May Meeting Notes

BLUE STAR MOM MEETING NOTESMay 8, 2007

•MEMBERS Present (at Carson Tahoe Hospital’s Aspen Rm.): Mary A., Erin A., Ana A., Carol B., Jeanne B.P., Sharron B., Barbara C., Leslie E., Paula F., Cheryl G., Marge G., Joy H., Shelley I., Amy F.J., Jo Lynn M., Jo S., Nadine S., Suzzie W., Sally W. Guest: Gayle S.

•MINUTES: NOTES from meetings posted as Blogger Update for review. April approved as posted.

•CALENDAR: Monthly Meetings (2nd Tues. 6pm Aspen Rm. Carson Tahoe Hospital) on June 12th & July 10; Carson Valley Days Parade June 8th / Booth: June 8th & 9th ; Bowers Military Family Picnic Sept. 8th, 2007; Nat’l. Convention: Aug. 2nd thru Aug 4th, in Albuquerque, NM - additional information available from Suzzie or Barbara.

•BLOGGER UPDATES: hard copy circulated.

•TREAS. REPORT: given by Amy FJ. Balance on 5/8/07: $458.00. (Detail unavailable due to computer problems of treasurer. If you would like further information, contact Amy.)

•UPDATES ON SONS/DAUGHTERS:
oMary says Christopher is happy training at battalion in Ft. Bragg, NC.
oErin reported that a wonderful time was had by all when she visited Tony & family at Camp Pendleton. Tony arrived home on his son’s 1st birthday….how wonderful!
oAna happily reported that Gieorag is home (in WA) with his family while his boat undergoes some repairs. She said their was great excitement watching the boat come in….only to find out he had been helo’d in and wasn’t even on the boat! She also had news about Andrew: “He’s in Looove!” The lady of his interest is in Milan so phone bills are even worse than filling up his gas tank! Andrew is still at Ft. Benning training and she asks that we offer up a little moral support for him.
oCarol’s son Joe is living in Reno and driving for Loomis since being discharged in February. He’s currently on the list to get into the Reno PD.
oJeanne says Jason is “doing great”. That’s what we love to hear!
oSharron let us know that James is back in Ramadi. Mom seems to be doing pretty good. oBarbara reports that Patrick is out to sea and testing equipment in some seriously cold weather. Patrick says the scenery is beautiful though…glad he sees some positive in it. Guess the seas are a bit rough….Patrick said he was painting a bulkhead (that’s a wall to you landlubbers) and then bumped his head in the paint he’d just applied!
oLeslie says Henry continues to do better…so good to hear! Please continue to hold him in prayer. Will is loving the Navy and all is good!
oPaula let us know that Josh is going to be at the United States Military Academy at West Point for the summer sharing his knowledge as an instructor for the cadets during their summer training. (Mom, send bug repellant! Trust me on this – Suzzie) Josh is looking forward to soon being a full time student as he enters a Physicians Assistant program. How awesome is that?!! Kudos to you!
oMarge is happy to let us know that all is well with Stuart. Wedding plans are firming up and life is good!
oJoy had a lovely loooong distance call from Christopher. Such a good son…he called and talked with Mom for an hour and a half. She said he’s sleeping and sunburning….and happy! He “re-upped” and has put in for duty at the Pentagon (we’ll think good thoughts that he gets it). She said he might be extended “over there” but that he’s okay and in good spirits.
oShelley shared that Sean is still in Hawaii and doing some training. He’s set to deploy in the fall.
oAmy said Nick’s “suffering” in San Diego will soon be coming to an end as he PCS’s to Whidbey Island in Washington (moves – Permanent Change of Station….though permanent has a different meaning in the military!). She also said that he’s found our blog spot….so this is for Nick….if you go to Mapquest.com you can get directions to Whidbey Island via Reno….it’s practically on the way and I have it on good authority that it will make a certain lovely lady extremely happy!
oJo Lynn says son Bart is in Iraq and due home next Spring. She also told us that her youngest son has joined the Marines and will be leaving for boot camp in June. God bless you Jo Lynn….remember we are here for you.
oJo said she had a wonderful visit with Mark during his leave in April in Las Vegas. She told us that he looks good but is too skinny (sounds like he needs some home cooking…meatloaf anyone {that’s a reference to last month!}). He should be back stateside later in the summer.
oNadine’s grandson Phillip is on his way home!!!! Wonderful news! Nadine is a trooper though….another grandson is “over there” as is a nephew on his third tour. What a wonderful and patriotic family you have. Thank you.
oSuzzie excitedly reports she’ll be heading to Tennessee in a couple of weeks to attend Jacquie’s change of command. Jacquie is enjoying a little down time as she doesn’t have much to do before taking her command. Tawofik continues to do well in S. Carolina at his Captain’s Career Course and we’re hoping he can make it in for his wife’s change of command ceremony.
oSally tells us that Sean is still at Ft. Lewis and that his deployment has been put off. She’s not sure when or if he’ll be deploying. Now that’s news we don’t mind hearing!
oLeslie sent an e-mail regarding the injury sustained by Cody. He is going to recover from his injury just fine. Please keep everyone affected in thought and prayer. (If you did not get the e-mail or are unable to receive e-mail and would like more info, please feel free to contact me.)oPatti sent word via Barbara that Nicholas is due back in early 2008. It’s during these times that we want time to fly for themoBarbara sent an e-mail asking for prayers for her son Steven as he is dealing with the situation with his Dad being held. (again, if you did not receive/don’t get e-mail, you can contact me for more info).
oDonna sent work via Jeanne that she had wonderful (times 3!!) visit with Deirdre! They both held up well getting to the airport when it was time for Deirdre to return…but as she drove away from the airport Deirdre called and had a “meltdown”. Most of us can relate to how hard it is to see our baby’s go off to war and we are here for you in any way we can be of help.

