Hello Everyone! March is officially here, and with it, hopes of an early spring! It is a busy season of growth for our Auxiliary, both in our membership numbers and our community impact. As we transition from the winter thaw, we have plenty to celebrate and even more to look forward to.

February Rewind: Love & Laughter

The Valentine’s Day Dinner was a wonderful success! A huge thank you goes out to Big Dan and his kitchen crew for the incredible prime rib dinner—it was truly delicious. It was wonderful to see everyone enjoying some much-needed downtime, dancing the night away, and catching up with friends. Also, a special shout-out to Jenna for keeping the spirits high with those yummy mimosas! As of this writing, we are gearing up for our Paint & Sip this Saturday, February 28th. We can’t wait to see the masterpieces our members create!

Happy New Year Everyone!

I hope everyone was safe during the storm! 2025 is behind us and it was quite eventful! Members of the Auxiliary did an outstanding job with all of our programs and events throughout the year. I appreciate everyone’s hard work. From our basket raffles, the Walkathon, the amazing turnout for the Wall, Dine to Donate, our Veterans Day dinner, Sharon’s wonderful work with Her in Hero and all the other events that you all contributed to, ending with another incredible breakfast with Santa, it was a job well done and I thank you all! This year we held a special session after breakfast with Santa. For the first time, we hosted a small session for our children that have a hard time navigating the chaos of so many people. We had around a dozen children come and they had a wonderful time. Parents were very appreciative to have a special place for their children to be able to see Santa. Several have asked that we do it again next year.

Happy Fall Everyone!

Fall is off to a busy start within our Legion Family! The Halloween event was a huge success! It was fun to be part of such an important event! Thank you to our members and everyone that volunteered your time! Another successful event from Legion Family Post 574!

We ended October with 70% membership paid. Please get your memberships in. We are heading into a busy time and there will be plenty of things to do. We could use all the volunteers we can.

Happy Fall, Summer is over and we begin our very busy fall and winter season. A special thank you to all of you who attended the 911 ceremony. We appreciate everyone that keeps this tragic event in your thoughts and those who perished in your hearts.

We have had our first meeting for Operation Full Plate and are busy collecting the names of those who can benefit from this program. If you know of any Veterans that could use our help, please reach out to one of the auxiliary members or email ofp574hf@yahoo.com, we would be happy to help. We will start collecting non-perishable items starting this month for distribution to our Veterans in need. Please verify expiration dates before donating items. Some items we will be collecting are Peanut butter, canned fruits, vegetables, soups. Crackers, pasta, canned tuna, etc. Also, toiletries like soap, deodorant, toothpaste. Paper goods, toilet paper, paper plates, napkins etc. Healthy snacks such as breakfast bars or dried fruits and nuts. Look for the donation box in the lounge.

Hello Everyone! Summer is winding down and what a summer it was! After almost a year of planning, the 50th Remembrance of the Vietnam War event has come to a close. I am so proud of everyone and everything that we accomplished as a Legion Family to make this event a huge success! I can not thank you all enough for your time, dedication and contributions. I have never seen this Legion Family come together as we did for this event. I hope each and everyone of you are as proud as I am with this accomplishment. It was a beautiful, emotional four days. We met a lot of amazing people and were humbled by many more. The Auxiliary members had the honor of pinning over 300 Vietnam veterans with the 50th year commemorative pin. If you are a Vietnam veteran and did not receive your pin, please reach out to an auxiliary member and we will make sure you receive your pin. You earned it, you are entitled to it, and we would be proud to present it to you!

Happy June!

Hopefully the nicer weather is on its way! We have a lot to get ready for July’s big event! May brought elections for most entities. Congratulations to all the incoming officers.

With the Auxiliary’s elections complete, your auxiliary officers for the year are:

• President: Julie Montello
• First-Vice: Pat Tebordo
• Second-Vice: June Gaulin
• Secretary: Colleen Rich
• Treasurer: Cynthia Nevins
• Chaplin: Dawn Palmer
• Executive Committee: Michele Nevins, Kate Francis, and Danielle Haxstun

Congratulations to all of these ladies, I look forward to working with you all. We have great things coming our way!

Happy Spring Everyone!

Finally, some nice weather is on the way! We are about to get remarkably busy. We have some exciting projects in the works. First, I would like to thank everyone that came out and supported our basket raffle that was held on April 6. We were able to raise over $4000 to benefit our auxiliary programs.

This month is the election month. Elections will be held at our monthly meeting scheduled for May 6, 2025. If you know anyone that is interested in running for office, please have them attend that meeting as we will be taking nominations from the floor prior to voting. PLEASE NOTE: You must have your dues paid current and be in possession of your membership card to vote.

Happy Spring Everyone!

Let’s hope the nasty weather is behind us!

I would like to thank everyone who attended the birthday dinner in March. We were honored to present our Unit Member of the Year to Sharon Rathbun for her amazing work with her program “HER in HERO”. Pat Tebordo presented the Betty Fowler annual Poppy award to Colleen Rich for her participation in the Poppy Program. All of our members did a wonderful job stepping up and participating in events this past year. I had the pleasure of creating over 30 appreciation certificates.

Hello Everyone,

January has come to a close and we are one month closer to spring! This past month has been quite busy for all and we are now on to even more busy times.

Currently, we are in the middle of a clothing drive to help our community. Charlene Mandolare has brought it to our attention that there are people in our community in need of some help. With the help of the Legion Family, Charlene is heading up the clothing drive. We have a collection box set up in the Lounge, collecting gently used or new clothing for all ages both children and adults. We will have a community weekend to distribute the clothing. On February 1st and 2nd, we will open our upstairs so the community may “shop” for the items they need. This is free of charge for all. We have reserved February 8th for those who wish to make an appointment for a private shop. We are still in need of children and teen sizes. We are collecting for all seasons with an emphasis on winter. I would like to thank everyone that continues to donate to this worthy cause. For more information or questions, please contact Charlene Mandolare. You are all amazing!

Greetings to all,

A very busy December has come and gone and I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.

I would like to thank all members who attended the Pearl Harbor celebration on December 7th.

December 8th was a very successful Breakfast with Santa. With over 400 community and Legion Family members in attendance, we were able to put a smile on approximately 150 children. The amount of work that goes into this extraordinary event is amazing. Each and every one of you that volunteered their time and donated to our event is very much appreciated. It takes months of preparation for this event and it does not go un noticed. We truly are an amazing family and I thank you all for everything you put into it.