August 2019 Volume 1, Issue 7
American Legion Post 0240
Newsletter
COMMANDER’S CORNER
So, we are now in the dog days of August. Every day is hot,
steamy, and even walking to the mailbox can be a sweat-
inducing slog. But, unlike those poor souls up North, we
have the beaches, the Gulf, and most importantly, our Post
and its Eagles Lair Lounge. Our lounge is air conditioned,
roomy, filled with music on the jukebox, with televisions
tuned to sports and more, and it does not run out of cold
libations.
This Summer we have a few interesting events are under-
way to replace others that went on hiatus until Fall returns.
To start, the Lounge is experimenting with Karaoke on Sat-
urday nights at 1900pm. We already have Karaoke on Fri-
day nights, and now the tunes are flowing on Saturdays too.
Karaoke replaces live bands for the Summer as bands can
be quite expensive and are not as well attended during the
Summer months. There’s also an Italian Cook-off coming
to the Lounge on August 10th at 1700. There will be prizes
I hear for the Best-In-Show for: Appetizers, Entrees, and
Desserts. I do like pasta!
Did you know the AL Riders are operating the Rider’s Grill
on Tuesdays. These Taco Tuesdays start at 1700 and seem
to be picking up quite a following – and no wonder, they
are priced right at a dollar a taco! The Riders are also pre-
paring to begin Meat Bingo nights on the first Saturday of
the month beginning next month on September 7th. If you
don’t know what Meat Bingo is, think Bingo with butcher
(Continued on page 4)
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Commander’s Corner .............. 1
1st Vice’s News ........................ 2
2nd Vice’s News ...................... 2
3rd Vice’s News ....................... 3
Chaplain’s Report ................... 4
Lounge News .......................... 4
House Committee News ......... 5
Historian’s News and Notes ….5
Ladies Auxiliary News ............ 6
SAL & Legion Riders News ..... 6
SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST
Post Elections for 2019/20 ...... 2
Contact Us ............................... 3
Bingo ....................................... 4
Event Hall Rental ................... 5
Mark Your Calendars .............. 7
Sally’ J’s Kitchen ..................... 7
Sally J’s Kitchen Menu …...…...9
Post 240 Calendar ….………….10
8666 Gulf Beach Highway Pensacola, Florida 32507
Phone: (850) 455-6111 E-mail:
FIRST VICE COMMANDER’S NEWS S. 504:
LET EVERYONE GET INVOLVED IN OPPORTUNITIES FOR NATIONAL
SERVICE ACT
In a significant legislative victory for The American Legion, President Trump signed a bill July 30 that de-clares the United States has been in a state of war since Dec. 7, 1941.
The American Legion sought the declaration as a way to honor approximately 1,600 U.S. servicemembers who were killed or wounded dur-ing previously undeclared periods of war.
The LEGION Act (Let Every-one Get Involved In Oppor-tunities for National Service Act) also opens the door for approximately 6 million vet-erans to access American Legion programs and bene-fits for which they previous-ly had not been eligible.
Now that the legislation has been signed, The American Legion’s eligibility criteria immediately changes from seven war eras to two: April 6, 1917, to Nov. 11, 1918, and Dec. 7, 1941 to a time later determined by the fed-eral government. No other restrictions to American Le-gion membership are changed. Until new applica-tions are introduced, we will write “LEGION ACT” if no applicable conflict is listed.
Page 2
Membership season is upon us.
So far, since we received our
new membership cards from
the State convention, we have
processed and mailed out over
220 renewals, and with the
online renewals received from
the State and National offices,
our Post is already over 25 per-
cent renewals barely a month
into the new Legion year.
At our General Membership
meeting on July 9th, we read
the names of 6 new and 2
transfer memberships received
during the previous 30 days.
All were approved by a unani-
mous voice vote.
— Tere Beckman
CHAPLAIN’S REPORT
It is with deep sorrow that I
must report we lost a great
friend and gentle soul in John
“John W.” Wyers. John passed
at home hospice care on July
30th. John is preceded in
death by his parents, Harold
and Margaret Wyers; and his
beloved wife, Edie Wyers.
