Department of Colorado Auxiliary

1. Department of Colorado Convention will be held in Cripple Creek, CO at the Chamonix Casino Hotel, 201 Bennett Ave., Cripple Creek, CO 80813 on June 5 through 8, 2024. All busi ness sessions will be held at the hotel. Uniform of the day for Wednesday night Council meeting will be comfortable casual or President’s shirt. Thursday Joint Opening and Business Sessions uniform will be the official blue shirt, black skirt or slacks and black shoes. Friday business sessions will be patriotic red, white, and blue tops or President’s shirt with blue or black slacks and black shoes. This applies to all council members only.
2. Department President’s Special Project is Operation Veteran Strong. Please forward all donations to Department Treasurer, Lennie Dolan.
3. Delegates to the Department Convention will be recognized by the Credential Committee upon registration according to the Delegate reports filed by the Auxiliary Secretary. Secretaries be sure to send Department Delegate Forms to the Department Secretary immediately following delegate elections. NO Delegate cards will be mailed to the Auxiliaries. Remember elected delegates serve for one year.

   Attachments:

   General Orders 4 May 2024

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   111 kB

As of April 30, 2024

Greetings Auxiliary Members!

The 2023-2024 year is winding down. There is still time for all Auxiliaries to show that we support our Veterans and their struggles to return to civilian life and the issues with suicide by purchasing Phil’s beautiful pins.

Phil has chosen Operation Veteran Strong as his special project. Operation Veteran Strong is a Colorado based non-profit set up as a useful tool just for US Veterans navigating civilian life. This help is 100% FREE to our Veterans and confidential. Here our Veterans can get the tools they need to get things done. They can connect on their own terms with Veterans benefits, VSO contacts, outdoor recreation, employment, financial support, education, family ad spouse supports, Vet groups, VFW’s, community support and so much more. They also specialize in mental health programs and help with Suicide Awareness.

Phil’s special project pin is a beautiful purple and teal ribbon pin, with the Auxiliary emblem in the middle. The pin’s colors are from the suicide prevention ribbon. They signify hope and courage for those who have attempted suicide and remembrance for those who lost their battle. They truly represent President Phil’s special project that is dear and true to him – Suicide Awareness by proving “WE VALUE EVERY VETERAN!”

There are still a few Auxiliaries that have NOT purchased any pins. Our State Standing Rules require that each Auxiliary purchase at least ten (10) pins. LET’S MAKE THAT HAPPEN BEFORE STATE CONVENTION and show Phil our love and reach 100% in sales.

Pins can be purchased by mailing an order along with the monies to pay for the requested number of pins. Once I receive the order form, I will send your requested number of pins to you via USPS. The cost per pin is $3 and you are allowed to resell the pins for $3. If you resell the pins at a higher cost, you are required to send the extra monies into Department of Colorado VFW Auxiliary. All monies raised from this pin are to go to Operation Veteran Strong.

I’m still CHALLENGING each and every Auxiliary member to save $0.25, $7.75 a month or $91.25 a year, and donate to Phil’s Special Project. Bring your quarters to the State Convention in June and let’s fill the Operation Veteran Strong birdhouses with our quarters!!! It is already getting heavy.

And the CHALLENGE to each and every Auxiliary member to give $1 a month or $12 a year to Phil’s Special Project. This money can also be mailed to me at PO Box 533, Mancos, CO 81328 or brought to me at State Convention.

Also, for those Auxiliaries that have been collecting pop tops off of the beer and soda cans – you can take the to your local aluminum collector, have them weighed and send the money to Department earmarking it for Phil’s Special Project. Or you can bring them to me at State Convention. They are too heavy to mail. I will get them weighed at my local distributor and send the money to State. Let’s raise some money for our Veterans!!

Attachments:

2023-24 President Pins Order Form.pdf

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109 kB

Americanism is going strong in Colorado. Thanks to all your hard work and sharing. It was great to see you all at our March COA. Post 1 has an awesome display of our way to share, provide history, and honor our military with their nook of national military history treasures and their Missing Man table display. This year as I visited other posts I always looked for the Missing Man displays and admired how you chose to place it in a special, safe place with extra lighting adding extra items to make be long to your members.

