CURRENT DRIVES, DONORS, EXHIBITS & FUNDRAISERS
****** 3-Volley Salute VOLUNTEERS NEEDED for Military Funerals ******
Active-duty military and Veterans with an honorable discharge are rendered last honors when they die. In Missoula, the local VFW Post 209 Honor Guard does the three-volley salute (They have six funerals in 3 days this week alone); however, you do NOT have to be a member of the VFW to be on the Honor Guard and you can pick which funerals fit your schedule. Providing the three-volley salute is an all-volunteer effort; however, the VFW Post 209 will provide the M1 rifles, blanks, white dicky, patches, name tag, Garrison hat, white web belt / gloves, and jacket for winter months (You only need to have blue slacks, white shirt, and black shoes). Please help us honor fellow Veterans, service members, and their families.
Contact (All military branches / areas are welcome to contact her with questions): (719) 661-4037, bluemountain@montana.com
****** AARP Honoring Heroes Contest ******
Help us raise awareness of AARP’s commitment to veterans through the Create the Good Honoring Heroes Contest. This CTG effort, which runs from Nov 11 - Dec 31, 2019, solicits stories about the good work of organizations serving veterans - and veterans themselves - to shine a spotlight on their efforts. It is also a great way to build relationships with veterans organizations in your communities.
Key Dates: Submission and PUBLIC VOTING period: Nov 11 – Dec 31, 2019; Winner selection by team of AARP volunteer judges: Jan 1 - 10, 2020; Winner announced: Jan 20, 2020 (pending verification)
Contest Description: The Create the Good Honoring Heroes Contest invites the general public to submit a photo (no larger than 5 MB) and essay (of 500 words or less) describing: The impact of a 501(c)3 serving veterans has had on the community; The difference a veteran has made in the submitter's life; or The impact the submitter has seen (firsthand) of a military training or deployment; An individual can submit multiple photo essays during the submission period, but no more than one per day; The public will select the top 10 finalists; The winner will be selected from those finalists by a panel of AARP volunteer judges.
Prize: $5,000!; If the winner is the story of a veteran community service project, the prize is a $5,000 donation to that project; If it is an account of the difference a veteran made in the submitter's life, the $5,000 that can be claimed solely by the writer or shared with the featured veteran; If it is the firsthand account of a deployment or training, the $5,000 is received by the submitter.
Judging Criteria: Judges will evaluate submissions based on an application of the following criteria equally: impact of service (1/3), quality of submission (1/3), and relevance of submission (1/3).
Staff and Volunteer Participation: Staff cannot enter, but are welcome to vote and to spread the word about the contest; Volunteers are welcome to enter, vote and/or spread the word.
ENTER NOW: https://volunteeroutreach.aarp.org/HonoringHeroes/contest/details/36307
Questions: Carol Ricks (202) 434-6038, cricks@aarp.org
****** Dave Williams ~ Win one of his Paintings ******
Dave is a National Archive Artist, soon-to-be Smithsonian Artist, Navy Veteran, and Founder of Joint Operation Mariposa. Tickets are $10 each or $6 for $50; Winner will be drawn on 12/16 and all proceeds go to JOM and funding for a columbarium in Plains, alternative burial for Veterans, offered free of charge. Frame donated by Frame of Mind in Missoula
Questions: David Williams, Joint Operation Mariposa (406) 546-4827, jointoperationmariposa@outlook.com
****** Give an American Hero a Christmas to Remember! ******
A Perfect Montana Christmas for a perfect Montana Hero. 94-3 The Ride and 107 The Ranch are teaming up with Wildlife Adventures Guest Ranch in Victor to provide a Montana Veteran and their family with a “Perfect Montana Christmas.” Nominate a Veteran who you think deserves to win this Perfect Montana Christmas!
Western Rockies Radios will be running the contest and giving a local Veteran and family a 5 day, 4 night stay (December 22 – 26). They will have nomination boxes at the VA Office in both Missoula and Hamilton, as well as the Chamber of Commerce in Hamilton. We ask our community to stop in these locations to nominate a local Veteran that they would benefit from this giveaway. The drawing will be held the second week in December. It will be a juried decision by a team of Western Rockies Radio employees and their participating sponsors.
