missala.com Blog

Groundbreaking site

I had the great pleasure and honor to attend the official groundbreaking ceremony for the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Newton, Miss. on Thursday, Nov. 5.  Dept. Secretary Nancy Sanders and her husband Larry graciously accompanied me as Jack still couldn’t travel.  We met up with Dept. Commander Don Cabrol, Dept. Membership Chairman Steve Sweet, NEC Bob Gosa, Auxiliary Alt. NEC Madeline Vuncannon and Tom, Candy Babson from the local Newton unit, and Judge Advocate Ron Roberts.  I saw Lorene and RV Martin from 112 there as well.  There was a good number of other Legionnaires and Auxiliary members there.  Just like a reunion!

Kudos to Adrian Grice, Veterans Affairs director, and his staff for a great event.  It was a perfectly gorgeous day, although the field was still a little wet.  But, it was worth seeing the ground broke for the veterans cemetery and the committment to the project by so many people.  Afterwards, we were invited to the historic Depot in downtown Newton for lunch and hobnobbed with state dignitaries.  Simply a great day!

Angela at Unit 160 Membership Tea on Nov. 1.

Dept. Secretary Nancy Sanders and I went down to Pascagoula Unit 160 on Sunday, Nov. 1, to enjoy the unit’s membership tea.  It was beautifully decorated and the food prepared was scrumptous!  The ladies really worked hard to make it an enjoyable afternoon for its members and guests.  In addition to unit members, ladies from Unit 243 in Moss Point and Unit 119 in Gulfport attended.  It was so good to see everyone.

Pat Balduf and Mary Louise Morgan

While there, the unit showed me their latest project–sending care packages to deployed troops.  I was escorted to their meeting room, an there in the corner, was a several stacks of boxes.  Pat Balduf, chairman of the project, explained what they were doing to fill those boxes.  She gave me a long list of items that they unit is collecting, such as hand sanitizer, batteries, non-perisable food items, homemade cookies, socks, blankets, neck scarves, and flea collars.  That’s right, flea collars.  These are fastened around the soldier’s ankles to keep off the sand fleas.

Anyway, Pat and her team are asking for donations from the community and even some of the surrounding units are donating to the cause.  It’s a great project and one that other units can easily do as well.  I’m so proud of their efforts!  Thanks, Unit 160!

Angela Kilcrease

The Finance Committee pours of the books for 2008-2009 on Oct. 30.

On Wednesday, Oct. 30, our Department Finance Committee met in Jackson to audit last year’s books.  Chairman Janice Crosby and members Shirley Turner and Lou Wilkerson gathered in the office and started pouring over the figures.  By the end of the day, we had a successful audit. 

Working on Pocket Flags

These ladies first started their day by adding some final touches to  Pocket Flags made by the juniors at Unit 112, Jackson.  So we have our first bag to give to Camp Shelby troops! 

So what did Nancy and I do while they audited the books?  Well, we got the November newsletter out in the mail and wrung our hands over membership goal deadline, of course!   No idle hands while you are in the Dept. office.

Angela Kilcrease

McComb Boys State and Girls State Delegates with Lou Wilkerson and Angela Kilcrease

This has been a busy week, thus far, but  most enjoyable one.  On Tuesday evening, my husband Jack and I were invited to attend a dinner for Boys and Girls State delegates (2009 sessions) at McComb Post 14.  Fortunately, Lou Wilkerson, our Girls State Director, was spending the night with me so we could go to Jackson the next day for a Finance Committee meeting.

Anyway, it was a nice crowd at McComb and great to see the young people who attended Boys State and Girls State.  The Post had a delicious meal, and Lou and I met with several ladies who were not members of the Auxiliary and talked to them about revitalizing their unit.  All in all, it was a good evening.

On Wednesday, we had a sucessful audit of last year’s financial records.  Finance Chairman Janice Crosby and members Shirley Turner and Lou Wilkerson poured over the figures and found most all in order.  Of course, this year, financial transactions have been moved to a new computerized system that will make things even easier next year to audit.  Many thanks go to the Finance Committee!  While they did figures, Nancy and I got the November newsletter in envelopes and in the mail.  It’s thick–chock full of good information for our units!

Angela Kilcrease
Dept. President

Members of Unit 146 in Petal look over Plans of Action before the meeting began.

We had our first fall area conference in Tylertown on Oct. 24.  What a great event!  I’m very thankful to my home Unit (56) for their hard work in decorating and making us feel so welcome.  The facility was all decked out in fall colors and flower arrangements.  The food, catered by Jimmy May of May’s Restaurant in Tylertown, was delicious.  We had 57 Auxiliary members, while the Legion had 58 present.  That’s a great crowd!

