VOLUME 3 ISSUE 2 June 2017 MAGNOLIA MESSAGE MAGNOLIA MESSAGE President: Bulus E. Leflores, Jr Vice President: Lou Finkle Muster Master: Diane Thompson Secretary: Gloria Cross Treasurer: Gerald Durbin Newsletter: James & Gene Stubbs Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ: I bring greetings from the last place we met which was in Foley Alabama at Anchors Aweigh Resort. We had a great time at this resort and the staff of Anchors Aweigh were very professional. I would like to say thanks to those members who were in attendance at this Muster. I am also sure that those that could not make it that we were in your prayers. I would also want to give a shout out to the Breakfast crew that made us a very fine breakfast each morning. The meals that we ate in the evenings were prepared by Chefs and give yourself a pat on the back for they were delicious. Here are some of the items we discussed. 1. The Officers of the MS Magnolia's for 2017 agreed to serve in 2018 as Officers unless others may wish to serve. 2. We are trying to have a Muster at Parker s Landing in December, the registration form will be placed on the website once everything has been finalized. 3. The plan to have our 4th muster is tentatively set for New Years eve with the Alabama Smart. 4. We also plan to have a meeting in October at Rayne LA at the National Muster. We will get together on the room or RV where the meeting will take place.. This is just a synopsis of what took place. I hope to see you in Rayne. Respectfully submitted: Bulus E Leflore Jr
P a g e 2 M A G N O L I A M E S S A G E V o l u m e 3, I s s u e 2 MS MAGNOLIA NEWS Francis Arceneaux is recuperating very well. He says he weighs the least amount in many years and hopes to be golfing in a few weeks. Dianne LeBlanc was feeling well enough to come to the muster and conduct the White Elephant Sale. She and Charley will be leaving for the Alaska Caravan any day now. Other members going to Alaska this summer that I know of are Juanita and Bob Glazier with Bill and Geri Blansfield. I got a picture of Bob and Juanita in South Dakota last week, so they are on their way. Lou Finkle and Diane Thompson will be traveling in the Southwest to various National Parks and museums before they will have to return to get ready for the National Muster. Anne Heyob will be leaving to travel with the Calgary Stampede Caravan. Lee and Irene Fontenot left for North Carolina right after the Foley, AL muster. I do not know if they will be traveling the rest of the summer or not as they have done in the past. It was good to see Phyllis Durbin at the muster. She was thin and sometimes easily tired, but she was able to join us for card playing and some dining events when we went out to eat. Gerald was scheduled for eye surgery and then they planned to get on the road themselves. Our President, Bulus LeFlore is back to being able to drive his RV again. He joined us for some bean bag toss games. Mary Ferguson joined us for the first time in more than a year. She stayed in a local hotel and joined us every day, all day long to be involved in the games, meals and card playing. She plans to join us in the future when the musters have cabins on the grounds. James and Gene Stubbs showed up at the muster with a running RV but without their tow car. It gave up the ghost after about 290,000 miles of being driven all over the US. James and Gene were the Grand Champion Bean Bag Toss Champions at this muster and they volunteered to be hosts of the Christmas muster with the campground and dates TBA. Ellery and Elaine showed up at the muster with a brand-new electric Tesla automobile!! Henry and Phyllis Plunk left the muster to go and participate in a Blue Grass Festival. It was announced that Carol Vardell is still receiving some chemo-therapy treatments for her cancer. We missed May Jones and Rick McGuire at the muster. Rick had another surgery to take care of some complication due to his heart surgery he experienced several months ago. Bill and Connie Fessler were unable to join us at the muster because of other travel plans. Warren Kelly regretted being unable to come also because of a doctor s appointment in Tampa. The DeBilieux were expecting a grandchild during the muster dates and then they plan to caravan afterwards Jim Martin's eye doctor says he will need two more injections in the eye that has macular degeneration but it is responding to the injections which is good news. Also, as good news is that Jim has lost 20 lbs so far on the recommended diet his doctor placed him on. This is a good start on the many more lbs the doctor would like him to healthily lose. However, yesterday, I received an email from Jim saying that his urologist appointment showed that his bladder cancer has returned and his surgery to remove it is tomorrow, Thursday. Prayers are being requested. Magdalene Martin had rotator cuff surgery on her shoulder which was damaged in the auto accident last fall. The surgery was Monday and physical therapy has begun. Prayers are also being requested for her quick recovery. Chuck and Tracey Krieger were going to attend a grandchild s graduation in VA I think. The Magnolias lost the Duvals, Hayes, and Dick LeDoux as members due to non-payment of membership dues.
