The
Shark’s Tooth
www.venicemoaa.com
Member of Sarasota county Veterans Commission
www.sarasotaveterans.com
OCTOBER 2007
CHAPTER OFFICERS
PRESIDENT: Alf E Kirkeeng…… 941 497-7481
E-mail: kirkae1024@verizon..net
1st VP: Norman MacLellan… 941 493-1726
2nd VP: Warren H Sharp…… 941 493-9800
Secretary: Mike Healey……… 941 493-3965
Treasurer: Robert Latham………941 697-0620
4260 Placida Rd, Unit 18B, Englewood, FL 34224
rlatham334@aol.com
DIRECTORS
Ellen MacLellan Suzanne White
Cris Cristofori George Fritz
CHAPLAIN
Ira E Ramsey 941-408-0313 ramseyiaw@verizon.net
PROGRAM CHAIRMAN
Ellen MacLellan 493-1726
Address: 4301 Corso Venetia Blvd, Venice, FL 34293
MEMBERSHIP & NEWSLETTER
Jean F White 497-5906
Address: 331 Bucknell Rd, Venice, FL 34293
E-mail: b-incontrol@comcast.net
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MEMBERSHIP MEETING
The October meeting of the Venice area chapter will be on Tuesday October 16 at 11:30 AM at the American Legion Post #159. All members and associates are invited to attend. The meeting is a luncheon meeting, with individuals ordering from the menu. Members are responsible for their own tab. There will be a short Board Meeting beginning at 11AM. Officers please come early.
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SOCIAL
The October Social will be a Brunch at the Venice Golf and Country Club on Sunday, October 7th. Please try to attend, More inside the Newsletter.
OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS
Mary Beth Orben 10/01
Mike Healey 10/05
Forest Varn 10/06
Elaine Bellone 10/10
Patricia Manning 10/11
Wanda DeMunbrun 10/13
Wanda Ramsey 10/16
William Ulbricht 10/16
Betty June Phillips 10/17
Alf Kirkeeng 10/24
Herbert Lechner 10/25
Betty Ulbricht 10/31
ANNIVERSARIES
Maurice & Gladys Baker 57 years
Bill & Betty Ulbricht 17 years
Elmer & Elaine Bellone 6 years
Adam & JoAnn Schauber 6 years
Our Congratulations and Best Wishes to all of you. May you have many more Birthdays and Anniversaries in the years to come!!
If I have missed anyone, it is due to lack of information. Please let me know so that I may correct the oversight.
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SPEEDY RECOVERY
We are sorry to hear that our Treasurer, Bob Latham has been very ill. He is now recuperating post Cardiac Surgery. We wish him well and hope that he will continue to regain his strength in a timely manner. We send him our good wishes and prayers for a complete recovery.
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THANKS
Thanks to all of you who have donated supplies and money to be mailed to the 543rd MP Company in Iraq. These young men really appreciate it, and it is good for them to know that they have a great deal of support from those at home.
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SCVC MEETINGS
The next meeting of the Sarasota County Veterans Commission is Thursday, October 25th at 1:00 pm at the Board of the County Commission Chambers located on the first floor of the County Administration Building, 1660 Ringling Boulevard, Sarasota, FL. The speaker is Col Stephen D Cork, soldier, teacher and author.
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NEWSLETTER MAILING
Just a reminder, if anyone would like to receive the newsletter electronically, please notify me, as I do send it to several people already. This would be a big savings in stamps especially since the postal rates have gone up again. If you do so wish, notify me per e-mail or phone, don’t forget
to put my address on your list of mail to be accepted. E-mail: b-incontrol@comcast.net.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Greetings MOAA members,
Our fall program has started out with a bang. Twelve Venice Area Chapter members attended the joint meeting of the Bradenton, Charlotte Harbor, Sarasota and Venice Chapters on Friday, September 14. The Sarasota Chapter was host for the meeting at Michael’s on East, with Vice Admiral Norb Ryan Jr as guest speaker. Admiral Ryan, President of MOAA National identified several areas of focus for MOAA. Below are some of his comments as I recorded them:
Support 3 1/2% pay raise for active military instead of 3% proposed by the Administration.
Improve Guard and Reserve GI Bill.
Full funding of Tricare at current fee levels. Eliminate the 9% proposed cut.
NOAA is leading the charge to get resources for Wounded Warriors at Walter Reed Hospital.
Admiral Ryan also recently returned from a short trip to Iraq where he had an opportunity to meet with officials and service personnel. He said the jury is still out on the political situation but our military is doing great. The heroism of our service personnel is not coming across in press reports, but watch for inspirational reports on the MOAA website.
He stressed the importance of sending emails and post cards to members of congress on issues of concern. Watch for alerts on pending legislation in the National Magazine and other sources.
It was great to see so many of our members at our first meeting of the fall on September 18th. We welcome everyone back and hope to see many more of you at upcoming events.
