Dear Editor:

The Atmore Memorial VFW Auxiliary would like to thank Atmore and surrounding communities for their continued support of veterans, their families and our organization.

Although we do not have the space to thank each and every supporter, we would like to give a “shout out” to a few. We thank the Anchor Café, the City of Atmore, along with Mayor Jim Staff and city council, Atmore Chamber of Commerce, Atmore Fire Department, Atmore News, Atmore Advance, Creek Indian Enterprises Development Authority (CIEDA), Coley’s Petals & Parties, NorthEscambia.com, Pepsi Cola Bottling Company and the Matthews family, Poarch Creek Indians, Sherry’s Elegant Flowers, Wind Creek Hospitality and Walgreens for their staunch support of our veterans. We also thank our local, state and federal political leaders for their continued support of our veterans.

This past year brought many changes for our organization. We have new officers; we had a name change, and now accept males into our organization. During the National VFW Conference in July, ‘Ladies’ was dropped from the name of our organization. We are now simply the VFW Auxiliary to VFW Post 7016. It was a simple name change. We are the same organization with the same goals and objectives, and we still have the same love, respect and honor for our veterans and their families.

Claude Odom, son of the late James B. ‘Jim’ Odom, a proud World War II veteran, joined our auxiliary in September. He was the first male to join. We look forward to welcoming more males to our organization. If you are the husband/wife; widower/widow; father/ mother; grandfather/grandmother; son/daughter; grandson/granddaughter; or brother/sister of a qualified VFW veteran, you are welcome to join our organization. Your qualifying veteran does not have to be affiliated with the VFW or other veteran’s organization.

We have begun preparations for our annual Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day event that will be held the last Saturday in March. It is our sincerest hope that you can join us that day to honor this un-heralded heroes. We will also be hosting a Sneakers 4 Veterans collection on Sat., Jan. 16, 2016. Watch the community calendar section of your newspaper for more information on these two upcoming events.

Again, thank you for all you do for our veterans and their families. Words cannot accurately express our thanks and gratitude. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Gayle Johnson, President

Atmore Memorial VFW Auxiliary