Weekly Newsletter 09/28/2008

Good Afternoon!!!I am excited about the next few months and all the activities scheduled through HHAFFA!! I hope you are, too!!! And I hope you plan to participate with joy in your heart in every one!! What a great service you can be to our service members and their families!

Here we go----The Dulcimer Society of Bedford will be holding a concert at the Mt Pleasant Church (2394 Mt Pleasant Rd) on Sunday, October 26th at 6:30 pm. There will be no Admission Charge, but donations to our annual "Christmas Boxes for Troops" packing party are encouraged. Because this event benefits our organization and one of our main projects, I would encourage everyone to attend and bring all their friends and family. I will have flyers for this event at our weekly "Tour". Please take as many as you wish and post them around town!

We are making preparations for our annual Christmas projects--which include:

"Christmas Cards for Troops" where we gather cards written by people in our area. If you belong to a club or organization, church group, or have a business--consider a card shower! Buy Christmas cards and have members of your organization or people who come in to your business sign a card and write a short message. We will gather all of the cards and send them in boxes to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and at least one to every service member stationed in the United States and throughout the world!

"Christmas Tree on the Square" where we decorate a tree in the gazebo in Harp Commons (on the west side of the Bedford square) with stars for those who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and icicles for those who are active duty in the United States and throughout the world.

"Christmas Packing Party" where we send 3 boxes each (toiletries, snacks and food, games and magazines) to every service member in Iraq and Afghanistan. A lot of preparation and a lot of volunteers are needed, not only the day of the packing, but in the weeks before collecting donations, filling in customs forms, filling out address labels, packing snacks and toiletries in Ziploc bags, organizing and hauling. I will give you dates for each of these activities--please volunteer in order to make the packing party a success!

"Christmas Parade" where we march as a unit showing our support for our troops! It is at night, and we have a lighted Christmas tree in the back of the truck. This year we may have a trailer to ride on, if we get it together by then! Volunteers???? We need a trailer, we need ideas!!

At our Quarterly Meeting, which was held on Tuesday, we elected officers for the "new" year. Congratulations go out to Nancy Peabody--Chairman; Mary Umphress--Secretary; Betsy Henley--Treasurer!!

Monthly HHAFFA dinners are in the planning stage. Please let us know if you have any ideas on where to gather. We hope to begin these again in October!

Congratulations to Janet Cunningham--the winner of a HHAFFA sweatshirt. Janet's name was chosen from a list of people who responded to our newsletter, when asked to let us know if they still wanted to receive the HHAFFA newsletter!

A card shower has been requested for Zach Canfield who never receives mail. Let's change that!!!!

Zachary Canfield
TF 1-35 AR HHC 1-35 AR
COP Cashe, South
APO AE 09308-5956

We have had a request for used DVDs of movies or TV series. If you have any that you would like to donate, please bring them to the walk on Tuesday, or contact me, and I will pick them up!

The HHAFFA units participation in the Persimmon Festival Parade was a success! We had 24 participants, including family members and Cub Scouts!

We have received a "Thank You" from Brandon Johnson, who is stationed in Iraq. Brandon's mother, Kelly Johnson, had a stroke earlier in the year, and he sends along word that she is doing better at this time.

I am sure that I have missed mentioning MANY things that I needed to address! Please email me and remind me, and I will get the word out! Thank you all for everything that you have done to make our job--supporting our troops and the families back home--a success!!

God Bless Our Troops and their families back home!
Nancy Peabody

Weekly Newsletter 09/21/2008

Good afternoon!!! I hope you weren't holding your breath last weekend waiting for the weekly newsletter--I had no electricity until Tuesday evening! We got our freezer full of beef moved, we have a gas water heater, and we used a lot of our camping equipment to cook on, light the house and we actually enjoyed the quiet! The only thing I really missed was my hair dryer in the morning! And so it begins . . .

