VFW sponsors training conference

KANSAS CITY -- Donna Russo of Newton Falls, a member of the Auxiliary to VFW Transportation Post 3307, was among those attending a conference held Oct. 10-11 at the Ameristar Hotel sponsored by the Auxiliary to the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.
Russo is Ohio's junior vice president who will assume the state presidency in June 2005. She joined other incoming junior vice presidents who participated in sessions dealing with such topics as parliamentary procedure and leadership techniques. They also toured the national headquarters and museums of the VFW and auxiliary.
Agenda
Presiding at the conference was Sandy Germany of Foley, Ala., national junior vice president. The guest speaker was James R. Mueller of O'Fallon, Mo., junior vice commander-in-chief, who discussed plans made for the VFW in 2005-2006.
It was reported that members of the 5,955 auxiliaries volunteer in hospitals, provide scholarships, and in the past 15 years have raised $3 million each year to fight cancer. The members have also collected and shipped supplies to female soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait.
The auxiliary supports Operation Uplink, which distributes prepaid long-distance telephone cards to active-duty military personnel and their families, and provides books for children at military bases, in cooperation with First Book.