Survivors are his son, Rex
Wyers; daughter, Sandy Da-
vidson; plus grandchildren and
great-grandchildren. A memo-
rial service and celebration of
his life will be held at Post
240’s Events Hall on Saturday,
August 10th at 1400. Inter-
ment will be at Barrancas Na-
tional Cemetery. (Date and
time unknown as of our date of
publication).
The family wishes any dona-
tions be made to Waterfront
Mission in lieu of flowers.
You can find the latest news on
funerals and fellow Post mem-
bers who are hospitalized on
our Video Board in the Eagle’s
Lair Lounge at Post 240.
— Barry Hines
SECOND VICE COMMANDER’S NEWS CONTACT US:
COMMANDER
Dave Forsman 850-292-2000
ADJUTANT
Joseph Bodmer 850-455-6111
FIRST VICE COMMANDER
Tere Beckman
SECOND VICE COMMANDER
Tom Williams 850-497-2463
THIRD VICE COMMANDER
Tom Williams (Acting)
FINANCE OFFICER
Ray Hamel
HISTORIAN
Bob Reinhart
SERGEANT-AT-ARMS
Jerry DuPont
CHAPLAIN
Barry Hines 850-712-2810
SERVICE OFFICER
Donna Hudson 850-261-1959
ALR DIRECTOR
Betti Perry 615-962-4256
SAL COMMANDER
Bruce Robertson
HOUSE COMMITTEE
Steve Stillwell - Chair
Hal Eyerly
Bill Evans
Bo Waggoner
Mike Nicholson
LOUNGE MANAGER
Sue Terry 850-455-6111
POST PHONE # & WEBSITE
850-455-6111
americanlegionpost240.org
Page 3
THIRD VICE COMMANDER’S NEWS
Last month’s Car Show and Fish Fry continued its stellar
success with a $360.00 profit on the sales of fish dinners.
Both the Car Show, as usual, and the Fish Fry, were well
attended and financial successes. As always, kudos to Mar-
io, Raybo in the cook shack, and Amy and Becky in the
kitchen, and Neil Gaihmer, Robert Farley David Lawhun
and Dan Quinn for their work helping make this event go
off like clockwork. This month’s Car Show and Fish Fry will
land on August 4th. Hope to see you all there.
By the way, did you know the one Post Officer position that
has yet to be filled is this one? For a commitment of only a
few hours a few days a month, the work of the 3rd Vice is a
truly satisfying job in that you get to see the positive results
of your efforts in real time. The position handles all events
that require outside the Post facilities and support. See
Dave Forsman, Post 240 Commander, to learn more.
Our July Fourth party was a huge success. Between listen-
ing to fabulous music in the Eagles Lair Lounge, to the great
summertime food put on by the Post and the many volun-
teers who delivered great Pot-Luck dishes, to the fun times
had by the many children who played on the Waterslide
erected out in back of the Post. It was a blast! A special
thanks to Amy and Dan Quinn, Linda Beckstrom and David
Lawhun for all their hard work in handling the numerous
food and event preparations.
Coming this month and in September are a number of
events we’re planning for adults of all ages. From an “Italian
Cook-Off Night” with prizes for Best Appetizer, Entrée and
Dessert (postponed to accommodate the John Wyers Me-
morial, a rescheduled date and time forthcoming), to a Ca-
sino Night in the Events Hall on September 21 from 7-10pm.
Lastly, have you heard? There’s now Karaoke on Saturday
Nights from 1900 to 2300 in the Eagles Lair Lounge brought
to you by the same “Lips-A-Go-Go” that performs Karaoke
on Friday nights. Come on out and test your pipes!
— Tom Williams
cuts of prime beef, pork and chicken, etc., as prizes instead of cash. My grill can hardly wait!
