Upcoming Events

• Sept 11, 2011, Sunday - JUBILATE DEO CHORALE AND ORCHESTRA, EASTERN UNIVERSITY ENSEMBLES AND CHURCH OF THE SAVIOUR FESTIVAL CHOIR will present a musical collaboration memorializing the Tenth Anniversary of the Terrorist Attack upon our Nation. The Patriotic Concert will be held on Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 2:30p.m. at the Kimmel Center – Verizon Hall, Philadelphia, PA. Tickets are $25-$100, with group rates for groups of 15 or more available.
  
  The performance will remember those who lost their lives, pay special tribute to those heroes who risked their lives on that fateful day, and will honor the many men and women who serve in our military, past and present. The concert will feature a 150 member mixed chorus, 65 piece symphonic orchestra, soloists, narrators, and cast to present some of the greatest patriotic music ever written. Musical selections will include: The Star Spangled Banner, God Bless America, the Battle Hymn of the Republic, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, Salute to the Armed Forces, Taps, You’ll Never Walk Alone, When The Saints Go Marching In, and much more.
  
  For information and tickets, please call the JDCO Box Office at 856-858-0693 or visit our website at www.jdco.org. Group rates available for groups of 15 or more. Tickets are also available through the Kimmel Center Box Office at 215-893-1999.
• Sept 17, 2011, Saturday - Fourth Annual Fund Raiser for Wreaths Across America.
  
  This annual event will be held at American Legion Post 184, 744 Gravel Pike, East Greenville PA 18041, [215] 679-5816. The Legion already has commitments from various local veterans organizations ready to donate funds to the “Wreath Across America” project. It is estimated that $700.00 has already been raised to support this cause.
  
  Please inform the local Gold Star mothers and invite them to attend on Saturday, September 17th. There is no cost or charge to your organization, or to your members. Mr. Newnam can also arrange a limited number of hotel rooms for the Gold Star Moms that may have a distance to travel including some limited transportation.
  
  If you are interested, please contact SFC Jerry Newnam at the phone number listed above.
  
  Bonita Lewis, Department President

Barbara Benard New Dept of PA President for 2009

Barbara Benard of Columbia PA and National Banner Guard, has been elected President of the Dept of Pennsylvania, AGSM at the 2009 Department Convention.

Front row L to R Carol Fahnestock, Theda Gleixner,
Barbara Benard, Anna Dahr, Joan Reid.
Back row L to R Pat Geiger, Alzrio Mc Donald, Helen Seifert,
Irene Gertzen, Cher Kondor, Peggy Morrison.

Top row: Tom Leisher from Honor and Remember, Inc. presenting Peggy Morrison, from the Greater Harrisburg Chapter, with a personalized flag for her son Nicholas Morrison and Barb Benard reading the Honor and Remember certificate.

Bottom row: Tom Leisher from Honor and Remember, Inc. presenting Irene Gertzen, from the Greater Harrisburg Chapter, with a personalized flag for her son Barry Gertzen and Barb Benard reading the Honor and Remember certificate.

Military Uniforms OK in Schools

Act 13 of 2010 (Senate Bill 206) prohibits any school official from denying any member of the military entry to school facilities simply because he or she is wearing a military uniform. The legislation stemmed from several incidents in which military members wishing to visit friends and former teachers were denied access to school grounds due to their military uniforms.

Military Family Relief Assistance Program Extension Sent to Governor

3/10/10

The PA Senate unanimously approved the extension and expansion of the Military Family Relief Assistance Program. House Bill 1533 has been approved by the House and Senate and was sent to the Governor’s desk for his signature.

The Military Family Relief Assistance Program provides grants to military members who have a direct and immediate financial need due to the sudden loss of income directly related to their service or an emergency need for child care, food, shelter or other necessities. The program also provides emergency funding for travel and lodging in the event of the death or serious illness of a spouse, parent, sibling or child.

HB 1533 would extend the program until 2016 and adds National Guard members to the list of service members who are eligible for the program. The legislation also expands eligibility guidelines so military families could be eligible for assistance for up to a year following their return from active duty.

Committee Approves Bill for Military Burials at Washington Crossing

The PA Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee approved legislation to allow for formal military burials of veterans at Washington Crossing National Cemetery in Bucks County.

Current law does not provide for honor guard burial details at Washington Crossing National Cemetery. Only Indiantown Gap National Cemetery in Lebanon County and National Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Washington County are authorized to conduct those ceremonies. Senate Bill 1186 would expand the authority of the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to provide this honor and burial allowance to veterans buried at Washington Crossing.

PennDOT Introduces Branch of Service Veteran License Plates

HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ - Honorably discharged veterans of the United States Armed Forces have a new way to proudly display their service as PennDOT today announced the availability of a new series of military license plates honoring veterans of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. "On any given day, members of our armed forces are serving around the globe protecting our freedom," said PennDOT Secretary Allen D. Biehler, P.E. "PennDOT is pleased to announce this new series of military plates recognizing their sacrifices in service to our nation." The new plates feature the standard Pennsylvania license plate colors of blue, white and yellow along with the applicable branch of service emblem or logo on the left side of the plate. Pennsylvania is printed at the top of the plate, with the name of the applicable branch of service at the bottom. To obtain one of these plates, honorably discharged veterans must complete and mail Form MV-150, Application for U.S. Military Veteran Registration Plate, to PennDOT and include a certified copy of their DD-214, along with a $20 fee. Form MV-150 is available on PennDOT's Driver and Vehicle Services Web site, www.dmv.state.pa.us, via the Military License Plates link under the Military Personnel/Veterans Information Center. Additional information and images of the new license plates are also available on this Web page.

Pennsylvania adopts Honor and Remember Flag as an official symbol commemorating fallen servicepersons.

June 2, 2009

The American Gold Star Mothers have endorsed the Honor and Remember Flag as an official symbol commemorating fallen servicepersons. We attended a session of the PA House of Representatives when they took a vote to adopt resolution HR 275 for the Honor and Remember Flag. The resolution was passed unanimously and a copy was sent to Congress to adopt the Honor and Remember Flag as a national symbol of gratitude and respect for all those brave men and women who have died while in service to our country. This encompasses all those from the revolutionary war to the present.

Representative Rob Kauffman (lower left) introduced the bill. Attending the session were: back row  left to right, Gold Star Mothers Cher Kondor, Ruth Stonesifer, and Peggy Morrison. Front row left to right is Tom Leisher from Honor and Remember, Inc, Gold Star Mother Barb Benard, and George Lutz the founder of Honor and Remember, Inc.

Pennsylvania is the first state to recognize the Honor and Remember Flag by passing a resolution. Several cities in PA have also adopted this flag; Chambersburg, Lancaster, York, and Orrstown. There are several other cities or townships that are working on resolutions for the flag.