Terri Steller
Dept. of Oregon Conductress
tlsteller@gmail.com
February 2023
Happy Ground Hog’s Day! Happy Valentines Day! Happy Mardi Gras! Wow, for such a short month February has a lot of celebrations going on. Here is an idea to keep the good times rolling; why not celebrate our veteran’s caregivers? The tireless people who help care for a veteran whether they are their husband, father, grandmother, sister, or just a friend deserve to be recognized and appreciated for all they do day in and day out.
This month would be a great time to plan a free lunch or dinner to celebrate these caregivers. If that is not feasible, why not a coffee get together or an ice cream social. You could even just mail them a card to let them know that you are thinking of them. There are a bunch of ideas you could come up with. I know how smart and creative you all are. I would love to hear your ideas and share them here on our website. If you or our Auxiliary has already held and event , send me pictures and we will put them up on our website. If you are planning an event in the future, please take pictures and send them via email to me. I especially love to see all the neat things that are happening around our state. Caring for veterans and their families is why we exist. Let’s not forget to show the caregivers our appreciation and celebrate them as well.
I have a question for you all; do you know the name of the local veterans service officer in your area? Do you have their phone number handy? I want to encourage you all to have that information at your fingertips. You never know when it might be needed.
Here in Central Oregon, we live in a tri-county area. I have all three county veteran service officers’ names and phone numbers in my phone. My challenge to myself this month is to include the state veterans service officer’s information to that list in my phone. My challenge to you all is to get the nearest veterans service officer’s name and contact information and put it in your smartphone contacts or address book if you don’t have a smart phone. (However or wherever you keep your important names and phone numbers.)
Let’s make this fun, since February is a fun month. Email me the name and phone number of the veterans service officer closest to you by Feb. 28. On March 1, I will send everyone who emails me a little surprise in the mail for playing along. Be sure to include your current mailing address in the email so I can get your surprise to you. I will use your information to compile a master list of veteran service officers in our state to post on our Department website under the resources section. This way everyone will have access to this important information.
Let’s have fun this month by caring for our veteran’s caregivers and playing the "get to know your veterans service officer” game with me. I hope that you all have a fantastic February! Oh, and don’t forget…REPORT, REPORT, report!!! Year end reports are due on April 5th.