THE 2001-2002 BUDDY POPPY PROGRAM

     The authorized distribution months will be November 2001 and May 2002. Your District Commander must approve any variation from this schedule in writing. A copy of his letter must accompany your report to the Department Chairman. The District Commander will prescribe boundaries for the distribution of Poppies. Any disputes may be appealed to and will be decided by the State Commander and State Buddy Poppy Chairman.

     Buddy Poppy boards for display at the Post Home can be offered starting September 1, 2001. Display boards for businesses may be offered beginning January 1, 2002. Display boards are a very successful way to promote the program and should be a major part of your program.

     Each District Commander should appoint a motivated and knowledgeable chairman and forward his/her name, address and phone number to the Buddy Poppy Chairman as soon as possible. It is important that all District Chairmen work with their State Committee and/or Area Chairmen for the best results.

     This should be a joint Post and Auxiliary program. Its success will depend upon the appointment of capable Post and Auxiliary Chairs who are able to work together.

     All Posts and Auxiliaries participating in the Buddy Poppy Program should submit the reports and application for awards properly and on time. All forms received will be considered for awards. Forms are available in this Program Guide.

ORDERING

     Orders will remain the same as last year. Poppy orders will be made through Department Headquarters only. ALL OTHER POPPY SUPPLIES (DISPLAY POSTERS, COIN CANISTERS, EASEL BOARDS, ETC.) WILL BE ORDERED DIRECTLY FROM NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS EMBLEM AND SUPPLY DEPARTMENT.

     Poppy orders placed through November 30, 2001 are due and payable to Department no later than December 31, 2001.

     Orders placed after November 30, 2001 are due and payable no later than May 31, 2002. Determine the amount of Poppies that your Post/Auxiliary will need for a successful program that will cover the whole year.

     To guarantee delivery, orders for November distribution should be received no later than October 1, 2001 and April 1, 2002 for the May distribution. ALL ORDERS MUST HAVE A STREET ADDRESS FOR DELIVERY. NO POST OFFICE BOX ORDERS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

     Be sure to order enough Poppies and supplies to cover your street campaigns, your board campaign, and for use by the Post/Auxiliary for the display contest and decorations such as table centerpieces, corsages, wreaths, window displays and parade floats. NOTE!! That unused Poppies from previous years should be disposed of and only the ones purchased this year will be used for the current program and activities.

     Since your order doesn’t have to be paid for until after your distribution campaign, don't let a lack of funds stop you from placing an order. All monies due for Poppies and supplies are to be received by the Department Quartermaster prior to the 2002 State Convention.

REPORTING

     In order to receive credit for the Buddy Poppy Program at the Department level, a Post needs to report at least once on the Program Reporting Form (CAVFW FORM-12)

     To be eligible for Department Awards you must also report at least twice using the Award Recognition Report (CAVFW FORM-11)

Note: All Reports should be submitted to Department Headquarters.

AWARDS - POST AND AUXILIARY LEVEL

     Posts will be divided into the twelve (12) membership divisions as outlined in this Program Guidebook.

     1st in each membership division will be awarded a plaque.
     2nd and 3rd in each membership division will be award a distinctive citation.

Awards will be presented on the following basis:

     1. Number of Poppies bought.
     2. Number of members participating from Post & Auxiliary.
     3. Total number of man-hours put into program.
     4. Number of Poppies distributed to public.
     5. Number of members in Post and Auxiliary at time of distribution.

JOHN F. KENNEDY AWARD

     The outstanding Post from the division winners will receive the John F. Kennedy Award, PLUS $100.00.

     This award will be presented to the Post having the Best All Around Buddy Poppy Program.

DISTRICT LEVEL

     1st in each membership division will be awarded a Plaque.
     2nd and 3rd in each membership division will be award a distinctive citation.

     The outstanding District and Auxiliary Chairmen will receive a Certificate.

     District Chairman must have 100% Post and/or Auxiliary purchasing Poppies.
     District Chairman must show increase over previous year.
     Ladies Auxiliary State Chairman will select District Auxiliary Chairman.

INDIVIDUAL RECOGNITION

A plaque will be awarded to each of the following:

     1. Comrade distributing most Poppies during street distribution.
     2. Sister distributing most Poppies during street distribution.
     3. Boy distributing most Poppies.
     4. Girl distributing most Poppies.

     Comrades and Sisters distributing 500 or more Poppies during street distributions will receive a Department Citation. The name, Post or Auxiliary number and number of Poppies distributed must be reported to Department NO LATER THAN June 1, 2002.

     Applications for individual certificates for those members using 500 or more Buddy Poppies in street or board distribution should be sent directly to Department Headquarters so as to arrive before the June 1, 2002 deadline.

     Special recognition should always be given for a job well done. The Department cannot accomplish this until the applications for awards have been received. The required forms must be properly filled out and mailed directly to Department Headquarters before the deadline date. All forms must be correctly typed or CLEARLY printed.

REPORTS SUBMITTED INCORRECTLY OR LATE WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR AWARDS. THE DEADLINE IS JUNE 10, 2002.

BUDDY POPPY POSTER CONTEST

     March 1 through April 30, 2002 is the dates for the "Buddy Poppy Poster Contest". This is a promotional contest open to all students in grades 4 through 8 in all public, private, and parochial schools.

     To promote the Buddy Poppies, the Department of California, Veterans of Foreign Wars presents the following Poster contest, which will run from March 1, 2002 through April 30, 2002.

