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 October Newsletter

It’s just not Halloween until you’ve watched “The Nightmare Before Christmas” a hundred kajillion times . . .
We had a few more missing faces at our meeting this month - Cindy and Ramona are hopefully on the mend, and I am assuming Joanie got off the boat okay. We are sending our best wishes to the Garcia family, and hope to see them again soon. E board member Krista has had her hands full with work and mommy business, and Secretary Leslie took one for the team when she injured her finger at VA Bingo. Barbara is dealing with some major knee issues - ladies, please, all of you, take care - so many of you put others before yourselves, and forget that we all need to make ourselves whole in order to be able to help others. Despite all that, we had sixteen members at the meeting, and from these 16 we gathered up some info about how we are progressing towards our goals so far. Since 7 of our programs do not have chairmen yet, we have been trying to include enough activities at the meetings to fulfill requirements for those programs as a unit. Our members have sent out greeting cards (Chaplain), sent emails to the Postmaster General as requested by the Am Leg National Commander (Legislation), collected Box Tops for Education and soda can pop tops for Ronald McDonald House (Children and Youth). All of you that vote next month will be participating in the Americanism program. Some of you shop on Amazon Smile, and hopefully signed up to donate to the National Auxiliary Foundation, and as far as membership goes, we are currently at 41% of our goal, with 92 members signed up. Not bad, not bad at all . . .

​VA and R chair Gloria reported that she purchased new Bingo equipment for the monthly games at the VA ward she sponsors. These are the “forgotten” patients that Gloria and Cindy and their merry band of helpers visit each month, with pizza and prizes and lots of cheerfulness and goodwill. Apparently, just the simple purchase of a bingo game brought a lot of happiness to some very deserving vets, and Gloria and Cindy deserve a lot of credit for what they are doing. Please keep in mind that you could be very helpful with this project if you can spare one evening a month, and let Gloria know you are available to help. Education chair Kelly will be raising money at the Christmas boutique for scholarships - check out her table. Also raising money at the boutique will be the newly formed Junior Auxiliary. We introduced Honorary Junior President Allison Stevens at the meeting - she laid out her plan for the first Junior meeting, which was held on the 14th, and asked the membership for donations to fill Halloween treat bags for the vets at PIER Center. Thanks to some very generous members, she was able to get the ball rolling and go forward with her plan. On Sunday, we had five bright faces around the table (4 members and one guest), and Allison did an amazing job. Emma, Maddie, Angela and Elizabeth, along with junior SAL member Bodie, got their artist on and decorated some really creative treat bags, then filled them with goodies. A big thank you to moms Susana, Kitty, Tracy and dad Julio for helping out. The girls totally blew away my expectations - they worked together and shared conversation as if they had known each other for awhile, and the morning was a great success. Due to various circumstances, we were missing three members, and hope to see them next month. Our unit has a lot to be proud of in these young ladies.

Next Saturday, October 27th, is national Make a Difference Day. Established in 1992, it is intended to be a day when we all come together in the spirit of service and volunteerism to help our community and each other. I think any gesture, done with kindness and generosity, can make a difference, especially this year. I challenge all members to embrace this day with some gesture of goodwill to others, even if it is just an extra hug and a smile. REMINDERS - The Christmas Boutique is the first Saturday in December. Please contact Irene Hallam for information and to sign up for a table - they are limited, so first come, first served.
The hunt for your recipes is over - we are now in production mode. I will be contacting you for additional info if I have any questions about content, or if I can’t read your handwriting:) Next month’s meeting is on Monday the 12th, and it will be about giving. I know Leslie will have info about Thanksgiving at PIER, Linda has a project to present, and I have a couple of fun things to toss into the pile.
Last, but certainly not least, is Sunday November 11th, Veterans Day. This year will mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, and the observance of this date, in one form or another, is the basis for this special day to honor our veterans. We will be having a celebration at the Post, most likely in the early afternoon, but I will make sure to get you that time as soon as I get it. This is one of the Legion’s special days, in a very special year, so please honor your membership as you honor those who have served so unselfishly.

"A Halloween treat planned just for you,
This month's bonus word is BOO!"
Thanks - Deb

Until next month, Happy Halloween!
Revving up my broomstick,
Deborah

 
 

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NEXT MEETING 
MONDAY NOVEMBER 12@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
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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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