January Meeting

January 29, 2008

Debbie Miller welcomed all members and guests. The meeting was called to order at 6:38pm. Vincent, Debbie Miller’s son led the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Minutes of the November 27th meeting were posted on the website for review and approval. The Treasurer’s Report was given as follows: November balance of $558.10. There were deposits of $234.00 for dues, donations and bracelets resulting in a balance of $792.10 on January 29th.

Old Business –

1. Dues/Membership Applications – Dues in the amount of $10.00 are due and payable to our Treasurer Linda Cagle along with the new Membership Applications.
2. Team/Committees – Teams were explained for the benefit of our guests and new members. Each Team should meet on a monthly basis either in person or via email. A Team report should be submitted at the BSM Monthly Meeting.
1. Courageous Tigers – Fund Raising.
2. Flying Eagles – Letters and correspondence.
3. Gentle Lambs – Emotional/moral support.
4. Industrious Ants – Community service.
3. Fundraising –
1. Debbie Seifert received a donation of $100.00 from Jim Click and plans to contact other auto dealerships in the Tucson area regarding matching that donation.

ACTION – Debbie contact local dealerships regarding matching Jim Click donation.

New Business –

1. Publicity – Discussion on how to inform the public about BSM. No decisions were made.
2. Homecoming of 285^th – Some of the troops should arrive at Pinal Air Park on January 31^st. Additional troops should be arriving on February 2^nd. If you can, please plan to go early, around noon, to help with the displaying of banners and flags.
3. Fallen or Wounded Soldiers – Discussion was on how to and/or whether to set up some sort of fund to send cards, deliver food, etc. to those current or past BSM members who have a soldier who is killed or wounded. Support is the main issue. National has no rule for anything of this sort. They do receive information on any casualties and do send that information to the local BSM Chapters. Suggestion was made that the Gentle Lambs meet to prepare a proposal for submission to the next BSM Monthly Meeting.

ACTION – Gentle Lambs meet to prepare a proposal for submission to next Monthly Meeting regarding fund to be established for bereavement support.

Chrissy Harlan’s son, Daniel, joined the meeting to discuss his experiences in Afghanistan and answered many questions of concern to the BSM members and guests.

The meeting adjourned at 8:30 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Charli Greenlees

Minutes from Oct. 30, meeting

Blue Star Mothers Meeting

October 30, 2007

Debbie Seifert welcomed everyone and called to order at 6:40pm. Debbie led the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Minutes of the September 25^th meeting were read and approved. The Treasurer’s Report was not given.

Old Business –

1. Banner - After discussing several quotes on having a banner made and whether or not to purchase it in time for the Veteran’s Day Parade, a motion was made by Helen Quigley and seconded by Barbara League to order a 3ftx6ft banner from Fast Signs for a price not to exceed $200.00. Barbara will email the Official Blue Star Mothers (hereinafter called BSMs) Logo to Vicki Payne who will order the banner imprinted with the Official BSMs Logo in red and blue, Blue Star Mothers in blue and Arizona Chapter 2 in red.+
2. Veteran’s Parade, November 11^th – The VFW float is 7ftx17ft. Those Blue Star Families who wish to join the VFW on the float or walk with the float should meet at the VFW before 8:30am on Monday to carpool to the parade site. Bring a dish to share is you wish to participate in the VFW Open House.
3. Wild Oats on Speedway, November 3^rd, 10:00am-12:00noon – Call Kelly Prust, Manager of Wild Oats, to let her know you will be there to help pack boxes to send the our Troops. Wild Oats is also taking care of all the postage.
4. Committee Sign-ups – Sign-up sheets were passed around and attendees were urged to sign-up for one or more of the following committees:
1. Courageous Tigers – Fund Raising.
2. Flying Eagles – Letters and correspondence.
3. Gentle Lambs – Emotional/moral support.
4. Industrious Ants – Community service.

Each Committee’s Mission and long and short range goals should be chosen. Committee Meetings should be held on a monthly basis prior to the scheduled Blue Star Mothers Meeting. Committee reports will be given at the regularly scheduled BSMs Meeting.

New Business –

1. Events Calendar - Vicki will add an “Events Calendar” to our website. Linda Cagle will e-mail the the BSMs requesting information to add to the Calendar.
2. Membership and Dues - Dues of $10.00 are due by January 1, 2008. Debbie Miller will have renewal forms at the November meeting.

ACTION: Review “mass” email list and remove those emails that are not “paid” members of BSMs.

3. Fund Raising - Bonnie Hall has “Support Our Troops” magnets to purchase for $3.00 each.
1. New Life Health Food Store – Talked to Asst. Manager who suggested calling Wednesday, October 31^st to speak with the Manager regarding donation of gift certificates for BSMs.
2. Dr. Weiss, Dentist, has dental floss and toothbrushes to donate to our Troops.
3. Bonnie also talked with lady in Service Department at Foothills Mall about setting up a booth to hand out brochures informing the public about who we are and what we are doing. Bonnie should know more on this on Wednesday, October 31^st.
4. 285^th Homecoming in January/February 2008 – Kim Sloan said FRG would like have people line the street from the Pinal Airport Exit off I-10 all the way to the Armory to greet the Troops. There will be some type of food, something for the children to do while waiting. More information will be available at a later date.
5. Thank you cards and Certificates - Barbara League received a donation of 20 certificates from Chris Jaeger, Quikprint.
   

