Month: May 2024

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My Final Report to Legion Post 64

These words were published in the June 2024 Newsletter for American Legion Post 64 in Phoenix, Arizona.

This is my final report to you as your Commander.  One year ago, I was honored to be elected to lead the Ahwatukee Post and I am happy to say that we fulfilled our promise to directly help and assist local veterans and their families.

Adjutant Roddy Charlton and Chaplain Rebecca Schmidt presented me with the Commander’s Award

In mid 2023, the officers of Post 64 came together and crafted an Action Plan which focused on meeting the needs of our members.  The plan had 3 points:  1) Engage- Make Connections, 2) Expand- Build Bridges, and 3) Retain- Strengthen Social Fabric.  When I look back at the last 11 months and reflect on all the good work, activities, and events that our members participated in, the words Mission Accomplished come to mind.

Engage– We listened to what was important to our members and held three social mixers, two fundraiser dinner dances and numerous activities outside of our 10 regular member meetings at the ARC.  The number of veterans and guests who attended and actively participated also increased as the word got out about what value and benefit the American Legion can provide.  The outstanding personal outreach of the Buddy Check program by our Service Officer Craig Annis and a small team of volunteers also had an amazingly positive impact on engagement.

Expand– Our strong partnership with Auxiliary Unit 64 helped us expand and improve the quality of our service to those in need.   We built bridges to the community with active roles in the Chamber of Commerce, Boy Scout Troop 172, local Middle and High Schools, and other veteran service organizations which extended our service reach.  With these actions and an enhanced PR/multimedia marketing emphasis, we increased awareness and visibility of the Legion programs that help those in need.

Retain– Taking care of the needs of our existing members while strengthen the social fabric of our post and local community enabled us to have the high member retain rate in District 12.   The key ingredients in this area were members’ passion and service to others with meaningful causes.  Having fun added the extra spice that kept people coming back and renewing their membership and increasing their involvement and commitment to our post.

As I pass the baton to our incoming Commander, Tamma Notaro, I am confident that she will keep the momentum going with our goal of Veterans Helping Veterans.  Her strong leadership, communication and mentoring skills, in addition to a military intelligence background, will serve her well in coming year.

Lastly, the most important thing I need to say is Thank You to all the post members and auxiliary for supporting me this past year.  We couldn’t have accomplished anything without you.  I was blessed to have an amazing team of officers who all stepped up and exceeded my expectations.  Words of appreciation are not enough to express my gratitude to the leaders of Post 64.  I enthusiastically salute the 2023-2024 Post and Unit 64 officers:  Al Hunter, Pete Meier, Roddy Charlton, Craig Annis, Jay Hendrix, Rebecca Schmidt, Mark Shillinger, David Green, Darlene Hunter, Joan Uhler, Kristy Hendrix, Judy Steffen, and Bev Shillinger.  Great job everyone!

I also want to express my deep appreciation to our Post Photographer, Steve Smull, who has been creatively capturing so many memories and moments at Post 64 for the past 6 years. 

A few words from Steve,

“As Post Photographer for Post 64, I was honored to serve and support Brenda’s efforts as Commander. We share a mutual respect for the efforts of our nation’s veterans, not just in defense of our borders, but also in their support of their peers. 

Brenda and I will carry our efforts for veterans up the hill with us. I enjoy supporting veteran events with images which support veterans’ efforts. Thanks for allowing me to do it.”

Steve Smull with the GOAT Award from Post 64

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Red Poppies are Not Artificial

The red poppy is a real and hardy flower that thrives in Belgium, France, England, and along the streets of Georgetown, Texas. This vibrant wildflower is a strong and passionate symbol of the sacrifices made by members of the armed forces across Europe, Canada, and the United States.

Poppies are authentic.

Poppies are powerful.

Poppies are the perfect reminder of the true meaning of Memorial Day in the United States.  A stark and true symbol of remembrance and hope.

I first learned about the poppy when I was 10 years old and competing in my local VFW Post’s Poppy Queen contest.  Having studied the history and background of the red and black flower, I have grown to appreciate its beauty and enduring symbolism.  While paper replicas of the Papaver roheas are hand-crafted and distributed outside thousands of grocery stores on Memorial Day weekend in the U.S., they are not artificial.  Rather, they represent the truest of all human experiences – that of noble sacrifice for one’s country.

It is an honor to don a red poppy in remembrance for those who have served in the military and paid the ultimate price.

The last stanza of the famous WWI poem, In Flanders Field, strikes me in my heart every time I read or recite it:

“Take up our quarrel with the foe

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch;  be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die.

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

 In Flanders Field.”

The reality of humankind’s warlike ways is painfully evident across the globe and the valiant fight of good against evil continues.   The simple red poppy remains a strong and radiant light of truth, power and sacrifice.  Nothing is more real than that.

