V. F. W. POST 4495 QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER

515 N. WEST AVENUE TAYLORVILLE, ILLINOIS 62568

(217)824-2115 Volume No. 22 Issue No. 1

Spring 2020 March/April/May

Cathy Schaeffer, 6th grade teacher at St. Mary School, was presented with the Smart/Maher VFW Na-tional Citizenship Education Teacher Award at the post level. In January, Mrs. Schaeffer was notified that she had been selected for 1st place in the 6th–8th grade category on the state level. Her entry has been forwarded to the VFW National Headquarters in Kansas City to be judged nationally. Mrs. Schaeffer merited the honor for her les-sons and activities that taught patriotism, citizenship and flag etiquette. Pictured with Mrs. Schaeffer are Service Officer Glen Goodrich and Commander Chuck Schneider at the February Post 4495 Meeting.

The Taylorville Junior High School students raised money to donate to the Land of Lincoln Honor Flight for the second year in a row. They presented the Auxiliary with a check for $265.00. The students raised money through events as: “Red, White and Blue” and “Camo” days. Pictured are: Principal Jessica Miller, co-Vice Presidents Waylon Pau-lek and Mia Morelock, President Mylie Sims, Auxiliary President Diane Jones and Student Council Advisor, Cindy Wagner.

BUDDY POPPY DAYS Friday May 8th

Saturday May 9th

Dave Combs, Bob Brownfield and Jack Beaman (seated), all recently retired from serving on the Honor Guard for many years. We thank them for their service, both on the Honor Guard and in service to our Country!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED to work in 2 hour shifts on Buddy Poppy Days Call Jacinda Prose at (217)827-1894 to schedule your hours and location to help dis-tribute Buddy Poppies! Wear it proudly!

HONOR GUARD RETIREES

STUDENTS DONATE TO HONOR FLIGHT

SCHAEFFER WINS ON STATE LEVEL

VFW Post 4495 Page No. 2 March/April/May

The COMMANDER’S CORNER Winter greetings to you all! So far this winter, snow blow-er sales have decreased and sump pump sales tripled! Be patient because before we know it, the snow geese will be gone and the snowbirds returned. As I mentioned last quarter, the post had Teacher of the Year winners in all three grade categories for the first time. Post winners were Pre-K to 4th grade Kris Daugherty, Cathy Schaeffer

for Junior High and Shannan Wintermeyer Hobbs for High School. Kris Daugherty and Cathy Schaeffer each won Districts honors. Cathy also won the State award and is in competition for Nationals. Congratulations to all three of these outstanding edu-cators!! Again, our Post Honor Guard has been busy. Sadly, we continue to lose our veterans and all are missed. However, I do have to point out the great loss of Joe Savaris, who has been one of our most active members for many years. He never held an office but helped support the Post activities both with time served and financially. Until only recently, he virtually never

missed a morning at the hall. Please keep the families and friends of these loses in your thoughts. This spring, Post 4495 Memorial Home is raising mon-ey with a $10,000 raffle. A limited number of tickets will be sold and the drawing will be on Memorial Day (May 25th) Prizes are $500, $1000 and $10,000. Tickets are available through Post members and at the Hall at a cost of $100/each. Need not be present to win.

Upcoming dates to remember Lent Friday night fish/shrimp dinners began February 28th through April 10th serving from 5:30 to 7:00 pm March 19th—first day of Spring!!! May 3rd—District meeting held at the Hall at 1 pm. Lunch will be served prior to the meeting May 10th—Mother’s Day May 16th—Armed Forces Day May 25th—Memorial Day Ceremony at Oak Hill Cemetery at 10 am. Lunch will be served at the hall and the $10,000 drawing will be held June 6—D-Day June 11th to 14th the 99th Annual State Convention June 21st—Father’s Day July 18th to 23rd—National Convention in Reno Nevada Wishing you all health and happiness…

This we will defend Chuck Schneider, Commander

Chaplain’s Corner Hello! I would like to introduce myself. My name is Beverly Walker. I served sev-en years in the Navy and I am your new Chaplain. I was born and raised here in Taylorville, and as a child, I went to St. Mary’s Catholic Church. After my dis-charge, I came back to Taylorville where I proceeded to raise my own three children. I have been your Chaplain for all of 3 months, and in that time, we, as a group, have buried two mem-bers, namely: Joseph L. Savaris and Rich-ard Stout. I hope I can fill the shoes that were left

behind by Tom Bellegante and Mike Parker. With God’s steady hand and my open heart, I hope to guide you all to God’s promised Grace.

