We are wives, mothers, grandmothers, sisters,
daughters & granddaughters
of American Legion members, those who have served America with pride and honor.
We are The American Legion Auxiliary!

​Mission Statement
In the spirit of Service, Not Self, the mission of the American Legion Auxiliary is to support The American Legion and to honor the sacrifice of those who serve by enhancing the lives of our veterans, military, and their families, both at home and abroad. For God and Country, we advocate for veterans, educate our citizens, mentor youth, and promote patriotism, good citizenship, peace and security. 
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Vision Statement
The vision of the American Legion Auxiliary is to support The American Legion while becoming the premier service organization and foundation of every community providing support for our veterans, our military, and their families by shaping a positive future in an atmosphere of fellowship, patriotism, peace and security.

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Unit 716 November/December Newsletter

Unit 716 Newsletter Email - November/December 2018
Dear Members - I figured out a way to incorporate Leslie’s
meeting minutes into the newsletter! Thanks to copious trial
and error putting the cookbook together, it dawned on me to
try this - thank goodness it seems to work, because if I had to
recreate all this information in this month’s newsletter, I would
have botched it badly.

To be honest, my mindset is not where it should be for this
time of year. I heard something last night that I let get into my
head; I need to give myself a mental shake, because I am
focusing on things that are bothering me but shouldn’t, along
with the realization that just because you want something to
happen doesn’t mean it’s going to, that not everyone is going
to go along with what you want, and that no matter what you
do, there are just some people you are never going to please.

There have been some major disappointments lately, but there
have been many achievements too, and that is what I need to
remember this holiday season. Just these past few weeks we
had Auxiliary members, led by Leslie Gonyea, providing hot
dogs and hugs to patients and staff at the VA. Woody Collins,
Susana and I got together and made 21 soldiers working the
gates at JFTB and the Naval Weapons Station very happy with a
home-cooked Thanksgiving meal - thank you Woody, our
honorary Auxiliary member, for letting us be a part of that. And
if you read through the minutes attached to the end of this
email, you will see the members present at last month’s
meeting voted to make some people very happy this Christmas,
and this is a great thing, and always makes me feel so happy to
be associated with all of you. And, last but not least, the
cookbooks are in! This accomplishment is a great example of
someone who had an idea they really, really, really wanted to
make work, and I am proud that Joni allowed me to help her
make this happen. In this I at least saw one of my goals
achieved - making sure that I help any member that has a viable
idea to see it come to fruition.

But there is a problem we need to address - attendance at the
Legion functions has been horrible lately. I know this is a
divisive issue for some, which is a shame, because regardless of
what we do as the Auxiliary, obviously we are also a major part
of the Legion family as a whole. Our success or failure reflects
on the whole organization, just as theirs does on us. I realize
that perhaps some of the activities planned may not be
something you want to do, but without any kind of input or
support for new ideas we are stymied going forward. No one
knows better than I do that there are times we feel we are at
cross-purposes with the other groups, or that it is not fair that
we seem to put more effort into something than someone else.
However, what does it say about us if we stand back and let
things crumble because we don’t feel “appreciated”? Is that
what we stand for? Is that what the line in the Preamble that
refers to “. . . the aims and purposes of the American Legion”
means to you, that if we don’t like the way things are going we
aren’t going to participate anymore? Everyone considers their
membership in a different light, and I know this. Our greatest
successes come when we all work together; if we can’t do that,
then we make do with what we have, but we lose the
opportunity to do so many more things that would make a
positive impact on people who need us the most. I would like to
reach out to our new members, who have not yet been to a
party or other Legion activity (I’m not talking about Steak Night
- we know the Sons have that totally handled), and ask you to
please attend just once. If it is not to your liking, then please,
please let me know - the goal here is to get people to come to
the things they will enjoy, and it would easy to accomplish that
if we just knew what those things are. As for me, I am going to
keep plugging away at it, because that is part of the
responsibility of my position, and because I know there are
others that work just as hard as they can to keep the Post a
viable and functioning part of the community, and because I
take seriously all this organization stands for and am willing to
continue supporting it, warts and all. My association with the
Auxiliary, and because of that the Post, has given me back far
more than I have given it; and the spirit of the ladies that have
come before us, who worked so hard with the Legion and
sometimes despite it, should be our guide in our actions and
efforts going forward.

I do look forward to our meeting in December, because
spending the evening just having fun with each other has
always made me feel better about everything. In January,
please consider bringing a friend to the meeting, because we
will be highlighting Girls State, one of our best programs, and it
will be a fine example of what we do and stand for.

In closing, I hope we all find solace and gentleness of spirit amid
the festivities and hectic schedules of this holiday season. I will
give myself the gift of reflecting on all the great things we have
done these past few months, being grateful for all our new
members and the wonderful things they bring to the group, and
appreciating those that continue to be steadfast and give their
best to our organization. I will then discard all the other
obstacles and frustrations like so much used wrapping paper.

I wish love, compassion and happiness for each and every one
of you this holiday.

Deborah


 
 

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NEXT MEETING 
MONDAY
JANUARY 14@7PM

Amanda Carmichael
Elizabeth Carmichael
Glinda Davis
Angela Pinedo
Melanie Willis
Janis Sabic
Sharon Beran
Candace Kitchen

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ADRINA ALVAREZ
CORAL BARLOW
CAMEO CANZANO
BRIGITTE CHAVEZ
TIFFANY COX
ALLIE HAZELTON
HANNA JANJI
KRISTY LIVINGSTON
MAYRA MONTES
CHERYL NEIFFER
BLANCA POTEZ
SOPHIA RAMIREZ
KRISTEN RECH
JILL STEPHENS
MAURNIKE STEVENSON
CARRIE TAYLOR
ANNE WYNNE
​

MARGARET ABRAMSON
LAURA DIAZ
LINDA COTUGNO
MALLORY CRAIG
ANGELINA CROWE
CYNTHIA GOTHBERG
DENISE GOY-WARNER
AMANDA HENRY
KELLY HUFF
SHERI JOHNSON
PEGGY MERRILL-JANICKI
CINDY MIRANDA
DORIS MOREYMARTINEZ
AMY PUL
ANGIE PUHL
LAURA SCHMITZ
HEIDE SCHULER
SHARON STARR
CHERYL STUBBE
 

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Los Alamitos Unit 716 Officers 2018-2019

President - Deborah Driscoll
First Vice - Kelly Huff
Second Vice - Susana Stevens
Secretary - Leslie Goneya
Treasurer - Lori Soutar
Sgt at Arms and Historian - Krista Young
Marshall - Joanie Harris
Parliamentarian - Mary Hernandez
E-Board
Cheryl Eubanks
Barbara Schrack
Joanie Redman
Junior Past president - Irene Hallam

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SUPPORT THE AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY UNIT 716 LOS ALAMITOS. Thank you for your generosity. Without the support of our generous donors, the American Legion Auxiliary could not maintain the range of work undertaken by our organization. To those of you who joined us in service to our veterans, military and their families this year, we extend a special word of thanks.

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