The little auxiliary that could
Staff photo by Mary Kemper
On July 4, the Jack Ivy 666 Detachment Auxiliary of the Marine Corps League, Port St. Lucie, held a raffle at the Bayshore Diner, Port St. Lucie, for a Hewlett-Packard laptop computer which raised more than $1,900 toward funding its many activities. From left are Ursula Carcel, senior vice president and chair of the Ways and Means Committee; Maddy Lanigan, judge advocate; Georgia Leon, president; Mary Beth Maher, secretary/treasurer; Lorraine Sweeney, junior vice president; Dallas Banschbach of the Bayshore Diner, drawing the winning ticket; and Colleen Eckert, chaplain.
Staff Writer
Memorial services. Patriotic celebrations. Contributing to helping an entire 8th-grade class get their own American flags. Donating to — and helping — Wreaths Across America honor fallen veterans at Christmastime. Giving final honors to veterans.
That’s just a fraction of what the Auxiliary Unit 496 of the Jack Ivy 666 Detachment of the Marine Corps League, Port St. Lucie, gets up to.
With only 17 women (thus far).
“We do an awful lot with only a few people,” said Georgia Leon, auxiliary president, in what can only be described as an understatement.
The men of the detachment get the lion’s share of attention for their many activities that directly affect the well-being of veterans and their families — mostly for fellow Marines, but also for other veterans in need.
Behind the scenes, though, the ladies of the auxiliary are not only supporting the men’s efforts, but doing a lot of things on their own.