God Bless you all,

Beverly Walker, Post 4495 Chaplain Phone: (217)371-4595

POST 4495 SERVICE OFFICER Burn Pits Veterans during the Global War on Terrorism that were exposed to more than 45 toxins while serving in Afghanistan, Djibouti, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, need to report their illness or disability that they be-lieve resulted from exposure to these envi-ronmental hazards. This is just the beginning. NO Legislation has been passed or made into Law as of yet, but the VFW supports getting something in place. Don’t wait to make a claim or report It took 50 years to get Agent Orange recognized. A lot of Veter-ans died without getting their claims in and processed. Let’s not repeat the mistakes in the past. Contact a VFW service officer and discuss whether you are eligi-ble to file a claim. Post missing members? Have you seen your comrade neighbor. If not, please check on him or her and offer assistance. Give them a ride to the Post fish fry or to a Post Meeting. There’s a lot of activities going on. Ask if their dues are up to date. If not, let us know. I’m sure the Relief Fund can help then out. The Post needs all members paid and some new ones to be an All American Post. It takes a little effort by all to get it done.....

Glen Goodrich, Post Service Officer Phone: (217)820-2038

VFW Post 4495 Page No. 3 March/April/May

News from the Auxiliary Even though it is still cold out you know it is almost spring when it is time for the Fish Fries !! If you have not heard from Jacinda about baking and are interested in helping to bake something please contact Jacinda Prose for a week to bake. Since the last newsletter in De-cember we have approved one new member, Kari Scott and we wel-come her as a new Auxiliary mem-ber. At the end of December we met our goal of 100% membership and I want to thank everyone for renewing their membership before the end of the year.

We held our Christmas party in December—hearing from our Patriots Pen winners and eating a fine meal of Fried Chicken and the many dishes provided by all of you. We would like to thank everyone who helped to put it all together by decorating, getting gift cards and organizing the event. On January 1st the Ham and Beans were delish as always and we thank the VFW members that put that together every year for us. The Spaghetti dinner in February was also very good and thank you to the Auxiliary members who donated desserts. The money raised from this event helps to fix things up around the Hall. Members of the Taylorville Junior High Student Council also attended our January meeting and made a donation to the Honor Flight. We thank them for all of their hard work and thoughtful-ness for a very worthy cause. Looking forward, some things to mention that will be coming up….. Once again we will be offering The Auxiliary Bake Sales dur-ing the Fish Fries in Lent which fund our Honor Flight donation. The Auxiliary will also be raffling off a Weber charcoal grill

with a meat package from 6th Street Market to help fund our scholarship and other auxiliary activities with the winning ticket being drawn on Good Friday at 7:00PM. After Lent, April 25th, will be another Glo-Bingo which is a very fun event if you have not been able to attend in the past. We are still accepting applications until March 15th for the Aux-iliary Scholarship if you are planning to attend some sort of school or training beyond high school. We also have a Patriotic Art Contest for high school students that we are accepting appli-cations for until March 31st. If you are interested and have not heard about this through you high school, please contact myself for detailed rules. April 7th will begin the Honor Flights for 2020 and if you can make it to a “Welcome Home” at the airport it is an amazing event and I know that the Veterans all appreciate it—it is a small thing to do for them after what they have done for us—After that the Honor Flight schedule for this year will be May 12th, June 16th, August 18th, September 22nd, and October 27th. Buddy Poppy distribution will be on Friday and Saturday May 8th and 9th. We will need volunteers to work those days in 2 hour shifts so if you are able, please call Jacinda as she will be setting up the schedule of work times. Also mark on your calendar the Memorial Day service at Oak Hill Cemetery –Monday May 25th beginning at 10:00 AM Last year the Auxiliary began the summer with a picnic and we are planning to have another one this summer so please mark Saturday June 20th on your calendar. We will have more details later but last year we cooked hamburgers and hot dogs for VFW and Auxiliary families with plenty of games for adults and kids. On a sad note we draped the charter for the passing of 2 members this last December…Lynette Lemaire and Laura Pacioni. Our prayers go out to those families. We hope to see everyone at the upcoming events and please attend the Auxiliary meetings for more up-to-date information on these events.

