disney-bell family news · commander brian goldman 1st vice commander phoebe larned 2nd vice...

Commander’s Corner

Volume 2011, Issue 4

Disney-Bell Family News

The American Legion — Disney-Bell Post 66 — Bowie , Maryland

Special points

of interest:

Friday dinners resume in

September.

2012 membership renewals

have begun.

Check out the new Officers

on page 12.

Commander 1

List of Post Officers

and Committees 2

Calendar 3

S.A.L. 4

Auxiliary 6

Adjutant 8

Inside This Issue

August - September 2011

A hearty welcome to all as we go into our

2011 – 2012 American Legion year. For

those of you who don’t know me I’m Brian

Goldman, the ―other‖ Brian at Post 66. I’ve

been a member here 26 years and like a lot

of you I was not active in the Post for a lot

of those years. Then one day out of

curiosity or maybe boredom, I showed up

for one of the Post monthly meetings to see

what it was all about. Having not come for

that many years, I felt self-conscious and

actually a bit ashamed. I thought for sure

I’d be ridiculed. I sat in the back and

watched what was going on and tried to

stay quiet to not draw attention to myself. But eventually, someone drew me

out. That someone was Jim Pritchett our then Adjutant. He said ―if you are

going to be a regular at meetings you should have a Legion cap‖ and so we

ordered one. J. D. Larson was our then Post Commander. That first year I

stayed in the background still shy about being there but the next year things

changed.

I started coming to Post functions and participating a little more. I even

started dragging my wife into functions. Then one day Jim approached me and

put his hand on my shoulder and asked me if I wanted to become more active

in the Post. He said get involved and you’ll enjoy it. Jim suggested I run for

Sergeant at Arms. He told me it is a good way to get started. It’s an easy

position with light duties and you will meet more people. I accepted and ran

and so began my un-meteoric rise in the Post chairs until now. I watched and I

learned under the tutelage of J.D., Clif Morvant, Tom Murphy, Dick Lanham,

Mark Ryan, and of course our outgoing commander Nick Muller. I’ve held all

the line positions in our Post but one. Until now I was not interested in being

Commander. I’ve been content with being a follower in my 8-year military

career and with the rest of my life as well. Being Commander takes courage to

put yourself out in front and state ―the buck stops here.‖ I am now responsible

for the next year’s success or failure for our Post goals. Let me tell you it is a

daunting and frightening task. I am asking for all your patience, your

support ,and above all, your help.

(Continued on page 9) 10th Anniversary

DISNEY-BELL FAMILY NEWS VOLUME 2011 , ISSUE 4

Commander Brian Goldman

1st Vice Commander Phoebe Larned

2nd Vice Commander Tom Murphy

Adjutant Brian Frye

Finance Officer Charlie Milstead

Chaplain Toni King

Judge Advocate Richard Beckwell

Historian (vacant)

Service Officer David Campbell

Sergeant-at-Arms (vacant)

Executive Committee Larry Bartman

John Delinsky

Ray Hart

J.D. Larson

Mark Ryan

Post Officers 2010 - 2011

The American Legion Disney-Bell Post 66

9605 Old Laurel-Bowie Road Bowie, Maryland 20720 Phone: 301-464-9814 Fax: 301-805-6832 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.alpost66.org

Disney-Bell Family News is published every other month (6 issues per year) and is published on the Post 66 website. If you need your copy mailed to you, please send a note to [email protected] or contact the Post at 301-464-9814.

We welcome your news, ideas, suggestions, comments, or questions for future issues of the Disney-Bell Family News. E-mail us at: [email protected], or drop it off at the Post to the attention of the Newsletter Editor.

COMMITTEES AND EVENTS LEADER

Finance Committee Charlie Milstead

Audit Committee Richard Beckwell

House Committee Tom Murphy

Membership Committee Phoebe Larned

Patriotism and Youth Committees Brian Frye

Baseball Commissioner (Please volunteer!)

Flag Education Brian Frye

Oratorical Contest (Please volunteer!)

