If you wish to find out whether a Veteran's charity is not a scam, Check out these two websites, from the Federal Trade Commission:
FTC's fight against veteran's charity fraud
Friday, September 14th is the opening of the Big E Exposition/Fair in Springfield, Mass. This is the Military Appreciation Day they hold, all veterans and active duty military are free for admission. The Dept. of Conn. will also have a set up at the Connecticut State House all day, so come on up for free, and visit us!
Sunday, September 9th is our annual Flag Retirement Ceremony. We will have a special presentation of the Dept. of Connecticut's Americanism Award to Bill and Shalini Madaras. Please plan on coming, we have already received confirmation that our new Department Commander, Tom Flowers will be attending. As usual, we will have a cookout/picnic immediately following.
Saturday, July 21, 2018 the Annual Wilton Street Fair was held. Post 86 had a table out in front of the Post, with Sean McNeill, Commander Bill, Don Hazzard and Tom Moore all "working" the crowds as it were. We handed out 4 applications, met some interesting people and received $93 in donations. Another successful day of publicity for the Post!
The Department convention was a success, with one minor glitch. Post 86 garnered several awards, as did a huge supporter of ours. We received the award for the greatest contribution of the presentation, display, education and promotion of the American Flag. We received an award for achieving 100% membership paid, one of only a dozen posts in the entire Dept. And Past Commander Don Hazzard received the award for the Best Post Commander in the Department (151 Posts). We received the award for nominating the Department Americanism Award, which is the Legion's highest award to non-veterans. This year's recipients were Bill and Shalini Madaras. Congratulations to all, and here's to a better upcoming year!
Check out the video of Nick Madaras being inducted into the Wilton High School Hall of Fame here.
The June 3rd Memorial Ceremony for James B. Whipple was a HUGE success. The Whipple family was very gracious in their appreciation to the Post, and I want to thank all those who attended. Look for photos in the Photo Gallery #1 soon.
Congratulations to Lydia Hoffman and Patrick Verrilli for receiving the James B. Whipple American Legion Post 86 School Awards at Wilton High School. They each received multiple awards, they were much deserving.
A very special thanks goes out to the local Boy, Girl Scouts, Brownies and Daisy's for assisting Sean McNeill, Paul Niche and Tom Moore placing American Flags on the graves of veterans at Hillside Cemetery. They did an outstanding job and we look forward to more joint "operations"! Thanks also to the parents and troop leaders who came and helped out as well. You should be proud of these young people.
Please check out our Links Page, we have some new additions for military families, including spouses and children.
ANNOUNCEMENT: THE JULY MEETING WILL BE HELD A WEEK LATER, TUESDAY, JULY 17TH.
A BIG thank you goes out to Boy Scout Troop 20 members Alex Telitiau and Geir Magnusson, Scout Mom Salys Magnusson and Post 86 members Sean McNeill and Tom Moore for the fantastic work on the front of the Post. Check out the photos in gallery #1.
The first Post 86 sponsored trip to Foxwoods Casino had 11 travelers, but we all had a great time. Thanks to Bud Boucher for setting it up! See Photo Gallery #1 for photos.
Thank you to all who donated to Tom Moore for the 3rd District Kids Walk, held Saturday, April 28th at Great Hollow Lake in Monroe. Tom raised $100 and the money went to the Connecticut Children's Medical Center.
A very big THANK YOU, to the Knights of Columbus for hosting their 2nd annual Veteran's Appreciation Dinner, at St. Ann's Club in Norwalk April 14th. The pasta as always was delicious and to add to the night's festivities, they donated $700 to both Post 86 and Norwalk's Post 12. In particular, thank you George Ribellino for being such a great Emcee and host! Check out our photo page as well.
George Ongley was named the Grand Marshall for this Year's Memorial Day Parade. Tom Moore was asked to be speaker, as we start to celebrate the Centennial of the end to WWI, as well as remember the centennial of the death of James B. Whipple in France, June 3, 1918. We will conduct a Memorial Ceremony, Sunday June 3, 2018 to remember James. Please save the date, as we also plan a picnic afterwards.
Thank you to Dev Madhavani and Geir Magnusson, Scouts from Troop 20, who helped paint in the basement, on their holiday from school, President's Day. They did a great job...thank you gents!
Boys State Applications are now available and must be filled out online. Go here to do so. The State Police Week applications are also available here.
The Knights of Columbus are hosting their annual Patriot's Dinner, Saturday, April 14th at 6:00 PM. It will be held at the Knights of Columbus Hall (located next to St. Ann's Club), 16 Hendrick's Ave. in Norwalk. The cost is $20 per ticket. The Knights are donating $500 back to Post 86, so let's get out and support them. The seating is limited, so make your reservation now. We have reserved one table, but can reserve more if we have the numbers. Checks should be made out to "American Legion Post 86" and mailed to our PO Box. Hope to see you all there!
We will be holding a monthly fundraiser, on the third Thursday of each month at Wayback Burgers located at 607 Main Avenue in Norwalk (across from Motor Vehicles). Their hours are 11 am to 9 pm, and Post 86 will collect 15% of total sales for the day. Please join us that day to support Post 86! The next date is February 15th, see you there!
We are looking for potential members for our Post 86 Auxiliary. The duties are not time consuming, mostly some extra hands at our picnics and Veteran's Day open house. Eligibility is extended to grandmothers, mothers, wives, sisters, female blood or adopted relatives of veterans or active duty members of the Armed Forces. These include male or female, and must have the same eligibility dates as Legion membership (see our Home Page). The veteran/military member may be deceased, and or not necessarily a current member of the American Legion. Email Tom Moore (legionpost86@gmail.com) with questions or potential members.
The Post will now be open to all veterans and their families for some down time and relaxation if they please. We will be open in the mornings, by 7:30, and there is family cable and wi-fi available to those who visit. We will also be happy to answer all questions and make Post archives and history available to those wishing to take advantage of these Post 86 assets.
Watch Here - Post 86 Video
Please help us "Finish the Flag", our fundraiser for the Post. State Senator Toni Boucher donated a wooden Flag we plan to hamg over the fireplace in the meeting hall. Instead of stars in the Union, we are placing 50 challenge coins. The cost is $25 per coin, you may either donate your own coin (there are web sites that sell them, norbay.com and medalsofamerica.com, as well as the Legion Emblem store have a great variety). I also have some for use at the Post, contact me and I will set you up. We want to complete this project for the Open House November 11, 2017, so let's get this rolling!
Watch this video of a Kick for Nick soccer tournament from the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa.
Watch this video from NBCs Nightly News about Kick for Nick.
Thank you Bill Glass: Click to download an app for easy filing of Veteran's Benefits through the VA!
Unemployed Veterans:
Register for 12 months of free retraining assistance from the VA!