VFW WI Post 2925 - Berlin

Home Repair Scam Appears to Target Military Families

Posted at 07:48 on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 by post2925 in Notifications

WASHINGTON - The letter that appeared in a Soldier's mailbox promised an offer almost too good to be true: a home improvement loan approved by Congress and backed up by a government agency.

Officials at the Federal Citizen Information Center fear it's a scam targeting military members that uses the center's credibility to lure victims in.

An eagle-eyed Soldier notified the Federal Citizen Information Center after receiving the ad from the "Home Information Center" linked to post office boxes in Dallas and in Owasso, Okla. The letter included a reference to FCIC's Web site in an apparent attempt to show a federal endorsement.

"The thing that immediately sends up a red flag is the fact that [the advertisement] says these loans are approved by the U.S. Congress," said Mary Levy, director of consumer education and outreach in the FCIC's Office of Citizen Services. "Congress would absolutely never approve any particular home improvement loan."

Source: DVIDS-Digital Video and Imagery Distribution System

Read Full Story Here: Home Repair Scam Appears to Target Military Families

National Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week

Posted at 07:52 on Tuesday, September 16, 2008 by post2925 in Notifications

A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America.

Throughout history, America has counted on brave individuals willing to put on the uniform to protect our land and defend our way of life. This week we honor and recognize the many contributions members of our National Guard and Reserve make to our Nation, and we thank the civilian employers who support these individuals as they answer the call of duty.

The men and women of the National Guard and Reserve have demonstrated the highest form of citizenship, and their service is vital to the security of our country and the peace of the world. As the early patriots who claimed our Nation's liberty did, today's Guard and Reserve are fighting a new and unprecedented war and pledging their lives and honor to defend our freedom. As many of those early patriots did, members of today's Guard and Reserve lead civilian lives but stand ready to wear our Nation's uniform when liberty is threatened. The families of the National Guard and Reserve serve our Nation by proudly standing behind these brave men and women, and America appreciates their sacrifice as well.

In all they do, the National Guard and Reserve and their families represent the best of the American spirit.

Our Nation also depends on the commitment of the civilian employers of the members of the National Guard and Reserve. In offices and factories across America, organizations do without the talents of many hard-working people who have been called upon to protect our country. Our Nation's employers provide time off, pay, healthcare benefits, and job security because they care about and love their country. These businesses have put patriotism above profit, and they deserve the gratitude of all Americans.

During National Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week, a grateful country pays tribute to the men and women of the National Guard and Reserve, and we express our gratitude to the employers who support them and help enable them to serve.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 14 through September 20, 2008, as National Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week. I encourage all Americans to join me in expressing our thanks to members of our National Guard and Reserve and their civilian employers for their patriotism and sacrifices on behalf of our Nation. I also call upon State and local officials, private organizations, businesses, and all military commanders to observe this week with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twelfth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

GEORGE W. BUSH

2008 Website Winners Announced

Posted at 07:21 on Friday, September 12, 2008 by post2925 in Notifications

(via VFW.org)

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Sept. 11, 2008--The VFW Communications Department has announced winners in the annual website contest.

First-place winner in the Department category is the Department of New Mexico. Tied for first place in the Posts/District category are Post 1146, St. Clair Shores, Mich., and Post 7327, Springfield, Vir.

Placing second is the Department of California and Post 15122, West Mifflin, Penn.

The winning entries were judged exceptional because of their professional and aesthetically pleasing design, current information and well-written content, quick load time and well-designed navigation. There were 70 entries in this year's contest.

HONOR AMERICA ON THIS SPECIAL DAY

Posted at 07:01 on Wednesday, September 10, 2008 by post2925 in Notifications

Fly Your Flag At Half-Staff Today In Memory of the Victims of 9/11

Today, September 11th, 2008, marks the 7th anniversary of one our country's worst tragedies. Every individual and organization should make it their duty to display an American flag at half-staff today. We do this honor of those who lost their lives on 9/11, their families, friends and loved ones who continue to endure the pain, and those who today are fighting at home and abroad to preserve our cherished freedoms. 

In the days, weeks and months following 9/11, our country was bathed in American flags as citizens mourned the incredible losses and stood shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism. Sadly, those flags have all but disappeared. Our patriotism pulled us through some tough times and it shouldn't take another attack to galvanize us in solidarity. Our American flag is the fabric of our country and together we can prevail over terrorism of all kinds

Action Plan:

Here's what we need you to do ..

(1) E-mail this link to everyone you know (at least 11 people). Please don't be the one to break this chain. Take a moment to think back to how you felt on 9/11/2001 and let those sentiments guide you.