In other news, I am pleased to report that two teams from our Post played in the NAS Pen-
sacola 69th Invitational Golf Tourney – and both teams placed in the money, coming in
third in their respective flights! Congratulations to the teams of Rick Morgan and our Adju-
tant Joe Bodmer, and also to the team of Bradley Hampshire and Rob Mangan. A hearty
well done!
As for other golf news, our Post is sponsoring two teams for the Pensacola Area CPO Associ-
ations Charity Golf Tourney on Friday, August 30th. Our sponsorship, approved by the
General Membership meeting held on July 9th, includes our Post’s name and information
prominently displayed on all of the tourney’s advertising and signage, as well as all entry
costs for our two teams. Sign-ups to join one of the two teams are being taken on a sheet
behind the bar. A random drawing from among those who signed up will fill the two teams
of four. We’ll do the drawing before our General Membership Meeting on August 13th.
And lastly, there was some big news coming out of Washington, DC this past week with the
U.S. Congress passing, and the President signing, the “The Let
Everyone Get Involved In Opportunities for National Service
Act (LEGION Act)”. The Act opens the door for millions of vet-
erans to access American Legion programs and benefits for
which they previously had not been eligible.
You can read more on this and how the eligibility requirements
for membership in the American Legion have changed for the
better on Page 2 of our newsletter.
To find out the latest, up-to-the-minute news, follow along with
Post 240’s website at:
americanlegionpost240.org
— Dave Forsman
COMMANDER’S CORNER (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1)
EVENT HALL
RENTAL
Need a place to hold
an event? Birthdays,
anniversaries, recep-
tions, parties: we have
the space!
Our Hall holds 199
people, has a private
bar, band stand, dance
floor, etc. Catering is
also available. Rea-
sonable usage fees
apply.
For further info contact
the Lounge at (850)
455-6111 and speak to
the Lounge Manager,
Ms. Sue Terry, or our
Second Vice Com-
mander Tom Williams.
Hours:
Wed: 1600—2000
Thu: 1700—2000
Fri: 1700—2000
Sun: 0800—1100
Menu
SANDWICHES SIDES
Hamburger $5.50 Onion Rings $4.50
Cheeseburger $6.00 French Fries $3.50
Patty Melt $6.00 Cheese Sticks $4.50
Bacon Cheeseburger $7.50 Appetizer Platter $10.50
Ham or Turkey Sandwich $5.50
Grilled Cheese $4.00 SALADS
Bacon-Lettuce-Tomato $6.50 Regular Salad $3.00
Grilled Ham & Cheese $5.50 Chef Salad $7.00
Club Sandwich $6.50 Grilled Chicken Salad $7.00
Taco Salad $7.00
APPETIZERS $10.00 DINNER NIGHTS (Wed, Fri.)
Lumpia (9) $5.50 Country Fried Steak
Chicken Wings (7) $5.50 Pepper Steak
Chicken Tenders (3-4) $5.50 Chicken Breast (Grilled or Fried)
Add Fries $7.00 Sweet & Sour Pork or Chicken
All Dinners include Salad, Roll, 2 Sides
DINNER SIDES: Baked or Mashed Potato, Corn, Steamed Rice, French Fries,
Steamed Broccoli, Green Beans
THE AGENCY OF PENSACOLA
Your Real Estate Source 5705 N. Davis Hwy~Pensacola, FL 32503
Rob Wilmer, Realtor (o) 850.472.2500
(c) 850.723.3250
BINGO HALL OPERATIONS
The Bingo Hall con-
tinues to request vol-
unteers to assist with
event operations.
Volunteers are re-
quested to state their
preferred start and
end times relative to
their availability.
Assistance and sup-
port for the early
hours of Bingo
Nights is especially
requested.
Our games have six
$250 pots and all
other games have
$50 winners. Bingo
starts at 1800 on
Wednesdays. Bingo
is open to the public,
so grab a friend and
come on down!
