Commanders' Message

I hope your Christmas brought you a time of Reflection on your blessings, Fellowship with family and friends, Thankfulness to God for all the blessings he has given us as individuals and as a country. Let us not forget that there were many tables with empty chairs during Christmas due to a family member being away in service to our Great Nation.

A Great Big Thank You goes out to those who helped prepare and deliver the Christmas gift bags to all our homebound veterans and those in rest homes. I know the conversation and smiles I received were well worth it. Also for those who came over and helped on the utility building and storage shed over the holidays, I also want to thank you for your help.

I want to say that I am honored to be a part of a Post that our ancestors started in 1919 and over the last 100 Years has become a premier Post and is still the largest Post in District 5 and, is well known throughout the Division and State for our commitment to the American Legion.

The nominating committee has begun work in seeking out individuals to serve in ALL elected positions. I know there are many of you out there that are more than capable in serving in some capacity. I believe that our organization needs and deserves good leadership. So if you are asked by the nominating committee to serve, I hope you will consider and step up. Be sure to ask any member of the nominating committee or any Officer should you have questions as to the duties and responsibilities of any position. There will be a training session for all new officers after elected. So step out and make a difference.

As a reminder that as a member of the American Legion, you are responsible for touching the lives of many people that you don’t know and most likely will never meet, from the many veterans that our Organization assist on a daily basis to the many young people and their families that are involved with our many youth programs. We are not at 100% on membership as a Post and since membership is key to our success, we still need all Members who have not Renewed their membership to do so ASAP. Let us get those memberships in and show our forefathers we thank them for their service and sacrifices as we continue the Legacy of the American Legion.

Our annual Birthday and Awards Banquet is coming up on Saturday, March 9. This year we will also celebrate the 100^th year as an organization. This is the time of year we also recognize Law Enforcement, Fire & Rescue, Community Service, Soldier, and Legionnaire of the year. With the current situation in our country, I feel we should rally behind ALL those who have served our Nation and to ALL those who protect and serve our community. Let us all make plans now to show our support by attending this Banquet scheduled for Saturday, March 9^th at 6:00 pm.

Please remember to purchase your American Flag from Post 52 or Online at emblem sales. You will not buy a better quality flag for the price, period. When purchasing online at Emblem Sales remember to register it to Post 52, North Carolina.

Together we can make 2019 a more successful year than 2018. If we each do a little we can accomplish a lot. Whoa!

For God and Country - Harvey Satterwhite

Vice-Commander's Report

My fellow legionnaires, January marks the start of our 100^th-anniversary celebration as an American Legion Post! This year we will celebrate this milestone with many activities. I would urge all of you to consider how you can contribute to these festivities as well as your level of involvement in the operations of your post. We will be having our Brunswick Stew sale this month and will need help with the preparations so come on out and get involved! Now is a great time to reflect on the history of our post and to assess the future of post 52. Your post leadership is always looking for suggestions from our members that result in an improved and more enjoyable post for all. If you have thoughts on possible changes for the betterment of our post, please make them known to the post leadership for evaluation and consideration. Post 52 is our post! We all have a stake in making it the best it can be.

For God & Country, Mike Donnelly

Auxiliary Notes

Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

New year, new ideas for our Unit. Some of these new ideas are becoming more active in the community and what the Unit can do for the community. Become involved with the schools. I would like for the Unit to be able to sponsor a candidate(s) to go to Girl State which the girl needs to be an uprising senior and she be interested in government. Some other ideas are having guest speakers for some of our membership meetings. If there is anyone who you would like to have as our guest speaker please let Carolyn Donnelly know.

Be thinking about nominations for the 2019 Unit’s officers. The election is in May.

Executive Committee/Sew day, January 14,2019 @10 a.m. Post 52, Membership meeting, January 29,2019, @ 5:30 p.m., Franklinton Senior Center. Please bring a friend to join us.

In the Spirit of Service, not Self,
Carolyn Donnelly, District 6 President/ Unit 52 President

Historian Comments

As many of you known, I have been asking for information on our founding members. Now I have started receiving input and will try to share as space permits. This month I would like to thank Ed Harris for pictures and information on his great uncle Henry Crawford Kearney. Henry was our first Chaplain and also our benefactor (Henry donated the land that the Post sets on).

Henry along with his brother Durwood Belmont Kearney (another founding member), served with the 30^th Infantry Division in France, where in the fall of 1918 he was wounded in a gas attack. While this left him with breathing problems for the rest of his life, he never stopped serving his community or nation. He served as a State Representative, Mayor of Franklinton, and Postmaster just to name a few of his contributions. Henry is buried in Fairview Cemetery.

In addition to the information, Ed provided pictures, which I will try to make available for viewing at the Post.

Still serving you and our Post – George G. Tracy

Winter is here and cold weather is the perfect time for a bowl of hot Brunswick Stew. Post 52 will sell its famous Brunswick stew ($8.00/qt) on Saturday, Jan 12^th 11:00 am – 2:00pm

To reserve your quarts Call Steve at 919 494-2851 or text him at 919 727-0087 or email him at stephen.ijames@gmail.com or call/text Tony at 919-264-1671 or George at 919 818-9705 to reserve your quarts. Of course, you can come by the post on the 12^th to buy your Brunswick Stew. We will be there until it is all sold or 2:00 pm.