.O. Box 825 Arlington Heights, IL 60006 TO: