10th Annual CSM(R) John McLaughlin Golf Tournament. This was a resounding success. Co-Chair Al Hobbs and Ike Camacho, plus Committee members Steve, Tom Brady and Gus did a great job and organizing and running this event. The Tournament was held Saturday, 29 August at Fort Bliss. 10th Anniversary polo shirts were presented to golfers. We expect to clear about 18K when the smoke clears.
1st Group Reunion: 1st Group Reunion is scheduled for El Paso in 2017. This will be the 3rd time we hosted. Ike Camacho – Chair. We will assemble the committee very soon.
SFA 9 Food Drive: Chair - Tom Melgares. Schedule right now is on 16 Dec we will pack boxes. He is working toward having the El Paso JR ROTC to support the SFA 9 Christmas Food drive. There are 8 High Schools who could participate.
SFA 9 Elections: Nominations will be in October. If you are interested in running for office, get someone to nominate you and have a second.
Viet Nam Memorial: El Paso Viet Nam Veterans Memorial to be erected at the flag pole. They
are raising 50K for the memorial. Chapter donated $1400 towards the monument.
Christmas Party: Chair is Steve Franzoni. Scheduled for 19 December at VFW 812. See Steve if you want to be on the committee.
USASMA Class 66: VFW 812 is having a welcome party for the class on 19 SEP at 1400 after the SFA 9 meeting. The chapter WILL NOT be providing a meal after the September meeting but all are invited to stay for the USASMA meal. They have 640 students including 56 foreign students. We will meet with the SF attendees then.
SFA Convention 2018 – El Paso: Exploratory Committee Chair, Brian Kanof; members Bill, China Boy and Joe Jr. Brian received AAR’s from several previous conventions and we are researching the possibility of hosting the convention. We will reach out to SFA 80 to assist.
2015 Elite Tactical Challenge: SF SGM (ret) Tommy Buchino, owner and operator is Covenant Special Projects a defense and law enforcement training firm, is running it at his range, Tactical Ranch near Hueco Tanks State Park, for the second year and in support The Task Force Dagger Foundation. This will be held on 3 Oct 2015. State and Federal Agencies committing four man teams to compete are the US Border Patrol, US Marshals Service, FBI, US Army, Chapter voted to donate $1000 for sponsorship. Proceeds to benefit Task Force Dagger.
Compensate Friends Event: Rosie Ralston requested a donation. Chapter approved $100.
911 Ceremony: VFW 812 hosted a 911 event on Friday, 11 September. Various SFA members attended. Other attendees included Police, Firefighters and the Pipe and Drum unit in El Paso.
USASMA Reunion 2016: Al Hobbs – Chair. El Paso is hosting the reunion 14-17 July, 2016. Not
an SFA project but many of our SGM members will participate. More to follow.
Fiesta De Las Flores – 6 SEP: Gus Gonzalez served as Keynote Speaker. 20 members attended. 1SG Jesus Pedraza received one of the Soldier awards from State Representative Blanco. He has had numerous actions with SF and may join the Chapter.
Message from the Chapter President:
I harp on you guys, my brothers, all the time to support the chapter, support the VFW, join a committee etc. But what it boils down to is “What’s your priority”. Everyone does not have the same priorities. Brother Tony Lara and I had a great conversation this weekend while I visited him and Martha at their cabin in Ruidoso. We talked about the VFW and Chapter 9, and who makes those organizations a “priority”. I mention both organizations because most of you are duel members. Like in most organizations it’s 5% who do the heavy lifting and what I’m asking is to get that number higher.
As mentioned in Chaplain Sipantzis’ article “Be a tab qualified member and not a participant”. Some say “we always get the job done because we’re SF” and that may be true but it’s the 5% who see the battlefield oversights that the other 95% do not see. The 5% at the recent SF golf tournament and 9-11 remembrance at the post saw the “Opps” that happened, that may have been caught if the 5% was 10%. Everyone has priorities in life, just like the 5% who do the heavy lifting so lets help them out so we don’t burn them out.
De Oppresso Liber!
Pete Peral
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