PATRIOT BULLETIN - Military Order of the Purple Heart

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PATRIOT BULLETIN
I
COMMANDER’S MESSAGE
hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving and
enjoyed the traditional turkey or ham feast and the
traditional football game on TV. The Christmas holidays
are just a couple of weeks away as we end this year and
start the New Year with a new President-elect to guide
our country through the next four years. I foresee many
new changes with this new administration. I pray that
those changes are good and hope they do not have a
negative impact on the veterans community and on the
health benefits. Nevertheless, we will have to wait and see
that all goes well.
As most of you already know, this year, due to lack of
financial support from Outback Steakhouse we will not be
having the Purple Santa Benefit Luncheon. For the past
several years this has been one of Chapter 1919’s biggest
events, and it has been an essential part of our budget by
helping raise funds for our chapter’s Welfare Program,
helping needy veterans and veterans families. The
chapter is not broke; we have funds sufficient to sustain
that program. However, it never hurts to have some
cushion for an emergency if one comes up.
On Saturday November 8, Patriot Richard Contreras
and his two daughters, Katherine and Marisol and I
staffed a Rest Stop for the Wurst 100k Bike Ride that
helped raise funds for the Bob Woodruff Family Fund
that focuses on the hidden injuries of the mind such as
combat stress and traumatic brain injury. Over 600
cyclists came through and stopped for a snack and a drink
of Gatorade or water. All the snacks and beverages were
provided by different sponsors and the Purple Heart
volunteers provided the staffing for the rest stop.
Chapter Notes
……….PATRIOTS, WE
HAVE HAD A GREAT
YEAR, BUT 2008 IS
RAPIDLY DRAWING
TO A CLOSE, AND BY
TRADITION WE HAVE
A HOLIDAY PARTY AS
OUR LAST EVENT OF
THE YEAR….
THE PATRIOT BULLETIN IS PUBLISHED, NORMALLY MONTHLY, BY THE TEXAS
CAPITAL CHAPTER 1919, The MILITARY ORDER of the PURPLE HEART of the U.S.A.,
Inc., 5701 PAINTED VALLEY DRIVE, AUSTIN, TEXAS, 78759, FOR ITS MEMBERS.
TO SUBMIT MATERIAL, OR COMMENTS, OR TO REPORT CHANGES OF ADDRESS,
NOTIFY EDITOR, MILT CARR, (512) 343-7940. THE CUTOFF DATE TO SUBMIT
MATERIAL FOR PUBLICATION IS EXACTLY 3-WEEKS PRIOR TO THE DATE OF
THE NEXT CHAPTER MEETING. YOU CAN VIEW OUR NEWSLETTER IN COLOR,
GO TO WEBSITE www.purpleheartaustin.org , FIND NEWSLETTER IN THE MENU.
The Adult’s and Children’s holiday gatherings held at the
Odd Fellows Lodge #23 this year will both be on the same
day, Sunday, December 14. The Children's party will have
entertainment, and ice cream, cookies, and other goodies
will be served. Purple Santa will make an appearance at
2:00PM and pass out some goodies and he will have an
individual gift for each child. The Adult party will have
finger food, fruit and cheese trays and different beverages.
Come by, sit and visit for a while, say hello to the other
Patriots, and enjoy the camaraderie.
The weather was great for the Veterans Day parade. Many
of our Patriots showed up and participated in the parade.
This year the parade committee honored women who served
in the United States Armed Forces during all wars. There
were women present who served in World War II, Korea,
Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. Additionally, I would like
to thank Patriot Tony Moore again for taking over for me
as Purple Santa. We also had Patriot Bill and Patsy Lane
from Iowa Park, Texas (near Wichita Falls), who came all
the way to Austin just to be with us in the parade this year.
Patriot Lane and his wife Patsy represented our chapter in
the “wreath laying ceremony” at the Capitol.
The January meeting will be another “G.I. Breakfast” held
in the Camp Mabry Cafeteria. The menu will include eggs,
bacon, and the famous and delicious S.O.S. on toast with
coffee or orange juice. More details as January gets closer.
The guest speaker for January will be Ms. Sheri Soltes from
Dripping Springs. Ms. Soltes trains dogs for veterans with
hearing problems and provides them free of charge to the
veterans by means of a grant that the Federal Government
awarded her organization.
I hope everyone can come by for a while on Sunday
December 14, from 1 to 4PM, and enjoy each other's
company. In closing, I wish you and yours a Merry
Christmas and Happy New Year. As well, to other Patriots
I wish you and yours a very Happy Seasons Greetings and
Feliz Navidad.
Yours In Patriotism,
RAYMOND DIAZ
Commander, Chapter 1919