Newsletter P a ge g e 3 Title M A GNOLIA M A G N MES O L I SA A GE M E S S A G E V olume 3, I s s u e 2 V o Vl olume u m e 3 3,, I Is P sa u ge e 2 3 MAGNOLIA MUSTERS AT ANCHORS AWEIGH The MS Magnolia muster at Anchor s Aweigh in Foley was a very busy muster for those members who came. We had lots of good food to eat and many games and activities to participate in. We were joined by several members of the Alabama Smarts and together, I think everyone had some good fun in the Foley, AL area. Many of the members were taught how to play a new card game called 31. It has also been referred to as Cadillac sometimes. With 3 nickels, all the new card players tried to bluff their way to be winners of all the player s nickels. Irene Fontenot won a handful of nickels from this game. The Skipbo Tournament took three games to play, but ended with Diane Thompson and Anne Heyob as winners of $5.00 each. Runner ups with $3.00 each were Juanita Glazier and Mary Ferguson. The Rummikube Tournament first place winner for $5.00 was Denny Olvany and second place winner of $3.00 was Irene Fontenot. The Holey Board Bean Bag Toss Game was hard fought by several teams, but finally the team of James and Gene Stubbs became first place winners of $5.00 each, followed up by second place winners of $3.00 each, Bob Glazier and Denny Olvany. As for the Trivia Contest, the team of Ellery Gray, Gerald Durbin and Phyllis Durbin answered correctly 14/20 questions and won $5.00 each. The 50/25/25 raffle ticket sales did well, with $32.00 won by the lucky winners Gene Stubbs and Bob Zeller. Our chapter charity, Fisher House of Biloxi, will receive $61.00 from this muster raffle. Dianne LeBlanc with the help of many of the muster members conducted what was considered a successful White Elephant Sale. The Ladies Luncheon at the 2017 National Muster will receive a total of $94.00 from the MS Magnolia and Alabama Smart members who participated in this White Elephant Sale. Diane Thompson, Muster master and Host of this muster was able to purchase all the foods for the muster breakfasts, provide for a fantastic ice cream social, give cash prizes for all the games played at this event and still have a surplus of money after all bills were paid. Gerald Durbin was presented with $60.00 to be placed in the chapter treasury. Besides the games, several of the muster members went out together to dine at the Roadkill Café which is located in Elberta, AL. Good home cooking, buffet-style for less than $10. From there, several members went to the Baldwin County Historical Museum outside of Elberta and looked at a large collection of local memorabilia that has been collected and organized for those curious individuals who like historical objects. I think the museum was a big hit with the men who went to it.