Scholarships Brian Frye

Scouts Mark Ryan

ROTC/JROTC Brian Frye

Boys State Brian Frye

Veterans Committees

Honor Guard Commander Darby McNeill

Veterans Support Brian Goldman

Blue Star Banner Delivery Richard Beckwell

National Defense Brian Goldman

Post Publications

Newsletter Ray Hart

Website Ray Hart

Annual Events (In Order by Legion Year)

Joint Installation of Officers Outgoing Commander

Turkey Shoot Committee Dan Healy

Army-Navy Game Event Brian Frye/Mark Ryan

Children’s Halloween Party Auxiliary Unit 66

Veteran’s Day Services Legion

Toys for Tots Campaign Pat Lamb

Children’s Christmas Party Auxiliary Unit 66

Christmas Eve Party ` (Please volunteer!)

New Year’s Eve Party (Please volunteer!)

Super Bowl Party Tom Murphy

Daytona 500 Party J.D. Larson

St. Patrick’s Day Dinner Honor Guard

Legion/Post Birthday Dinner (Please volunteer!)

Early Bird Dinner (Please volunteer!)

Children’s Easter Egg Hunt Auxiliary Unit 66

Post Everlasting Legion

Memorial Day Services Legion

Flag Day Event Honor Guard

Fourth of July Picnic J.D. Larson

Convention Hospitality (Please volunteer!)

Committee/Event Volunteer Opportunities.

If you have some time available and would like to help out with one of

the committees or events, contact the committee leader or the individual

who has offered to take the lead. Contact us by sending an e-mail to:

[email protected].


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Friday Night Dinners

Friday night dinners will start up again in September.

Mark your calendars!

Organizational Meetings - 7:30 p.m. Sharp!

Monday August 8 S.A.L. Meeting

Wednesday No meeting Executive Committee Meeting

Wednesday August 17 Auxiliary Meeting

Wednesday August 24 General Membership Meeting

Thursday August 25 American Legion Riders Meeting

Monday September 12 S.A.L. Meeting

Wednesday September 14 Executive Committee Meeting

Wednesday September 21 Auxiliary Meeting

Thursday September 22 American Legion Riders Meeting

Wednesday September 28 General Membership Meeting

Post Special Events

Saturday September 17 16th Annual S.A.L. Car Show (Rain date is September 24)

Post Meals

1st Friday of

each month

Starting

September 2

Steak Dinner (First of the season) 6:30 p.m.

Call the Post to sign up

2nd Friday of

each month

Starting

September 9 Auxiliary Family Night - Taco Bar Dinner

every Tuesday Until Joe gets tired

of cooking...

Chef’s Surprise- 5:00-7:00 p.m. Call by the prior Sunday to

check the menu and to sign up for this dinner.


S.A.L. Squadron 66

Believe it or not, we are rapidly approaching the end

of the Summer. It just seems like yesterday that we

were planning for the New Year celebration. In a

way we are again planning for a New Year, our new

Legion year. Our new officers have been elected and

are beginning to plan for our Legion activities for the

next year. Our S.A.L. is also planning for our Fall

activities.

As you probably know, you have voted in the Officers

for last year to serve a second term. I would like to

thank all S.A.L. Officers and members for all they do

to make our Squadron and Legion family successful.

Congratulations to all of our Legion Family Officers,

especially Commander Brian Goldman and Unit

President Susan Beckwell, who have been elected for

the 2011-2012 year. I know we will have a great

spirit of cooperation to help our Legion family grow

and excel. Also special thanks to our Detachment of

Maryland Commander Buddy Mastin for again

serving as our installing Officer. It is a great honor

to again have Buddy here with us.

I attended the S.A.L. convention again this year and

our Squadron continues to be recognized as an

example of a great Squadron. We received

numerous recognition awards, the most prestigious

of which was being named ―Southern Maryland

District Squadron of the Year.‖ Recognition such as

this continue to be an inspiration to continue to do

better. Thanks again to all members who helped

make these awards and recognition possible.

Our first major kick-off event continues to be our

16th Annual Car Show on September 17, 2011.

Registration is from 9:00 a.m. to noon, with the show

following until 3:00 p.m. The cost is $12.00 for pre-

registration or $15.00 on the day of the show. If you

know of someone who has a car for the show, have

them enter and come to the Post with them and have

a great time. Spit shined chrome is always welcome.

Our Tuesday night dinners will again be a show-case

for the year. Thanks to all the team that work so

hard every week. Our S.A.L. ―Half-Baked‖ chicken

dinners will begin again in October. Please refer to

the Post calendar on the website to keep up with all

of our activities.

Believe it or not, our 2012 Membership Cards are

available. Our dues are still just $10.00 a year.

