Commanders' Message

Fellow legionnaires, As I write this column, I acknowledge that I have some very large shoes to fill as the new Post Commander of Post 52. I want to thank Harvey Satterwhite for all he has done for post 52.

June will be a very busy month for us with many activities and much work to complete. Our Department Convention will be held June 5-8 at the North Raleigh Hilton, and I strongly encourage all members of the post to attend so that you can see and experience how your American Legion Department conducts its business. We will be voting for a new Division 1 Commander and a new Department Commander at this convention. The leading candidate for the Division 1 Post is Marty Bartlett from Post 13 in Wilson, NC. The candidates for Department Commander are Mark Erskine and James Moore.

On June 29th, we will celebrate Stand Up for America and will need the support of our members to make this a successful event. Please plan to come out and help if you are able. The reverse raffle will take place on June 22 at the Franklinton Town Hall Annex at 2 pm. Post 52 will hold a flag retirement ceremony at 6 pm on June 11 to be followed by the Executive Committee meeting.

We have begun the task of establishing the following post committees; Membership, chaired by Vice-Commander Doug Wilbourne and Americanism, chaired by George Tracy. I encourage any member of the post who has an interest in serving on either committee to contact the chairman right away.

I look forward to a great year for post 52, as we have many things to be thankful for and a tremendous foundation from which to build on! Together we can make post 52 the best in the Department. Post 52 will lead the way!

For God & Country, Mike Donnelly

Post Installs Officers for the 2019-20 Year

At the May meeting, the Department of NC Adjutant, Randy Cash, installed the following officers:

Front row, L to R, Ricky Nowell – Sergeant at Arms, Steve Ijames – Post Service Officers, Renchor Wright – Executive Committeeman, Robert Junk – Second Vice-Commander, Joe Dillehay - 2^nd Sergeant at Arms, Thomas Reid – Post Chaplain
Back row, L to R, Harvey Satterwhite - Executive Committeeman, Michael Donnelly – Commander, Douglas Wilbourne – First Vice-Commander, Ed Wilson – Adjutant, Ernie Dimeler - 1^st Sergeant at Arms, Robert Hobgood – Post Judge Advocate, Patrick McCrary – Executive Committeeman, Tony Kerensky – Finance Officer, George Tracy – Post Historian

Auxiliary Notes

I can’t believe summer is almost here but lately, the weather has felt like the summer is here.

Also, I can’t believe we are beginning our third year as a Unit, and I want to take this opportunity to say “Thank You” to all of the members for making this Unit a success and for what each member does for our Veterans and the community.

The installation of our newly elected officers for 2019-2020 will be on Tuesday, June 25, 2019, during the membership meeting. The Installation service will be at the Franklinton Senior Center at 5:30 p.m. Sue Gooch, Past Department President (2011-12), will be the Installation Officer. Everyone is welcome to attend this event.

I am looking forward to another “Great Year” for the Unit and its members.

The American Legion Auxiliary, Department of North Carolina Convention will be at the Hilton North Raleigh on June 6 – 8, 2019. Stopping by is a great way to meet your sister Auxiliary members from the state of North Carolina.

A reminder, “Stand Up America,” will be held on June 29, 2019, held at the Franklinton Elementary School field beginning at 4 p.m.

The Post 52 Pork/Chicken BBQ/Bake sale has been changed to July 20, 2019.

The Executive Committee/Sew Day will be on Monday, June 10, 2019, at Post 52 beginning at 10 a.m. and the Membership meeting will be Tuesday, June 25, 2019, at Franklinton Senior Center at 5:30 p.m. Please join us and bring a friend!

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

Post Fund Raiser

On the reverse side, you note that Post 52 is holding its annual cash raffle in June. You may wonder why your post needs to do such fundraising activities. The reason is simple: it takes money to keep the post facility and grounds up and to sponsor the community programs your post. For example, in May, in honor of Memorial Day, your Post placed almost 900 flags on veteran’s graves in our local cemeteries and hung 30 flags on the streets of Franklinton. Your post purchases the flags with money raised through fundraisers, rental fees, and dues from members.

By the way, of the $35 in dues you pay, your post only keeps $7.50. The rest goes to the state and national legion organizations. So the $1750.00 your post gets from dues, will not even pay the $2500.00 annual cost of insurance for the post.

Your post has to conduct fundraisers to operate. So please consider participating in the cash raffle as well as the other fundraisers Post 52 holds throughout the year.