Naa P P egw gee s l4e4t t e r T i t l e MAGNO A NMOEL SISA A GMEE S S A G E V o l u m e 3, I s s u e 2 MLAI G um suu gee 2 2 4 V ovloulm e e33,,i IsPssa BEAN BAG ANYONE? There is nothing like a good honorable game of Bean Bag AKA Corn Hole amongst friends. Unfortunately, there are winners and there are losers The winners are: the Stubbs Team (Gene and James). Second place The Team of Bob and Denny. Losers are - Everybody
Newsletter P a ge g e 5 Title M A GNOLIA M A G N MES O L I SA A GE M E S S A G E V olume 3, I s s u e 2 V o Vl olume u m e 3 3,, I Is P sa u ge e 2 5 How about a little Road Kill? Gene was adopted by a local baby. Happy Mother, baby distracted her from a great lunch of Roadkill. Local Buffet Fair country buffet lots of fried chicken and salad bar and desert, cash only $10.00 crowded great host that moves the crowd in and out for more table turns. Menu (Extract) Entrees Center Line Bovine 4.95 The Chicken 3.95 Flat Cat 2.95 Thumper-on-the-Bumper 3.95 Taste of the Wild Side Still in the Hide Chunk of Skunk 1.95 Smidgen Pigeon 1.95 Road Toad 1.65 Snake 'N' Bake Snake 2.25 Swirl Squirrel 1.55
Newsletter P a ge g e 6 Title M A GNOLIA M A G N MES O L I SA A GE M E S S A G E V olume 3, I s s u e 2 V o Vl olume u m e 3 3,, I Is P sa u ge e 2 6 WANT A FREE TRIP.. Commissary store brand names unveiled How to report the death of a Retired Military Member Notify the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) Casualty Care Team at 1-800-321-1080. Please have the retiree s Social Security Number and the date of death when you call. When reporting the death, please provide as much of the information below as you have: Full name Next of kin information Social security number and/or service number Circumstances surrounding the death Retirement date Copy of the death certificate Retired rank Tidbit Things that are GOOD to KNOW SMART HQ need Energetic Out Going Couples, to run a Grand Circle of the West Caravan. Anyone interested please contact HQ. We also need someone to run a Fall Caravan up the East Coast. Please contact HQ if you are interested in becoming a Wagon Master. 2017 SMART National Muster Annual Food Drive Each year at National we have our Annual Food Drive. Again this year our need is great and your generosity is need. Please bring your non-perishable donations (canned goods. i.e. soups, vegetables, canned meat (tuna, chicken, etc) as well dry food (I,e. spaghetti, mac and cheese, rice, beef stew, etc.) We will have a table set up for your donations. Thank You! Bonnie Shields Spouse Advisory FORT LEE, Va. The Defense Commissary Agency has chosen the names Freedom s Choice and HomeBase for its private label product assortment. That announcement came from DeCA Director and CEO Joseph H. Jeu. Private label, also known as store brands, started appearing on commissary shelves in May. Commissary patrons have been telling us for quite some time that they want to take advantage of the value offered by store brands, but commissaries have not had their own brand until now, Jeu said. We are proud of our new brands, and I believe our customers are going to be very pleased with the quality and low prices that Freedom s Choice and HomeBase bring to our shelves. Freedom s Choice will be the commissary brand name for food items and HomeBase for nonfood items such as paper products and other household items. With the initial rollout targeted for May, patrons in commissaries worldwide can expect to see a number of DeCA s Freedom s Choice and Home Base products. Copy of the Statement of Service (Last DD Form 214)
Newsletter P a ge g e 7 Title M A GNOLIA M A G N MES O L I SA A GE M E S S A G E V olume 3, I s s u e 2 V o Vl olume u m e 3 3,, I Is P sa uge e 27 2017 NATIONAL MUSTER will be in Rayne Civil Center Rayne, LA Reservation Form is Online Make your reservations NOW! Oct 25-29, 2017 August 21 st 2017 Rocky Tops chapter event for the Eclipse of the Sun at Crossville, TN September 14-15, 2017 National Pre-Muster Walk Through Rayne Civil Center Key personnel, only November 5-12, 2017 Branson Lakeside RV Park Branson, MO Hosts: Doug and Janet Barksdale December 3-7, 2017 Magnolia Christmas Muster Parkers Landing Biloxi, MS Hosts: James and Gene Stubbs Dec 28 2017 - Jan 3, 2018 Southwind RV Park Joint Chapter Muster Foley, AL Host: Tracey Krieger January 2018 - Dates TBA Isle of Iberia New Iberia, LA Hosts: Dennis and Yvonne SMART is a not-for-profit 501(C)19 Veterans Organizations all Donations are Tax Deductible S*M*A*R*T Headquarters 600 University Office Blvd #1A