Montero Medical Missions would like to share the year's highlights.

As 2013 draws to a close, Montero Medical Missions would like to share the year's highlights:

* Hot off the press, MMM now has its own Shopping Portal, thanks to Dubli and the efforts of our board member, Dave Hall. Keeping up with the times, it allows anyone interested in our cause to Shop, Save and Support MMM through this search engine with cashback. Not too often do you find such an arrangement, where everyone wins. I therefore invite you to visit www.dubli.com/M040F and make things happen.

* The fully loaded 40 ft. container with donated hospital equipment and supplies, bound for MMM's newly adopted hospital, Adela Serra Ty Memorial Medical Center in Tandag, Surigao del Sur, Mindanao Philippines will sail Jan. 4, 2014 from Norfolk. Col. Jim Ireland,USA[R], expert logistician and MMM VP is instrumental in this endeavor, thus fulfilling his promise to the hospital personnel when we were there last July. This will then be followed with container[s] consigned to the Secretary of Health, Dr. Enrique Ona who will make the determination as to which of the 53 destroyed hospitals/clinics from super typhoon Haiyan/ Yolanda need the most help.

* Our final MMM fundraising social last Dec. 13th which was beautifully hosted by First Colonial Inn through its Marketing Director, Stacy Kenyon, a MMM board member, went very well. We feel that these on-going fundraisers continue to accomplish our goal of expanding MMM's base of friends, volunteers and supporters. The 'Final Fling' at the Monteros' Rural Retreat on Sept. 7th, Summer Bash at the Marina Shores Yacht Club on June 27th and the MASA-MMM Golf Tournament on April 8th at the Cypress Point Country Club, rounded up the fun, friendship-maker, fundraisers for the year. MMM looks forward to 2014 with gusto !

* On Dec. 6, 2013, MMM hosted a financially admirable fundraiser to benefit our Philippines Relief Efforts, thus helping the victims from the devastation of super typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda. With community oriented Towne Bank and Chesapeake Regional Medical Center as anchor sponsors plus the outpouring of support from the Vietnamese and Indian communities on top of Filipino organizations and American friends, we raised over $ 50,000.00 and almost evenly split between American Red Cross and Montero Medical Missions.

* On Oct. 9, 2013, MMM attained a monumental recognition, when the American College of Surgeons at its 100th Annual Clinical Congress in Washington,D.C. allowed our well-received poster format presentation of the innovative MMM Health Fair for Veterans project. This quarterly event to screen and assist veterans in their healthcare needs is MMM's domestic/in-country project, to compliment our three international sustainable healthcare projects: MMM Eyesight 20/20, MMM Prosthesis and MMM Dental Care.

* Our MMM Active board has been newly reconstituted with three new members and three outgoing ones, who kindly opted to stay on MMM Advisory board. Jan Baillie, RN, Rory Fitzpatrick and Sandeep Samudre, PhD inject new blood to MMM. We owe Chance Wilson, Cyndi Smith and Earl Virts, CRNA a tremendous debt of gratitude for their invaluable service and contributions during these past 2 1/2 formative years of MMM.

* How MMM, still without a salaried employee accomplished all of the above, speaks volumes of the volunteer efforts that our MMM Active 'blue collar' board members have done. The T.E.A.M.[Together Everyone Achieves More] slogan continues to resonate to our community volunteers, many of them peerless in their dogged determination. MMM salutes them all.

* In our pipeline for missions next year:

June or July, 2014 in Joinville, Brazil; Chesapeake's sister city.

July 25 till Aug. 3, 2014 in Irosin, Sorsogon, Philippines

Aug. 1 till Aug. 10, 2014 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

* Just a Reminder: Contributions to tax-exempt MMM can be made to celebrate a life event, to honor someone's accomplishments or to memorialize a loved one. Better yet, contribute and join a medical mission trip of your choice, with MMM.

* To donate go to: www. monteromedicalmissions.org, thru pay pal.