Please drop off your dues and pick-up your cards at

the Post. Pay your dues as an Early Bird and be

ready to enjoy the ―Early Bird‖ dinner later this Fall.

Paying and picking-up your cards at the Post benefit

us all. You get to come to the Post and find out what

is going on, enjoying great company and we get to

see you and save money by not having to mail

notices and cards.

We continue to remain committed to serving you, our

Post and our Veterans.

See you at our meetings and at the Post,

Del Billings

Commander, Detachment 66

Community Shredding Event on September 10, 2011

Bowie residents can safely dispose of all types of documents at a community shredding event on

September 10th. Because of high turnout at these events in the past, two shredding trucks will be parked

in the parking lot at Bowie High between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. to accept documents.

Quantity is limited to 5 boxes or 5 kitchen size trash bags. No businesses please. Staples need not be

removed from the documents. For more information, call the Bowie Public Works Department at 301-809-

2344.


The 2011-2012 Auxiliary officers are: Susan

Beckwell, President; Fran McKenna, Vice President;

Cindy Morvant, Secretary; Jennifer White,

Treasurer; Lois Van Sickle, Sergeant-At-Arms; and

Anselma Ombremski, Chaplain. If you have sick

family member or need support, please contact

Anselma at 301-490-4630 or [email protected].

The installation was held on July 27, 2011. The

Auxiliary installing officer was Donna Alexander,

the 2011-2012 Southern Maryland District

President.

―How can I encourage my friends to show pride in

being an American?‖ was the theme for the

Americanism Essay Contest. Anselma Obremski,

the chair for the Contest, sent the paperwork to all of

the schools in Bowie. The third, fourth, fifth, and

sixth grade students of Heather Hills Elementary

submitted over 100 essays. The Group I students in

Grades 3 and 4 winners were: Jordan Pemberton, 1st

Place; Felicia Grey, 2nd Place; and Macro Fattouche,

3rd Place. Honorable mentions in Group I were:

Erin Thompson, Sarah Awang, Kioni Murphy,

Melanie Spierenburg, and Katrina Morgan. The

Group II students in Grades 5 and 6 winners were:

Zachary Chumura, 1st Place; Katherine Osere, 2nd

Place; Allen Almeyda Jr., 3rd Place. Group II

honorable mentions were: Mason Costanzo, Nick

Miller, Alexia Yaculak, Sabah Rana, Raven Truxson,

Kenard Oghuehi.

Zachary Chumura’s Essay also won 1st Place for

Southern Maryland District, and 3rd Place for the

Department of Maryland. Jessica Jones, the 4th

Grade teacher, Cheryl Gould, the 5th Grade Teacher,

Kathleen Donahue, the 6th Grade Teacher, and the

winners were presented with Certificates at the

awards ceremony.

This year the Auxiliary will host a Family Night on

the second Friday of the Month starting in

September. Family Night will include dinner and

games. The kids can bring a favorite game, or play

one of the games at the Post. Adults can join the

kids or kick back and relax with a favorite beverage.

The menu for the Auxiliary Family Night dinners is

a Taco Bar. The Taco Bar includes refried beans,

taco ground beef, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, hot and

mild salsa, jalapenos, guacamole, sour cream, and

soft and hard taco shells. The menu is all you can

eat and costs $12.00 for adults and $6.00 for

children. And if you’re up for dessert ice cream will

be for sale at 8:00 p.m. Bring the family for a fun

night out, and see if your children become the Family

Night Game Champions.

August 1, 2011 starts the Unit 66 ―Back to School

Supply Drive.‖ Not only have the number of

Teachers been cut from the Prince Georges School

budget, but the School’s operational budgets were

also cut. Teachers pay out of pocket for many

classroom supplies. With so many people out of

work, some students cannot afford the cost of the

required list of school supplies. The Auxiliary wants

to help, and we need your help. A box will be placed

in the Lounge where you can drop off supplies. If

you don’t want to buy them, we will, just make a

donation. The list of needed supplies will be on the

Poster at the Post and are included in the Newsletter

on the next page.

Let’s help our Children and Youth.

Susan M Beckwell

Unit 66 President

Auxiliary Unit 66

Technology is the art of arranging the world

so we don’t notice it.

Chinese Fortune Cookie

The mind is everything.

What you think you become.

