The Old Guard

The Old Guard is a group of retired and semi-retired men dedicated to education, fellowship and community service. Weekly meetings feature guest speakers from government, education and business. Opportunities for fellowship include informal gathering before the meetings, excursions and athletic events, bowling, golf and luncheons. Committee chairmen work with civic groups to organize opportunities for member contributions, both financial and donation of time,some periodic, some ongoing. Old Guard members work with Meals on Wheels, Habitat for Humanity, Foodshare, Salvation Army, the West Hartford YMCA and the University of Connecticut Medical Center. Old Guard members provided leadership in the revitalization and ongoing administration of the West Hartford Seniors Job Bank.

Old Guard Officers 

Ron Van Winkle - President

860 558-2794 (cel)

Richard Moffitt - Vice President

George Stephan - Secretary

Kevin Slane - Assistant Secretary

Stephen Guest - Treasurer

Paul Dean - Assistant Treasurer

Membership Information

Ron Robinson -

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OCTOBER 2020 NEWSLETTER

President’s Message

Ron Van Winkle

I hate this, I’m bored.  I’ve been sequestered, segregated, quarantined, marooned and secluded and I miss the camaraderie of our group.  I know you all know this, but the Old Guard is a very special group.  It fills a need that we, men in particular, need in our senior years.  I look forward to seeing you all in person some time in 2021.  These times may be difficult, but we soldier on, but that doesn’t mean we can’t complain.

I want to thank the members of our Board who assisted me in calling Old Guard members who had not renewed their dues for 2020-21.  We had great success in our calling although we will lose a number of members who moved on to a new home and just moved on. Best wishes to you all. 

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Publicity

Don Kauke, Publicity Chairman

Just a reminder that the Old Guard website has a wealth of information along with updated activities and pictures.

A Zoom meeting recording will be available to members through the “Members Only” section of our web page for two weeks after the meeting, when the recording will be replaced by the most recent meeting.

To view the meeting recording go to: Ctoldguard.org, click on “More Information” and then click on “Members Only"

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Meetings and Speakers

Richard Moffitt, Vice President

We are always looking for good speakers especially this year with our Zoom meetings.  If you have a suggestion, please contact: Richard Moffitt at rlmoffittwhtfd@aol.com.

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October 6th Zoom Meeting

Harold Sparrow

President Greater Hartford YMCA

“YMCA Challenges in the Time of the Covid-19 Virus “       

                        Introduced by Dick Moffitt

                        STORYTELLER: Dick Sederquist

October 20th Zoom Meeting

Mike Anthony

                        Sports Columnist, Hartford Courant

                        “Sports vs Covid-19 Virus”

                        Introduced by Jeff Lee

                        STORYTELLER: Bill Pickens

Member News

Tom Desmond was presented with the Salvation Army's "Others Award" by Major J.R. Fritish for his over 35 years of service and significant contributions to the Salvation Army of Greater Hartford. Congratulations Tom.

Foodshare

Bill Higgins and Don Himes, CoChairman

Volunteering at the Foodshare facility in Bloomfield is still on hold until we start in person Old Guard meetings to keep everyone safe and healthy.  We will keep the membership posted on changes as they come.

Foodshare is not holding their in-person Turkey +30 collection this coming Thanksgiving season due to the COVID Pandemic.  They are collecting Turkeys for distribution and will be collecting the turkeys at the Bloomfield facility Dates TBD.  We will let the membership know in future OG meetings when we find out the dates.  Foodshare is also collecting monetary donations to help them purchase turkeys for the holiday and for distribution.  If you would like to make a monetary donation you can go to and click on the donate link or you can go to the OG Website and click on civic activities and then go to the Foodshare link and then click on the donate now link.  Foodshare has been an integral part and extremely helpful during this very troubling time with the virus filling a very huge hole for the food needy people from the area.  They have distributed over 150,000 meals and over 5 million pounds of food at the Pratt & Whitney Football facility during the pandemic.  If the membership can please consider donating monetarily or turkeys.  We thank you ahead of time for your support.

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Golf

Hank Bolton and Bill Higgins CoChairs

Bill Higgins will be the co-chair with Hank Boulton for the Annual Golf Tournament.  Plans will begin at the start of the spring Old Guard Season.  We will be reserving facilities to be prepared for the possibility of a “normal tournament”.

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Special Events Report

Paul Dean, Chairman

Paul Dean is offering a special bargain purchase of Old Guard memorabilia including the Old Guard hat, lapel pin and auto magnet (also good for your refrigerator) all for a mere $20.  You know your lapel pin is somewhere in that chest of drawers, it's time to give up searching and get a new one. Contact Paul at 860-521-0955 or email him at Paul.Dean@Comcast.net.  He delivers!

