April's Article: Nominations are near...

Greetings! Well, the 1st quarter has come and gone. 2009 is moving along, the economy still resurrecting under new management; new bills in the mix for our legislative leaders to act upon for our active duty, veterans and their families; and your Post 434 here is still alive and well raising money and taking action to help our members & the community. Phew! It sure is a busy time! Each month, the Post receives requests from worthwhile organizations reaching out for our support, either financially or volunteers. This is the role of your elected Post Officers & your elected Executive Board members to take these requests and ensure that they are legitimate, within our means, in the best interest of our post and community, and within the spirit of our American Legion By-Laws & traditions. We receive requests, discuss them at Executive Board meetings and make recommendations for final approval at the Monthly General Meeting by those members in attendance. Now, I bring this up for a few reasons.

1) to inform our new members;
2) invite all members to come and join us at the Monthly General Meeting; and
3) remind ALL, as we near post elections this year, how vital these positions are to keep the post thriving & working for the membership. Nominations begin at next month’s meeting.

Be there on April 9th at 6:00pm and nominate your choice leaders. What Post Officers positions are open? All of them. That's why they are voted on each year. From Commander to First, Second, Third Vice Commanders to Executive Board members and others. Some current holders will run again and that is a good thing. And, others will cherish their year of years of service and decide to move on to other endeavors. So, that's why the positions last only a year and that's why all post members have the ability to choose their leaders. It's the democratic way and our rights as post members. It takes votes to vote anyone in the position, even the incumbents! Don't you just love this country! So, get involved fellow members.

Next , because of the size of our post, we have an exclusive benefit just for our members and their families. That benefit is the Dental and Vision plan. Every person has unique needs and whether this plan is for you starts by looking at the brochures. We keep copies behind the bar for the asking. If you don’t sign-up, please return the brochures. I’m at the Post every Tuesday and Thursday evening and can answer questions. First Vice Commander, Herb James, is also available to answer questions as well. He is at the post most mornings. He has been with the program since it arrived to the Post 434 list of benefits.

You know, I’ve been receiving emails from active duty members who have found us on the web. The most recent are Sailors, at sea, on the USS NIMITZ looking for a place where they can help the community. I told them this is the place! So, the website continues to work for us!

Next, Don’t forget about are our Annual “Thanksgiving in April” Dinner for Heroes to Hometowns (H2H) on April 17th benefiting our Wounded Warriors! I will be selling raffle tickets and serving, so if the event doesn't quite win you over, then you may want to show up just to see me slaving away and peddle the wares.

Veterans Stand Down is approaching and it is time to chart it on your calendar. Also, we begin collecting clothing for the 2009 Annual Veterans Stand Down on 15 June thru 10 July. Last year, we collected 40 thirty gallon industrial size bags of clothing and were mentioned in the Department of California Legionnaire Newsletter for our contributions. Let's do it again this year! The Stand Down is July 17 - 19, with that Friday (July 17th) being our American Legion Day to help serve food. I would be remiss if I didn’t say that we’ve struggled over the years to encourage our members to attend. So, I ask well in advance for you to please, please, look ahead & help us by donating your time. Let’s turn that around t his year! If you have any ideas on how we can encourage more participation at this annual event, please share your ideas! This single event provides more of a direct impact to our area veterans than nearly any event or program that we participate in each year. Last year's event fed and clothed nearly 10,000 veterans. It is a worthwhile event worthy of our time and attention! Let's band together and make this year's event a great one!

See you at the Post! Cheers! Tony