Dear Members, What a truly incredible month it has been for our Auxiliary! My heart is so full as I look back on everything we’ve accomplished together. It is through your hands and your hearts that we are making a real difference in the lives of those who served. The launch of Operation Full Plate (OFP) has been a massive success. We began our first round with 24 recipients, and in just two short weeks, that number grew to 31.

Greetings Everyone! The weather continues to get nicer, and our Auxiliary continues to get busier! Our birthday dinner on March 21st was a great success. During the event, we proudly announced the establishment of The Kathleen Hayward Memorial Scholarship. This award will be given to a young woman entering the military, honoring the 62 years of resilience, compassion, and patriotism Kathy modeled for us all. It is our distinct honor to remember her by helping the next generation of female service members pave their own way.

Hello Everyone! March is officially here, and with it, hopes of an early spring! It is a busy season of growth for our Auxiliary, both in our membership numbers and our community impact. As we transition from the winter thaw, we have plenty to celebrate and even more to look forward to. February Rewind: Love & Laughter The Valentine’s Day Dinner was a wonderful success! A huge thank you goes out to Big Dan and his kitchen crew for the incredible prime rib dinner—it was truly delicious.

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope everyone was safe during the storm! 2025 is behind us and it was quite eventful! Members of the Auxiliary did an outstanding job with all of our programs and events throughout the year. I appreciate everyone’s hard work. From our basket raffles, the Walkathon, the amazing turnout for the Wall, Dine to Donate, our Veterans Day dinner, Sharon’s wonderful work with Her in Hero and all the other events that you all contributed to, ending with another incredible breakfast with Santa, it was a job well done and I thank you all!

Happy Fall Everyone! Fall is off to a busy start within our Legion Family! The Halloween event was a huge success! It was fun to be part of such an important event! Thank you to our members and everyone that volunteered your time! Another successful event from Legion Family Post 574! We ended October with 70% membership paid. Please get your memberships in. We are heading into a busy time and there will be plenty of things to do.

Happy Fall, Summer is over and we begin our very busy fall and winter season. A special thank you to all of you who attended the 911 ceremony. We appreciate everyone that keeps this tragic event in your thoughts and those who perished in your hearts. We have had our first meeting for Operation Full Plate and are busy collecting the names of those who can benefit from this program. If you know of any Veterans that could use our help, please reach out to one of the auxiliary members or email ofp574hf@yahoo.

Hello Everyone! Summer is winding down and what a summer it was! After almost a year of planning, the 50th Remembrance of the Vietnam War event has come to a close. I am so proud of everyone and everything that we accomplished as a Legion Family to make this event a huge success! I can not thank you all enough for your time, dedication and contributions. I have never seen this Legion Family come together as we did for this event.

Happy June! Hopefully the nicer weather is on its way! We have a lot to get ready for July’s big event! May brought elections for most entities. Congratulations to all the incoming officers. With the Auxiliary’s elections complete, your auxiliary officers for the year are: President: Julie Montello First-Vice: Pat Tebordo Second-Vice: June Gaulin Secretary: Colleen Rich Treasurer: Cynthia Nevins Chaplin: Dawn Palmer Executive Committee: Michele Nevins, Kate Francis, and Danielle Haxstun Congratulations to all of these ladies, I look forward to working with you all.

Happy Spring Everyone! Finally, some nice weather is on the way! We are about to get remarkably busy. We have some exciting projects in the works. First, I would like to thank everyone that came out and supported our basket raffle that was held on April 6. We were able to raise over $4000 to benefit our auxiliary programs. This month is the election month. Elections will be held at our monthly meeting scheduled for May 6, 2025.

Happy Spring Everyone! Let’s hope the nasty weather is behind us! I would like to thank everyone who attended the birthday dinner in March. We were honored to present our Unit Member of the Year to Sharon Rathbun for her amazing work with her program “HER in HERO”. Pat Tebordo presented the Betty Fowler annual Poppy award to Colleen Rich for her participation in the Poppy Program. All of our members did a wonderful job stepping up and participating in events this past year.