HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF MISSOURI VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE U.S., INC. GENERAL ORDERS NO. 5
Series 09 -10 November 2009
(To be read or distributed at a regular Post meeting and filed)
1. The next meeting of the Council of Administration will be held in the Capitol Plaza Hotel, Jefferson City on Saturday, February 6, 2010, starting promptly at 8.00 a.m. Council meetings are open to the membership and members are encouraged to attend. The highlight of the February meeting will be our annual Voice of Democracy Award Banquet. State winners in the Voice of Democracy, Patriots Pen, and Teachers Award programs will be honored. Workshops will be scheduled during the week-end. The schedule of events and additional information will be sent out with the December General Orders and posted on the weblog at www.vfwwebcom.org/missouri when finalized. 2. The 2010 Membership Campaign is off to a fair start. The last report sent to us by National showed the Department of Missouri slightly ahead our previous year’s membership. If the Department of Missouri is to enjoy a membership growth this year, a tremendous amount of work must be done. All unpaid 2009 members can assist in this endeavor by prompt payment of their 2010 dues. Dues notices were sent out to your continuous members in October. Now is the time to be writing those letters, making phone calls, and knocking on doors. All continuous members should be paid up by December 31 and encouraged to purchase a life membership. It’s not the price they pay to be a member that matters; it’s the price they paid to be eligible for membership. 3. The Veteran Service Officer Program is vital to our organization. Donations from Posts, Auxiliaries, and individuals on a continuing basis are critical to this program. Without your donations, we cannot continue to provide the service we are now providing and this program is what we are about. Over one-third of the claims filed through the St. Louis VA Regional Office are filed by VFW Service Officers. Remember, they are employed by you, the VFW members in Missouri to assist your members and Veterans in your community in obtaining vital health care and VA benefits. The State Commander’s expectation is that every Post donate a minimum of $3.00 per member by December 31. 4. Members who received cards or labels, and have not remitted their donation are requested to make payment at an early date. All proceeds from these donations, after administrative cost, are returned to the Departments. The revenue derived from this program is vital to the operation of Department programs. If you no longer wish to receive mailings, a new feature has been added where you can contribute regularly through your credit card account. Please give this new feature your consideration. 5. All Deputy Inspectors should strive to complete their assigned inspections by the end of the year.
General Orders #5 Department of Missouri VFW Page - 2
6. All District Commanders should strive to complete their Post visits by December 31. Post visit reports should be sent to Department Headquarters immediately following such visits. 7. Updated copies of the National By-Laws are now available from the Supply Department at National Headquarters. There were several By-Law changes adopted at the 2009 National Convention. All Posts are encouraged to purchase a copy of the new manual for their Post. 8. All posts are now required to file a Federal Income Tax return. NO EXCEPTIONS! Posts may obtain forms 990EZ, 990 and/or 990T from any IRS Office or “On Line” at http://www.irs.gov. Posts with a year end of 30 June must file with the IRS prior to 15 November 2009. If your gross income (from all sources) is less than $25,000.00 per year, you will file form 990N “On Line” from now on. Go on line to the IRS site, http://www.epostcard.form99.org/ and follow the three (3) steps to sign up and file. 9. All should make plans to observe Veterans Day on November 11th. 10. Voice of Democracy, Patriot’s Pen, and Teacher Award judging by your Posts should start on November 2nd. Post winning entries should be sent to the District for judging by November th 15 . District Chairs should send a summary report along with the winning District Teacher, th Voice of Democracy, and Patriot’s Pen entry forms to the Department Chair by December 15 . Program entry forms can be downloaded (copied) from the following site: http://www.vfw.org/resources/pdf. Program Chairs are: Voice of Democracy & Patriots Pen, Ken Davis; and Teachers Award, Charlie Jamis. When you honor a teacher, your Post will benefit with Patriot’s Pen and Voice of Democracy entries in the future. Honor a teacher at each teaching level, Elementary, Middle School, and High School. 11. The following District meetings for the month of November 2009 are announced: DIST 5 6 7 8 11 12 18 POST # 5789 1894 2590 2426 6137 3500 5366 LOCATION Lee’s Summit Clinton Carthage Desloge St. Louis Richmond Heights Isabella DATE 11-01-09 11-01-09 11-08-09 11-01-09 11-24-09 11-09-09 11-07-09 TIME 2:00 p.m. 12:00 noon 12:30 p.m. 1:00 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 7:00 p.m. 10:00 a.m. REPRESENTATIVE Bob Wonnell Olin Parks Olin Parks Phil Pippins None Olin Parks Dave Morgan
12. To all the members who attended the Commander and President’s Testimonial Dinner last month, I wish to extend my appreciation for your show of support. I would also like to thank those of you who gave gifts. You have my sincere gratitude for your generosity. ~Commander Dave Morgan
Official: Jessie L. Jones State Adjutant
By order of: Dave Morgan Commander