Welcome Spring…… Diane Jones, Auxiliary President

707diane.jones@gmail.com 217-827-1659

Quartermaster Report Greetings!

Membership Currently, we have 258 mem-bers on our roster. There are 202 life members, 46 continuous mem-bers, 7 new members, 1 reinstated member,

Financial As of 10 February 2020, Post 4495 has $42,696.05 in checking; $4,734.21 in savings and

$5,739.23 in one certificate of deposit for total Post Funds of $53,169.49.

Interesting statistics Out of 284 VFW Posts in IL with a membership more than 0, Post 4495 is the 44th largest post via membership in the state (down from 448 in 2010 to 269 in 2019). VFW membership in IL dropped from 71,133 in 2010 to 47,771 I 2019. That is a 33% drop.

May God continue to bless you! Mike Parker, Post Quartermaster

EDITOR’S COMMENTS Hello Again! A big “thank you” to all who support our newsletter. Your donations pay for the cost of printing and mailing. If I fail to acknowledge someone that should be listed on page 6 of the newsletter, please contact me to correct my error. There’s a lot going on at our Post and we can always use extra hands to help with the chores that need done. The morning help are in their mid-70’s and not capable of doing some of the work

that needs done. Nominations for Officers will be at the March meeting. Make your voice heard. Come to the meeting. In the Commander’s column you will read about a $10k raffle being held. Please participate if you are able. It won’t be long until it’s time for the drawing. The Honor Guard can use more help. If you read page 1, you will see where we lost three more good men who had to drop out due to various reasons.

God bless you! Tony Durbin, Editor adurbin@ctitech.com. (217)824-8559

VFW Post 4495 Page No. 4 March/April/May

TAYLORVILLE VFW RIDERS

Hello everyone… I hope this article finds you all in great spirits. The VFW Riders have begun to plan the 6th annual PTSD Awareness Run. We love this time of year, because we get to plan this wonderful event. The time and effort that this group puts into this event is humbling. Everyone works extremely hard to make this

run such a success. This year we are raffling off 2012 club car golf cart. This golf cart is one of a kind. It is completely blacked out. We are also raffling off a ten-point cross bow (with scope) and a beautiful Harley Davidson quilt (handmade by our members). Tickets are $10 a piece per item. If you would like to purchase a ticket, please get in contact with one of the VFW Riders. The benefit ride will be held on July 11, 2020. If you have never been to one you are missing out on a great time. We have great food, desserts, and plenty of drinks. We are trying to break our record last year of 225 motorcycles. Eve-ryone is welcome to participate in benefit run. We hope to see you all there.

SEMPER FI!! DJ Devore, President

Taylorville Post 4495 Riders

Prizes at the 6th Annual PTSD Awareness Run. 2012 Club Car Golf Cart.

Ten-Point Cross Bow (with Scope). Harley Davidson Quilt (handmade by our members).

Tickets $10 a Piece per Item. Drawing July 11, 2020

Help Honor our Heroes Attend the

Memorial Day Ceremony at Oak Hill Cemetery

Monday, May 25th—10 am

VFW Post 4495 Page No. 5 March/April/May

CONTEST WINNERS Post Commander, Chuck Schnei-der, Jr. Vice-commander, Rick Hobbs and Post 4495 VOD/Patriot’s Pen Director, Glen Goodrich are pictured with the Patriot’s Pen Contest and Teach-er of the Year contest winners at the annual Auxiliary Christmas Party. Not in attendance: Rye Bliler, 2nd place winner, Patriot’s Pen contest. See front page for Cathy Schaeffer, Teacher of the Year, 6th—8th Grade, State Level

Right: Shannan Wintermeyer Hobbs, Teacher of the Year, High School, Post Level Bottom: Kris Daugherty, Teacher of the Year, Pre-K to 4th Grade, District Level

Above: Ross Brown, 3rd place winner Patriot’s Pen contest Left: Kingsley Heinemann, 1st place winner Patriot’s Pen contest