The one observation I do want to visit with you all about is the collection of the branches of service small flag stand. It is so very important and needed to be proactive and in the forefront to honor all of our branches of service. Very few displays have the Space Force flag in their collection. This is a new branch of our military for the USA. It is a vital and necessary branch of security our country needs with all of the cyber business, activity, communications and devices used by all countries around the world, I want to share a few facts about this branch and encourage you to learn more, share more, and put their flag and emblem on display along with all of our other branches of service.

Space Force motto: Always Above. Their song is Semper Supra, meaning “always above”, this official march was composed in 2022 by James Teachenor and Sean Nelson. This is the first new branch of military in 73 years. Service members assigned to Space Force are known as Guardians. Their uniform has 6 silver buttons as it is the 6th branch of service. Question about if Space Force ever see combat? They have been participating in every conflict since the Vietnam War. In fact, the Persian Gulf War is referred to as “Space War”.

This year is coming to an end. Be proud of your activities, events, projects, and programs you put so much time, energy, and funding to make this year at your post the best it could be. Celebrate with get togethers, coffee, pot luck just for you and your volunteers and families who assisted you throughout this year. You all are auxiliary warriors stepping up, continuing on, shining the spotlight on our USA flag and doing the right thing representing your post with pride, respect, and love of this great nation. See you at convention.

Respectfully,

Greetings Buddy Poppy Chairman!

First of all, I want to thank Phil Reinpold for having me as his Buddy Poppy/National Home Chairman for 23-24. I have thoroughly enjoyed the chairmanship and getting to know more about the Buddy Poppy and the National Home.

By the time you receive this newsletter, we will be at the end of the reporting year, and I will have all the numbers of what you have reported to me this year. I want to say that I am very proud of all the work that every one of you have put into this program this year. For every poppy we give out, and every donation we get, we are supporting our veterans’ programs and our disabled who assemble these little red flowers.

I hope all of you are getting ready for Memorial Day Poppy table.

National Home needs our support, whether it’s through our poppy sales, Auxiliary donations, or personal donations. They rely on our support to keep our Colorado house going and help the families that live there. Always remember, the Amazon wish list is one good way to support National Home, or become a Home Town Hero. Those are tow of the many ways to help, so please remember them.

Thank you to all of you for making our Colorado VFW Auxiliary an exceptional one and to Department President Phil for allowing me to serve as Department Chief of Staff. It has been my pleasure to work with District Presidents and Auxiliary Presidents as they provide leadership and encourage their members to strengthen their Auxiliaries through participation and programs. Thank you for using the Good Job Award and the many resources on the National and Department websites.

I have enjoyed meeting many members during visits to Districts and Auxiliaries and have been overwhelmed by the many programs, activities, donations and volunteer time you provide to our Veterans and their families. It has been an honor to have had the opportunity to meet and serve you. Your dedication and commitment make such a difference in helping them improve their lives.

This year we instituted 2 new Auxiliaries – Boone #8898 on November 12, 2023 and Platte River #12226 on April 2, 2024. These new Auxiliaries are excited to be a part of our organization and are looking forward to becoming involved in our programs to help our Veterans. Congratulations to the new members and we look forward to meeting them in the future.

There are several VFW Posts who are considering an Auxiliary at this time. Please continue to encourage, communicate and work with them. Also, let bachelor Posts know about the reasons of having an Auxiliary and how we can work together for our Veterans. This is a great opportunity to increase new Auxiliary membership.

Thank you to every member not only for what you are doing for our Veterans and families but also for the mentoring you do to each other. It can be Member to Member, Officer to Officer, or Officer to Member. It is important to continue to revitalize and/or renew our commitment to each other and our Auxiliary as we continue to grow for the future.

It has been a great year for our Auxiliaries. Your hard work has been appreciated and everyone of you should take deep satisfaction in the work you have accomplished this year! I wish all incoming officers and chairmen best wishes for their upcoming year. I look forward to seeing you at our Department Convention.

Greetings to all my Auxiliary friends!

Our 2023/2024 year is completed as far as reporting. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t need to continue doing what we do best – helping others! Keep track of what you do and as soon as State Convention is over, go back to your calendars and REPORT, REPORT, REPORT what you have done since March 31st. I have challenged myself this next year that I will sit down the end of every month and send in the reports for the past month. I hope you all will con sider doing that also. I’m hoping that all of our hard work and reporting assures that President Phil makes it to the Circle of Excellence at National Convention.