ACTION: BSMs still does not have official “thank you” cards. A thank you card should be sent.

6. Holiday Parade and Festival, December 8^th – Parade of Lights. More on this in November.
7. Election of Officers, January – A Nominating Committee will be chosen in November.
8. Christmas Party, No December meeting – Golden Corral and Hometown Buffet were suggested. Golden Corral has free postcards to send to our Troops.

ACTION: Debbie Miller will email a survey to everyone for their thoughts and/or recommendations. Discussion and decision on party will be made at the November meeting.

Guest Speakers – Barbara and Kimberlee from Avon -

Avon has been in business for 123 years and is in 143 different countries. Their goal is to support and be there for women. Barbara and Kimberlee spoke on several types of fundraisers with Avon. BSMs elected to do catalog fundraising and earn 10% of the cost of trademarked items and 40% of the cost of Avon products, i.e., a $15.00 purchase of Avon products by 10 buyers equaling a total sale of $1,500.00 would earn $600.00 for BSMs. Catalog orders are submitted every two weeks or at the end of that campaign.

Kimberlee (829-5800) offered to attach special labels to the catalogs informing prospective buyers of the purpose of the fundraiser.

Barbara (407-6023) said if we need a lot of a particular item quickly to let her know and she will contact Avon’s Pasadena Office to expedite the shipment.

DebbieS thanked Barbara and Kimberlee for the box of lip balm Avon donated for our Troops.

Carol Herndon volunteered to coordinate the Avon purchases. Use the following email to send your orders to her – youravon@Q.com. Please let Carol know you’re with BSM.

Donations –

1. Roxanne received a donation of several boxes of handmade felt/fabric Western-style boots each filled with lip balm, eye drops, etc. for our Troops. The boots were made by an 11-year old girl named Haley Roberts (Ron Roberts – Cell 269-3498, Home 225-0590). Haley also wrote a letter to enclose with the boots which Roxanne copied to go in each box.

Roxanne will give Crissy Harlan a copy of the letter.

ACTION: DebbieS asked that a thank you card be sent to her.

2. Helen Quigley received a donation of about 20 frisbees from the Kaibab Plateau Visitor Center, Grand Canyon Association, P.O.Box 399, Grand Canyon, AZ 86023, (928) 643-7298.

ACTION: A thank you should be sent.

3. Bonnie Hall volunteers at the Oro Valley Library and after their recent book sale the Library donated leftover books to be sent to our Troops.

General Discussion –

1. Carol Herndon displayed several patriotic “travel” mugs. The ceramic mugs are available for $15.00, $1.00 of which will be donated to the BSMs.
2. Vicki Payne mentioned T-shirts that can be imprinted with your soldier’s photo and verbiage of your choice for only $7.00 for the transfer. You supply the T-shirt. See Vicki for more information.
3. Debbie Seifert mentioned the Gift Emporium as a possible fund raiser. If BSMs shop at any of the stores listed on their website, they donate a portion of the sale to BSMs organization.

ACTION: DebbieS send Gift Emporium link to Vicki.

4. Kim Sloan – Dollar Tree stores are putting boxes out November 1^st for donations to send to our Troops for the Christmas Holiday. VFW will be meeting November 18^th at 10:00am at the Valencia Armory near Pima Air Museum for a potluck and to pack 1,000 stockings to be shipped to our soldiers and their units. There will be cards to decorate as well as turkeys to be delivered to needy military families.
5. BonnieLee’s students are sending boxes to BSMs soldiers and to anysoldier.com.
6. “Operation Message”, November 13^th and 14th - The Red Cross is making appointments in 15-minute increments and will make a video for families/friends to send to their deployed soldier. Ask for Cheryl Bender and she will transfer your call to the appropriate party. They are also doing cards for Troops if you donate blood.
7. Lynn Jones had a block party and got over $800.00 in donations from her neighbors to buy things for the Troops. She is planning to be at Wild Oats on Saturday, November 3^rd.

The meeting adjourned at 8:35pm after the Serenity Prayer.

Minutes from Sept. 25, 2007 meeting

· The meeting began at 6:30pm

· Group picture taken by Jon – Foothills/Oro Valley Magazine for November article on Blue Star Mothers

· Pledge of Allegiance

· Reading of previous months minutes – Approved by All

· Treasurer Report – $859.00 in checking account

· Old Business

o Shirts – Bonnielee Walsh - We now have a new printing company for our BSM shirts.

