With Memorial Day just three months away, it is a good time to think about honoring the memory of a special veteran in your life with a commemorative brick that would be placed at the veterans memorial in Alachua at City Hall.

These are special bricks designed to withstand time.  They are engraved with the name and message you request.  It is a timeless gift for that veteran, one that is tangible and one that you and others can visit for years to come.

The cost of the brick is $110.  You get three lines of text. Brick forms and more information can be obtained from Jim Yakubsin at 352-222-8837.

We hope everyone is having a good start to 2018.  Commandant Jim Yakubsin had a much-needed knee surgery and he is currently recovering.  We wish him a speedy recovery.  

Elections are next month for the Board officers - Commandant, Senior Vice Commandant, Junior Vice Commandant and Judge Advocate.  At the January general meeting we will allow time for anyone to announce their intention to run for office.  Nominations and Elections will be held at the February general meeting.

The Annual Veteran Standdown is this week (January 17th.) Anyone wanting to assist, just contact any detachment officer.

The NHRA Gatornationals will be here in March.  We always have some volunteers who can work for Security and it will earn some money for the detachment (like $100 per day.)  If you are interested contact Scott DuPree by email at ssgtd@cox.net. 

Hope to see you all soon.

On Saturday 4 November 2017 we celebrated the 242nd birthday of the United States Marine Corps.

The room was sold out to 275 guests as we held the party at the Best Western Gateway Grand in Gainesville.

After a traditional ceremony led by Sandra Torres-Pintos, we had dinner followed by a tribute to World War I veterans and a dedication of the ball to Marine Bill Cummings, who wanted to attend but passed on October 19, 2017.

Our Guest of Honor was Colonel William F. "Lin" Williams III (USMC, Ret) from Lake City.  His talk was about Marine leadership and living up to the Marine Corps legacy.

Linda Yakubsin was presented with the Jim Yakubsin Vision Award and Marine Bob Wright was awarded the 2017 Marine of the Year.

Our Master of Ceremonies for the evening was TV 20's Dave Snyder. We appreciate his continuing support for our group and veteran groups in the community.  

Perhaps the biggest difference this year was the entertainment. Those Guys is a band out of Orlando that play a variety of music.  They were exciting, engaging, energetic and had the dance floor crowded.  

It was a grand evening.  We look forward to hitting this high standard next year on November 10th.  

The countdown continues ... As of this writing we are just under two weeks away from the ball.  The Birthday Ball Committee has been busy with all of the details.  We have been coordinating with sponsors and advertisers.  We have been in touch with the band and we have procured a professional photographer.  We have about 275 guests coming and we have set the bar high with previous events.  

No silent auction or live auction this year.  We will run a raffle where you buy your tickets and put them in the box by the item you want.  All good prizes so tickets are $5 each and 6 for $20.  Among the baskets of gifts, we also have a brand new smoker and a commemorative KBar knife.  

We will also have $10 tickets and drawing for a .38 caliber handgun.  Winner must be over 18 and pick it up at the gun shop after they determine you are eligible.  

We look forward to having a great event. 

And for 2018?  Yep, we are already making arrangements!  We'll get to that later!

The Ball is rapidly approaching.  The Ball Committee is dedicated to bringing all the details together for a quality event.

For any who would like to help, we could use items for the auction/raffle.  There is a form you can print from the home page of our website to donate items.

We could also use more photographs related to World War I.  It goes with the theme this year.  It could be photos of relatives who served or places in the war.  No originals, please.  Scans would be great.  Ideally, you can provide us with digital photos on a disc or thumb drive.  But whatever you have, we can work with.

Looking forward to November 4th.  

Scott

Your Birthday Ball Committee continues to work on details of the Birthday Ball scheduled for November 4th.  As mentioned before, we sold out in May but with cancellations, Jim Yakubsin is drawing from those on the waiting list to give them the opportunity to attend.

Jim has also worked with the hotel to increase the seating to 270.

We are asking everyone: if you have advised us that you are attending but you have not paid yet, please pay as soon as possible to reserve your commitment.  There are many people with money in hand standing by for open seats.  This is going to be an outstanding event with a formal plated meal and live entertainment, and the tickets are only $35.00.  It just doesn't get any more awesome than that.

We continue to receive support from the community in the form of advertisements and sponsorships.  We are grateful for their support.

Enjoy the rest of summer!  Semper Fi.

Scott DuPree
2017 Birthday Ball Chairman
Gator 990, Marine Corps League

At the General meeting on May 23rd, Eagle Scout Josiah Moody was recognized for achieving the highest rank in the Boy Scouts program.  The Marine Corps and the Marine Corps League recognize and reward those Scouts who demonstrate the initiative and drive it takes to accomplish the requirements of the Eagle Scout rank.

Josiah's maternal grandfather served on active duty for over 15 years before his battle with cancer ended.  Josiah's mother Kemberly said this is very special to Josiah and even more special to her as she rekindled her connection with Marines since her father's passing when she was 16.  Josiah's father expressed his sincere appreciation not only for the recognition, but also for the contribution by our Marines and members to the United States.  

The award was presented with about 30 members and guests present and his sisters watched proudly as he received the Marine Corps League's Distinguished Citizen Award designed specifically for Eagle Scouts.

This family is part of our Marine family and we were honored to be a part of their story.  The Marines say Semper Fidelis; always faithful.

Scott DuPree
Past Commandant
Eagle Scout Liaison

I have posted messages and mentioned at meetings that you should get your tickets quickly as we thought the event would sell out well before the November date.  

All of our tables are already accounted for and there are very few seats available for the November event. 

If you haven't bought tickets or notified us that you will be attending, you should contact Jim Yakubsin as soon as possible at 352.222.8837.  

Marine Anthony Marquez has been at our meetings consistently for quite a while now.

Anthony, a sports marketing major at UF, spearheaded our challenge coin program which is on course to raise over $1000 for us by November. Last year, Anthony was the "Youngest Marine" in our ball ceremony.

Anthony has been hired by the Denver Broncos in their marketing area and may be departing in May.  We wish him great success in the NFL and look forward to his future visits to tell us how it is going.

The Ball Committee met recently.  The menu this year will be similar to last year's but the Prime Rib is being replaced with a Roasted Sirloin served with a port wine sauce. We all agreed it was very good.  And it allows us to keep our tickets at $35.00 each.

We are all excited about having a live band this year.  We have hired Those Guys Jazz out of Orlando.  We went to St. Augustine to hear them play and it was unanimous that they will bring a lively atmosphere to this year's event.

Our ad forms have just been published.  Fliers will be out shortly and tickets should be available in May.  Online ticket sales will begin May 1st.

This year we will be conducting a raffle instead of a true silent auction and we will not have a live auction. We will also have the classic 50/50 where someone will walk away with half of that money!

A slight change in our configuration will allow us to bring in nearly 250 guests.  But we expect the ball to sell out early again.  We have plenty of people returning, as well as commitments from Marines and guests in Lake City, Chiefland and Ocala.

When tickets go on sale, please don't put it off.  We want you to be there.