BLUE STAR MOTHERS CA 30 NEWSLETTER 2016

BLUE STAR MOTHERS PREAMBLE (CREED)

We, the mothers of the Armed Forces of the united States of America,

do unite to establish a permanent organization.

Desiring to continue to be of service to our nation, we dedicate our

time, and our lives, if necessary, to the perpetuation of democratic

government. We are proud and honored that our sons and daughters

have chosen to serve their country.

The Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc. is a non-partisan, non-political organization.

We do not support any political candidate nor do we endorse any religious organi-

zation. The military represents all aspects of America as does our organization.

Links to our website do not represent an endorsement. We are a 501(c)3 organiza-

tion registered in the State of California.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

VERONICA WHEELER

I'd like to thank Moira Fisher for another amazing newsletter and also for being

there to help me with our chapter every single day! Our board members MaryAnn

Sherman, Teresa Bullock, Christy Payne, Lorraine Camire and newly elected Geni

Kromberg have all put in a tremendous amount of time and effort into keeping our

chapter running. Their dedication and love for helping our Veterans is unwavering.

A MESSAGE FROM FIRST VICE PRESIDENT

MOIRA FISHER

2016 was another busy and wonderful year. We continued to support Rebuilding

Warriors and assisted with the 50th Commemoration of the Vietnam War at Ft. Ir-

win. We honored Gold Star Mothers, bid farewell to fallen heroes, attended ceremo-

nies on Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day and Pearl Harbor Day, attended the national

convention, packed and mailed hundreds of care packages, worked side by side with

local organizations on several projects, fed firefighters, played bunco, marched in 2

parades, provided a holly jolly Christmas for the Loma Linda VA and gathered for

our annual holiday party.

I also want to thank our chapter members for being willing to help at the many

events honoring our service men and women and especially our Gold Star Moth-

ers. We always have a Blue Star Mom that will be there! I’m very grateful for

CA30.

On January 21, 2nd VP MaryAnn Sherman was honored as Corona’s Citizen of the Year at the Chamber of Com-

merce Awards Dinner. MaryAnn’s volunteer and civic activities have been many and varied over 25 years. .

Tammie Ashley’s son Joshua

was killed in Afghanistan in

2012. The Army allowed her to

keep his K9 Sirius. Sirius was

welcomed home with a hero’s

welcome on February 27. Chap-

ter member Tammie Sum-

mersgill attended

On January 9 we attended the presentation of K9 Zeus to Army hero Jus-

tin Von Bargen. Rebuilding Warriors, based in Norco, is a phenomenal

organization gifting over 40 service dogs a year to veterans.

On March 18 and 19 we worked

with Ft. Irwin to present the 50th

Commemoration of the Vietnam

War. Over 1,000 veterans and their

families attended the event. .

Gary Sinise and

the Lt. Dan Band

performed for the

base in the after-

noon. To the left

with Gary is Ma-

son Rodriguez, our

Patriotic Instruc-

tor. His brothers

are in the Army

and the Navy.

Families

were served

lunch and

given gifts.

We also as-

sisted people

in finding

their friend

or loved

one’s name

on the travel-

ing Vietnam

Wall. Gold

Star Mothers

(wearing

white) also

volunteered

including our

own Teresa

Bullock on

the right

3rd Vice President Teresa Bullock was

presented with the “Patriot of the Pre-

sent—Community” award by State

Senator Morrell on April 1 at March

Air Force Base. An Army veteran,

Teresa is a Blue and Gold Star Mother

and works tirelessly on behalf of both

groups.

On April 16 our chapter brought homemade dinners to each of

Corona’s 7 fire stations. We love this yearly thank you to our fire

department for their support of Blue Star Mothers and dedication to

the city. Below to the left are Annette McKenzie and Financial Secre-

tary Lorraine Camire. Above are Chaplain Valerie Holmes and Presi-

dent Veronica Wheeler.

On April 30 we marched in Riverside’s A Salute to Veterans Parade.

The rain did not keep the marchers or the spectators away!

We held our annual Gold and Blue Star Mothers Luncheon on April 23. Pictured below

left s the CA30 Board and right is President Veronica Wheeler with guest speaker April

Smith, author of “A Star for Mrs. Blake”. Each Gold Star Mother was gifted with a copy

of her book about the establishment of the Gold Star Mothers organization.

Member Julie Grenier made the beautiful

cookies for all the mothers and has generously

done so since 2013.

On May 5 Lorraine Camire and Moira

Fisher joined the Patriot Guard Rid-

ers in escorting EM3 Tyler Backer

(AD) USN to Riverside National Cem-

etery. He died at home. It was our

honor to meet his family and ride

with him to his final resting place. Blue Star Mothers

were busy on May

30 Memorial Day. To

the left are L-R

Rosemary Leal, Moi-

ra Fisher and Valerie

Holmes in Grand

Terrace at the Free-

dom Wall. Mothers

also attended cere-

monies at Sunny-

slope Cemetery in

Corona, Riverside

National Cemetery

and the George

Ingalls Veterans Me-

morial in Norco

Below left we joined

many organizations

on May 28 to place

flags at Riverside

National Cemetery.

To the right is Teresa

Bullock in Washing-

ton DC. Teresa is the

Patriotic Instructor

for the National Blue

Star Mothers organi-

zation

On April 1 in Temecula Moira Fisher and Lorraine Camire attended the viewing

and tribute for SSgt Louis Cardin (AD) USMC, the first American killed by ISIS.

On May 16 1st VP Moira

Fisher and member

Michelle Connelly joined

the PGR in greeting SSgt-

Shaun Meadows (USAF

ret). He was presented

with a motorcycle espe-

cially designed for him. He

lost both legs in Afghani-

stan in 2008.

