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President's Message - Jan/Feb 2026 Vance McCrumb Here’s wishing all a Happy New Year and I hope all are sticking to your resolutions. I know I am…… NOT! We lost a member, Neugene Hall, on December 24th, 2025. Neugene was Roy Hall’s brother and was a member of our Chapter since 2017. The family had a very nice Celebration of Life on January 31st. at VFW Post. There were well over 100 in attendance, plus about 20 Chapter members.
The Washtenaw County Honor Guard performed the rifle salute, taps, folding the Flag and the presentation of same to Neugene’s widow, Sandra. I’ve had many questions about our future. I’ll ask our National President, Tom Burke, to attend a future meeting for further discussion. He lives in Ohio so traveling to Michigan won’t be too difficult. There is some good information on our website but one has to login and read our Blog. If you’ve forgotten your login, email me. The TLC, The Liars Club, coffee group has met at Brewed Awaking's for eight or so years and on the 28th. presented Kim Kaster a set of glasses with “Treat The Kasters With TLC” etched on ‘em.
Kim has sold her business, and the set of glasses was in appreciation of her support of the TLC. The Kasner family has participated in our Watch Fire and our Memorial Day services for several years. Spring is around the corner and Luker will be sending a request for the lawn maintenance crew volunteers as well as the mowing schedule. I believe he is going with 3 person crews. We now only have to mow the grass in front of the Memorial. The township takes care of the rest of the mowing. We are hosting the MSC meeting on the 14th. of March at the VFW Post. Be nice to have a nice Chapter turn out for that meeting. If you are not aware of who the MSC is, it’s the Vietnam Veterans of America, Michigan State Council. Call to Order is 10 AM. Coffee and donuts will be available. Rev. Bull has volunteered to supply the donuts. Thanks Bob! I believe we last hosted the MSC meeting about 15 years ago. The Chapter received a thank you card from Lynda Koch Gladstone, whose brother Ronald is listed on our Memorial under Chelsea. She thanked us for the Christmas Card and for remembering her brother Ron and her family during the holidays. Lynda and her husband, Jeff, participate in our activities at the Memorial every year since the Memorial dedicated. Veterans VA health shakeup, and reforms to get underway in the coming months. The pending improvements are said to be improvements to the VA facilities, better access to care at hospitals and civilian providers. You may see more on this in the future. Not sure how it will impact our care at the Ann Arbor VA. The Under Secretary of the VA was scheduled to speak at the A2 VA and field questions, but he cancelled, (couldn’t find his outfielders glove?). If he finds his glove and rescheduled, I’ll send out an email blast. If you haven’t received emails from me concerning our activities, please email me at Putting on my Membership Hat; Membership total is 227. Last year we had eight new members. So far this year we have one; Eugene Smith from Ypsilanti, U.S. Army, MOS 11B40, Oct. 1966-68. Welcome Home Eugene!! Attend a future meeting to pickup your Chapter hat. Membership meeting is at 1900 hrs. On a personal note; my gratitude to our 2025 BoDs and officers. Our Secretary Luker and Treasurer Bourne carried out their responsibilities in 2025 flawlessly. Luker and Fredo have succeed in making our Memorial one of the finest in the nation. What can I say about our Merchandise Chair, Harrison, that hasn’t been already said. Well, I could think of a couple but then we would lose our ‘G’ rating 😁. That job requires more time than what we see when he’s hawking our wears at the Pig Roast, Clinton Fall Festival, and monthly at the VA. And finally, to our newsletter’s editors, the Kinzinger’s and Berry Bourne, who were responsible for The Dispatchreceiving five National Awards. And to all who volunteer to work to make us one of the finest Chapters in the nation, THANK YOU! Without you, our members, our three National Chapter of the Year awards would have been a pipe dream. Together We Made A Difference!
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