Accommodations (Wildlife Adventures Guest Ranch): https://wildlife-adventures-guest-ranch.business.site/
Nominate your Veteran online at 94.3 The Ride: https://www.943theride.com
Or, 107.5 The Ranch: https://www.kdxttheranch.com
Or, email (Subject: “Nomination for Veteran Christmas”) to Scott.westernrockiesradio@gmail.com
Questions: Mariya Moore (406) 369-4180
****** Heroes Therapeutic Outreach Program (HTOP) at The Learning Center at Red Willow ******
We are excited to announce that we will be launching a Double Your Impact Campaign to support the Heroes Therapeutic Outreach Program. It will be a 30-day campaign kicking off November 1 with a campaign goal of $20,000. Stay tuned as we begin announce generous match donors who have already committed to support the campaign.
Through our Heroes Therapeutic Outreach Program (HTOP), we make all of our courses available free of charge to Veterans and Active Duty Military Personnel, their Families and Caregivers, and First Responders.
INFO / WAIVER:
Questions: LCRW, 825 W. Kent Ave., Missoula, (406) 721-0033,
Or, Roy Savage, HTOP Program Manager, (406) 544-7149,
****** Historical Museum at Fort Missoula (HMFM) Exhibits ******
****** Save the oldest known Willamette Steam Engine: Join the Historical Museum & your community as we come together to save the oldest known Willamette Steam Engine in the nation! Why is Missoula’s Engine #7 Unique?
· Oldest known surviving Willamette Locomotive in the Nation.
· Spent its life in our mountains and valleys, never traveling more than 80 miles from Missoula.
· Hollywood Movie Star when it played a leading role in the 1954 Timber Jack!
· Only Willamette originally built to burn coal as a fuel.
· The ONLY locomotive left from Western Lumber Co.
· One of two surviving locomotives from Anaconda Lumber Co. and the only one in Montana.
· This Engine represents a once bustling industry that shaped Missoula and Western Montana.
DONATE: https://fortmissoulamuseum.org/support/save-the-train/
Or, send a check to the HMFM, 3400 Captain Rawn Way, Missoula, MT 59804
Questions: Historical Museum at Fort Missoula (HMFM), (406) 728-3476, ftmslamuseum@montana.com
****** Exhibit on display NOW through April 19, 2020: Odyssey of Montana's Thomas Meagher, Historical Museum at Fort Missoula (HMFM), 3400 Captain Rawn Way, Missoula. To describe Meagher’s life-journey as an odyssey is not an exaggeration. Like the legendary Odysseus, he was blown by the winds of war and fate to the four corners of the earth. This exhibit blends the line between art and history through Glueckert’s 24 colorful vignettes filled with the celestial, earthly, and man-made symbols that governed Meagher’s life and historical content about this favorite adopted son of Montana.
Questions: Kristjana Eyjolfsson, HMFM Education Director & Public Programming, (406) 258-3473, keyjolfsson@missoulacounty.us
Or, Historical Museum at Fort Missoula: (406) 728-3476, ftmslamuseum@montana.com
****** Display through July 2020: No Enemy Movement Observed: The Vietnam War Through the Eyes of a Frenchtown Marine, The Historical Museum at Fort Missoula, 3400 Captain Rawn Way, Msla
“No Enemy Movement Observed: The Vietnam War Through the Eyes of a Frenchtown Marine” is an exhibit of Vietnam War era photographs and artifacts donated to the HMFM by Leon Howard of Frenchtown, MT. Leon served as a Marine Corps Scout during a thirteen-month tour in Vietnam from 1966-1967. Featured in the exhibit are a selection of 45 photographs from the almost 200 donated, enlarged from their original snapshot size, including:
Views of the South Vietnamese countryside.
Combat operations with tanks and amphibious assault vehicles.
South Vietnamese people in villages, markets, and rice fields.
Leon and fellow Marines in different areas of operation.
In addition, a range of artifacts Leon brought back from the war enhance the experience, including:
Personal items such as uniforms, medals and campaign ribbons.
Scouting logs and other documents.
Artifacts captured from the Viet Cong such as clothing, hand grenades, and punji sticks.