LOUNGE NEWS
In June, the Eagle’s Lair Lounge reported that it again took in
approximately $5,000 in Pull Tabs revenue, and that the
Lounge also took in approximately $3,500 in revenue from
food and beverage sales for last month.
The Queen of Hearts drawing continues apace, with the pot
climbing to over$2,808 as of August 1st. The drawings are held
each and every Friday at 1800 in the Eagles Lair Lounge. Tick-
ets are $1.00 apiece, and seating at the bar fills up some 2-3
hours before the drawing, so come early and enjoy some fun
times with friends and comrades.
The Lounge had planned an Italian Cookoff Party coming on
the 10th, with judging and prizes for Best Appetizer, Best En-
trée, and Best Italian Dessert. Regrettably, we lost a truly great
friend and Legionnaire in John Wyers and necessarily post-
poned to accommodate the Wyers family’s Memorial service
schedule for that day. Known affectionately to all as “John W”,
he was always active in the Post, whether he was singing big
band era tunes and sharing a dance on Karaoke Night, teaming
up with the Twizards on Thursday trivia nights, or just regaling
us with his stories from his birthplace in England, his adven-
tures during the Vietnam War, or just everyday life. He will be
sorely missed!
— Sue Terry
Page 6
Cell (850) 281-1816
Toll Free (855) 747-ROOF (7663) Bradley Hampshire
Lic#CCC1328259
If anyone has any pictures of the history of our post, please get in touch with our new His-
torian, Bob Reinhart so he can include them in next year’s scrapbook. And please re-
member to include any names of individuals in your pictures so we can correctly attribute
the faces in the pics. In other news, our previous Historian, Steve Stillwell, has finalized
the 2018/2019 Post Yearbook and it has been forwarded to National Headquarters
for entry into the Legion Yearbook of the Year competition. Good luck and stay tuned!
HISTORIAN’S NEWS
HOUSE COMMITTEE NEWS
On this month’s maintenance front, the
House Committee had a relatively quiet
30 days. We did a bunch of small tasks
around the Post, but nothing of note to
report, which I suppose is a positive. In
other news,
We had two new volunteers join the
House Committee to fill two vacancies. Please join me in wel-
coming Mike Nicholson and Bo Waggoner to the House Commit-
tee. In addition, the House Committee elected Steve Stillwell to
be the Chair of the committee.
On July 20th, the House Committee, joined by all of the elected
officers of Post 240 conducted our annual Post Inventory. The
inventory counted and verified all spaces in the Post, and all of
our Post’s hardware, equipment and non-consumables. And I’m
pleased to say, everything checked out.
— Hal Eyerly
SALLY’S J’S
KITCHEN
Sally J’s Kitchen is
open for Bingo on
Wednesday nights, Fri-
day nights for Karaoke,
and Sunday mornings for
breakfast.
For now we are pleased
that the Kitchen is also
open on Thursdays for
Pub Quiz “Trivia” nights.
Hungry for a Steak dinner
with all the fixin’s? That’s
a Sally J’s Kitchen spe-
cialty on Friday nights
with Steak Dinners that
include two sides, roll,
salad, and a sweet
dessert. YUM!
IN THE EAGLES LAIR LOUNGE
EVERY DAY 4-7pm
$2.00 DOMESTIC BEER
$2.50 IMPORT BEER
$2.50 WELL DRINKS
AMERICAN LEGION RIDERS
The next Post 240 American Legion Riders meeting is
scheduled for August 1st @ 1800.
Our Rider’s Grill on Tuesdays
starting at 1700 continues to show
strong support by the Post. Cur-
rently featuring tacos (hard and
soft) and taco salads, everything is
prepared fresh and to-order, so
come in and get yours, and you’ll
have to try “Alex’s Margarita Specials” too! At $2.00
apiece, that go perfect with a couple of loaded tacos.
Speaking of Rider events, we are planning for our first
Meat Bingo for Saturday, September 7th. The time is
still TBD, but it should be a hoot, with winning bingo’s
receiving prime butcher cuts of meats versus cash priz-
es. And just as a heads-up for next month, we will have
our 12th Annual Homeless Veterans Poker Ride, and
will also have a Blessing of the Bikes. Mark your calen-
dars and we’ll see you for this important event on our
calendar!