•NEW BUSINESS:
oUSO Care Package event on Saturday, May 12th from 10a.m. to 2p.m. We will have a table set up with information about our group. A sign up list was circulated for volunteers to man the booth.
oBarbara introduced the idea of putting together a sample box that would be representative of the deployment boxes we send to be used at various presentations. It’s a great idea that will be done before our next event.

OLD BUSINESS:
oXi Alpha Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi dinner at Mi Casa Too on Thursday, May 10th. Meet at 6:30p.m. and speakers to begin at 7. Barbara will present a history of the BSM’s and Marge will give an overview of Blue to Gold. All are invited to attend and a sign up sheet circulated.
oLeslie was presented with a Blue Star Mother’s Past President pin by Barbara. Leslie was the very first president of the Sierra Nevada Blue Star Mother’s and we are so thankful that she took the initiative and leadership to start with that fledgling group of ladies that has now grown into a group 44 strong. Leslie told us some anecdotal stories of some of those first meetings. We’ve come a long way baby! But we are still about supporting each other and we really thank Leslie for her instrumental role in making the Sierra Nevada Blue Star Mother’s a success!oCarson Valley Days was the major topic of the evening. We’ve much to do to prepare for this upcoming event.
-FLOAT: Sponsored by Carson Valley Medical Center Boosters. Many thanks to Joy for the sketches she presented of the float.
- flatbed will be available to us on June Decorating times will be sent out via e-mail.- Items still needed for float (as of meeting time):-
- 8x10 pictures of our service members-
- flag poles-
- Coast Guard & National Guard flags-
- possibly a truck to pull the flatbed (we may have one available, awaiting
confirmation)
-Booth: We will get the booth space on June 8 @ 10a.m.
The following lists items we need for the booth:
- Four 8 foot tables
- large ice chests for bottled water
We will be walking the parade route. Our sponsors will be providing candy for us to toss along the route to the children….or children at heart! Sign up sheets were circulated for walking the parade; for blocks of time working the booth on Saturday and on Sunday.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:
oDeployment Support: •Ana thanked everyone for the generous number of items that were brought by BSM’s to fill the deployment boxes. The Military Order of the Purple Heart and the VFW also donated phone cards for the deployment boxes.
•Leslie informed us of a group of young people from Pau Wau Lu Middle School that have 8 to 10 support boxes ready to go but are in need of servicemen/addresses to send them to and asked for those who would be willing to give out the address of their servicemember. A list was compiled and Leslie will see that the information is given to the right person so the boxes can be sent
.oBSM to BSM Support: We want to lift up Carol and her brother as he is experiencing kidney failure. Keep Jo Lynn in thought and prayer…she’s having a tough time with one son overseas and one about to leave for the Marine Corp.
oBlue to Gold •Paula reported that the family of Raul Bravo was very pleased with the BSM support they received. Paula presented the Gold Star flag at the service in Elko and said they are a wonderful family. •A $25 donation was made in memory of Raul Bravo to the POW – MIA from our chapter. •All SV/BSM’s are invited to attend a Gold Star presentation on May 16 at the S. Lake Tahoe Police Dept., 1-2p.m. to the father of Brandon Williams. Please contact Marge with any questions or for further information.
oWelcome Committee: •Jo presented a sample of the Welcome Packet (aka sign up kit) that was assembled by the committee.
oOperation Postcard: No report
.oBBQ Committee: No report.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned following a closing prayer:THESE NOTES WERE FORMULATED BY Suzzie, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, CONTACT her at: TweetySuz@aol.com