Belleville American Legion Holds Successful Picnic Fundraiser (PHOTOS)

BELLEVILLE, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of Sons of the American Legion Squadron 105. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.

Receiving record-setting donations, The American Legion Post 105 Family of Belleville, NJ on Saturday 21 September held its Annual Picnic, their biggest fundraising event of the year. With almost 300 people in attendance, supporters of the Post had a blast eating BBQ, listening to the “Jersey Tones”, enjoying each other’s company, and taking advantage of a beautiful fall afternoon.

The event is held each year in the second half of September, and has been going on for perhaps 20 years. What started as a picnic for just the membership has grown over the years into a huge fundraising event, each year drawing more and more people.

The picnic isn’t just for the membership and their families, but extends to supporters from the area as well. Though this year less tickets were sold, more people showed up – and through raffles, donations, and corporate support, made this year the biggest fundraising picnic yet.

The annual picnic is run by a committee made up of The American Legion Family, which includes the veteran Legionnaires of the Post, the members of American Legion Auxiliary (ALA) Unit 105, and the Sons of Squadron 105 of the Sons of the American Legion (SAL). This joint committee started planning the event months and months ago, and the results of everyone’s dedication was evident.

Mayor Michael Melham, himself a member of the SAL through his father’s service, wrote on Facebook about how he enjoys the event each year. “I love attending their events, they do so such [great work] for our great vets and our community. They always have my full support!”

The day wasn’t without ceremony, though. With the ‘doors’ opening at 1pm, at 2 o’clock the Post conduced a brief ceremony, starting with the National Anthem being sung by the Jersey Tones’ Rich Graf. This was then followed by a joint benediction by the Post, Unit, and Squadron’s Chaplains, and a moment of silence recognizing 20 September’s Prisoner of War / Missing in Action (POW/MIA) Day, the thirteen serviceman killed in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2021 when the United States removed troops from the country, and the anniversary of the passing of Post 105 family member SGT Joshua Phillips, US Army.

A table was set up with thirteen frames with names, along with thirteen drinks, memorializing those fallen from three years ago. The ever-present POW/MIA table was also set up as a reminder of those who have never made it home.

Pictures of the day, of which hundreds have been all over Facebook, show attendees truly enjoying themselves – as Legionnaire Edward Saegers noted on social media, “The photos say it all. God Bless America!”

This year the Auxiliary Unit coordinated with the VA Hospital in Orange to have a few veteran-patients bussed over to join the fun. We also had a bounce house and games set up for children who attended.

Newly installed Post 105 Commander Walter LaBar manned the grills with his team, cooking up ribs, grilled chicken, sausage, hots dogs, and hamburgers – handing the food off to a team of volunteers who served it up “like a well-oiled machine.” And don’t forget the clams – 1,700 of them – purchased from the Certified Clam Corporation in Atlantic Highlands, which deeply discounted the seafood for the Post. Everyone who took advantage of the raw bar exclaimed that the clams were delicious.

Of note is that all proceeds of the event go to the American Legion Post, which uses them for their veteran’s affairs programs.

This year, corporate donations played a huge part in the bump in fundraising. Companies like Rent-a-lift and Feldman Brothers, both of Paterson; Regal Commodities of Totowa, Cortaditos of Belleville, and our neighbors at the Motorcycle Mall made bigger-then-normal donations. In-kind donations of product were also made by Lucky-7 Liquors, Nu-Way Concessionaires, Pic-A-Lilli Inn of Shamong, and Gencarellis Of Lyndhurst, among others. A few companies went above and beyond with gift card donations as well, chief among which was Dougherty Restaurant Group, which owns The Shannon Rose, Applebee’s, Panera Bread, and Chevy’s in Clifton Commons, and Kearny Auto Spa.

One huge draw of the event is our “World Famous Gift Certificate Raffle”, where companies around the area donate gift certificates to raffle off – which this year raised an additional $1,500. So many things were donated that baskets were added into the mix.

Aside from at our picnic, our Post’s success over the past few years can only be attributed to the support of our neighbors and our community. To all of them, we extend our deepest gratitude – because they have made it possible over the last 105 years for American Legion Post 105 to follow through on its commitments to our veterans, our children, our community, and our nation.

The Post Family would like to say thank you to all of the companies which have supported us at this event with donations - either monetary, of product, or with gift certificates. They have shown their commitment to our country and our veterans, and we encourage you to support our friends in return.

Whiskey Priest: Belleville, NJ Agave Maria: Belleville, NJ

Bullet Hole: Belleville, NJ Michael’s Roscommon: Belleville, NJ

ShopRite: Belleville, NJ JK’s Boathouse: Belleville, NJ

Essex Cigar: Belleville, NJ Solar Di Minho: Belleville, NJ

T and L Rinaldi: Belleville, NJ Belleville Pizza: Belleville, NJ

La Sicilia: Belleville, NJ Pizza Village: Belleville, NJ

Notches de Columbia: Belleville, NJ Deli Boy: Belleville, NJ

Salon Pazzaz: Belleville, NJ Gino’s Pizza: Belleville, NJ

Alpine Nursery: Belleville, NJ International Bagels: Belleville, NJ

Ritacco Brothers: Nutley, NJ Stop and Shop: Clifton, NJ

BGL: Nutley, NJ DaVinci Bakery: Nutley, NJ

Gone With The Wings: Nutley, NJ Nutley Diner: Nutley, NJ

Chesnutt Café: Nutley, NJ Nutley Health Spa: Nutley, NJ

D and L Automotive: Nutley, NJ Mario’s Barber Shop: Nutley, NJ

Bagel Boy II: Nutley, NJ Old Canal Inn: Nutley, NJ

Jim Dandy’s: Nutley, NJ Xin’s Chinese Restaurant: Nutley, NJ

Mr. Geez: North Arlington, NJ Bloomfield Steakhouse: Bloomfield, NJ

BGR Burgers: Bloomfield, NJ Frank’s Pizza: Bloomfield, NJ

Arlington Diner: North Arlington, NJ Gencarellis Of Lyndhurst

AMC Theater: Clifton, NJ Emerald Corner: Clifton, NJ

Clifton Common Spirits: Clifton, NJ Krug’s Tavern: Newark, NJ

Spanish Pavilion: Harrison, NJ Star Tavern: Orange, NJ

Cyndia’s Café: Totowa, NJ Firehouse Restaurant: Garfield, NJ

Blackjack Muligan’s: Garfield, NJ Barcelona’s Restaurant: Garfield, NJ

Dougherty Restaurant Group, owning:

Chevy’s Clifton Applebee’s Clifton

Shannon Rose: Clifton, NJ Panera Bread: Clifton, NJ

Spautino Wine Bar and Italian Tapas: Clifton, NJ

Seabra Foods Morey’s Pier: Wildwood, NJ

Adventure Aquarium: Camden, NJ Oriental Trading

Blue Claws Baseball Crayola Experience

Supercuts: Lyndhurst, NJ Once Upon A Skirt

NY Giants NY Jets

Shampooch Dog Grooming: Nutley, NJ Motorcycle Mall: Belleville, NJ

Kearny Auto Spa: Kearny, NJ Cortaditos: Belleville, NJ

Lucky 7 Liquors: North Arlington, NJ Nu-Way Concessionaires: Kearny, NJ

Feldman Brothers Electrical Supply: Paterson, NJ

Regal Commodities: Totowa, NJ Rent-a-Lift: Paterson, NJ

Pic-A-Lilli Inn: Shamong, NJ Pampered Chef

Thirty-One Gifts Nonna’s Kitchen: North Arlington, NJ

Nevada Diner: Bloomfield, NJ

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