     The contest is open to students in grades 4 through 8 in all public, private and parochial schools. The contestants will be divided into two groups. The 1st division will be made up of students in the 4th through 6th grades. The 2nd division will be students in the 7th and 8th grades. lst, 2nd and 3rd place awards will be given in each division. The theme: "To Encourage Wearing of Buddy Poppies."

     It is suggested that the Posts and/or Auxiliaries purchase copies of "THE STORY OF THE BUDDY POPPY" through National to distribute to the children in the schools so they and their families will have a better understanding of the VFW Buddy Poppy.

     POSTER RULES: The main theme of the Poster is to encourage wearing of the Buddy Poppy. The size of the Poster must not be smaller than 8" x l0" or larger than 20" x 36" and no more than 8" deep if constructed in three dimension.

     Posters may be made of cut craft paper, colored craft paper, crayon, ink, pencil, oil painting, watercolors or combination of any or all of these. If the students wish to use the Buddy Poppy in their Poster, the Post and/or Auxiliary sponsoring the school should furnish the Buddy Poppies.

     Poster topics may include: Rows of crosses, fields of Poppies, equipment used in war, uniforms or parts of uniforms of service men or women, monuments, cemeteries, hospitals, graves, corsages, table decorations, floral arrangement, etc. NO WAR OR COMBAT PICTURES. Posters will be judged on theme, neatness, originality and art.

     The Posts and/or Auxiliaries must pick up the Posters from the schools, judge them, and get their lst place winners from each division to the District Chairman for judging. The District Chairmen will set their own dates for judging. The District Chairman will bring the winning poster from each division to the Department Convention in July for Department judging.

Each entry submitted must be accompanied by a 3" x 5" card with the following information:

1. Student's Name                2. Student’s grade
3. Name of School               4. Location\Address
5. Post/Auxiliary Number     6. District

BUDDY POPPY POSTER CONTEST AWARDS

lst Place                     A plaque and $50.00
2nd Place                  A plaque and $30.00
3rd Place                   A plaque and $20.00

BUDDY POPPY DISPLAY CONTEST

     The "Buddy Poppy Display Contest" will be held during the 2002 Convention and all Posts and Auxiliaries are encouraged to participate. These displays are designed for public exposure to promote the Buddy Poppies Program. They should be designed to inspire devotion to God and country, dramatizing the activities supported by the funds derived from "Buddy Poppy" distributions and illustrate artistic and decorative use of the "Buddy Poppy."

RULES FOR THE 2002 BUDDY POPPY DISPLAY CONTEST

     This contest is open to all Posts and Auxiliaries. The Post and/or Auxiliary may submit entries.

     Post and/or Auxiliary submitting entries will be responsible for getting their displays to the State Convention and picking them up no later than noon following completion of judging. The State Buddy Poppy Committee/Department Personnel or Hotel staff shall have no responsibility in setting up, taking down or returning the displays.

     Limit of three (3) entries from each Post and/or Auxiliary.

     Each display will be accompanied by an identification card (3" x 5") with the following information on one side.

     Name and number of Post and/or Auxiliary
     Location and District
     Number of Poppies on the display
     Total man- hours to build display
     Number of people that worked on display

     The other side of the card must show items c., d., and e. for use during judging.

     Judging at the State Convention in June will be based on theme, effectiveness, originality and the use of the complete parts of the Buddy Poppy. There must be at least one (1) Poppy in the display in its original form and color.

Displays will be presented and judged in four (4) categories which are:

     1. Category 1 - Public promotion of Poppy donations (window, booth, parade or poster displays, donatio ns promotions, etc.) Displays must be designed for public exposure and must bear a written message urging the donation for the wearing of the VFW Buddy Poppy. At least a portion of the Poppies used in the display must be in their original form and color, with labels attached.

     2. Category 2 - Memorial and inspirational displays (wreaths, memorial tablets or plaques, patriotic or devotional themes). Displays must be designed to honor the dead, to inspire devotion to God and Country, or to dramatize the activities supported by the Buddy Poppy. Same as Category 1, item (2).

     3. Category 3 - Artistic or decorative use of Poppies. (Post Home displays, table centerpieces, corsages, pictures, plaques, models, scenes, hats, novelty pieces, etc.) Any display not meeting the qualifications for Categories 1 or 2 shall automatically be entered in Category 3. Complete freedom shall be permitted in the use of Poppies, Poppy parts, or Poppy labels and in the use of dyes or paints in achieving the artistic effect. Corsages shall be judged on their own for ribbons only.

     4. Category 4 - Jr. Unit displays (Jr. Units only). All displays will be in one category. Same as Category 2, item (2). Post and/or Auxiliary must choose the category they wish to enter their display in.

     As a limited number of entries can be submitted to National in each of the four (4) categories, the State Buddy Poppy Chairman and Committee shall approve all entries to be submitted to National. The State or National Buddy Poppy Chairman, Convention or Hotel Personnel shall have no responsibility in setting up, taking down or returning displays.

BUDDY POPPY DISPLAY CONTEST AWARDS

The Department Awards will be:

     Category 1 lst prize - $60.00 and plaque; 2nd place - plaque
     Category 2 lst prize - $60.00 and plaque; 2nd place - plaque
     Category 3 lst prize - $60.00 and plaque; 2nd place - plaque
     Category 4 lst prize - $60.00 and plaque; 2nd place - plaque