Chinese Fortune Cookie


Post 66 Auxiliary is having a "Back to School Supply Drive". The list of needed supplies is on the flier

below. We need your help; get the word out. All purchases are tax-deductible, and the Auxiliary will

provide a donation receipt.

And, why not get rid of your extra supplies at home? Drop off the school supplies at the Post in the

box in the Lounge, and put the receipt with your name on it in the envelope. Let's help Bowie's

Children and Youth. Thank you.

The schools have requested the supplies by August 19, 2011.


Meeting Hall & Pavilion Rental

The Post 66 meeting hall and outdoor pavilion are

available for you or your friends to rent.

Consider the hall or pavilion for your life celebrations,

such as wedding rehearsals, receptions, family

reunions, birthday parties, and picnics.

For more information contact Gidget at 301-464-9814

or by e-mail at: [email protected]

Talk About Town

Congratulations to Ray Hart for winning the Department of Maryland trophy for the best American

Legion Post website in Maryland. Ray has been our webmaster since the inception of our website and

has done a great job of maintaining the site, updating, and keeping it modern. It’s great to see Ray’s

hard work and effort recognized.

Thank you Ms. Turner from the Legion Family

for your continued support of the American

Legion and the City of Bowie youth activities.

Adjutant’s Corner Welcome to the new 2011-2012 Legion administrative year, which began on July 1, 2011. By now, you

should have received your first renewal notice. I have already received many and am in the middle of

processing them, so if you have already sent your check or paid online, you will receive your card

shortly. The online payment procedure is really catching on. It only requires that you have a credit or

debit card and can be done from the link on our website at www.alpost66.org or from the National website

at www.legion.org. Just a reminder the deadline to renew your dues as an ―Early Bird‖ is Friday

November 11. Renew early and help your Post with its membership goals!

For any questions regarding membership please feel free to contact me at 301-728-4393 or

[email protected].

For God and Country,

Brian Frye

Adjutant

http://www.alpost66.org

http://www.legion.org

mailto:[email protected]


Don’t be like me and sit by for years and never get

involved. We have a great group of people at this

Post. I really feel at home here. We are truly a

family and I wish to strengthen that bond this year.

I know my fellow officers support me in this. Most

of us have been accused of spending more time here

than at our real homes. We need new people and

our long time members to get involved in the Legion,

Auxiliary, S.A.L., Legion Riders, and Honor Guard.

We each have varied backgrounds, different

experiences and we need those to think of new and

exciting ways to reach our Vets, our younger

members and families to come and participate. It

saddens me to think of the huge number of empty

chairs at our functions. Like the ―MIA/POW‖ chair,

it is set for one but they are not there. Why do we

have so many MIA members? What are we doing

wrong? Do you have the answer and even a

suggestion? We need you. I need you. I need people

to think outside our past myopic boxes and come up

with new innovative ideas to bring in new members

and excite and retain the ones we have. I call on the

Auxiliary, S.A.L. and Riders in this endeavor.

We are shorthanded this year and it is the first year

I can remember that two Officer positions are

vacant. We still need a Historian and a Sergeant at

Arms. Welcome to Dave Campbell, our new Service

Officer. He will need a lot of help, having been

thrown into the fire without any experience in his

position either. I plan on attending and get to know

all our internal organization meetings. I will attend

at least one of the Auxiliary, S.A.L., Riders and

Honor Guard meetings this month. These people

have done great things in the past and I expect no

less this year. I will be calling on all of them to help

support our Legion Family programs and I theirs.

With God’s help, and yours, I hope to have a fun and

productive year for all of us. Come on in to the Post

and spend some time. If you find something that

you don’t like, tell us; don’t just walk away. You

count and you are one of main reasons we are here.

A final congratulation to all our Legion Family

Officers for this Legion year and I look forward to

working with all of you.

For God and Country,

Brian Goldman

Commander

(Commander’s Corner continued from page 1)

My Fellow Legionnaires:

As the Commander for the Department of Maryland, I wish to thank each and every one of you for joining

and being a part of our great veterans service organization. Whether you are an active member of your Post,

or live in another state, your alliance with The American Legion allows us to voice our concerns to the

leadership of our state and country with regards to veteran’s health and welfare and other important issues.

All Legionnaires are familiar with the four pillars of the Legion established more than 90 years ago by the

veterans of World War I. They had fought the fight and recognized the need to assist their comrades as well

as those left behind and to make our country strong to defend for any future threats. They are the principles

that founded The American Legion and are as important in the 21st century as they were in 1919.

