Welcome to the Dept of Texas and Oklahoma of the American Gold Star Mothers. If you're a Gold Star mom and would like to meet others in your situation please contact us.

We are Mothers of the Fallen, honoring their memory, promoting patriotism, and supporting all US Veterans. Membership in the AGSM is not required to attend our functions. Functions are open to all Gold Star Families and many are open to the public.

A Message from the Department President

Hello everyone. I hope that everyone is doing well and having a pleasant summer.

First, I would like to apologize for being remiss in my duties as your Department President. At the first of the year I was injured. This injury has kept me from being able to do much of anything. When you add doctor's appointments, physical therapy procedures and what ever else is required, there was no time or energy to do the things that I needed to do. Many e-mail and phone calls were delayed in responses, if they were returned at all. Please forgive
me.

I am somewhat on the mend now and I promise that I will make every effort to fulfill my duties with each of you.

There are quite a few things going on around Texas and Oklahoma and many of them are included in this newsletter.

The Department website will be updated on a continual basis, so any information regarding activities in your area, please e-mail them to me and I will ensure that they are posted on the web site and/or included in newsletters.

It takes all of us to support one another, so any information is important.

Sincerely,

Peggy

Member's Corner

With 2011 quickly approaching that means that so are Chapter elections. Anyone that is interested, or knows of someone that you think would like to hold a position in your local Chapter, please get the names in to me via e-mail or phone. Offices are President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Chaplain, Sergeant at Arms.

Once the names are received, I will get the ballots out to the individual Chapter members for voting. The ballots will be tabulated and the new officers will be announced.

Currently, Texas has 3 chapters; Houston area covering southern texas except for the Rio Grande Valley, Dallas area covering northern Texas and Oklahoma and the Rio Grande Valley area covering McAllen, Harlingen, Brownsville and the surrounding areas.

2011 Dues Update

Due to the rising costs associated with conducting business, the National Board unanamously voted to increase the National dues to $20. With our Department dues being $5, the total dues for 2011 will be $25.

Dues cards, including a postage paid return envelope, will be mailed to all members of record sometime in November. If you do not receive a dues card and feel there is a mistake, please contact me so that all records are current. Please mail your dues to the Department's PO Box (on the return envelope) to ensure that you receive your membership card in a timely fashion.

Dues mailed to Headquarters are not necessarily shown on the Department's records therefore generating the "gentle reminders" from the department.

Contact Information for Survivor Outreach Services

Within the last 12 to 18 months, the Department of the Army has Survivor Outreach Services at most major military installations. The SOS's were created to provide support for Gold Star Family Survivors of all Branches of the Service. Below are the locations and contact numbers for those in Texas and Oklahoma.

Ft. Sam Houston, 210-221-2705
Ft. Bliss, 915-568-0768
Ft. Hood, 254-288-3655
National Guard, Austin, 512-782-5587
Ft. Sill, 580-442-6458

The Education Center at the Wall

The Education Center is an initiative of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) to build a visitors center adjacent to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (commonly referred to as "The Wall") on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is the organization that raised the funding and built The Wall in 1982. This effort is being led by the founder and president of VVMF, Jan C. Scruggs, who conceived the idea of building a memorial dedicated to all who served in the US Armed Forces in Vietnam. The Education Center will contain pictures and items that will give life to the names that are on The Wall.

Texas is one of the first states to begin the fund raising for The Education Center and the Department of Texas and Oklahoma, American Gold Star Mothers wants to assist in these efforts. The Task Force for Texas is asking for a Gold Star Mother/Family from various areas of the state to introduce the idea of The Education Center.

San Antonio's own Peter Holt has made a challenge gift of up to $1,000,000 for the Education Center at The Wall. This challenge gift means that in Texas, for every dollar you donate, he'll match it, essentially doubling your donation. Will you join him and ensure these brave individuals of Texas will never be forgotten? Donate here.

If you are interested in assisting with this project, please e-mail me. Texas is a big state and we can assist with this very worthy cause.

More information abut the Education Center can be found at http://buildthecenter.org.

Upcoming Events

Past Events

• Just under 14,000 wreaths were laid at the Houston VA National Cemetery on December 13, 2008.  This was done through the efforts of many volunteers working to make a child's dream come true!!  Although this Ceremony was originally coordinated in past years with the Civil Air Patrol, this year the entire program was coordinated with Wreaths Across America - Houston and thousands of volunteers!! See a slide show of the 2008 event.

Wreaths Across America is a very large project that was started by a 7 year old boy who asked "daddy, why can't there be a wreath on every grave?". The same Wreath Company that provides wreaths to Arlington, provides seven large wreaths to each National Cemetery in the US.  Each wreath represents a Branch of Service, as well as the POW's and MIA's. WAA-H is a 501c3 Organization, so any donation is tax deductible.

• Salute to Our Troops. Some Gold Star Family members mingle with Wayne Newton.

  

  Attendees at the recent Salute to Our Troops event are from left to right; Barbara Craig, Mary Denton, Wayne Newton, Penny George, Peggy Slay, Jewel Aston, Center Front is Maria Salgado.

• The America Supports You - Texas function held in Amarillo Texas on May 15-16, 2009 hosted 87 Gold Star Families, most from the state of Texas. The America Supports You Texas Organization does an outstanding job every year to recognize and honor Gold Star Families here in Texas. If you have not been able to attend this function, or have not heard from them, please let us know and we will make sure to get your contact information to them for next year.
• The Memorial Day Service held on MAY 24, 2009 at Houston's First Baptist Church was unbelievable.  There were 29 Gold Star Families in attendance. Houston's First Baptist Church did an outstanding job putting together a very patriotic service for everyone in attendance. The patriotism and support shown for our military by the entire congregation was very heart warming.  After the service, HFBC, hosted a wonderful lunch for all of the Gold Star Families. Thank you HFBC.
• Memorial Day at the VA Houston National was a huge success. An estimated crowd of 6000-7000 attended and paid their respects to our Military.

Texas Fallen Soldier Plaque

The Texas Fallen Soldier Plaque Committee has offered to present to each Texas Gold Star Family, a Black Marble Plaque with a picture of your fallen soldier, the Battle Field Cross and information about the soldier. There is no cost to the family.

The committee needs help locating all of the Texas Gold Star Families. If you know of a Gold Star Family or are one yourself and would like a plaque, contact Charles Boatright, Texas Fallen Soldier Plaque Committee Chairman or AGSM-Houston.