· Tee Time

· 3755 N. Runway Drive, #D, Tucson

· (520)291-1688

· Contact: Jim Rockwell

o Thank You Certificate – Barb League – Original design was too grainy and the designer will play with it a bit to make it look more crisp & clear. Barb will follow up and report back at the November meeting.

· New Business

o Letter from Rose – She has resigned as Secretary of BSM due to personal reasons. We will need a new volunteer to take her place. Motions were made for Barb League or Charli Greenlees. Charli agreed to be Secretary, with Barb as a back up. Approved by all. Charli will not be at the Nov. meeting so Barb will cover minutes for that meeting.

o Teams/Committees – Roxanne has come up with an idea for four sub-committees, each designated to handle a certain aspect of our group.

· Courageous Tigers – Fundraising Committee

· Flying Eagles – Letter & Correspondence

· Gentle Lambs – Emotional Support/Grief

· Industrious Ants – Community Service/Involvement

o At the November meeting, we will have “sign ups” for each team/committee.

o Family Fun Day at Wild Oats – Debbie S. – November 3^rd from 10-12 at Wild Oats Market on Speedway Blvd. We are partnering with Wild Oats (marketing manager Kelley Pruest) to have a care packing party and card making event for the troops.

o Charity Emporium – Debbie S. - usometrodc.org – this organization has various stores on its website. A portion of what you buy is donated to your organization. It doesn’t cost us anything, just a matter of signing up for it. All agreed that it sounds like something we should at least try.

o Email from Carolyn – Debbie S. – Carolyn Kneppel is a mom from the Phoenix area that is on our email. She has been emailing Debbie back and forth about issues she is having regarding her son, who has been in the military service before.

o The idea of having a “generic” type business card was brought up. Debbie M. will make up a few samples and bring them to the next meeting.

o Set up Yahoo account – Lois suggested we do this in order to make communication more effective for the group. She is willing to take on getting that set up.

o Cookbooks – Debbie S. – a company produces cookbooks as a fundraiser and the cost is very minimal. They are great gifts for family and friends. We could submit our soldier’s favorite recipes. The company puts together the whole book from the recipes you send it. Each recipe is on its own page to make it easier to read and follow. All agreed it sounds like a great fundraising idea.

· Announcements

o Oct. 27^th – Patriotic Rally – Jacobs Field from 11am-3pm.

o Nov. 3^rd – Wild Oats Family Fun Day from 10am-12pm.

o Nov. 12^th – Veterans Day Parade

· Closing: Serenity Prayer

· Meeting adjourned at 8:40pm

· Next meeting Oct. 30^th, 6:30pm

· Minutes reported by Debbie Miller

Minutes from August 28, 2007 meeting

• The meeting began at 6:30pm

• Pledge of Allegiance

• Treasurer Report – $772 in account - $500 designated for postage for care packages

• Old Business

• Chapter 1 vs. Chapter 2 – Debbie Miller explained that we are officially chapter 2. There is another chapter in Lake Havasu that began before ours. There is also a chapter 3 just starting to form in the Phoenix area. Those who purchased and paid for shirts will receive replacement ones with the chapter 2 on them at no charge. A donation was made to cover the cost of the replacement shirts.
• Bonnielee – calling tree – the sign up sheet went around asking for a cell phone number or an emergency number – from that, she will form a calling tree and email to us all so that, in the event of an emergency, we can contact everyone in a matter of minutes
• Bonnielee – still has pins, bears & shirts available to purchase

• New Business

• Bylaws & BSM Handbook can be found at www.bluestarmothers.org – scroll to the bottom of the page. The bylaws are listed as 3 separate parts to view
• Subject of Thank You cards for those who have donated was brought up-suggestion was made to get a template for some sort of certificate-Barb L. will check with a friend of hers in the printing business

• Fundraising

• Debbie S. talked about wanting some volunteers to form a committee. Some possible fundraising events are the Wooden Nickel program from WildOats, booth at the Pima County Fair, Silent Auction with donated items from local businesses. Would be nice to have a BSM brochure available at these events also. Debbie M. to check into that. Having a banner for our booth or table was also mentioned.

• Announcements

• April Bolt – Tom wants every mom to have a bracelet he made at no cost
• Sept. 8^th, 6:00AM – Rummage Sale at VFW Hall to benefit 1/285^th FRG
• Sept. 11^th – Operation Homefront 2007 Freedom Walk – Reid Park – registration begins at 5:00, candlelight walk begins at 6:30
• Sept. 21^st, 6:00PM – POW-MIA Ceremony & Dinner at VFW Hall
• Magnetamerica.com is a good website for blue star magnets
• Grantham University (http://www.grantham.edu/promo/bluestar2.php) offers a free blue star flag as well as information on free tuition for military and their families

• Guest Speaker: Rick Rodriquez

• Closing: Serenity Prayer

• Meeting adjourned at 8:35pm

• Next meeting Sept. 25^th, 6:30pm

• Minutes reported by Debbie Miller