In the past Special Events has sponsored trips to historic places and museums, sports  and theater events and meaningful lunches. We will resume these activities once it is safe to have our regular Tuesday morning meetings. 

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Membership

Ron Robinson, Chairman

Moving to virtual meetings may be a challenge but can also present an opportunity. We all know people who would benefit from what the Old Guard means to each of us but sometimes the challenge is getting them to a meeting. Now we can take our meetings to them. Please dust-off that list of prospects and add new ones. Encourage them to “attend” one of our Zoom meetings, especially when you know there is a topic that might be of specific interest to them. If possible, try to let me know in advance when they might be joining us and to attend that meeting yourself. Then I can call on you to make a brief introduction. Our website is full of valuable information that can provide a prospective member with insights into what Old Guard is doing on both the Fellowship and Service fronts. Feel free at any time to let me know what other information you think might inspire new members.

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Habitat for Humanity

Ron Robinson, Tom Trumble, CoChairs

We are being offered 3 ways to support this wonderful service organization:

1) Veteran’s Day, November 11, has been reserved for an Old Guard team to work on a

local house. (The exact location is yet to be determined.) Safety and training have

always been primary concerns of Habitat. New COVID-19 protocols have been added,

including limiting teams to 8 volunteers and 2 supervisors, instead of 12 and 3,

respectfully.

2) They would like OG to consider helping on an occasional morning or afternoon at

their Restore facility in Bloomfield. Restore carries random building materials, like

lumber, sinks, door knobs, donated furniture, etc. Duties can include unloading

donations, organizing items on the warehouse floor and other miscellaneous activities.

3) For those who may not feel they are able to help physically, all denominations of

monetary contributions are welcomed.

Please feel free to reach out to me regarding your interest and questions about any and all

of the above. The first item is the most urgent, otherwise they will open it up to

another group. From my personal experience, this is a very satisfying and rewarding

service. Thank you for your consideration.

Ron Robinson  (860)521-5129 

Food Banks

Lou Aiello, Chairman

 For October's meeting we will be collecting money and/or food for the West Hartford Food Bank, Foodshare and/or Loaves & Fishes. There is a HUGE need for money contributions now to guard against hunger and Foodshare needs money to get food for Thanksgiving. This year there is more need than ever for contributions than past years. We have to preserve, protect, and help our community with the changes going on in our world, and have the Old Guard out in front as a top contributor to support our community. The need is greater than ever. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT. Our goal this year is to help as much as we are able for with our contributions, we are helping others in their time of need(s)! A contribution of $30.00 would feed one person for 30 days with the organization cost. We could donate money to West Hartford Food Bank and/or Foodshare: Greater Hartford & Tolland County; also Loaves & Fishes.

< >For collecting non-perishable food will be for the West Hartford Food Pantry.To contribute by check for West Hartford: Paid to the order of -Town That Cares-West Hartford Food Pantry, and for Foodshare: Paid to the order of Foodshare. Will accept donations for Loaves & Fishes To contribute by charge card: West Hartford FoodBank, visit WestHartford.org/townthatcares and click on Donate Now. Foodshare (860)286-9999 or www.foodshare.org. And for Loaves & Fishes (860)524-1730 Alice Hild 646 Prospect Ave., Hartford, Ct. 06105. Let me know if you contribute by charge and/or check so I can add contribution to our total. All money is tax deductible. Any questions please call me (860) 970-6502.

Salvation Army

Ed Turbert, Chairman

Each year at Christmas time we ring the bell for the Salvation Army Santa hats and all in front of the U.S. Post Office on LaSalle Road in West Hartford Center.  It is anticipated that the need is much greater this year with so many people losing their jobs.  We raised over $4,000 for the Salvation Army over the last two years.  I know Christmas may seem like a long way away, but Ed is working on this fundraiser now.  If you have thoughts about how to make it work this year or are willing to volunteer, please contact Ed at 860-521-7006.

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UConn Hospital

Bob Henricks, Chairman

Presently, there are no plans for when volunteers, including the OG, might be able to return.  I am ready to organize our return when we get a green light.

October Birthdays            

We send Happy Birthday wishes to all those who have a birthday in October.

Happy Birthday Guys:

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The Old Guard

12 North Main Street

West Hartford CT 06107

Bert Berlin                    John Mitman                Paul Dean                    Kevin Morrison           

Karl Freer                     Bob Schaefer    

Tom Goodrum            Jim Schepker

Stephan Guest            Powell Schunder

El Harp                         Ted See

Bill Higgins                  Pete Tiernan

David Hild                    Dan Tracy

Jim Lin                          Phil Trowbridge

Bruce Marshall