Armithea "Sissy" Borel
National VFW Auxiliary Past National President
National Auxiliary Representative
Past National President Armithea "Sissy" Borel of Starks, Louisiana, served the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) of the United States Auxiliary as National President from 2013-2014, where she led 500,000 members under her theme "Keeping America's Veterans & Families Strong."
A Life Member of Starks Memorial Auxiliary 4759, she joined on the eligibility of her brother, a Purple Heart recipient who served in the U.S. Army, and she has three sons who give her eligibility as well.
She served the organization at the Auxiliary, District, Department and National level. In 2004-2005 she was elected Department President, earning Outstanding President of the Year in her membership group. She has also been National Assistant Conductress and National Chairman for the Southern Conference on the Membership and "Buddy" Poppy Programs and has served as VFW National Home Trustee for District 6 representing the Departments of Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.
She has also served as the Military Order of the Cooties Auxiliary (MOCA) 2006-2007 Grand President of Louisiana, and is a member of the Starks Lions Club, where she has served as President and LEO Chairman for the state.
Sissy's family includes five children, 15 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Happy 2025 Everyone! I hope that everyone was able to spend some time being with family, friends, and just being able to rest. I know that many use the holidays and each new year to reflect on all that they are grateful for and were able to accomplish throughout the last year, while others may grieve during this time because they are missing a loved one. I mention all of this because I have had many conversations with members, over the last several months, where there have been many negative interactions with other members that have been reported and feelings of animosity towards others. This year has not been without some difficult challenges, and I want to take a moment to remind everyone to be kind to each other and to give others grace, as we are all here to uplift and honor the veteran that we are eligible under, whether that be in their memory or in their living honor, by serving and fighting to take care of our veterans. We may not know the personal struggles that our auxiliary sisters and brothers, or even our VFW counterparts, are going through, but we can always make sure that we are someone that they can come to in their times of need, through the work that we do in our auxiliaries and having compassion for each other.
With all of that being said there is some absolutely amazing work that is being done throughout our beautiful state by each of our Auxiliaries, and I am so proud of the all of the dedication and love that is put into each event, and I am absolutely positive that those who benefit from all that each auxiliary does are grateful as well. Auxiliaries are holding fundraisers to support our various programs, visiting our hospitals and sitting with our veterans, working with our youth through our scholarship and outreach programs, and bringing new members into our folds – even through all of the obstacles and challenges – and it absolutely fantastic to see the resilience and strength of our membership.
Membership for Colorado is at just below 95% right now, and I know that that number will grow, as our auxiliaries are amazing in getting the work that needs to done, completed. There are many opportunities to show prospective new members all the amazing work that the auxiliary does, and if your auxiliary needs help with any ideas for membership, please reach out to the Dept. Membership Chairman.
The work that everyone does is what our mission is all about and is what we need to continue striving to accomplish. I know that we still have a few months left in our reporting year, and there are many auxiliaries that still have a lot of events and projects that they are working hard on, and I can’t wait to hear about all of them. Remember to report all of your activities, even after our current reporting year ends, as those activities still count for the next reporting year.
In regards to reporting, there are still several official visits that need to be completed, in several districts. If they have been completed, please forward those reports to the Department Chief of Staff. This is the same for audit reports, there are still several outstanding auxiliary audits that need to be sent into the Department Treasurer as soon as possible. The administrative paperwork, that each auxiliary must complete, is to keep the auxiliary in good standing and in compliance with our Bylaws. Please reach out to us if you have any questions or believe that some extra mentoring in these areas would be beneficial to your District or Auxiliary. We are all here to help each other and share our knowledge with our members.
Our next Council of Administration meeting will be held March 14th-16th, in Sheridan, CO, and I hope to be able to see many of you there. At this meeting, I will be bringing in the National Home House that was given to each Department President to decorate, and would love to see this house filled during our COA and be able to send those funds to them during their 100th year celebration. This will also be at our State Convention, which will be June 19th-22nd in Colorado Springs, it would be great to have it filled during each of these meetings.
