Commanders' Message

Fellow Legionnaires, I thank you for getting us off to a great start of a new year. Our first fund raiser was a success. We made 195 quarts of Brunswick Stew and sold 175 and reserved 20 for our benevolence fund.

While that is the most we have ever made and sold, it was not without a great deal of effort. The hardest thing when making that much stew, is keeping it consistent across multiple pots. We only have one large kettle and that doesn't belong to the Post. So therefore, I have asked the Executive board to get quotes on buying a larger kettle of our own for future stew fund raisers.

Our next fund raiser will be a fish/oyster fry on Good Friday. I hope to see you there, either helping or supporting with the purchase of a great dinner at a reasonable price.

This month our delegates will be attending the North Carolina Mid-Winter Conference at the North Raleigh Hilton, on February 16^th & 17^th. You don't need to be a delegate to attend. All you need is $5 to register. This will let you attend any meeting of any committee as well as the general session on Saturday. If you are interested in what the Legion is doing to support the different programs, this would be a great opportunity to see first hand. The experience may inspire you to become a delegate and future leader of this great organization.

We are coming up on our 99^th birthday celebration where we honor the men and women in our community for the outstanding work they do every day to make this a better place to live and keep us safe.

This is in keeping with our founding fathers notion of true Americanism. This is stressed in our preamble, Americanism, individual obligation to the community, state, and nation; battling the autocracy of the classes and masses; right the master of might; peace and good will on earth; justice, freedom, and democracy! Our organization wasn't founded on a selfish, “what is in this for me”, attitude. It is only in the last two words of our preamble that mention is made of our welfare. And those two words are “mutual helpfulness”. But be sure to understand the connection in which they are used.

...we associate ourselves together...to consecrate and sanctify our comradeship by our devotion to mutual helpfulness.”

What this has meant over the years has been for us to see to the needs of our veterans by helping to: get jobs back; retrain for new jobs; get back pay and allotments that were due; rehabilitate those who suffered physical lose; establish and improve our GI bill, etc.

So mutual helpfulness was, and has always been, a partnering with Uncle Sam for the betterment of our Nation. Because, for every job the Legion gets an unemployed veteran, or training and education, or rehabilitation makes for a better citizen. And better citizenship is what the Legion strives for through all of its programs.

Duty, Honor, and Country – George G. Tracy

Auxiliary Notes

Now that the New Year is upon us it is looking like a busy year for the Auxiliary! Our first sewing meeting is Saturday, February 3 at Post 52, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. The goal is to provide those at the VA hospitals with lap quiltsto honor their service to our country. No prior experience is needed…just be there and we will put you to work! We will also be providing bereavement meals for member’s families, so on Thursday, February 8, we will be at the Post beginning at 10:00 am cooking some spaghetti sauce to freeze and have it available for future use. As you can see, there are many ways you can help serve. Please join us at our next meeting at 5:30 pm on Tuesday, February 27 at the Franklinton Senior Center. Adrienne O’Neill

Vice-Commander's Report

Attention: This is a very important time for your Post where we need people to fill the various positions of our Post. Two questions or excuses I always here from people are: 1) I am not sure what to do 2) I don’t want to offend anyone? First there will be a workshop held after elections that will layout the various positions and responsibilities and Secondly people are funny creatures so don’t let me offend you but come on and join in the effort. My father often said Jesus Christ himself could not please some people so what makes you think you can. Shake it off and drive on. The nominating committee is working to seek candidates for All Officers positions. I would ask that members consider serving in some capacity in the upcoming year. We are not only seeking officers but men to step up and serve the following committees: 1) Building & Grounds, 2) Food Service, 3) Americanism, 4) Membership, Fund Raising, 5) Firing Squad. Our Post success depends on good officers and committees working together, so I encourage you to consider any of the positions that will be open.

We will have our annual awards banquet Saturday, March 10^th 2018. The evening starts at 6:00pm with fellowship followed by full course meal @ 7:00, followed by awards. Please make plans to attend and show you support for those in our community and Legion family that give so much. Let’s pack the house showing our support for these people since they support our community and our efforts as a Veteran organization. We will also recognize and celebrate the 99^th birthday of the American Legion and our Post.

We have begun the process of making a Post Directory which we want to have before we celebrate the 100^th Year of the American Legion as well as our Post. Yes our Post was chartered in 1919. We will be taking photos at the Post on Monday June 4^th and Tuesday June 5^th. We will be asking you to sign up for a photo session in the coming weeks. So go ahead and mark your calendars. You will receive a Free 8x10 photo for just showing up and taking your picture. Also as part of our Directory we need your old photos back when you were in the service. So start to dig them out and review and select on so we can put into our directory.

It would be out of character if I did not mention membership. We have lost 4 members in the last month who went to be with the Great Commander and Chief. If you have not renewed please consider doing so and as always invite a Veteran to our monthly meeting.

For God and Country - Harvey Satterwhite

• Annual Awards Banquet
• and
• 99^th Legion Birthday Celebration

• We will award and recognize the following honorees:
• Law Enforcement Officer
• Emergency Medical Technician
• Fire Service Officer
• Community Service
• Soldier of the Year
• and
• Legionnaire of the Year