I am impressed with all of the different ideas that the Auxiliaries came up with to work with the different organizations in our communities! This program has always been around for a long time, National has just changed the name and added a few requirements to the program in the past couple years. Our organization has always been active in our communities, we just need to remember to report it differently.

Thank you for all that you do for our Veterans and our communities.

Stay safe and I look forward to seeing you all at State Convention and rewarding our Auxiliaries for the work they have done.

Sincerely,

Auxiliary Brothers and Sisters,

As this program year draws closer, it’s incredible to think about all that we’ve achieved together. Now is the perfect time to reflect on our accomplishments and look ahead to new opportunities.

Let’s reach out to other auxiliaries, districts, and departments for fresh ideas for our social media platforms. Brainstorm with fellow members to discover what’s working well for their local auxiliaries.

I’ve been immensely proud and excited to see everyone’s posts on social media and to witness the impactful events taking place across our great state of Colorado within the VFW community.

As we strive to communicate our dedication to serving veterans, keep these tips in mind:

Engage with our local community to share our mission and activities. Capture plenty of photos at events and share them on social media.

Remember the 5 W’s: who, what, where, when, and why of our auxiliary events.

Highlight newsworthy activities, such as hosting events at VA facilities, participating in Wreaths Across America, assisting deployed troops’ families, adopting a unit through the VFW’s Veteran and Military Support Program, collecting supplies for deployed troops, and welcoming troops home at the airport.

Continue your exceptional work for our veterans and communities. Your unwavering dedication, hard work, and passion are truly commendable.

It has been an honor to serve as the 2023-2024 Historian/Media Relations Chairwoman.

Respectfully,

Greetings Sisters and Brothers!

I cannot believe another year has flown by. One reporting year ended March 31st and the next one began April 1st. Soon we will be gathering for the an nual state convention in Cripple Creek. There we will hand out awards for all the hard work everyone has done over the past year. On that note, I want to thank each and every one of you who participated in that hard work in whatever way worked best for you.

Please remember that even though the reporting year ended, our work doesn’t end! Keep up with all the great work you’ve done this year so that next year is just as successful.

Enjoy the warmer weather and I hope to see you all in Cripple Creek!

Loyally,

Sisters and Brothers,

WOW!! How time flies. Since April 1st we are on the 2024-25 reporting year but don’t stop reporting. It is all to easy to say “I’ll do it later” and then forget it. I would rather you report every time you did something than not at all. Your info will be turned over to the chairman for the 24-25 yr.

Thank You to all that did submit your reports. Many of you voted & I hope more voted than just those that reported it. Several helped with the election sites, attended a lot of political meetings, town halls and sent emails, postcards and made calls.

Let’s keep “pestering” our Legislatures to do right for all of our veterans and family members.

Greetings Producers, Actors and Stars,

Camera: Where did this year go? To know that this will be the last Colorado Veteran I write as Membership Chairman, is something I will miss. This has been a fun year for me, and I want to tell you that you all Rocked with membership!

You reached the goal of March 31st, of having Department of Colorado Auxiliary at past 98%, but actually you had this done by March 15th. Way to go!!

As of today April 1st, Department Auxiliary is at 99.39% and need 36 members, to have Department at 100%. You all are so close as I see in Malta there are so many Auxiliaries that need 1, 2, even 10 members, to be 100%. I have so much faith in you to get to this goal because you have been working so hard!

We have 30 Auxiliaries at 100% and 7 District at 100%. This is only April 1st, so I know by end of April, we will be so much closer to the goal, or even hitting the goal.

Lights: Let you shine, as you are so close to being there. Remember: You have the deadline of June 30th for everyone to pay their membership dues but keep pushing them. Continue to work on your members who have not paid their dues or try and retain old members who may have not paid their dues for some reason. Some may need help, some may have forgotten, some may not want to rejoin, but speak with them all and see what you as an Auxiliary can do to get them paid and keep them in your Auxiliary. Don’t stop now; you continue to do everything you can possibly do to get your Auxiliary to 100% .