— Betti Perry
There isn’t a lot of news from the Sons
this month, as summertime is usually
the slowest part of the year for us.
We are still raising revenues through
the 50/50 raffles we sponsor immedi-
ately after the Queen of Hearts draw-
ings on Friday nights and again later
in the evening during Karaoke. They
continue to make a steady contribution to our funds and
thus our ability to serve our mission and charitable giving
throughout the year.
— Robert Farley
Page 8
LEGION RIDERS DIRECTOR
Betti Perry
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Neil Gahimer
SECRETARY
Bruce Robertson
TREASURER
Robert Farley
MEMBERSHIP
Vacant
CHAPLAIN
Jana Staples
SERGEANT-AT-ARMS
Spirit Gebbia
SAFETY
Jerry Sires
ROAD CAPTAINS
Geno Graham & Larry Barrows
SONS OF THE AMERICAN LEGION
COMMANDER
Robert Farley
FIRST VICE COMMANDER
Neil Gahimer
SECOND VICE COMMANDER
Robert Qualls
TREASURER
John Maxwell
ADJUTANT
Justin Farley
CHAPLAIN
Bruce Ganis
SERGEANT-AT-ARMS
Alan Getman
HISTORIAN
Rick Davis
SONS OF THE AMERICAN LEGION
LADIES AUXILIARY NEWS
MARK YOUR CALENDARS ( SEE PAGES 10 & 11 FOR MORE INFORMATION)
LADIES AUXILIARY
PRESIDENT
Earlynn Stillwell
VICE PRESIDENT
Sherry Hamel
SECRETARY
Amy Quin
TREASURER
Kathy McCaffrey
HISTORIAN
Vacant
CHAPLAIN
Jana Staples
SERGEANT-AT-ARMS
Becky Ohning
We have our first event of the new Auxilia-
ry year planned for September 21. Our Ca-
sino Night event will be held from 7pm to
10pm with all sorts of table games (Craps,
Blackjack, Poker, Roulette, and more). The
cost will be $20.00 per person and is an
adult-only event.
Lastly, remember to come out for our regularly scheduled
monthly Ladies Auxiliary Meeting, which is always held on the
same day as the Post’s General Membership meeting, which is
this month is on August 13th.
Here are this month’s notable events and meetings:
• Every Friday @ 1800—The NEW Queen of Hearts drawing begins anew each Friday
at 1800. Come in to the lounge and get your tickets: $1.00 a ticket.
• Every Tuesday @ 1700—Riders Grill: ”Taco Tuesdays”
• August 1 @ 1800—AL Riders Meeting.
• August 4 @ 1200—Car Show & Fish Fry (Fish Fry @ 1300).
• August 10 @ 1400—Memorial Service and Celebration of Life for John Wyers.
• August 13 @ 1730 and 1830—House Committee, General Membership & Ladies Auxilia-
ry meetings (respectively).
• August 20 @ 0800-VA Clinic Donuts Charity event. Come out and help us deliver do-
nuts to VA staff and patients alike.
• August 20 @ 1800 — Sons of the American Legion Meeting.
• August 27 @ 1800—House, Executive & Planning Committees meet.
Page 9
AMERICAN LEGION POST 240 WEBSITE
IS UP AND RUNNING !!!
Type into your web browser the following URL:
americanlegionpost240.org
That’s all there is.
It’s fast, responsive, and informative.
We’re constantly looking for the right kinds
of information to add to our website,
so if you have ideas, just see the
Adjutant and share your thoughts!
JOIN US for
BINGO NIGHTS
Wednesdays @ 1800
in the Event Hall
KARAOKE !!
EVERY FRIDAY @ 1900Brought to you by
LIPS A GO-GODJ AND KARAOKE
TAMMY CALVERT OWNER