Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Chapter Meeting Notes - 20 November 2015

20th Annual Jerry Montoya/Ralph Dominguez Food Drive: Chair - Tom Melgares. Committee members are Chuy, Steve, Leo, Pablo, Alberto. 16 December at 1900 hrs boxes will be packed & distributed. El Paso JR ROTC supported us this year. $1500 allocated for hams (Chuy) and other required expenses. Ike worked with a produce company and got the Head Start school to collect cans. Rod also got a school to participate. Total boxes will be known after publication of this newsletter.

Christmas Party: Chair - Steve Franzoni. Scheduled for 19 December at VFW 812. The meal is going Chicken or Roast Beef. Again members and 1 guest are free, additional guests are $10 each. $2,500 allotted for expenses. Door prize donations are being accepted in the $25-$100 range. Uniform is Blazers and Berets. Timeline: 1800 hrs gather, 1845 hrs SFA 9 meeting, 1900 hrs dinner, followed by dance by Villa Band.

Wreaths Across America: Debbie (Rolando) Torres Chair for CAP. Chapter sponsored 31 Wreaths this year. We paid for all SF and SFA 9 Members who are interred in the Fort Bliss Cemetery. Only a few members attended - we need to have a better showing in the future.

1st Group Reunion: 1st Group Reunion is scheduled for El Paso in 2017. This will be the 3rd time we have hosted this event. Ike Camacho is the Chair. We will assemble the committee very soon.

SFA 9 Installation of Officers: Elected: Pete Peral, President; Steve Franzoni, VP; Bill Snider, Secretary; Ike Camacho, Treasurer. John Szilvasy remains the Chapter Chaplain. Installation will be at the Christmas Party. Pete and Bill are starting their 9th year in office.

Viet Nam Memorial: Recently they broke ground on the El Paso Viet Nam Veterans Memorial at the flag pole. They are raising 50K for the memorial. Chapter donated $1400 towards the monument. China Boy said fundraising is going fine – shirts are for sale for $20, Hoodie is $35.

2nd Annual Joshua Mills Challenge: Held 18-20 November. The range portion was held at Tactical Ranch, a private training facility owned and operaeted by SF SGM (ret) Tom Buchino. A ceremony honored the top 3 teams on the 20th. Danny and his Recruiters asked for Gatorade support again. We paid $100 and supported with manpower. See photos below of the winning team. China Boy presented the award.

 
SFA Convention 2018 – El Paso: Exploratory Committee Chair, Brian Kanof; members Bill, China Boy and Joe Kerwin JR. We will reach out to SFA 80 to assist. “Visit El Paso” attended the November meeting and we are very close to a decision. The best date for the City seems to be 11-17 June, 2018.

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.

Chris Lewis Christmas Request: Chris asked the Chapter to send letters and Christmas packages for 50 of his deployed Soldiers. Voted to pay $200 for gift packages – VFW 812 and the 82nd also supported the project. Glen Clove school provided us with 157 hand made Christmas cards. Sendcards to SGM Christopher G. Lewis, HQ, TAAC-E, TB Gamberi, Afghanistan, APO, AE 09354

US Border Patrol Special Operations Group Law Enforcement Technology and Equipment Expo: Scheduled for 20 April 2015. The Chapter supports with manpower to unload and load equipment, manage the gate, etc. This is our top fundraiser each year.


Chapter President's Message:


Greetings all. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!! As we close the years I want to thank everyone who makes this Chapter one of the best in the world, thank you. To the Officers and those who have chaired committees, Thank you. It’s those who pick up the sword and lead the way that make my job easy. To all the members and their spouses, thank you. It takes a village to raise a child and we all know we have a bunch of children in Chapter 9, right ladies? (Just kidding).


At this time of the year, I try to recap all of the great events that this Chapter supports but we all know what those are so I won't bore you. What I will do is say, get ready for 2016. I don’t see this Chapter slowing down so keep the boots laced, and weapons at the ready. Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday to all. May 2016 bring you the wishes that you deserve.


De Oppresso Liber!


Pete Peral, President, SFA Chapter IX

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