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Second Vice Commander's
Column I hope you have enjoyed the "Holiday Season." Even though we are past the New Year, I would like to wish every member of the Legion family a happy and prosperous 2008. As with any new year, resolutions are made; some kept, some not. I hope you have set your goals for this year; I certainly have. My renewed goal is to assist all of the commissions established by the American Legion in order to run our activities. By that, I mean I will help our Department Events Director, Brenda McGowen, with making sure that all department activities on the calendar are successful. However, without you, we cannot make this happen. It is that simple, "If you do not show, we do not go!" As you read this article, the 2008 Department Bowling Tournament will be over where we had approximately 450 teams participate in the competition in 2007. Next on the schedule is the Department Corn Hole Tournament, sponsored by Middletown Post 218 in Middletown on Saturday, March 29. This will be our newest effort to offer different activities for your participation. If you are interested in this Department sponsored event, call the post at 513-422-5424 for further information. After we show our tossing arm at the Corn Hole Tournament, you can then show us your shooting skills at the Department Pool Tournament sponsored by Milford Post 450 in Milford, Ohio on April 19th and 20th. Once again, Bocca Billiards has agreed to hold this event at their facility located at 749 State Route 28 in Milford just off I-275. If you have any new activities you would like to have considered for placement on the Department calendar, please feel free to call me at 859-363-8032 or e-mail me at lmd61944@aol.com. You can also give your idea to the 2nd Vice Commander of your district, who can then present it to the Department Executive Board for further consideration. Remember, keep your activities alive to help your post thrive. Even though I know this is a sensitive subject, I would like to mention the fact that many posts are having financial difficulties and I believe I would be remiss if I did not mention this growing problem. I do not have all the answers to address this issue however; I would like to mention some tried and true suggestions. First, I believe the easiest way to solve most of our problems is to sign up new members. I know you have heard this before but let's take a look at the new members and what they can bring to us as legionnaires. These new members can be your greatest resource for new ideas, for help creating family involvement that would also help the Auxiliary and the Sons; they can work your post's functions and even support them financially as well. New members are new customers in your clubrooms. Another way to help your post is to call long time members who have not attended meetings for a while and invite them to a meeting. When they see first hand how your post continues to support our veterans and communities, perhaps they will want to become an active participant with our American Legion Family. I truly believe that anyone joining a fraternal organization does not join just to pay dues. In closing, please support your post in any way that you can. Without you, your post cannot survive. Without your post, the Department cannot survive as a legion family. Without the American Legion Family, our veterans can only hope to survive….including you. Lou Dimmerman, 2nd Vice Commander |
