RAMBLINGS
 from the Reverend Redactor

Volume 9                                                                                      April   2015

THE Parade - March 17 - New York City
Shamrock

The 2015 edition of the St. Patrick's Day Parade was a grand event. Our step-off time was scheduled for 12:30 - we stepped onto 5th Avenue at 1:50, so by the time we got to the reviewing stand, Cardinal Dolan (Grand Marshall for the year) had disappeared. But the Catholic War Veterans got a lot of applause and "Thank You"  as we marched up the avenue, and the world knew we were there. 
(Your Ramblings editor has not seen any pictures of CWV marchers to share with you, so you're going to have to use your imagination.) 

BIG MONEY!
Chaplain Rev. Stephen Schroeder (Left) and Commander Jim Lammers of the CWV Post 1964 in Ohio presented Jeff Compton of WJTA Holy Family Radio with a donation for their Spring Radiothon.

CWV Post 1964's mission is to help local vets and help propagate the faith. With this donation they know that WJTA can be a good partner in this mission.

DEPARTMENT OF OHIO 
2015 CONVENTION - 70 Years for CWV, 63 Years for the Auxiliary

The Department of Ohio met from April 10-12 to celebrate its achievements, plan for the future, and enjoy being together. There was a Cowboy-theme party on Friday night, and the banquet on Saturday featured a Greek motif, and a moving Memorial Service, at whic
Even the table decorations reflected the "Cowboy" theme on Friday, and there were horse races, raffles and even a Best Cowboy, Best Cowgirl and Best Couple contest.
h Past Department Commanders and Deacon Joe Repka, who died while in office, were remembered. Awards were given, and as some of the pictures below indicate, a good time was had by everybody. (Note: at time of publication we had not received any pictures from the Saturday night event, and not all the pictures have names or captions.) 
  He won "Best Cowboy" Award
 
Dept. Commander Larry Wulf and Executive Director Terry Estel welcome Director of the Ohio Department of Veteran Service Colonel Tim Gorrell, U.S. Army Retired. Col. Gorrell spoke to the convention, stayed for lunch, and joined the CWV before he left.
 
This was one of the raffle prizes. It took over 100 hours of work to make.
Madame President is welcomed to the joint session.

Dept. Chaplain Paul Kwiatkowski and Fr. Sheehan prepare for Mass.


 
The Commander's Cup was awarded Saturday night.
What a great picture for a brochure!
Note the great band in the background. Christine Richmond, Auxiliary President, played bass.
REMEMBERING VIET NAM VETERANS

The people who visited our booth were of all ages. These young ladies were with their father, who is a vet.
A major celebration was held honoring 
and recognizing the contribution of Viet Nam veterans in New York on March 28, at a space right next to the Viet Nam Memorial. The day started with a memorial service at a nearby church, and a solemn reading of the names of all the New Yorkers who had died. Later in the morning a number of veterans groups (including the Catholic War Veterans, represented by members of different Posts in the Department and National Chaplain Father Sheehan) and veterans support groups had tables where they could greet vets, and introduce them to the organization or to the service. There was a formal presentation, with decrees from the Mayor's Office and several politicians, and the head of the Mayor's Office for Veteran Affairs also spoke. Following that, there was a short service at the outdoor memorial as well. 
REMINDERS

MEMBERSHIP - Adding to our membership is the responsibility of each member. If each member brought in one new member every year, we would be a potent national force in a very short time. Don't feel alone - there is help available for your efforts:
There is a video - here is a link - 

And there is LOTS of information and help on the website to aid in your recruiting efforts.

If you have a question you can't answer, if you need help or brochures, call the national office and Karen or Dave will help you. 

MEMORIAL OPPORTUNITIES - Items that have been donated as memorials to loved ones, like our chalices, vestments, candles, etc, are shortly going to be engraved and labeled. There are still some available, so if you are interested, please contact the office. It will be at least a year before we do another engraving or memorializing, so please don't wait. Items may be donated by an individual, a Post, a District or a Department. 

CATHOLIC VETERANS SERVICE FOUNDATION - Donations made through the Foundation are tax-deductible. For additional information, contact the National Office. 

If you have not visited our page, please do. You do NOT have to join Facebook in order to visit our page. 

TWITTER - If you do not have a Twitter account, you should sign up for one. They are free, and you will quickly discover that CWV is on Twitter almost every day, with a news items, a religious reminder or an encouragement to take action. You don't have to do anything, your Twitter feed will bring the items to you, and you then can show off by knowing what's going on, or share them with friends. CWV is very active in the Twitter community, and you should be a part of it as well. 

MASS CARDS - Are an excellent way to show sympathy or celebrate a special event, as well as support the CWV. You may order them as needed, or purchase several in advance to have easily available. 


NATIONAL CONVENTION 2015
Make Your Plans NOW!!


HAVE YOU MADE YOUR RESERVATION YET?
Why not? What are you waiting for?