Our Dept. Program Chairmen did a great job, and I appreciate their efforts to be at the meeting to talk about their program.  Yes, these meetings do go long–much longer than the Legion (they were done by 2 p.m.), but these area conferences are intended to be our “School of Instruction,” a chance to talk about what we need to be doing during the year, ask questions, and tell of our success stories in the units.  You ladies in the Northern and Central Areas, please warn your husbands that we will meet longer than they–bring them a good book to read!

Anyway, our Membership Team of Mary Lyles and Mary Ried did a great job, and we appreciate their efforts to motivate us in sending our renewals and new members.  The Bee Pin was awarded to a couple of folks for recruiting three new members already.  These are limited edition pins that will surely be collectors items later.  Don’t let your chance go by in getting yours.  Just recruit three new senior members!!

Lastly, and most importantly, thanks to all the members who attended the conference. It is so important that we have our members participate in these events–this is how we learn about our organization and grow to appreciate what it stands for!  Hope to see you all at Northern and Central Area Conferences. Don’t miss your chance to “Make Some Buzz!”

Angela Kilcrease
Dept. President

Dept. Secretary Nancy Sanders and I attended the annual Presidents/Secretaries Conference Oct. 11-14 in Indianapolis, Indiana.  It was a great opportunity to meet other Department Presidents and to hear about all the wonderful things they are doing in their states.  I was able to get a lot of great ideas for things we can do here in Mississippi! 

I particularly bonded with the President and Secretary from Maine!  We first sat together at a session and enjoyed it so much that we looked for each other the rest of the conference.  We call ourselves M & M.  They were great ladies, with great a great sense of humor.  To Lois and Dora–we miss you already!

The conference was very informative.   My favorite part was the roundtable session when each National Program Chairman rotated around the room and talked to each table of participants about their program.  We were able to ask questions and learn more about the program objectives.  National President Rita and the entire group was treated to a great skit after the Tuesday night banquet.  It was very cute and so was our own Kathy Dungan (National AEF Chairman) who played a sweet little baby!   I do have photos to share very soon!

I appreciate so much our Dept. Secretary–Nancy!  She took such good care of me during our trip–she has a way of making one feel like a queen!  Thanks, Nancy, for everything and for being such a good friend.

Angela Kilcrease
Dept. President

Serving Up Chili Dogs

I finally got to attend Cruisin’ the Coast at the Biloxi VA on Tuesday, Oct. 6.  It was an inspiring event, but rather hot.  Not dressing correctly makes a big difference between fun and lots of fun!

I was able to meet up with State Commander Don Cabrol–always a pleasure to see him.  I took some photos of the volunteers who worked so hard!  There was one booth that gave out chili dogs and chips and another, mostly manned by the good folks at Post and Unit 139, Bay St. Louis, that gave out soda floats.  They all worked so hard, and I salute their efforts. 

Glenda and Jim Wheelis made their first trip down to volunteer.  Glenda is a member of Unit 1997 in Heidelberg, Miss.  I also saw our members from Unit 139 (Bay St. Louis), 160 (Pascagoula), 119 (Gulfport), 1992 (Gautier/Vancleave) and 243 (Moss Point).  It was a great day for volunteerism, and these ladies certainly worked hard for the cause.  Many thanks go out to them all. 

Oh, and there were lots of great cars…more photos are available on the Department’s Web Site (www.missala.com)!

Angela Kilcrease
Dept. President

Members of Unit 1997

Glenda Wheelis and the ladies of Unit 1997 of Heidelberg invited me to their party they were giving to the residents of the Collins Veterans Home this afternoon.  The ladies made snack food and punch for the veterans and brought along Milton Johnson to sing for them.  We had a good gathering of residents, even though football was going on across the hall.  They all enjoyed sandwiches, deviled eggs, cheese and crackers, fruit, and sugar free cookies.  Milton had a wonderful voice and sang gospel favorites.  What a wonderful afternoon.  I had the honor of talking to several of the gentlemen at length and heard their war stories or talk about their families.  These guys are so great.  Can’t wait till the next visit!

Thanks to Unit 1997 for the effort they put into making the afternoon a good one for these veterans.  Great job!

Angela Kilcrease
Dept. President

Angela Kilcrease Dept. President 2009-2010

Hello,

I’ve been wanting to add a President’s Blog to our Department of Mississippi Web page, but am just now getting the nerve to try.  I’m learning so bear with me until I figure this thing out.

My intent with this blog is to update members of the American Legion Auxiliary in Mississippi and beyond on current events and activities.  As I visit Units across the state or attend functions on behalf of the Auxiliary, I will provide a summary of the event for you all. 

Also, late-breaking news happens all the time.  We need to stay connected.  Through this tool, perhaps we can get word out to our members in a timely manner.

So, here we go…into blog world!  Be sure to check back often.

For God and Country,

Angela Kilcrease