VFW Post 4495 Page No. 6 March/April/May

NEWSLETTER SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS

******* The SALVAGE DOGS

Metal Collection Serving Veterans in Christian County—call (217)561-6003

******* PERONA’S BODY SHOP John & Ron Perona, owners

******* BROVERMAN PC

Bob & Quinn Broverman, Attorneys *******

PEABODY HOME INSPECTIONS Dean Peabody—(217-824-2097

******* TAYLORVILLE FOOD CENTER

Quality Meats - a Tradition Thank you for your service

******* SHAFER—PERFETTI & ASSALLEY

FUNERAL HOME Michael A. Assalley, owner

******* SUTTON MEMORIAL HOMES, LTD

“Caring is what we do best” *******

MCCLURE FUNERAL HOME Cremation Services

******* MASTERSON FUNERAL HOME &

CREMATION SERVICES Michael & Amy Masterson

******* CHRISTIAN COUNTY NRA

AFFILIATE *******

THE COUNTY SEAT Jim & Kathy Lindsey, owners

*******

RELIO “RED” CAMBRUZZI

By Family & Friends HERMAN ALTMAN By Family & Friends

FRANK SEXTON By the Sexton Family

ROBERT TONKS By Richard Harrison

DONALD GREFFE By Family & Friends

JOHN B. PERONA By Family and Friends

DARRIEL MAMMEN By Tracy Carls, daughter

JACK DOYLE By Norma Doyle, wife BOB WHITTAKER By Family & Friends

JOHN & MARIE WHITTAKER By Bill, Brad & Brent, sons

DESIRE “JACK” BOUVET & TERRY BOUVET

By Darlene Bouvet, wife & mother WILLIAM “BILL” SIMS, USMC

By Richard Sims, Life Member & Friends DARRIEL, “SHAKER” & DEON

By a Friend GEORGE FROMM & BILL GRANT

By Monica Grant, wife LAWRENCE “POP” IMPASTATO

By Bob Weeden, Life Member ROY RUSSELL

By Jimmy Crawford, Life Member EUGENE HOFFMAN &

JAMES NAGLE By Ricky & Gail Hoffman WALTER CUMMINGS

By Family & Friends DAYNE RAY

By Earl & Dayna Acup, daughter

DARRIEL & BEANS MAMMEN By Sharon Younker, sister

BEN HARRISON By Richard Harrison, brother

KEITH & CAROLYN DORRIS By Ed & Marilyn, Friends

JOE KOVACK By Kathleen Kovack, wife

JOHN E. LASS By David Lass, son

BERLIN SPARLING By Larry & Judy Stringer, daughter

JAMES SHAFER By wife, Linda Shafer & Friends

HARRY “RED” MCKINNIE & RENO YATTONI

By Doug & Marcia McKinnie, son/dau. ROBERT E. JACOBS

By Dennis & Linda Rexroad By Linda Graham

HOWARD “HACK” WILSON By Robert Steiner

By Robert Broverman SAMUEL WOOD

By Hansen Funeral Directors GEORGE WEDDLE

By Enes Weddle LAWRENCE WHEELER

By Al Showalter, friend RALPH JAMES FIAONI

By Family & Friends LC CALDWELL

By Michelle Heninger TOM & ROD PETTUS

By Patricia Pettus HENRY STEPHENSON

By Mark & Linda Stephenson BYRON PETERS

By wife, Nora, Family & Friends JOSEPH SAVARIS By the Morning Crew

RICHARD F STOUT By Family & Friends

COMPLIMENTS OF PAST COMMANDERS

David Collier & wife, Paula Dave Brasche & Family Roy Sherman & wife, Dorothy Jack Beaman & wife, Earlene Ed Vogettzer & wife, Marilyn The late George Upchurch & wife, the late Natalie Upchurch The late Loren Arkebauer & wife, Norvella The late Joe Rodden & wife, Judy The late Herman Altman & wife, Norma The late Kenneth Backus & wife, the late Anna Backus

Glen Goodrich & wife, Jeanie OFFICERS

Chuck Schneider, commander & wife, Suzy CONTINUOUS/LIFE MEMBERS

Ralph Antle & wife, Linda Chuck Drake “Sonny” Bertucci & wife, LaVerne “Slick” Parrish & wife, Lugenia David Combs

FRIENDS OF THE VFW The late Monte Siegrist & wife, Lucy

As comrade after comrade de-parts, we march on with the ranks grown thinner. Help us to be faithful unto Thee and to one another… and with Thy own tenderness, console and comfort those bereaved by the hand of death.

