The Forty & Eight Charitable Veterans Since 1920
501(c)(19) non profit, tax exempt
40&8 National Headquarters; 777 N. Meridian Street; Indianapolis, IN 46204-1170
317 634-1804 ~ Voiturenationale@msn.com ~ www.fortyandeight.org
MEDIA RELEASE
Cont: M. Anich publiciste408@cox.net
40&8 Veterans Invite Media to National Convention in Rochester NY Sept 8-12, 2009
INDIANAPOLIS May 21, 2009 The national headquarters of the Forty & Eight veterans organization will hold its 90th annual Promenade Nationale (national convention) at the Radisson Hotel-Rochester Riverside, in Rochester, New York, September 8-12, 2009.
The Forty & Eight's national commander, Chef de Chemin de Fer Ted Lang, cordially invites member of the media to attend the group's national convention in Rochester.
Convention activities will feature a colorful clown party for disadvantaged area children and a display of "parade locomotives" from Forty & Eight local units across the country.
The Forty & Eight is an honor society of American veterans. Founded in 1920 by veterans of the First World War, the group's French railroad boxcar theme plays on the common experience of soldiers traveling to the battlefront in French boxcars. Each car was emblazoned with a white, stenciled load limit of "40/8"; meaning either forty men or eight horses. Always overloaded and seldom cleaned, this minor misery of traveling to war was symbolic of the deeper, unspoken things that bind all war veterans and continues to be a lighthearted focus for the close comradery and charitable efforts of members of the Forty & Eight.
The Forty & Eight is primarily a charitable veterans organization. In the 1930's, it lead the fight against Childhood Diphtheria and in the 1950's against Hansen's Disease (leprosy). Today the Forty & Eight continues its charitable efforts by providing scholarships for nursing students, children of POWs, youth sports and other chartable endeavors.
For more information regarding the Forty & Eight's national convention in Rochester, please contact Rene VanMulem at (585) 586-6986 or mrv41@aol.com.
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