|
|
||||||||
Thousand Oaks Elks Lodge #2477
|
Ventura County Veterans Stand Down
|
From July 29 through August 1, 2010 the Thousand Oaks Elks Lodge #2477 participated in the Ventura County Stand Down (www.vcstanddown.com) for homeless veterans at the Ventura County armory in Ventura. One issue that was not yet resolved was the provision of bag lunches for Sunday, as the veterans are all taken back to their pickup points after 12:00 noon on Sunday. Phone calls to the other three Elks lodges in Ventura County, i.e., Ventura, Oxnard & Simi Valley, readily yielded commitments for 200 bag lunches. Upon delivery on Sunday, there were more than 200 lunches, and added items included playing cards, shirts & caps. This was the Elks’ first involvement in the Stand Down, but it is seen as “only the beginning” of a long relationship. The Elks have pledged not to forget hospitalized veterans, and each year they visit hundreds of thousands of patients at VA medical centers and veteran’s hospitals, hosting parties and providing companionship. And they invite patients who can leave the facilities to events at Elks Lodges, on fishing trips, and to ball games, and more. |
| (L-R) Kira Wagner, Lecturing Knight (and Former Marine), Carl Lanterman, 5-year Trustee and Chairman of Veterans Affairs, greet RT Lee,retired Chief Master Sergeant of the U.S. Air Force and last year’s recipient of the Volunteer of the Year award. |
|
On November 1, 2009, the Thousand Oaks Lodge 2477 hosted a brunch in honor of U.S. Veterans. This is the true story of Sam Winer, one of our visiting veterans, as told by himself, of being shot down in Germany during World War II, and after his bomber was split in two, …well that’s when the story really began…. |
|
If you have the opportunity – take a moment to say thank you to those currently serving in the armed forces…
|
Here are two videos based on the song “Before You Go”. The song was created as an expression of heartfelt gratitude to our aging veterans – those who fought and won the Second World War, fought in Korea to preserve that victory, and later in an unpopular war to stop post WWII communist aggressions in Vietnam. Click here to read the story behind the song by Dr. Sam Bierstock.
We can’t begin to convey our thanks to the men and women who defend our country today and in recent wars. “Before You Go” is not intended to diminish their immeasurable contribution.
Their mission is to thank veterans of wars fought in a different time allowing us the freedoms our current military are fighting to preserve. They are leaving us at an alarming rate. Don’t let our veteran’s go without letting them know how you feel.
On November 11, 1999 Terry Kelly was in a Shoppers Drug Mart store in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. At 10:55 AM an announcement came over the store’s PA asking customers who would still be on the premises at 11:00 AM to give two minutes of silence in respect to the veterans who have sacrificed so much for us.
Terry was impressed with the store’s leadership role in adopting the Legion’s “two minutes of silence” initiative. He felt that the store’s contribution of educating the public to the importance of remembering was commendable.
When eleven o’clock arrived on that day, an announcement was again made asking for the “two minutes of silence” to commence. All customers, with the exception of a man who was accompanied by his young child, showed their respect.
Terry’s anger towards the father for trying to engage the store’s clerk in conversation and for setting a bad example for his child was later channeled into a beautiful piece of work called, “A Pittance of Time”. Terry later recorded “A Pittance of Time” and included it on his full-length music CD, “The Power of the Dream”.
|
“A Pittance of Time” A Tribute to the Veterans everywhere, Music by Terry Kelly |