(2) Fly an American flag of any size today. Honestly, Americans should fly the flag year-round, but if you don't, then at least make it a priority on this day.

Thank you for your participation.

God Bless You and God Bless  America ! 

ONLINE FORMS UNDERGOING UPGRADE - PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE

Posted at 07:38 on Tuesday, September 2, 2008 by post2925 in Notifications

Your Wisconsin VFW WebCOM is currently undergoing some important upgrades.

Key among these is a revision of the online Forms system which has been growing steadily in popularity and use.

Over the next 24 to 48 hours, you will see some very useful changes which will enable you to enter information more efficiently and allow us to process that information and post updated results much more quickly than ever before.

Because these changes are somewhat complicated to install, some of you have already experienced a temporary disruption in your ability to report activity on line.

Please bear with us as we complete this critical transition. We recommend that your online reporting be held at least two days. We expect all online forms to be fully functional by Thursday, (9/4/08) and we are confident you will like the greatly improved system.

If you need to access other forms for downloading and printing, you may use THIS LINK temporarily. However, please do not submit any Post Action Reports until the upgrade is completed. We will post a notice on the blog to let everyone know when the new system is in place.

Thank you for your patience, and more importantly, Thank You for all you are doing for Veterans, their families and the Communities we serve.

Bill Knudson, Wisconsin VFW WebCOM Administrator

Dave Goeldner, Assistant Administrator & Community Service Chairman

Many Veterans Still Eligible for Stimulus Payment

Posted at 07:22 on Saturday, August 30, 2008 by post2925 in Notifications

One in four veterans are still eligible to receive their economic stimulus payments.  In July, the IRS estimated that 5.2 million of the 20 million American veterans and Social Security beneficiaries eligible to receive stimulus checks had not yet filed for the stimulus payment.

About this Site and Network

Posted at 15:46 on Wednesday, August 27, 2008 by post2925 in Notifications

Welcome to Departments of the Veterans of Foreign Wars' VFW WebCOM Network. This Network is comprised of close to 10,000 pre-built, established sites for each of the 54 state and international Departments, their Districts and all 8,500 VFW Posts. 

In support of the Network, we have added Department toolbars, a video-sharing platform, instant WebCHAT, a Membership Forum and pre-built 31,000 VFW Department-specific Officer e-mail accounts which are transferable to the next person filling the position. E-commerce storefronts for each post, online calendars, online forms and much more are in the works.

Each Department, District and Post now has an integrated internal and external communications system at their disposal for consideration of universal deployment in support of existing and planned communication protocols.

All identified product and services are provided at zero cost to the organization with the understanding that costs are to be covered through a revenue sharing agreements through the Departments. The organization retains 100% control of all branding, 100% editorial control of your message on all levels of the Network and final approval authority on all sonsorship and e-commerce opportunities. If the Network should fail to generate enough revenue to cover our service and product-provider partners' cost of doing business, there is no cost liability to organization.

The Network has not been formally recognized by the National level of the organization at this time but is being aggressively rolled out through the eight VFW Departments of North Carolina, Virginia, Missouri, New Hampshire, Alabama, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Several other Departments are in various stages of consideration and implementation.

The network provides the organization the ability to push a button and broadcast, or syndicate, the same piece of information, whether it’s text, pictures, video or audio, across every site.  Departments also have the ability to push a button and accomplish the same thing across just the District and Post sites within their Department. Most importantly it enables a VFW Post or District to directly manage and publish information to the Internet for their local community and their organization as a whole.

Over 5 years in the making and built with the oversight and to the specifications of VFW Department and Post leadership and membership, its objectives are to foster:

• More efficient organizational communication to your members and potential members.
• More efficient organizational communication to your communities.
• More efficient organizational communication to your legislators.
• Generate revenue and resources for the organization.
  

While you are here take a moment to take a closer look at how you can support these efforts.

1) Do you have a website or a weblog that you could add a link to a local VFW or State site?  Do you have a few minutes to write about us and let people know what we are doing?

You can find a list of the 54 VFW Departments here:
 http://vfwwebcom.org/departments

You can find a local VFW Post close to you here:
http://vfwwebcom.org/postdirectory

2) If you are a VFW Member or Supporter, you can download your Department toolbar. The toolbar has lots of neat features; all the RSS (syndication) feeds for every site in the Network run through them, keeping you instantly connected to all the information moving through the Network.

You can go here to download your toolbar:
http://vfwwebcom.org/toolbars/

3) If you are a VFW Member or Supporter, you can join the conversations in the VFW Membership Forum and instant WebCHAT. There’s lots of good information and opportunities to meet new friends there.