--QUARTERLY MEETING! QUARTERLY MEETING!! QUARTERLY MEETING!!!We will hold our Quarterly Meeting on Tuesday, September 23rd at 6 pm at the HHAFFA Office (620 H St--in the old Madden Bldg, 2 blocks east of "The Sign Man"--Sam Shaw!) Park in the back, come in the back door, and the office is the first door on the right! Please bring your thoughts, ideas and suggestions! We will discuss our "busy" season, and all its activities--Christmas Cards for Troops, Christmas Boxes for Troops, and the many activities needed to get us ready for those major events and much, much more!! After the meeting, we will also have "Fill a Bag with Greeting Cards" for $5 fundraiser! We'll give you a plastic shopping bag for you to fill to the top with cards of every kind--Birthday, Anniversary, Wedding, Thank You, New Baby, Encouragement, Sympathy, Thinking of You, Blank, and many, many more!! All cards were donated by Sunrise Greetings (recently purchased by Hallmark). There are hundreds of cards from which to choose, so you will definitely get your money's worth!!!!

--The Persimmon Festival is going on this week in Mitchell. The theme of this year's event is "Mitchell's Hometown Heroes"--A salute to all who have served or are serving in the military! As part of the festival, a parade will be held on Saturday, September 27th. Because of the military theme, I think it is important for HHAFFA (ALL of us!!) to turn out for the parade by the hundreds with signs, t-shirts and dressed in red/white/blue!!! This will be a fabulous opportunity to show your pride for your loved ones, our troops and our country! The parade begins at 2 pm, with the line up at Lehigh Field (east of Main Street). At 1 pm, there is a Pre-Parade Introduction on the Main Street Stage, where they will have a posting of the colors and a patriotic ceremony.

--There will be NO "Tour of Iraq" this week--we will all be at the Quarterly Meeting!!!

Also:--Becky Muncy, North Lawrence Community Schools music teacher, will be holding a Veterans Day program at Dollens and Lincoln. In preparation, she would like each of her 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classrooms to "adopt" a veteran. She wants them to get to know each other. They will then "present" the Veterans at their programs, but I NEED VOLUNTEERS!!! Are you a veteran, or do you know a veteran who would be willing to help out these kids?? If so, email me, and I will forward the information on to Becky. She would also like her 5th graders to "talk" to soldiers stationed in another country. Again, any volunteers?? (They could set up instant messaging, teleconferencing or SKYPE).

--The Dulcimer Society of Bedford will be holding a concert on Sunday, October 26 from 6:30-7:30 pm at the Mt Pleasant Church, Bedford, IN. There will be no admission, but donations for Christmas Boxes for Troops will be accepted!

Hope to see you Tuesday!!!!!!
God Bless Our Troops and their families back home!!!
Nancy

And, finally, a beautiful, short, sweet prayer--
"Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen"

Weekly Newsletter 9/07/2008

What a gorgeous weekend! Royce and I spent a very relaxing weekend camping at Shakamak and recharging our batteries!!!! We are now rested and ready to go with all our HHAFFA activities that have been scheduled for the next few weeks--I hope YOU are ready to go, too!!

Reminders--Don't forget to fly your flags this Thursday, September 11th. We do this to honor those who lost their lives on 9/11, their families, friends, and loved ones who continue to endure the pain, and those who today are fighting at home and abroad to preserve our cherished freedoms.

HHAFFA will be participating in the Oolitic Festival Parade this Saturday, September 13th. The parade starts at the intersection of Main Street and Hoosier Ave and travels down Hoosier Ave, turns up 9th St onto Lafayette St and ends at Hoosier Ave again. We will meet at the corner of Main Street and Hoosier Ave at 12:30 pm. Just ask someone in charge what our unit number is. Look for our blue truck--the same one that was in the 4th of July parade! Please plan on walking with us! Get your signs made, and let's show our support for our troops through the number of people who show up to walk!!

QUARTERLY MEETING!! QUARTERLY MEETING!! QUARTERLY MEETING!! We will hold our Quarterly Meeting on Tuesday, September 23rd at 6 pm at the HHAFFA office (620 H St). Please bring your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions!! We will also have "Fill a Bag with Greeting Cards" for $5 fundraiser. We'll give you a plastic shopping bag for you to fill to the top with Birthday Cards, Anniversary Cards, Wedding Cards, Thank You Cards, New Baby Cards, Encouragement Cards, Sympathy Cards, Thinking of You Cards, etc, all donated by Sunrise Greetings (a Hallmark subsidiary). There are thousands of cards from which to choose, so you will definitely be getting your money's worth!