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VFW Post 4495 Page No. 7 March/April/May

ROLL CALL OF FALLEN COMRADES VFW POST 4495

“Day is done, gone the sun, From the lake, from the hills, from the sky, All is well, safely rest, God is nigh. Thanks and praise, for our days ‘Neath the sun, ‘neath the stars, ‘neath the sky, As we go, this we know, God is nigh.”

Joseph Savaris was born in Italy. He graduated from Taylorville High School with the Class of 1941 where was an outstanding basketball player. Joe proudly served in the Navy as an Aviation Ma-chinist’s Mate Second Class for Blimp Headquarters during World War II. Since joining the Post in 1946, although he never held an office, Joe has been

instrumental in the daily operations of the club. From keep-ing things running to preparing the meals to serving on the Honor Guard for years. Joe will be greatly missed.

Richard Stout was born in Bridgeton, MO. He graduated from Taylorville High School with the Class of 1945. Richard served in the Navy in the European Thea-ter during World War II aboard the USS Vulcan AR-5. Dick joined the Post in 1948. His brother, Sgt. Cleve H. Stout served in the Army Air Corp and was killed in action in WWII. His picture is on our Wall of Honor. Over the last few years, Mr. Stout

could be seen standing in his front yard standing at atten-tion rendering a hand salute as the Honor Guard passed by during the 4th of July parade. Dick will be greatly missed.

FINAL SALUTE Joseph L Savaris Born: 4 January 1922 Died: 27 January 2020 Life Member 74 Years Navy—WW II

Richard F Stout Born: 3 January 1927 Died: 10 February 2020 Life Member 72 Years Navy—WW II

REST IN PEACE

CALENDAR OF EVENTS AT THE VETERANS MEMORIAL HOME (Scheduled Events as of 3/1/20) (All Events Subject to Change)

FEBRUARY 28 Lenten Fish Fries Begin Serving Fish & Shrimp Dinners Every Friday During Lent

MARCH 2 Men’s Night Out 6 Lenten Fish Fries 2nd week 8 VFW Riders’ Meeting 9 VFW Post 4495 Meeting Nominations 13 Lenten Fish Fries 3rd week 19 Auxiliary Meeting 20 Lenten Fish Fries 4th week 27 Lenten Fish Fries 5th week

APRIL 3 Lenten Fish Fries 6th week

6 Men’s Night Out 10 Last Fish Fry of the Lenten Season 12 Easter Sunday VFW Riders’ Meeting (pending) 13 VFW Post 4495 Meeting Closing Nominations & Election of Officers 16 Auxiliary Meeting 25 Glo-Bingo

MAY 3 District Meeting 4 Men’s Night Out 10 VFW Riders’ Meeting 11 VFW Post 4995 Meeting 21 Auxiliary Meeting 25 Memorial Day Services

Lunch served after the Ceremony at Oak Hill $10,000 Drawing

JUNE 1 Men’s Night Out (Last one until October) 6 Police & Fire Fighters Motorcycle Stop 7 VFW Riders’ Meeting 8 VFW Post 4495 Meeting 18 Auxiliary Meeting 20 Auxiliary Party

The Greatest Generation

VFW Post 4495 515 N. West Avenue Taylorville, Illinois 62568

Return Service Requested

U. S. POSTAGE

PAID Taylorville, Illinois

PERMIT NO. 181 Nonprofit Organization

NO ONE DOES MORE

FOR VETERANS

Members of the Quad County Hospice attended the Auxiliary’s November Meeting to accept blankets and pillows made by Auxiliary members. Pictured: (l-r) Mickey Clemons Veteran Advocate, Katie Sinclair PCH volunteer Coordinator, Beverly Walker, Sharon Prose, Ricky Reed, Jacinda Prose, Diane Jones and Dana Welge. Not pictured: Dee Fagan, Suzy Schneider, Brenna Matthews and Donna Buesinger.