Greetings Brothers and Sisters,

Welcome to March. With Spring in the air, temperatures at a balmy 60 degrees, I am sitting here waiting for the other winter boot to drop. Yes, it seems too good to be true and I am bracing for another round of winter weather before Spring truly arrives.

No matter what the weather decides to do, March 31^st marks the end of the Auxiliary program year. The program chairmen will receive their respective year-end reports to fill out for the Department chairmen. Please fill these out and return them to the Department chairmen NO LATER THAN APRIL 5^TH. If for some reason you have not received your Americanism year-end report or need another copy, let me know and I will be happy to send you another one.

Please do not forget the National Award for Americanism. This year, the focus is on activities or events that help educate the community about the lesser-known patriotic holidays. You can find the entry form on MALTA under the member resources tab under Americanism. If you would like to enter your Auxiliary, please fill out the form and get it back to me by April 5^th. If you have trouble accessing it on MALTA, I would be happy to send you one.

Here are some of the patriotic holidays coming up in March:

            Mar. 1- Seabees Birthday

            Mar. 3- Navy Reserves Birthday

            Mar. 13- K9 Veterans Day

            Mar. 21- Rosie the Riveter Day

            Mar. 25- Medal of Honor Day

            Mar. 29- Viet Nam Veterans Day

On March 18^th, online registration begins for the National Convention taking place in Columbus, Ohio August 9^th- 14^th. Early bird registration is only $25. Look online on the National website under MALTA to register. Going to National Convention is not only fun but I have learned so much in the past. If you can go, I highly recommend you do so.

If I can be of any help to you regarding reports, the year-end report or National Awards, please feel free to reach out to me. I am here to answer any questions.