We all know there is strength in numbers and as the largest wartime veterans association in the world, we

are able to speak loudly. We as a nation are facing challenging times ahead and there is no better voice

than millions of veterans who have “been there, done that”. You are an important part of our voice.

Thank you for your service, thank you for your sacrifice, and thank you for your continued support of our

great organization.

For God and Country, I am

Melvin Smullen, Commander

Department of Maryland

The American Legion


Service Officer

The Post Service Officer is available to help with a

variety of different Veterans programs. Some of the

items they can help with includes: providing the

proper claims forms for VA benefit claims; assisting

with VA claim applications; assisting with State and

Federal Burial benefits registration; and assisting with

VA medical benefits registration.

You can contact the Post 66 Service Officer

by e-mail at: [email protected].

Post 66 E-news

Do you have an e-mail account? If you would like to

receive occasional e-mail messages about Post events

and activities, then you should sign up for the Post list-

serv program: ―66enews.‖

Our list-serv is an announcement-only e-mail group.

Messages can only be sent by designated persons. Your

e-mail address is completely confidential and is not

shared with anyone.

If you want to add (or remove) your e-mail address, log

on to the Post website and click on the e-mail sign-up

link on the home page and follow the instructions. It

will only take you a couple of seconds and you will begin

receiving occasional e-mail updates about The American

Legion and our Post and its programs.

If you don’t feel comfortable signing yourself up, send a

note to [email protected] and request that your

name and e-mail be added.

Paid Up For Life (PUFL)

Become a Paid Up For Life (PUFL)

member of the American Legion, the Auxiliary, or the

Sons of the American Legion.

Contact the Officers of your group at the Post for

additional information or help.

Avoid inflation by never paying a dues increase!

July 4th Picnic HUGE Success

We say it every year, but every year it’s true. The July 4th Family Picnic is the social event of the year

attended by more Post members and guests than any other event we hold. This year was no exception.

Everyone had a great time enjoying the beautiful weather, the kid’s games, the food, the music and the

ceremony. Watching those youngsters practice their marksmanship is a hoot.

Many thanks go to many people and it’s always difficult to single out any one or two people for their efforts

but some go above and beyond the call. One is Jan Hart, whose tireless efforts to keep the food supply

coming and ―directing traffic‖ helped the flow move very smoothly. Another is Brian Frye, keeping the

music playing well into the late afternoon hours. Thanks guys. Your

efforts did not go unnoticed and your contribution helped more than you

can imagine. There were many others too, usually spotted wearing their

proud ―Post 66 Freeloader‖ tee shirt, and we cannot name them all here.

You all know that you are appreciated and thanked for a job well done.

It is not too early to plan to attend next year. The date? July 4, 2012.

Let’s see how many more cars we can fit in the back parking lot.

J. D. Larson,

Executive Committee

We’re on the web at

www.alpost66.org

The American Legion

Disney-Bell Post 66 9605 Old Laurel-Bowie Road Bowie, Maryland 20720

Legion

Commander Brian Goldman

1st Vice Commander Phoebe Larned

2nd Vice Commander Tom Murphy

Chaplain Toni King

Service Officer David Campbell

Finance Officer Charlie Milstead

Historian (vacant)

Judge Advocate Richard Beckwell

Sergeant-at-Arms (vacant)

Adjutant Brian Frye

Executive Committee Larry Bartman

John Delinsky

Ray Hart

J.D. Larson

Mark Ryan

American Legion Riders

Director Tom Atkins

Assistant Director Chuck Schaefer

Secretary Susan Beckwell

Treasurer Gene Simmons

Sergeant-at-Arms/Road Captain Tom Devoe

Auxiliary Unit 66

President Susan Beckwell

Vice president Fran McKenna

Secretary Cindy Morvant

Treasurer Jennifer White

Chaplain Anselma Ombremski

Historian (vacant)

Sergeant-at-Arms Lois Van Sickle

S.A.L. Squadron 66

Commander Del Billings

1st Vice Commander Mark Schofield

Finance Officer Darby McNeill

Adjutant Joe Weik

Chaplain Joe Clark

Sergeant-at-Arms James Clark, III

Historian Steve Stevens

Post Officers for 2011-2012 Our congratulations to these individuals who have stepped forward to help lead the

Disney-Bell Post 66 Family of organizations for another year.

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