At our last Council of Administration at Post 1, we had the contest of any Auxiliary that reached 100% by March 13th. Our National Representative was our National Chaplain Donna Mills, who graciously picked the 4 Auxiliary winners. Congratulations to:

• Auxiliary 859 - Two-Mile High
• Auxiliary 5843 - Meeker
• Auxiliary 4265 – Samuel Havenga Jr. - Craig
• Auxiliary 9221 – Grand Mesa - Cedaredge

Action: Be yourself, take action on helping your Auxiliary. Remember we are all a team, and we have “The True Grit” to do what we know needs to be done.

I thank you all for your dedication in everything you do and for helping our veterans. See you at the State Convention in June.

With Loyalty,

Greetings Auxiliary Members,

It is hard to believe that another program year is in the books! I want to thank each and every one of you for your hard work over this past year. Your dedication to the Scholarship Program continues to amaze me! Although this reporting year has come to an end, please continue to track your activities over the next few months so that you can report them when the new reporting year opens.

The Continuing Education Scholarship continues to grow in the number of applicants and I hope with your help, we can continue to see an increase in participation in this scholarship opportunity in the future. The VFW Auxiliary support for the VFW Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen Scholarships continues to grow as well. Your recognition of recipients for all the scholarship programs has been amazing this year. There have been numerous events, banquets, and recognition activities throughout our state to acknowledge these participants. The VFW has already released the theme for next year’s program.

The 2024-2025 Voice of Democracy theme is: “Is America Today Our Forefather’s Vision?”. The 2024-2025 Patriot’s Pen theme is: “My Voice in America’s Democracy?”.

The Young American Patriotic Art 2-D and 3-D Scholarship Programs also continues to grow in participants. I am very excited for the State Convention to see all the art work on display and to recognize our Department of Colorado recipients!

Congratulations to all of the Department of Colorado scholarship recipients for the 2023-2024 year! Thank you for representing our wonderful state! To all of our auxiliaries in the state of Colorado, THANK YOU for all that you do! Remember, the best way to ensure the continuing growth and support of our organization is by continuing to support and encourage our younger generations through these scholarship opportunities.

Sincerely,

Greetings Auxiliary Sisters, Brothers, Post members and all others reading I cannot believe another year is coming to an end. I know we all took a minute to check on someone. By the time you are reading this it will be May, and everyone will be getting ready for the Convention.

I would like to thank President Phil for asking me to do Veterans and Family Support this year. Like Phil, Suicide Awareness and Prevention/Mental Health Awareness are important to me. I have to say this year took a turn from where I had planned on going and it also took on a mind of its own. Not only did I get to help share part of one of our owns story and help them to begin a new journey but also share part of my story. Let’s continue to be mindful that everyone is going through something, and it is not always shared out loud. Continue to check on one another and continue doing a great job of supporting all our Veterans. They gave so much for us, and they deserve it in return.

It has been an incredible year with all the support given to all our Veterans and Family Support programs such as National Veterans Service (NVS), Military Assistance Program (MAP), Unmet Needs, VFW “Sports Clips” Help a Hero Scholarship program, and our Women Veterans. Continue to do the great things each of you do. Even though this year’s reporting has come to an end, we have next year, and we need to continue rocking all these thing we do for veterans. Remember the new reporting year began April 1st.

Thank you for all you do for our veterans. I am excited to see everyone in June and share the outstanding things our Auxiliaries have done in supporting our Veterans this past year as we are Banding Together for Our Veterans, let us remember We Value Every Veteran! Colorado is a great place to be, we all rock!

Hello Auxiliary brothers and sisters,

Wow, this year has flown by and now that spring is in the air we can start looking forward to warm weather and backyard barbeques. As Memorial Day approaches, let’s find ways to get our youth involved in celebrations by teaching them the importance of the holiday.

It’s hard to believe our reporting year has ended. All our auxiliaries have done an outstanding job supporting our youth. My sincere thanks to all those who reported your activities. As we look forward to convention, keep the momentum going in working with our youth.

I have enjoyed being your youth activities chairman and would like to thank President Phil for giving me the opportunity. I enjoyed meeting many of you at COAs.

I have enjoyed all the pictures and seeing all the creative ways of getting our youth involved in patriotism. As always, I am available through email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and phone (720) 201-4062, should you need assistance.

Respectfully,