You know the details but they are listed here again. The farther ahead you commit, the more activities the committee can put in place. As they know who is coming, as the number of reservations swells, they have more influence with the hotel, with the local travel people, with events and other organizations and the better they can make our time in Las Vegas. 

CONVENTION DETAILS

Rooms other than Friday and Saturday will be $45, and $79 for Friday and Saturday. The CWV rate will also be valid for three days before and three days after the convention dates. Where can you find a rate like that? 

Airport transportation is available by public transit - $2 one way - and they require exact change. The hotel also has a shuttle that runs on every odd hour, and the local Post has two mini vans that will also be available. 

There will be  winery tour or a trip to Hoover Dam on Monday. There will be a bowling tournament. There is a golf course and a movie theatre and a full salon and spa and a swimming pool and someone even said there might be gambling. There are two fine restaurants on site, six casual dining establishments and three quick spots including a Subway sandwich shop. They even have an exotics racing track, where you can drive a serious racing car. There will also be workshops in basic computer skills and about Service Officers, for both candidates and those interested in receiving benefits. The Hospitality Room will open each night at 7:30 PM, parking at the hotel is free, the public transport bus runs into the Strip and the possibilities of having a Mass at a local Church and having individuals take part in a service project are being investigated. Two large Malls are nearby, and the hotel vans will take you to the malls. 

As additional details become available they will be posted on the CWV web site. Reservations can be made at 866 636-7111 or online at the link below. Use the code A5CWC08. 


REFLECTIONS 
OF THE REVEREND REDACTOR

Here we are in April. And if you look at the calendar you will see that four Departments have their conventions during this month, and the National Board meets beginning in April and ending in May. I was privileged to be invited to the Department of Ohio convention for the second year, and I was once again impressed by how efficiently they handled business, how proud their members are at the very many programs and activities they have, and by what GREAT parties they have as part of their convention weekend.

One of the recurring themes was that it is not enough to DO the job, and of course, to do it well. It is also necessary to let others know what you are doing. That can sometimes mean filling out paperwork (something very few people like to do), sending pictures to the Department and National offices, writing letters letting people know that a program is happening, or that it has taken place. Many people focus on publicity before the event, but often the publicity after the event is just as important. 
This is a rosary I was given by our National Commander. It is always in my pocket.

The key word is Communication. It is a never-ending two way street. Communication must go up - Posts must tell the Department, the Department must tell National, National must coordinate and help everyone spread the news of who we are and what we do. In the same way, the National Office and officers have to share their news with the Departments, and with the Posts and of course, with all the members. 

This is also a good time to make sure that you are prepared for the National Convention. Have you solicited an ad for the Journal, completed the scrapbook for your Post, made the last effort to recruit just one more new member? (Remember, vote totals at the elections are based on membership count.) Have you made your own travel plans to go to the convention, made your hotel reservations? Have you volunteered to help in some activity at the convention during the week? Those in charge have been working hard organizing and planning, but it cannot be done unless individuals volunteer. NOW is the time to step up and get involved. Even if you cannot go to Las Vegas, you can make sure that your Post, your County, your Department is well represented. 

Of course, everything I have said about the National Convention is true for your Department Convention as well. Or for ANY activity that your Post undertakes. If only a few people are actively involved, the future is bleak indeed. The best way to recruit a new member is if that person sees active, happy, and involved people getting things done. Now that spring has come, the weather is warming up, everyone is becoming more active, let's be sure that the Catholic War Veterans and the Auxiliary benefit from that new energy. 

Perhaps you can start by doing something good for yourself today. Or for someone else. 



Fr. John R. Sheehan, SJ
National Chaplain
CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS
(Please feel free to share events in your area)

2015


April 10-12
Dept. of Ohio Convention

April 11
Dept. of Illinois convention

April 17-19
Dept. of Texas Convention 

April 24-26
Dept. of New Hampshire Convention

April 30 - May 2
National Board Meeting

May 13-14
Dept. of Maryland Convention

May 16/17
Dept. of NY Convention & Banquet

May 17
Dept. of Connecticut Convention

Memorial Mass in Washington DC with Archbishop Broglio

May 31
Annual Ceremony in Arlington Cemetery

June 2-5
Dept. of Pennsylvania Convention

June 6
Dept. of New Jersey Convention

July 4
Independence Day
August 9 - 16
National Convention - Las Vegas 


HAVE YOU PAID YOUR TAXES?
WILL YOU GET A REFUND?
REMEMBER
THE CATHOLIC VETERANS SERVICE FOUNDATION

If you've already given a gift earlier this year, thank you. Can you do it again? If you make the check or credit card slip out to the foundation, your gift is now tax deductible. If you want to designate your gift for the Auxiliary or to support a special project, you can certainly do that and we will honor your request. 

Thank you for all you've done in the past - and if you get a little extra back from the government, think about sharing that.