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From
the November 2005 Newsletter
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Commander's
Report
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Dear
Legionnaires, Auxiliary Members, SAL Members &
Family Members,
Wow!,
What a terrific month of October we had at our
Legion. Your turnout at our Annual Flag Disposal
Ceremony made this year's event the best ever in our
Post history. I want to thank each of you that
participated and hope that the experience will be
forever important to you. We also thank all of the
boys and girls from the Boys State and Girls State
Program that participated. Special thanks go out
to Jerry Whipple (Sgt-at-Arms), the Fairfax County
Police Department Honor Color Guard, Deputy Zambron, our
soloist; the Kena Shrine Highlander Bagpipers, and our
bugler, Matthew Kirby.
Our
Annual Early Bird Dinner was another great
success. This year we had an all-time record
breaking attendance. The food, drink, and dance
were wonderful. Special thanks goes to Dennis Wilson,
Nancy, Tracy, Donna Frank, and Gerry Maddox (the
musician).
You
will read further in the newsletter about the current
and upcoming renovations and maintenance projects;
however, I would like to mention a couple: first, is the
completion of the new doors in our upstairs
ballrooms. How beautiful they look and most of all
how durable they are - a major improvement! We are
starting to build a retaining wall along the side of the
Post and this addition will enhance the curb-side appeal
of our Post too. Two new furnaces and boilers will
be installed this month replacing the old and inadequate
system we have today. This will improve the
upstairs heating completely. A special thanks goes
out to Michael Wheeler, Rad Smith, Bill Nester, Rodjer
Bourne, and the Phi Sigma Phi Fraternity at George Mason
University, Bill Hendricks, Paul Sandy, and hoping that
I didn't forget somebody's name. Your volunteering
is very important and needed to help make your Post a
better Post for the future. Please help when you
can.
Veteran's
Day is approaching and it's that time of year when we
honor all Veterans and active duty members of the Armed
Forces. It is also a day to proud that we are
citizens of a nation made great by the sacrifices and
dedication of all our military personnel, both at home
and abroad. Officers of this Legion Post join you
and our community in honoring those that have served our
nation in the past and those who serve today. Your
country, your Legion family, and your loved ones thank
you!
Please
remember to pay your dues and please don't let your
membership expire. Also remember to "Thank a
Veteran" and our brave men and women who are
serving this great nation!
Sincerely,
Mark
R. Duke
Post
Commander
For
God and Country
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Service
Officer |
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by John
Kushner |
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Arlington
Gains Additional Cemetery Space |
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Arlington
National Cemetery has added more than 70 acres of land
to expand the sprawling 60-plus acre hillside on the
west bank of the Potomac River. Officials
estimated they would run out of grave space after
2025. Officials searched around the cemetery to
see who owned the land. The search netted three
parcels of land, including a 44-acre Navy Annex.
Also acquired was a piece of National Park Service
property inside the cemetery between the Arlington House
and the cemetery. The cemetery will also use a
17-acre tract of land next to Fort Myer. Arlington will
be able to continue operations until at least 2060, and
that would include development for both ground and
columbarium burials. |
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October
Newsletter
September
Newsletter |
| Building
& Grounds Report |
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Michael
Wheeler, Chairperson
Everyone
will now start seeing a number of improvements around the
Post home over the next several months which will
culminate, next Spring, in the new construction phase of
the Post renovation project.
In
October, the new steel fire doors were installed upstairs
(which has confused many people who previously needed to
unlock the padlocks and chains on the old wooden
doors). The new doors have all-steel frames and
double-pane safety glass, which will result in less
maintenance and heating/cooling loss and a much safer
environment for all users of the upstairs facilities.
During
the second and third weeks of November, the old, leaking
boiler for upstairs will be replaced with two new,
high-efficiency boilers, capable of not only heating the
current upstairs spaces, but will also be capable of
providing sufficient heat for the new construction
areas. The new boilers are constructed to provide
only the amount of heat required (via multi-stage,
computerized burner controls), thus saving not only
natural gas, but wear-and-tear on the units
themselves. Our current system runs full-blast 24
hours per day, seven days a week and is only regulated via
hot water circulation pumps...very inefficient and costly.
November
will also see the installation of new windows in the
downstairs dining areas to replace the rotted, current
windows. The new windows and soffets will be
constructed of vinyl with an aluminum clad exterior,
double-pane safety glass and will be maintenance free as
well.
Those
of you who attended the Early Bird Dinner were able to see
the pallets of materials in the Post front yard area,
which mark the beginning of yet another November project:
The installation of a stonewall berm with drain piping to
be constructed on the southern property line. This
new wall will collect the current water runoff from our
neighbor's parking lot, carry it to the rear of our
property, and empty into the storm water ditch. The
new construction will provide an attractive addition to
the general landscaping of our Post home, lessen water
intrusion through our basement walls, and will be
performed by volunteers from the Legion, Sons of the
American Legion, and the Phi Kappa Sigma Fraternity at
George Mason University.
Speaking
of Fraternities, the very same group, led by Post 177
Member and Fraternity President Rodjer Bourne, also
provided the time and labor to clean the debris from our
southern property line and haul it to the Fairfax County
dump during October. It is, indeed, gratifying to
see young college students and Veterans providing
community services and giving back to the community in
which they reside. Please take the time to thank
Rodjer and any of his volunteers should you see them
around the Post.
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the American Legion's Report |
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Well
here we are again, the holiday season is upon us.
Thanks for all the help we had at the Sunday
Breakfast. The SAL raffled off two Redskins jackets
and the tickets went fast. We will do it again in
the near future.
Hope
you all had a good Early Bird Dinner and Dance. Dues
are due so stop by and renew.
Well,
you all have a great Thanksgiving and hope to see you all
soon.
Mark
Pearson
P.S.
I would like to thank all the SAL members who have donated
their time to the renovation projects in progress; your
help and expertise are greatly appreciated.
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Report |
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HILDA
L. SCHAEFFER
President.
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