New Chapter Command Group position: Brian Kanoff was selected to fill the new position of Sergeant at Arms. Brian volunteered for this position. His arm was onlyu twisted a little bit.
New Chapter Members this month: Welcome Bob Chisolm and Jack Cranney to the Chapter as members.
1st Group Reunion: 1stGroup Reunion is scheduled for El Paso in 2017. This will be the 3rd time we hosted the reunion. Ike Camacho is the Project Chair. We will assemble the committee very soon.
20th Annual Jerry Montoya/Ralph Dominguez Food Drive: Chair is Tom Melgares. Committee members include Chuy, Steve, Leo, Pablo, Alberto. We will pack boxes on 16 December at 1900 hrs. om is working toward having the El Paso JR ROTC to support the Christmas Food drive. There are 8 High Schools who could participate, plus several other local schools. $1500 allocated for hams and other required expenses. Ike is working with a produce company and is getting the Head Start school to collect cans.
SFA Chapter 9 Elections: Elections are this month. If you are interested in running for office, get someone to nominate you. Installation will be at the Christmas Party. Nominations so far are: Pete Peral – President, Steve Franzoni -Vice President; Bill Snider –Secretary; Ike Camacho – Treasurer. John Szilvasy will remain Chapter Chaplain as that is an un-elected position. Final nominations can be made before the vote in November.
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. China Boy said fundraising is going fine –shirts are for sale for $20.
Chapter Christmas Party: Chair is Steve Franzoni. Scheduled for 19 December at VFW 812. 1800-1845 social hour, 1845-1915 meeting and installation, dinner at 1930. Meal is Chicken or Roast Beef. Again members and 1 guest are free, additional guests are $10 each. The CHapter allocated $2,000 for expenses. Door prize donations are being accepted in the $25-$100 range. Uniform is Blazers and Berets or semi-formal.
2015 Elite Tactical Challenge (ETC): As covered in an earlier article on this website, Tommy Buchino hosted the challenge at his range again. SFA 9 Member Tony Beltran came in from Oregon to compete. See photo. Again, all proceeds from the ETC Proceeds benefited the Task Force Dagger Foundation, a world class organization benefitting wounded SOF. See picture at right of Tony Beltran, 7+ year old stud muffin running with the young dogs.
Wreaths Across America: Debbie (husband - Rolando) Torres is Chair for this project. The Chapter is sponsoring 31 Wreaths this year. We pay for all SF and SFA 9 Members/spouses who are interred in the Fort Bliss Cemetery.
SFA Convention 2018 – El Paso: Exploratory Committee Chair is Brian Kanoff; members are Bill, China Boy and Joe Kerwin Jr. We will reach out to SFA 80 to assist. “Visit El Paso” will be at the November meeting to spell out their planned support.
USASMA Reunion 2016: Al Hobbs is the 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.
Veteran’s Gala: This annual event is in November. Tom Melgares’ suggested we get a table for SF and nominate someone to be honored.
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 will also support the project. Address is: SGM Christopher G. Lewis, HQ, TAAC-E, TB Gamberi, Afghanistan, APO, AE09354
2nd Annual Joshua Mills Challenge: Occurs 18-20 November 2015. There are 10 x 6 man teams competing. An Awards Ceremony will honor the top 3 teams at 1000 hrs on 20 November. Danny and his Recruiters asked for Gatorade support again. The Chapter donated $100 to support. The shooting competition will be held at Tomy Buchino's Tactical Ranch.
Chapter President's Message:
Greetings all. The year is winding down and we have just a few projects to work on before the holiday cease fire is in effectand the ground battle starts again next year.
Next up on the firing line is the Thanksgiving for the troops that the VFW Post 812 is sponsoring. I would encourage any chapter member that can to come up and volunteer. I believe we are good on food but I’ll follow up with the VFW. We are expecting about 100 troops this year.
After that we have the Christmas boxes to pack and distribute. Rod and Rosie Raulston secured the Collins elementary school again and Tom Melgares’ is working on the JR ROTC folks. COL Gus will contact the El Paso food bank again and see if they can support. Tom and his committee are working hard to make this a great event: Thank you.
After we put this one to bed we’ll end the year with the Christmas party on December 19th. Last year we had about 80-100 people and I think I’m safe saying everyone had a blast. We’ll hold a short meeting and the installation of the 2016-2017 officers before the party and I’m sorry to say, you’ll have to deal with me, Steve and Bill again. Tom’s schedule is on fire so we’ll give him a break and Ike will take the Treasurer slot for a couple of years. We decided to add a Sergeant of Arms and Brian Kanoff was volen-told he’d be the man.
Unfortunately I will not be at the November meeting as I will be attending moose’s brothers’ funeral in Phoenix. Dada was a good friend of mine and many of you know him well. Pray for him and his family.
Lastly I want to thank all of you for another successful year. From the golf tournament to the expo, to the scholarship and to all of the other “little” things that you support with your vote, your time and your energy. It’s because of the team that Chapter 9isas successful as we are. Thank you.
De Oppresso Liber!
Pete Peral, President, SFA Chapter IX
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