Thank you for all that you are doing and continue to do for our veterans; past, present, and future. Unexpected obstacles and challenges will face us each year, but we will get through all of them together. Each of you are doing some fabulous work, and yes, the small things count as well, because if it wasn’t for the small moments there wouldn’t be such great happiness, warmth, or love. The smallest of kind gestures can bring the greatest joy to an individual, so I encourage each of you to continue working for our greater cause through small acts of kindness, and watch as those small acts become something even greater.
Warmest Wishes,
Nadia Flores
Department VFW Auxiliary President
Fontaine Que Bouille Auxiliary
Proudly Endorse
Rena Cales
For the Office of Department VFW Auxiliary President
2025-2026
We, the members of Fontaine Que Bouille Auxiliary to Post 6461, very proudly endorse our long term member and mentor, Rena Cales for the office of Department President for the 2025-2026 term. Ms. Cales has been a loyal Life Member of the Auxiliary since 2009 through her step father, William Peck who earned the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal. During her years in our Auxiliary, Rena has held many different positions, such as 3 years as our President, 7 years as our Treasurer, 6 years as our Secretary, and as a Trustee for 1 year. Rena held District 5 positions like Guard, 3 years, Secretary for 6 years, Treasurer for 7 years and President for 1 year. She also served as Department Chairperson for 7 years, 3 being the Hospital Chairperson, as well as Buddy Poppy, Americanism, Veteran and Family Support, and Legislative. She was Department Conductor, Jr. Vice and Sr. Vice, as well. With the Military Order of the Cooties, Rena served as the Auxiliary Grand President Grand Chaplain and on the local level, President. Rena is a mentor to all of us in our Auxiliary, helping with her vast knowledge of the organization and her willingness and dedication to help in every task and event.
We firmly believe that Rena Cales will be a dedicated and loyal Department President and will continue to be an asset to the Colorado VFW Auxiliary. We hope that you will join us in supporting Rena at the Department Convention.
Sincerely,
On behalf of Bobbi Vigil, President
Karen Marshall, Secretary
Fontaine Que Bouille Auxiliary
VFW Post 6461
The Department of Colorado VFW Auxiliary General orders for the current Auxiliary year are published on this page. All Department, District and Post officers should be familiar with them and Secretaries should maintain a file of the current orders which is an inspectable item.
As of January 31, 2025
| District 1 | 2023 | 2024 | % | District 8 | 2023 | 2024 | % | ||
| 1 | Denver | 181 | 178 | 98.34 | 859 | Leadville | 17 | 17 | 100%* |
| 322 | Englewood | 76 | 64 | 84.21 | 11411 | Lake George | 48 | 47 | 97.92 |
| 5061 | Denver | 174 | 166 | 95.40 | 12009 | Conifer | 32 | 37 | 116%* |
| 9644 | Fort Logan | 354 | 349 | 98.59 | TOTAL | 97 | 101 | 104%* | |
| TOTAL | 785 | 757 | 96.43 | ||||||
| District 2 | District 9 | ||||||||
| 2788 | Penrose | 45 | 45 | 100%* | 4264 | Stmbt Spgs | 28 | 28 | 100%* |
| 3641 | Pueblo | 62 | 53 | 85.48 | 4265 | Craig | 37 | 31 | 83.78 |
| 4061 | Canon City | 102 | 83 | 81.37 | 5843 | Meeker | 31 | 31 | 100%* |
| 5812 | Pueblo West | 45 | 46 | 102%* | 9374 | Kremmling | 22 | 23 | 105%* |
| 7305 | Colo City | 23 | 23 | 100%* | TOTAL | 118 | 113 | 95.76 | |
| 8898 | Boone | 18 | 11 | 61.11 | |||||
| TOTAL | 295 | 261 | 88.47 | ||||||