Sincerely, Alf
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THANKS TO OUR OUTGOING SOCIAL CHAIRMAN
I would just like to take the opportunity to thank Suzanne White for her service to the Chapter as our Social Chairman for the past few years. It is big job and she has just done great at it. Suzanne wears many hats and I just want everyone to know that she is also a great help to me as far as getting the Sharkstooth printed and mailed. She does a great job.
Thanks again Suzanne!!
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DIRECTIONS TO VENICE GOLF & CC
Take Center road east to Country Club Blvd
Turn left/North on Country Club Blvd
Turn right on Country Club Drive.
You are there!!
MARK THE DATES
The following is a schedule for the monthly luncheon meetings of your Chapter. Meetings will start at 11:30 at the American Legion on East Venice Avenue.
2007 2008
October 16 January 15
November 20 February 19
December 18 March 18
April 15
May 20
Please mark these dates on your calendar, and try to attend the meetings whenever possible.
Projected dates for upcoming Socials 2007/2008.
October 7 Venice Golf & CC Brunch
November 15 Old World Restaurant Dinner
December 11 Boca Royale CC Dinner
January 23 Boca Royale CC Luncheon
February 13 Boca Royale CC Dinner
March 12 Boca Royale CC Dinner
Please note correction to November Date.
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NEWS FROM OUR 2005 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT
JENNIFER BLAKE-WISNIESKI
Excerpts from a letter from Jennifer Blake-Wisnieski
I hope this e mail finds everyone in good health and ending a wonderful summer. I have been very busy this summer and have had a wonderful time. In May my NROTC unit sent me on a training cruise with the USS Tortuga (LSD-46) out of Sasebo, Japan . I toured with them for one month and visited Okinawa, Japan, Guam and Brisbane, Australia. I was paired with an EN-3 and so the majority of my cruise consisted of learning the engineering portion of an amphibious ship in our forward deployed fleet. I helped start the engines, clean the bilges, take oil samples, and take readings. We had four days of liberty in Brisbane and I took the opportunity to go horseback riding through the Australian bush and mountains and to visit the Australian Zoo founded by the Irwin family.
Once home, I had a very brief break before I started working again and taking a Physics II course. This was the last of the required courses put out by the NROTC program.
I hope everyone had a fabulous summer,
Sincerely, Jen Blake-Wisnieski
Jennifer was married in August, and plans to take the Aviation Selection Test Battery in September in order to be accepted into flight school. She is still interested in working as a Naval Flight Officer on the E2-C Hawkeye.
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PHONE NUMBERS
Be careful who you give your phone number to. Test this for yourself. Go to Google and type in your 10 digit phone number. That’s all you need, and see what comes up. It gives your address, etc. Some time ago it came out that you should not put your home address on the tags on your airport luggage. Now they are saying put only your name on the luggage tags and nothing else. Any luggage handler can now copy your phone number, go to Google, get your
address, and then break into your home in your absence. The items on Google are taken from phone directories which are considered “public knowledge”, and therefore is a legal listing. Is there no privacy anymore?
This item submitted by Warren Sharp.
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OCTOBER SOCIAL
SUNDAY
7 OCTOBER
VENICE GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB
250 Golf Club Drive
Venice Florida
Time: 11:00 A.M.
Reservations must be in by October 5th
Cost: $14.00
Since time is so short it might be wise to call your reservations in as soon as possible and then mail your check to Ellen, that way she will have an accurate count.
Ellen MacLellan Ph: (941) 493-1726
4301 Corso Venetia Blvd
Venice, FL 34293
All of you with last names beginning with the letters A through M please bring a wrapped gift to be raffled off to raise money for the Scholarship Fund.
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Member:_____________________ Guest:____________________
Number of persons attending:____________ at $14.00 each $_____________
Donation to Scholarship Fund $_____________
Total enclosed: $_____________
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The Guest speaker at the Brunch will be Florida State Representative Doug Holder. We look forward to seeing all of you at the Brunch. It is always very nice and we all have a good time.
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ITEMS NEEDED FOR MAILING TO IRAQ
I am publishing this list again so that your memories will be refreshed and that you can think about bringing any of these items to the Socials and or the Monthly Meetings
Toothpaste Toothbrushes Deodorant
Dental Floss Nail Files/Clippers Scrunchies
Razors Writing Materials Pens, Cards
Calling Cards (AT&T) Moisturizing Lotion Sunscreen
Shampoo Conditioner Hair gel
Sanitary Napkins Tampax Leatherman all in one tool
Small note books Paper pads Non-perishable food stuffs, single serving
Beverage mixes that can be added to a 16 or 20 oz bottle of water.
Items may be brought to any of our meetings or socials. Ellen MacLellan Ph# (941) 493-1726 and Marion Hennig Ph# (941) 495-9465 will package and ship them. Donations of money for postage or to purchase any of the above items are gladly accepted.
Our troops really do appreciate this small thing that we do, and I believe that it should continue for as long as necessary. For most of us it is just one small way that we can thank these brave young men and women for their service to our country.
Please save this list as a handy reference when you plan to shop for any of these items.