Officers
President:
Peggy Slay
Houston Chapter
P O Box 1137
Willis TX 77378
Phone 936-856-8334
VP:
Christine St Michel
Treasurer:
Jewel Aston
Secretary: Pam Moore
Chaplain: Penny George
Sgt at Arms: Penny George
We wish to keep all Gold Star Families informed of our
activities. If you provide us with
we'll keep you informed and it will save us mailing costs. We promise not to misuse
your information. Thank you.
Texas has a
Gold
Star license plate for Mothers, Spouses and Families.
Some
photos from the recent Gold Star Mothers Sunday in Houston on Sept
28, 2008. |

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. |