 

 

 

 

 

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Memories of Mom

For those whose mothers are no longer living on this earth, do you ever wonder what she would think about our world today? I often think about how my mom would react to my decisions and current situation. What advice would our mothers give us if they were sitting next to us right now?

It’s been almost 24 years since my sweet Mom passed away from lung cancer and Mother’s Day is always one of the saddest days of the year for me.

The best thing I can do is honor my Mom’s memory by doing and saying things that I know she would appreciate and be proud of. Striving to emulate her values with my actions.

Virginia Mary was born during the Great Depression and had a strong, spunky spirit and an infectious smile. She was extremely generous with her time and limited money and always rooted for and lent a helping hand to the underdog. Virginia was kind, jovial and optimistic. Her friends called her Ginny and I called her Mom.

One of my Mom’s favorite sayings was “Live, Love, Laugh” and that was how she lived her life. I never heard her complain or speak poorly of others, She was stoic when she was sick and cared more about taking care of the needs of others than she did for herself.

My Mom was hearing impaired since childhood and wore hearing aids which I don’t think helped her much. She was good at reading lips, body language, and expressions. She loved to read mystery books and write letters to her family. I am so happy to have a stack of letters she wrote to me during the early 1990s when I was in the Army and deployed in Saudi Arabia. This was the best way to communicate with her and they mean the world to me now.

Mom was not one to give unsolicited advice but if you asked she would give her simple and wise opinion. She didn’t use big words but she had large and important ideas, lessons, and experiences to share.

I’d like to imagine that if my Mom were sitting next to me right now, she would encourage me to lighten up and enjoy the small, good things that life has to offer. She would remind me to relax and slow down and look before I leaped. She would smile and tell me to be kind to others and volunteer to help the needy and underprivileged. Virginia Mary was an amazing and strong woman who inspired me to serve my country, my family, and my community. She is one of the main reasons why I became so active and engaged with the American Legion (all 4 of her brothers served in the U.S. military in WWII). The way she lived and loved and laughed in the face of adversity were key examples for me and helped shape who I am today.

My yoga instructor shared this quote below after class yesterday and it made be think of my Mom.

“If you want light to come into your life then you need to stand where it’s shining.” – Guy Finley

Happy Mother’s Day in heaven Mom!

Your values live on in the actions of your children, your friends and everyone who had the honor of knowing you.

Thanks for the great advice today.

My Mom and I at Ft Gordon, GA in 1989.

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Self-Nourishment: Releasing for Recovery

Are your muscles tense and holding a huge amount of stress?

Is your neck screaming at you? Maybe it’s your lower back that is barking.

Life’s challenges can be extremely stressful on your physical body. So often we hold our stress in our muscles and this leads to pain and discomfort. What can you do to get some relief?

To help release and let go of your tension, I recommend the top 3 basics of walking, stretching, and yoga. Recently, I experienced great release and recovery from a fitness class at Mountainside Fitness called “30 MIN. XPRESS ROLL & RELEASE” led by Kathleen Sollars which used foam rollers and tennis balls to help us achieve the benefits of myofascial release and increased blood flow and circulation to soft tissue. I felt like a stick of melted butter after this class! It’s amazing what a bit of focused rolling and pressure point action can do. The result that night was the best quality sleep I’ve experienced in months.

To help us better understand and apply the release and recovery model, my good friend and Yoga Therapist, Nancy Martch, shares her wisdom and focuses on the importance of self-nourishment in our daily lives. More than self-care, self-nourishment is the intentional replenishment of vital energy and breath to the body. Just like it is beneficial to feed our bodies quality food and nutrients, it is equally important to fill up our body’s emotional and spiritual tanks with positive movements, reflections, and breath work. In addition to yoga and mediating, rolling and releasing can be key components to your daily self-nourishment.

Below is a slide I appreciated from a presentation crafted by Nancy, owner of Jai Yoga. As my Yoga Therapist, she has helped me to become more aware of my body and its response to external stimuli and trauma. Nancy has helped me to breathe, balance, release and accept. Yoga therapy is an outstanding way to promote health and well-being within a therapeutic relationship. To learn more , check out this video. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram @jaiyogahouston

It is my hope that you can release some of your pain and tension with these ideas and tips. Life is too short to be in constant discomfort and you deserve to have some relief.

Take care of yourself. Breathe, move, and let it go.

Self nourishment calls on the Mother within you to take action for your personal and specific needs.

Remember the 3 Rs of Roll, Release and Recover!

Namaste.

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Surprise! You are Ready to Rearrange

“Sometimes our lives have to be completely shaken up, changed and rearranged to relocate us to the place we’re meant to be.”

I was shocked to realize that I ready was to rearrange my life, shaking it up like a red, 1975 Etch A Sketch- selling our house and moving to another city.

