Ladies Auxiliary Unit 777 Hosts Holiday Boutique
Photo Courtesy of: Kimberly Fleming
The Ladies Auxiliary host their annual Holiday Boutique, which has been running for nearly 10 years and has become a group tradition.
Photo Courtesy of: Kimberly Fleming
Tammy Odell, a local event planner, volunteered for the Annual Holiday Boutique. Though not an Auxiliary member, she has worked with the group for years, collaborating on various projects that help benefit local veterans.
Photo Courtesy of: Kimberly Fleming
Joan Breiten (left)and Diane Kassotis (right)are members who participated in the event by selling knitted scarves, blankets, gloves and hats.
Photo Courtesy of: Kimberly Fleming
Carol Fuqun, 1st Vice President, was in charge of the vintage jewelry and collectible items.
Photo Courtesy of: Kimberly Fleming
From left: Ladies Auxiliary Unit 777's Lynette Rubio, President Kathleen Filkins, and 1st Vice President Carol Fuqun take a break from the busy day to flash smiles.
Photo Courtesy of: Kimberly Fleming
Former Ladies Auxiliary Unit 777 president Diane Mielak was the one who introduced the event to the group and the community nine years ago during her tenure as president.
Photo Courtesy of: Kimberly Fleming
Army Retiree Ching Trenchard was in attendance and explained she was more than happy to support her fellow members at the event.
Photo Courtesy of: Kimberly Fleming
The traditional dish "Belly Buster" is a popular dish at events for the Ladies Auxiliary. It consists of layers of chili, cheese and tortilla chips.
Photo Courtesy of: Kimberly Fleming
Kitchen volunteers (from left): Joyce Hethcoat, Orangewood high school graduate Jacob Lockman,and Susan Tony.
Photo Courtesy of: Kimberly Fleming
Boy Scouts of America Troop 45 volunteered their time and sold special grilled corn on the cob.
By Kimberly Fleming
Community Writer
12/04/2013 at 03:36 PM
The Ladies Auxiliary Unit 777 held their Annual Holiday Boutique just before the holiday shopping season kicked off late last month.
Event coordinators explained that the Holiday Boutique is a tradition and a way for the Auxiliary to reach out to the community while at the same time raising funds for their organization to continue supporting veterans throughout the Inland Empire.
Auxiliary member Diane Kassotis, whose late husband, James, was a Navy veteran, shared that she was "more than happy to volunteer," and expressed that she felt pride in how she was honoring her husband's memory and service to his country through her participation in the Auxiliary.
President Kathleen Filkins shared the plethora of work the group does for veterans in their community. “We are involved in the Adopt a Vet program at J.L. Pettis Veterans Hospital, and we also visit our vets at local convalescent homes and adopt them for a day for Christmas and Valentine’s Day. We’re also involved in the Bags for Vet program, when we deliver bags with health and hygiene necessities to our veterans. Today’s event is all about raising funds to continue to do such services that not only our veterans need, but also deserve.”
Diane Mielak, former President, whose father is a WWII veteran, started the Holiday Boutique during her presidential term. She stated the Holiday Boutique has become a successful tradition and has been in effect for over nine years. “We use the funding for programs, such as scholarships for Pacific High and Cajon High students. We send four young, well-deserving girls to the Girl State program located at the Claremont Colleges, which is a program geared towards teaching young girls about the legal and political worlds and military intelligence. We are certainly doing our best to continue to contribute such inspirational and wonderful opportunities for our local students.”
Chin Trenchard is an Army veteran who met Ron, her Navy veteran husband of over 20 years, while in the service. Trenchard modeled Army attire and worked in military intelligence security before retiring, she explained, crediting the Army for her sense of discipline and her success in the education she pursued after her retirement.
Vendors and other non-Auxiliary volunteers included Tammy Odell, an event planner who has been participating in the annual Holiday Boutique for seven years. She explained that in the past she has collaborated on various projects with the Ladies Auxiliary and "loves supporting them."
Other vendors that day included Boy Scouts of America Troop 45, who served corn on the cob with all the fixings. Auxiliary member Susan Tony served the "belly buster,' a layered dish of chili, cheese and tortilla chips.
Auxiliary leaders and members explained they look forward to continuing serving their community and area veterans as needed, and look forward to future Holiday Boutique events to assist them in doing just that.