You can go to the Forum here:
http://www.vfwwebcom.org/forum

4) If you are a VFW Member or Supporter, you can view and start sharing videos at VFW WebCOM Video Network.

You can check out the videos here:
http://video.vfwwebcom.org/

5) If you are a VFW Member or Supporter, do you know of a business that may be interested in supporting your local VFW Posts or Department by sponsoring their site?  Prices start at $2.00 a day for one site and scale from there with opportunities to Sponsor all sites in a Department.  (At this time advertising and e-commerce opportunities are only available for the eight aforementioned Departments.)

You can go here to browse sponsorship opportunities:
http://www.admemex.com/vfwwebcom/

The invitation is open for all Posts and Districts to claim their VFW WebCOM Network site. If your Post or District already has a web presence this would be a great way to expand it. If your Post or District does not have a web presence this is a no cost way for you to establish one and start sharing with the world what your Post does in the community and Organization and if your Post is in a Departmental Partner Network you could even generate revenue with it...up to and even beyond $3,000.00 per year.

Go here to test drive how easy it is to manage. It's our Demo site, it works the same way yours would:
http://vfwwebcom.org/Demo/

As you can see, there's plenty to see and do on the VFW WebCOM Network with more still to come.  We thank you for stopping by and invite you back regularly to support and stay connected with your Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Reminder: Posts Need to File IRS Income Statement

Posted at 15:40 on Wednesday, August 27, 2008 by post2925 in Notifications

(Modified for general release from information posted on VFW North Carolina.)

The U S Internal Revenue Service  (IRS) now requires, under the Pension Protection Act of 2006, that all tax-exempt organizations file income statements each year .

1- If your post earns over $25,000 in gross income during your fiscal year, you must file an IRS Form 990 (which you should already have been doing, anyway!). Keep the same fiscal year you have been using in the past, be it the calendar year, the VFW accounting year (1 July-30 June) or the Department's fiscal year (1 June-31 May).

2 - If your post earns $25,000 or less each year, and you have access to the Internet, go to www.epostcard.form990.org/default.asp  where you will find instructions on how to login and file your own post Form 990N Electronic Postcard. You may use whatever fiscal year you want, but for simplicity purposes, we suggest 1 July-31 June, because 1 July is the date that you transfer your Post Dues Reserve each year to the Post General Fund, and that will remind you to file. The IRS Internet site will not let you file the Form 990N until after the end of your fiscal year.

3 - If your post earns $25,000 or less each year and you do not have access to the Internet, contact your District or Department to determine the proper procedure. There is no paper form that you can file with the IRS.  If you do not file a Form 990 or 990N each year, your post will lose its tax-exempt status!!!

WWII Ground Combat Infantrymen Eligible for Bronze Star Medal

Posted at 15:26 on Monday, August 25, 2008 by post2925 in Notifications

"Infantrymen who served in ground combat during World
War II between December 7, 1941 and September 2, 1945, are eligible to
apply for a Bronze Star Medal (BSM), according to the U.S. Army Human
Resources Command. Approval is virtually guaranteed for those recipients
of the Combat Infantryman's Badge (CIB) or the Combat Medic's Badge
(CMB). Army regulations that govern this award may be found in AR
600-8-22, Military Awards.

Next of kin may apply for the posthumous award(s). If the veteran has
previously received a BSM during combat for a specific act of bravery,
he or his next of kin is still eligible to apply for a BSM."

Find out more here

President Signs New GI Bill Into Law

Posted at 13:07 on Tuesday, July 1, 2008 by post2925 in Notifications

KANSAS CITY, Mo., June 30, 2008 – President Bush’s signature today on a new GI Bill for the 21st Century is being hailed by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. as a tremendous victory for a new generation of military servicemen and women who have been at war for almost seven years.

"This is a tremendous victory for America's veterans, military and their families," exclaimed VFW national commander George Lisicki, a Vietnam combat veteran from Carteret, N.J.

"I salute Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) for his determination to get this bill passed, the president for his strong support of our military, and the entire VFW membership for their untiring effort to get their congressional delegations to cosponsor S. 22 or its companion bill in the House, H.R. 5740.”

The new 21st Century GI Bill will pay the highest in-state public tuition rate, and provide for books, fees, and a living stipend. It eliminates the $1,200 enrollment fee, extends the use-or-lose benefit requirement from 10 to 15 years, and greatly enhances the amount paid to Guard and Reserve members. The new GI Bill automatically adjusts itself as tuitions increase, and provides a dollar-for-dollar tuition match for private colleges and universities who choose to participate in the program. A new provision added to the bill also allows reenlisting servicemembers to transfer their educational benefit to their spouse and/or children.

Read more

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