I’m sure that almost everyone knows by now that we have a full contingent of officers voted in and installed for the Post for 2016 – 2017. I have had a few “here’s your sign” remarks aimed my way.:) Not really. When people make comments to me, I generally will laughingly say, “Ya, I know, “here’s your sign”, right?

Seriously, I am happy to take on the responsibility for one more year, because we were able to get a couple of new faces in the Jr. and Sr. Vice positions.

We cannot forget that even though we are headed in the right direction, we are still faced with many challenges, plus we still have a very large mortgage to pay off.

We, like most VFW posts have a continuing problem of shrinking membership. New and younger members are needed to to help ensure our longevity. I recently learned that at the Veterans of Foreign Wars current attrition rate we will no longer be veterans organization in 18 years.

I believe that we at 4249 already have many of the right tools in place, but we still need to add a few more. I am speaking of accepting credit cards and a point of sale system on the business side. The credit cards will help us stay competitive because almost everyone else in our business accepts cards. The point of sale system will make us more profitable.

On the membership side, we all know that we need younger members. That is a little bit harder of a nut to crack and I certainly don’t have a lot on answers there. I do think that having a current, up to date website as well as a current up date Facebook page helps. I also think that credit cards will help with a younger crowd because a large portion of them want to use plastic.

While at the District 12 meeting I talked with two different commanders who have been able to recruit Desert Storm veterans. When I asked what they were doing, one of them said that it was a word of mouth type of thing. I think that it is because he himself was a Desert Storm era veteran, so he would be able to relate to that age group better. I think that we will probably have to resort to doing some advertising, which we are prepared to do.

This years Past Commanders and Past Presidents dinner is going to be in a ;little different format than what we have been doing. Instead of a formal sit down dinner as we have had in the past, we will be hosting a post appreciation day honoring our past Commanders and Presidents. It will not be on a Saturday night, but on a Sunday afternoon, instead. We are going to try and line up a band if we can. So mark Sunday, June 5th on your calendar. More information on the exact itinerary will be made available about mid May.

Before the next newsletter is our Memorial Day celebrations. I use the plural because, as you all know, our Honor Guard visits 7 Cemetery’s as well as a wreath drop at the Bridgeton bridge, followed by our ceremony at the post. This year there is surprise added attraction, which I can’t disclose because then it won’t be a surprise.

I also want to mention that you will be seeing a different looking post web page in the very near future. I will be changing it back to the WordPress format that I was using when I first started writing our page. The new format will be using a theme that is what is known as responsive. All that really means is that it will be as easily read on a smart phone or tablet as it is read on your computer. The reason for the change is because Google is changing the way that they catalog websites. Pages that are not mobile friendly are not as likely to found at those that are. I know, many of you are rolling your eyes and saying “SO”. This just part of our effort keep our web page current. The sneak preview can be found at http://www.vfw4249.org

Have a great month.

Dan Boutell
Commander,Post 4249

Presidents Corner

I am glad to report that all the offices for the Aux. have been filled and we will be installing at our May meeting, which has been moved to Monday May 10 at 7:00pm. because of Mothers Day.

We will also be discussing moving our meeting day and time to something more convenient for members, so please plan to attend and let us know your preference. This is your Aux. but we need your input to be able to meet your needs, and most importantly the needs of our Veterans. It is the reason we are here.

Just a reminder of the Bake Sale on Wed. May 4th. from 4:00 to 7:00p.m.

On the 14th is the Steak Fry, and we are always in need of additional help.

The 16th. of May there is a group of us going to work on getting the Past Presidents pictures ready to be hung. If you would like to be involved in this project, we will be meeting at the Post at 1:00pm. on Monday the 16th. of May.

The Aux. has the Friday night Shrimp on May 20th. Please come in and support us.

The Aux. will also be hosting a luncheon on Monday, Memorial Day, May 30, after the ceremonies at 12:00p.m. at the Post. Please plan to attend this special Memorial.

Jane Clear
President, VFW Auxiliary

AMVETS News

We will have out election of officers May 3 at our next meeting. I would like to see as many members as we can get.

May 14 Sat. is our steak fry and as always we could use help, so if you can show up at the post at 4:30 pm we will find you something to do.

May 30 the post has a Memorial Day service at 12:00 noon, if you never been to the post for one of these you don’t what you are missing. Ladies Aux. put on a lunch that is done real well.

Our next meeting will be June 7,at 7:00 pm.
work, it isn’t hard and you may have some.

Charlie Clear
AMVETS Post 4250 Commander