SPY’s Newsletter #102
(10/4/20)
Absentee Ballot News
Betty Mikols emailed me the following information about absentee ballots:
“John here is the link so voters can check on the status of their mail-in ballots:”
Some Sunfield Township people might not know that there is a special black drop box for absentee ballots in front of the old bank building on Main Street in Sunfield--- so, there is no need to mail them.
“The link lets people know when the absentee ballots were mailed out and when they were received back by the Township Clerk Terri Dow.”
“We deposited our ballots on Sept. 29th. On Sept. 30, the link showed they were received.”
Thank you Betty for passing along this useful information.
Mapes Furniture Harvest Sale Going On Now
Be sure to check out the Mapes Furniture October Harvest Sale that is going on now through October 24th. Their hours are:
Monday & Wednesday 10 AM – 8 PM
Tuesday; Thursday & Friday 10 AM – 6 PM
Saturday 10 AM – 5 PM
Special Veterans Board Ceremony Being Held This Saturday, October 10th.
The Sunfield Chapter of the Daughters of Union Veterans (the D.U.V.) will be holding a special ceremony at the GAR Hall on Main Street to honor fifteen names of veterans being added to the Sunfield Area Honor Roll board. The ceremony will be held on Saturday, October 10th, at 1 PM.
Next SPY Meeting
The next meeting of the Sunfield Area Sponsors of Programs for Youth (the SPY’s) will be held Tuesday, October 13th. starting at 7 PM. Since the Library meeting room is still unavailable the location of the meeting will be announced as soon as it can be arranged. Stay tuned.
Another Hold ‘Em Canceled
Please be advised that our next Texas Hold “Em fundraiser that the SPY’s were scheduled to work later this month has been CANCELED. This makes the fifth major fundraiser that we have had to cancel since February due to the Covid mess, making our budget mighty lean for 2020.
Who Are The SPY’s Chapter Four
In the first three chapters of “Who Are The SPY’s” that appeared in previous Newsletters, we covered a brief history and philosophy of the organization, as well as some of the special things we have done in the community. In this chapter we will pass along a smattering of other “stuff” about the Sunfield Area Sponsors of Programs for Youth, with the spotlight on membership. For instance:
The focus of the SPY organization is VOLUNTEERISM. To be considered a “member” of the SPY’s we simply ask folks to help out at a fundraiser, or two, or other sponsored events or projects, to help raise money or assist with the various youth and community programs we provide. Current fundraisers that we do are:
The Annual Wild Game Dinner
Provide Chip Sellers At Three Texas Hold ‘Em Events
The Centennial Acres / SPY Shootout Golf Tournament
The Dime Pitch Booth At The Farmer’s Picnic
Other non-fundraising events seeking volunteers are:
Three Adopt-A-Highway Trash Pick-Ups
Community Celebration Calendar Project
Community Council Christmas Basket Distribution
Scholarship Application Review Committee
SPY Softball Tournament Held DuringThe Farmer’s Picnic
Farmer’s Picnic Open Craft Show
The SPY’s have no meeting attendance requirements, and there are no membership dues or fees charged. In fact, here is the SPY’s formal position on membership dues:
“Since the formation of the SPY’s organization over 45 years ago, there have always been membership dues. Over the years, these dues have been used to provide members an annual subscription to the Sunfield Sentinel newspaper. (The dues collected matched the cost of a subscription). The purpose for providing the subscriptions was to have a mechanism to keep the membership, as well as the community at large, informed of SPY projects, events, programs, etc. It was our main communication tool.”
“However, since the Sentinel ceased publication with the December 19, 2019 issue, that communication method is no longer available.
What follows is the format concerning SPY’s membership dues beginning January 1, 2020.”
1. There shall be three levels of membership in the SPY organization.
A. The Leadership Level---This level will consist of those holding an elective office in the SPY’s (e.g. President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Promotions Director, Membership Director, Sergeant.-At-Arms, and Director-At-Large). Also included in this level will be the chairpersons of each SPY event, project, or program (currently these are---Wild Game Dinner, Texas Hold ‘Em’s, Dime Pitch Booth, Centennial Acres / SPY Shootout Golf Tournament, Community Celebration Calendar, Adopt-A-Highway, Euchre Tournament, Christmas Basket Distribution, Scholarship Program, and Softball Tournament).
All SPY officers and event chairs would pay no dues of any kind.
B. The Active Member Level---This level will consist of people who have worked on any SPY’s event in a calendar year. (It shall become the duty of the Membership Director to track and record those volunteers that have worked at the various events).
All “Active Members” would pay no dues of any kind.
C. The Sustaining Member Level---This level will be those who wish to be a part of the SPY organization, but would rather not be called upon to work at an event or project. They would pay annual “Sustaining Member Dues” of $25 to, in a small way, help offset some of our financial needs.
D. Any active Corporate or Platinum Sponsor will automatically qualify for a free membership if they desire to be listed as such.
“It is our hope that by eliminating dues we will be able to draw in some new people to get involved in the community, as well as promote a higher level of volunteerism among current members on SPY projects and programs.
We will be passing along more information about the SPY’s organization in the next Newsletter. Be sure to watch for it.
Parting Comments
· Reflections: Megan Markle---The only woman in the world who married a prince and turned him into a frog.
· Thoughts On Aging: I’m old enough to remember when paper bags were being blamed for the destruction of trees---and plastic bags were the solution.