BIRMA Bulletin December - 2015 Published Bi-Monthly for Members of the Big Island Retired Military Association Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard December Meeting Aloha! Another month has come and gone, amazing that as we get older it's harder to keep track of what is happening, where the time is going. For most of us this last month has been one of the wettest months we've had on our island. The Grass is greener, the gardens are doing well and the roads are a mess. 'Winter' is around the corner and weather will change again. Since we 'live in paradise' we learn to enjoy what nature brings, regardless... REMINDER - Dec 12th, is our next meeting date, is our Christmas Luncheon, Please remember to let us know by Dec 7th you are going to attend! December 12 - Privateers Cove Restaurant in Kona.. Please see attached flyer for details
BIRMA MINUTES Home of Jackie and Al Lamke Kona, HI October 24, 2015 The Board of Directors (BOD) meeting was called to order at 10:35 AM. Board attendees: Joe Mezaros, Harriet Owens,, Al Lamke, Skip Hickey, Neal Herbert, Bill and Kathy Tillman, Antonio Gaspar, Dave Bateman and Jim Traxler. The minutes of the August meeting were approved. The Treasurer's report was approved with a bank balance of $4,814.83. Welfare: A card was sent to Tim Cooke to express our sympathy to Tim for the loss of his wife. Scholarship: Harriet reported that the information on our scholarship for 2016 has already been distributed. There was discussion about the need to better distribute and advertise the 2016 scholarship. There was also concern about the lack of newspaper articles to announce the 2015 scholarship and the recipient. Action will be taken as appropriate. Membership: Kathy reported that we currently have 113 members consisting of 44 couples and 25 singles. Publicity: There was some discussion about the 3-fold brochure for BIRMA. Everyone thought it was very well done but the consensus was it didn't need to be 3-fold and that Bill would move forward to get it done. Legislative: Dave Bateman and Jim Traxler will work together to identify any state legislation that should be considered by BIRMA for a possible position in support or non-support. Faded Glory: A Flag Retirement Ceremony will be conducted after the luncheon. Programs: The following is the schedule for the rest of the year: December 12- Christmas Party at Privateers Cove Restaurant in Kona. Next years program will be addressed soon. Al reported that details concerning the Mauna Lani Christmas Tree Charity event will be in the next bulletin. There is still a need for someone new to take the responsibility for next years event. The meeting was adjourned at 11:40.
October General Membership Meeting/Luncheon Joe opened the meeting at 1200 and lunch was provided by Al and Jackie. After lunch and the Pledge of Allegiance, a Flag Retirement Ceremony was conducted by members of BIRMA. One flag was retired in the ceremony and the others will be retired appropriately next week. After the Flag Ceremony, Betsy Ross made a surprise appearance and educated the members about our flag through a list of questions. She then provided indisputable facts to support Betsy's role in designing and making America's first flag. Since there were no challenges, we all assumed Betsy was right. Wendy Hickey won $20.00 for the 50/50 drawing and donated it back to BIRMA. The meeting was adjourned at 2:00 PM.
The Luncheon on the 12th starts at 11:30. Presidents Corner PRESIDENT S MESSAGE Our meeting in October was a good one. We met at the home of Al & Jackie Lamke. We would have liked a better attendance as we do at all our meetings. We understand the distances to be travelled so we do try to accommodate both East and West Hawaii residents by alternating our meetings geographically. Though we had our last meeting in Kona, we had already selected our Christmas party to be in Kona also. Last year we had a very good attendance at our Christmas party in Hilo. Let s do it again in Kona. Food may be an issue, but it shouldn t be. Every meeting place I have been to since I joined nearly two years ago have served GREAT food. Our last meeting at Al & Jackie s did not disappoint. Our menu for the upcoming Christmas party looks like something you would go for no less than??? (three numbers) Dollars. Our cost will be $20.00. See the menu being offered at our website www.biretiredmilitary.org. It will be posted with this newsletter also. Don t forget to mark your calendar and RSVP before December 7. At our October meeting we completed a Flag retirement ceremony. Our host and hostess were our presenters and speakers. We even went to our SOP for the verbiage and Jackie gave us historical facts of the flag, dressed as Betsy Ross. Only costume competition was Rosie the Riveter. We all had a lot of fun, good food and friendship. Our scholarship amount was voted on to be $2,000 again this year. Announcements went out to the Hawaii public high schools and to military organizations on the island. We now look forward to our Christmas party. There will be no board meeting. Our next board meeting will be in February. If you are interested in hosting, don t hesitate to contact one of the board members. See you on December 12, 2015. Our membership list goes to all members, so if you need a copy of our latest membership contact list, write to Kathy Tilton at matriarch951@gmail.com.
Meet Mike and Vaunda Stenzel Two folks who have brought joy and laughter to the Big Island. They moved from Southeastern New Mexico to the Big Island in 2013. Mike was in the Air Force for 11 years as an Electronic Technician working on White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. After leaving the Air Force, he went to college where he earned his Associate's Degree in Electronic Technology and went to work for DynCorp, the private contractor who teamed with DOD to test missiles, and retired in 2013. Vaunda was a Certified Pharmacy Technician, working first for Walgreen's Drug Store and then working for a hospital in southeastern New Mexico. They met at a motorcycle rally where it was love at first sight for Mike (not so much for Vaunda). However, Mike won her heart as he is one of the good guys (or maybe he wore her down). There were married and when Mike retired, they loaded up Vaunda's father, Wayne, and they all moved to the Big Island to the land of the punatics (Leilani Estates). This past year, Vaunda's nephew, Les, and his wife, Lina, moved to the Big Island from Oahu. Mike and Vaunda often remark that they had great plans of retiring and relaxing when they moved here, but people as friendly and capable as they are, find themselves busier now than they ever were with volunteering. The Big Island is blessed or lucky or both having them here.
Note from Frank: As 2015 comes to an end we turn our heads and look to the New Year. In 2016 we have a lot to look forward to, a new administration, new policies, the possibility of MILLIONS of new citizen/voters. It's time to stand up and pay attention to what is going on around us. If you aren't happy with what we have today AND you don't VOTE! Look in the mirror, It might be YOUR FAULT! Make an informed decision.. VOTE Aloha
Privateers Cove Restaurant in Kona. Need final count by Monday, December 7 th Please email or call me (Frank) 443-7400 or Joe Meszaros - 968-7020 *******************************************************************