Whether you are resetting your priorities, refocusing your efforts, or completely changing your home address, change and moving are not for the light-hearted.  Change is hard and that is why most people don’t attempt it.  Leaving your comfort zone is painful and that explains why so many remain like the frog in the proverbial boiling pot. It often seems easier to do nothing than it is to take a step into the scary unknown.

But I am here to tell you, not changing or relocating may result in just as much pain and anguish in the long run (look to history books for numerous examples of this- 1939 Germany comes to mind).  

My recent shakeup involves two major areas of my life- my job and my home.  The catalyst was a down-sizing event at my employer of ten years and then the retrospective conclusion that my home was located in a place where I wasn’t meant to be.  It just didn’t feel right anymore, and I knew that a drastic change was needed.  So, I resigned from my dead-end contract job and my family put our house up for sale.  The house got an offer in 2 days with a short 3-week close date.  Wow was that shaking things up!  

The rearrangement continues as I sit in a coffee shop called the Ground Shaker and write this blog.  I am in the city of Surprise, AZ where we are fortune to be staying at the house of good friends who are snowbirds who flew to Colorado for the summer.  

So now I find myself jobless and homeless with all of my worldly belongings (minus my clothes, bikes, and Apple devices) in a storage locker in Prescott, AZ.   

Moving is one of the most stressful and tiring experiences and this is the 24th time I’ve done it in the past 35 years.  All of my immediate family lives in the same county where I was born and raised and I sometimes wonder how my life would have turned out if I had never left for my first Army duty station after college.  A rolling stone may never gather moss but it also doesn’t establish strong and deep roots.  I do miss seeing my sister, brothers, cousins, nieces and nephews for the holidays and important life events. I miss and long for the adventures and trips down the shore with my east coast friends.

Relocating is all very unsettling and disconcerting but it helps when you know that you are doing it for a good reason.  Keeping a positive future state clear in your mind is one of the keys to reducing the pain of the change.  Visualization of a better place where I am meant to be is helping me cope with the waterfall of stress and angst. 

The ideas and images of a new house in a smaller, cooler town in the mountains are calming and soothing to the soul.  I’m hoping for that the higher altitude will bring better attitudes (or, to be more grammatically correct, higher elevations will bring positive revelations).  Less heat, more trees and lakes- that is what I need to keep my sights on- not this temporary sense of dread and unease. 

And so here I am in Surprise Limbo, experiencing the thrill of having my life completely shaken up, changed, and rearranged to enable me to relocate to the place I’m meant to be.

Onward and upward!

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A Positive Force in the Community: Remembering Jack Armstrong

Jack Armstrong was a strong and caring man who walked the walked and stood tall for his values, his community, and his nation. He cared about his community through his volunteer efforts at the Ahwatukee Recreation Center (ARC) and the American Legion.  He supported his country through his military and government service.  Jack advocated for and helped his Legion Post 64 in more ways than he knew.  His strength and sincerity were a shining example of what is right and good about our nation.

A few years ago I began meeting with a small group of Legionnaires from Post 64 at the Denny’s restaurant in Chandler, AZ.  Jack, Al, Bill and I put our heads together to brainstorm and how we could increase membership and engagement at our local post.   I truly appreciated Jack’s quiet command and thoughtful ideas on how we could help our fellow veterans and the youth of in the Phoenix area.   He could always be counted on to man the Post’s information/PR tables at public events and assist at Post meetings, social mixers, and fundraising functions. Jack was a true patriot and a leader who was liked and respected by everyone in the American Legion family.

Jack was an intelligent man who wanted to write a book and encouraged me to start a Writer’s Group at the ARC.  Below is the email he sent me on May 4, 2023.  Together we started a bi-weekly ARC Writer’s Group meeting in July 2023.  He was a great inspiration to me and I enjoyed listening to his stories and experiences from his Army Corps of Engineering days in Vietnam to his Office of Inspector General audit days in the DoD.

“Brenda,

The ARC is trying to start a writer’s group.  Would you be interested in joining and taking the leadership?  I plan to join if the ARC can find a leader.  I have always wanted to write a book on fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan, but I am not very creative when it comes to writing.  I have written a couple hundred audit reports but nothing creative.  Let me know if you are interested.

-Jack”

Jack was an active supporter of his community and a leader with a positive message of unity and respect.  He lived authentically and was grateful for all that he had.  Jack Armstrong embodied the values and pillars of the American Legion which are: Rehabilitation for Veterans, Youth & Children, Americanism, and National Defense. He not only lived these values- he boldly took action to make the world a better place.  

As Commander of American Legion Post 64, I was honored to have worked with Jack Armstrong on countless efforts and events that supported our “Veterans Helping Veterans” focus.  We will honor and remember Jack in the best way we can- by continuing his legacy and great work and by being positive, helpful, and caring volunteers in the local community.

RIP Jack L. Armstrong

January 3, 1947- April 24, 2024