The Persimmon Festival is the last weekend in September. Larry Arnold has volunteered to drive his truck in the parade, but he needs your help!!! He needs walkers carrying signs and showing support for our troops! I'll give you the details of parade time and meeting place as soon as I get it!

Don't forget our weekly Tour of Iraq walk. We meet every Tuesday at 7 pm at the Thornton Park Pavilion and walk about 3 miles. We enjoy the exercise (and we are looking GOOD!!!), but we like the companionship even better!!! If you can't walk very far or fast--there is always someone there who walks at YOUR speed and distance!

And in closing--On Saturday, the Family Readiness Group (National Guard, Bedford) packed items collected by the AFGE (American Federation Government Employees) Local #1415. "Thank You" to all who contributed in one way or another!

Again, please consider volunteering for activities coming up this "new" year! You may like to participate in a scheduled activity, or you may also have some ideas of your own! Remember that our goal is to support our troops and their families back home, and in order to do that--we need everyone's help!

God Bless You, and God Bless Our Troops!
Hope to see you soon!
Nancy Peabody

Weekly Newsletter 9/01/2008

Hello!

Another beautiful weekend!!!!
Get your calendars out, and write down the following dates--here we go!!!!:

Thur, Sept 11th: FLY THE FLAG Campaign An American Flag should be displayed outside every home, apartment house, office, and store in the United States! Every individual should make it their duty to disply an American Flag on the seventh anniversary of one of our country's worst tragedies. We do this to honor those who lost their lives on 9/11, their families, friends and loved ones who continue to endure the pain, and those who today are fighting at home and abroad to preserve our cherished freedoms.

Sat, Sept 13th: Oolitic Festival Parade Please plan on walking with us! I will send out the time and place to meet in next week's newsletter. Get your signs made, and let's show our pride for our troops!

Tue, Sept 23rd: Quarterly Meeting The meeting will be held at the HHAFFA office (620 H St) at 6 pm. Please bring your thoughts, ideas and suggestions! We will also have "Fill a Bag with Greeting Cards" for $5 fundraiser! We'll give you a plastic shopping bag, and you can fill it with Birthday, Anniversary, Wedding, Thank You, New Baby, Encouragement, Sympathy, etc cards!!!! Sunrise (Hallmark) has generously donated thousands of greeting cards to our organization!

The Persimmon Festival is the last weekend in September. Both Betsy and I will be out of town that weekend, but Larry Arnold has volunteered to drive a truck in the parade. I'll pass on details about the parade time and place to meet as soon as I receive the information!

Don't forget our weekly Tour of Iraq. We meet every Tuesday at 7 pm at the Thornton Park Pavilion and walk about 3 miles! We enjoy the exercise, but we like the companionship even better!!!! If you can't walk very far or very fast--there is always someone there who walks at YOUR speed and distance!

And in closing--Just like the USO, our organization will be active "until they all come home"! I enjoy the feeling of helping our soldiers and their families! I also remember the feelings of helplessness and uncertainty, I remember the assurance when meeting with and talking to others in my same situation, I remember laughing together, I remember crying together, I also know that there were times I could not have made it through my son's deployment without the help and assistance of HHAFFA. I also know that WE are HHAFFA. If you were involved in an activitiy this past year and enjoyed it, but can see ways to improve upon it--please consider volunteering to head that activity this coming year! Please consider such activities as: Valentine's Cards For Troops, Christmas Cards For Troops, Relay For Life, Candle Light Ceremony, 4th of July activities, Persimmon Festival activities, Oolitic Festival Parade, Tour of Iraq, MOMS, and many others! Give it some thought, bring your ideas to the Quarterly Meeting or email me!

Hope to see you soon!
God Bless Our Troops and their families back home!
Nancy