VFW 7999 MEMORIAL BIKE SHOW 7/21/12

Come show off your bike and support the completion of our monument!

Date: July 21, 2012 (Rain date: July 28)
Where: 4537 US Hwy 220 North, Summerfield NC
Time: Registration is from 9:00-10:00 a.m.
          Show runs from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Registration: $15 per bike
Trophies will be awarded for US Cruisers, Metric Made Cruisers, Trikes, Baggers, "Judges' Choice" and "Best in Show"

There will be a 50/50 Drawing and door prizes!

Drinks and the post's delicious all-beef hot dogs will be on sale, with all proceeds from the sale and the show going to the completion of our monument.

Questions? Email vfw7999@gmail.com

Photos from our dedication

AN OPEN INVITATION

Northwest Guilford Memorial VFW Post 7999 is pleased to announce that the dedication of its veterans’ monument will take place on Monday, July 4^th, 2011. Please share this information with your viewers/readers. The post has put nearly four years of work into planning and fund-raising to create a monument honoring all veterans, regardless of when or where they served. With Phase One of the monument complete, we are eager for the public to join us on this very special day as we raise the American flag as well as Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and POW/MIA flags on site for the very first time.

The July 4^th event will feature speakers Sheriff B.J. Barnes, Summerfield Mayor Mark Brown, and Post Commander Roy Lee. There will be live buglers, patriotic music, a canon firing, and an appearance by members of the patriotic motorcycle group Rolling Thunder (North Carolina Chapter 6). Light refreshments will be served following the conclusion of the dedication ceremony.

When:

Monday, July 4^th 2011 9:00 a.m.

Where:

Summerfield Community Center

5404 CENTERFIELD Road

Summerfield, North Carolina

This event is free to all members of the public. For more information, please e-mail vfw7999@gmail.com.

RIP, Gerald Stump

Our post was deeply saddened to learn of the sudden passing of Rev. Gerald Stump. Gerry was an amazing speaker, one of the kindest men on the planet, and very, very dedicated to supporting veterans. Our condolences to his family.

Visitation will be held tonight, Monday Aug. 30, at Central Baptist Church (1715 Hwy 68 in Oak Ridge) from 5 - 7 p.m.

Gerry during his service days:
Gerry at the most recent Veterans' Appreciation Day service held by the Summerfield Historical Committee:
We'll miss you, Gerry.

RIP, Lyle Baker

Lyle Baker, affectionately known as "Grumpy" by many members of VFW Post 7999, passed away on Friday, July 16. We will miss his sense of humor, his laugh, and his enormous heart. Our deepest condolences to his lovely wife Linda, and their daughters and grandchildren.

Lyle seemed to always have his camera in hand. Thus, this photo is a classic Lyle pose:



Lyle served as adjutant for many years. He was also active with the Marine Corps League. His full obit can be found here.


RIP, Grumpy. We'll miss you.

Correcting the misinformation

Summerfield Veterans Memorial Facing Financial Troubles - WGHP (video link)

This clip ran on Monday, July 5. While the post was appreciative of the attention, we feel it necessary to correct two very important pieces of (mis)information that were given.

First, the Town of Summerfield did not "force" the post off the original memorial site. The Guilford County School System sent Andrew LaRowe to inform the post's monument committee that the system wanted to dig a test well on the site. Ultimately, for the sake of the kids who attend and will attend Summerfield Elementary School, the decision was made to give up the site for testing and relocate. This move added $10,000 to the monument's expense.

Second, we were identified as the Summerfield VFW Post 7999. (We get this a lot. We meet in Summerfield, but honest we're Northwest Guilford Memorial VFW Post 7999.)

An e-mail sent to the reporter who conducted the interview and the station asking for the correct information to be made public ASAP received no response. In all fairness, the reporter was pregnant and days away from her due date, so she may well be on maternity leave. If a correction was aired, we haven't seen it.

Tomorrow's issue of The Northwest Observer will have a full article on the monument.

Please bear in mind that tax-deductible donations can be mailed to the address on the right, or made at any Bank of Oak Ridge branch.

What's it going to look like?

We would like to extend our deep thanks to Tom Garcia and Southern Evergreen for this beautiful artist's rendering of our planned monument.

Post Car Show success

Our May 8th Car Show was a ton of fun, and raised over $1200 for the memorial fund.

Some of the cars in attendance:

UPDATE RE: CAR SHOW

Due to the rain in the forecast, the car show has been postponed until May 8th. These sweet rides are cherished babies, and their owners don't bring them out on the road if there's a chance they might get messed up.

The book fair and the hot dog sale will proceed as planned at Goldens Antiquest & Treasures 4537 Highway 220, Summerfield.

Hope to see you there!

Mark your calendars!

Come check out awesome rides at our car show on Saturday, April 24 from 10:00 a.m - 3:00 p.m. (Want to enter your car? It's not too late! Email vfw7999@gmail.com for a registration form.)

We'll also be holding a book fair with new books and gifts courtesy of Books Are Fun!

Come enjoy the Books Are Fun book fair held right here at:

GOLDEN ANTIQUES AND TREASURES 4537 HWY 220 SUMMERFIELD NC 27358 SATURDAY, APRIL 24 9 AM TO 4 PM

Come visit the New Books Are Fun Book Fair in the convenience of your workplace. With over 250 great titles at unbelievable prices, you are sure to find something for everyone on your list!

Product categories include:

Children's Story Books, Cookbooks, General Interest Books, New York Times Best Sellers, Stationery & Scrapbooking, Music Collections, Gifts for all ages, Early Learning Products, and Children's Educational Products.

First run, top quality products from the world's leading publishers:

Time Life, Simon & Schuster, Dorling Kindersley, Harper-Collins, Penguin, Random House, Reader's Digest, Rodale, Disney, Publication's International, Thomas Nelson, Peachtree Publishing and many more!

COME OUT TO SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL VFW POST 7999!! ALL PROCEEDS FROM THE BOOK FAIR WILL BE DONATED TO VFW MEMORIAL FUND!!! THERE WILL ALSO BE A CAR SHOW AND A LIVE BAND ALONG WITH THE USUAL HOT DOG SALE!!

7 Years Ago

It's been seven years since the beginning of the Iraq War.

Nearly 4,400 American soldiers have died.

Please keep soldiers and their families in your hearts.