On May 21, Armed Forces Day, we played Bunco wearing

clothing representing our child’s branch of service. Moms

showed up in t-shirts, sweatshirts and full uniforms!

The Corona Chamber of Commerce held their annual Salute to the Military Luncheon on May 20. Blue Star Mothers

always attend to seat veterans and retrieve the buffet lunch for those in wheelchairs or who need assistance. MaryAnn

Sherman gave a short talk about Blue Star Mothers. Pictured are L-R Annette McKenzie, Moira Fisher, MaryAnn Sher-

man, Veronica Wheeler, Michelle Connelly and Lorraine Camire.

We joined Jeff Anderson from Rebuilding Warri-

ors on June 18 and 25 for 2 more service dog

presentations.

On July 1 Lorraine Camire and Moira Fisher attended the opening ceremony for the Mobile Vietnam Veterans Memorial

in Chino. The wall was on display until July 5 and then moved out to it’s next city.

Blue Star Mothers CA30 has been

marching in Corona’s 4th of July

Parade since 2011. Below right are

Gold Star Mothers Teresa Bullock

and Tammie Ashley with President

Veronica Wheeler.

From August 2-7 Teresa Bullock, Ve-

ronica Wheeler, Moira Fisher and

Valerie Holmes attended the Blue

Star Mothers of America Inc. Nation-

al Convention in Dayton Ohio. Below

are Gold Star Mother National Presi-

dent Candy and Blue Star Mother

National President Judy Dorsey,

On August 14 we hosted a dinner

for Gold Star Mothers and our new

moms so we could all get to know

each other a little better. Below is

the chapter picture including 3

Gold Star Mothers in front –Vicki

Castro,Sue Pollard & Elaine Krepp

In Norco on Aug. 20 we attended the presentation of service K9 Nala to

Trish Ellis USAF (ret). Jeff Anderson and his team at Rebuilding Warriors

provide an invaluable service to our veterans

Yearly chapter board elections were held on Sept. 12. The

2016-2017 board is L-R Teresa Bullock 3rdVP, MaryAnn Sher-

man 2ndVP, Moira Fisher 1stVP, Veronica Wheeler President ,

Geni Kromberg Recording Secretary, Lorraine Camire Finan-

cial Secretary and Christy Payne Treasurer

On Sept. 11 Moira Fisher and Lorraine Camire attended the Welcome Home at Ontario Airport for the Honor Flight re-

turning from Washington DC. These are WWII, Korea and Vietnam Veterans who are escorted on an all expense paid trip

to Washington DC to visit the war memorials.

Left—The 2nd Annual Navy Ball was held at the Riverside Convention Center on

October 14. Right— The annual Ira Calvert awards were distributed on October

16 and Blue Star Mothers were there to help.

On November 12

we collected

items for care

packages outside

of SAMs Club.

Sams Club management had always been very supportive of our chapter

On the 13th we packed over 200 boxes to send overseas. Below are 2 pictures of female troops with our packages.

Friday Nov. 11 found

Blue Star Mothers

attending different cere-

monies. To the left are

MaryAnn Sherman and

Moira Fisher with 96

year old veteran John

Busma at Valencia Ter-

rance in Corona.

Local Gold Star Mothers have begun raising money

for a Gold Star Mother Memorial at Riverside Na-

tional Cemetery . Chapter 30 members and Gold

Star Mothers Teresa Bullock and Gail Cox attended

the groundbreaking

Norco

Flags of Valor in Irvine –we dedicated 3 flags

in honor of the sons of 3 chapter members

On November 5, 2016 we were part of the First Annual Amber Waves of Grain beer fest to raise money for several

veterans service organizations. We were an integral part of the planning and execution of the event. Our chapter

manned the check in booth and sold tickets (above right). We joined the Gold Star mothers with a booth next to theirs.

Veronica Wheeler, Karen Alexander and Moira Fisher worked very closely with George Brightenburg , his daughter

Caroline (above right) and Bill Steinkirchner (not pictured) to make the event a success.

The Corona Elks

club honored

Blue and Gold

Star Mothers on

Nov. 26 with a

beautiful dinner

Pearl Harbor Memo-

rial December 6 at

the Lake Norconian

on the Naval Base in

Norco. Annette

McKenzie, Moira

Fisher and Veronica

Wheeler with Pearl

Harbor Survivor

John Busma

2016 Christmas

Party Dec. 3

To order online visit the

website below:

https://

squareup.com/

market/blue-star-

mothers-home-ca30

Please note that online

orders are shipped and

the fee is automatically

charged.

Gold/Blue Star Mothers Dinner August

Elections for the 2016-2017 year September

Inland Empire 2nd Annual Navy Ball October

Amber Waves of Grain Fundraiser November

Placement of flags at Riverside National Cemetery for Veteran’s Day

Veteran’s Day ceremonies—Valencia Terrace in Corona, Pico Park in Grand

Terrace and others in Norco and Riverside

Collect and pack care packages for troops overseas

Annual Loma Linda Veteran’s Hospital Christmas Party

What We’ve Been Up To

Business meetings are the 2nd Monday of every month at our BSM office in

Corona (doors open at 6:30 pm and meeting starts at 7pm)

50th Commemoration of the Vietnam War at Ft. Irwin February

Dinner for Corona Police Dept. March

Annual Blue and Gold Star Mothers Luncheon April

Chick-Fil-A Military Appreciation Night in May

Care package collection and packing May

Placement of Flags at National Cemetery on May

Memorial Day Ceremonies May

Dinner for Firefighters June

4th of July Parade

National Convention August

Navy Ball October

Amber Waves of Grain November

Placement of Flags at National Cemetery November

Veteran’s Day events November

Collect items and pack care packages November

Annual BSM Events