Presidents Report August 2026
Presidents report for August 2026
The Burlington County Fair Event July 21-26, 2026, went very well for the organization. The trailer was in a busy place and there were donations and 50/50 tickets were sold throughout the week. I picked a bad week to be on vacation, but it was great to see everything went well without me, maybe I should leave more often. 😂😂 Thanks to everyone who supported the week-long event. Also, thanks to John Lowden and Bob Gray for helping with the challenge of getting the trailer in and out of the fairgrounds.
We held an Annual Dinner planning meeting August 5 to make sure our plans for the November 7 event are progressing. We will be sending the invitations out this week. We are honoring Don Cammus for his many years as our Volunteer Chief Financial Officer, and all-around volunteer for anything and everything he helps with. We need support from the organization to make this event a success. More to come on that.
I delivered some items to the “Attic” in our name this week that were donated by Amazon. These donations will continue as items become available. I will make sure that MSgt. Crystal Malsom and the team of volunteers get them to the Military folks in need of the support. Do not forget, if you have items to donate send pictures and contact phone number to jbmdlatticdb@gmail.com. This system works well, thanks to the volunteers at the attic.
I received a great honor this week and was inducted as an “Honorary Commander Emeritus” at a ceremony on JBMDL. There were only two picked from a large group for the Emeritus status. We are no longer assigned to a specific Unit, but the Emeritus group works directly with the Base Commander to support our military. This provides many additional opportunities to continue our support. A very proud day for me!!!
On 9/11, we will be participating in the Commemoration & Remembrance Ceremony at the Chesterfield Twp. Municipal Building. Don Cammus and I have been working with the SEWA International South Jersey Chapter to provide a keynote speaker for the event. I was fortunate enough to get Colonel Kevin White, Commander of the 514th Air Wing, to share his remembrance of the day. I will have a story to share also. The event starts at 5pm, and we would like to see our members attend. The event will be held at Chesterfield Twp. Municipal Building, 295 Bordentown-Chesterfield Rd. (Rt. 528)
The Adventure Crossing Event (Hook-ee) at Lake Juliana is August 22,2026. This is a great fun event supporting Special Needs citizens, Military and Veterans. I leave the Armory at 0700 to get our mobile museum in place at the lake. The event really gets going around 1000 for those who can come to help. Marvel Carroll will be carpooling from the Bordentown Armory parking lot for those who want to attend. The address is Lake Juliana, 265 Disbrow Hill Rd. Millstone Twp, NJ. Vito Cardinale provides all the food and drinks for a great day.
Sept. 12, 2026, we will be attending the 514th Air Wing Family Picnic at Doughboy Field on Fort Dix. We will have the Mobile Museum there and later that afternoon, we will be moving the trailer to the 87th Air Base Wing Fall Festival at Pudgys Sports Pub on McGuire. We will need support people to help out for a long day. The Fall Festival has music with Bret Michaels Band, a beer garden, food trucks etc. They are expecting about 5,000 people at the event and it will great exposure for us. If you do not have Base access, I will need your information to secure a visitor pass by August 25.
We have a Mobile Museum event at Princeton Battlefield on September 20,2026. I spoke with Mike from the Princeton Battlefield Trust and the start time is 1000. I will take the trailer up earlier to set up. The Battlefield is on Princeton Pike going North off Rt 295. I will have more parking info to share later this week.
50/50 sales need to be pushed hard to reach our goal this year. Please return the 5 that were sent through the mail, and if you need more tickets, please let us know.
Respectfully submitted,
Bryan Branson, President AFHM
