Commanders' Message

Gear up Legionnaires. Our OPTEMPO is about to increase! Please come out and support First Responders, who will be honored at our annual Awards Banquet on Saturday, March 16, at 6:00 p.m. We will also honor a community volunteer and our Legionnaire of the Year. We must have strong attendance to show our community that The American Legion supports their service and sacrifice. Come, enjoy a dinner meal and fellowship with our neighbors and community heroes.

Our traditional Good Friday (March 29) fish fry will occur at 11:00 a.m. Note that the Post Executive Committee has voted to remove oysters from the menu due to soaring costs and a weak profit margin. Your help is needed on Thursday, March 28, at 1:00 p.m. to prepare for the Fish Fry and the next day, starting at 9:00 a.m. to help cook and serve. The plate sale lasts till either sold out or 7:00 p.m. It is a long day, so your help is essential. Please give 1, 2, or 3+ hours, especially in the evening, when the glory is gone, and clean-up is left to the few remaining folks. Help me change that trend!

Our Saturday, March 30 membership meeting is the last 9:00 a.m. breakfast meeting as we move into daylight savings time and shift back to last Tuesday night of the month meetings starting in April. Check out the calendar in this newsletter and get your day planners or cell phone meeting reminders right with the change.

I want to inform you that Post 52 is close to the 90% renewed membership mark! We still need 22 members to join or renew to reach 100% (218 members). We have 32 2023 members who have not renewed for 2024. You may be one of those 32, so check your Legion membership card and renew now if it has 2023 on it. I am proud of the individual efforts of some of you to contact these delinquent members and encourage them to renew. I have seen extra effort from Chaplain Harvey Satterwhite, 1^st Vice Commander Mike Donnelly, and Legionnaire Brodie Green working our roster and getting folks to renew and join.

A big Hooha! goes out to Legionnaire Ed Ortiz for recruiting new 3-year Legionnaire Richard Planisek and to Harvey Satterwhite for recruiting new 3-year member James Satterwhite. Welcome to Post 52, Richard and James.

Please help us reach the 218 goal in March. If you know a Veteran who is not a Legionnaire, bring them to a meeting or have them contact me.

Finally, I want to thank Legionnaires Steve Ijames and George Tracy for publishing this newsletter monthly. My part is easy. These men do the hard work of editing my material and getting all this information to you in much better condition than they received it!

Chris Smith, Commander Post 52 csmithforest@gmail.com

Vice-Commander's Report

As we enter the month of March, membership is still our priority, with just 22 members required for a 100% goal of 218. One hundred ninety-six of our members have renewed to date, and we continue to renew those who have not done so. Commander Smith and I are undertaking every effort to contact those members who have not renewed to reach our goal. If you have not renewed your membership, you can mail your renewal to the Post or drop it off at the Post. Or you may renew online at legion.org/renew. You now have the option to renew for three years at the current rate of $40.00. As we all know, National will raise dues by $5.00 on July 1, 2024, and our dues will increase to $45.00. Remember that membership is the lifeblood of the American Legion, and without a continuing recruitment effort, our organization will disappear. Let us continue to make 2024 an excellent year for Post 52.

Mike Donnelly, 1^st Vice Commander

Chaplains' Corner

I hope everyone had a good February and could share some love with family and friends. I want to share several scriptures to reflect on as we embark on life's journey.

Matthew 6:25-27(NIV) ²⁵"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?²⁷Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?&equot;

Please continue to pray for those who have served and those still serving our nation in the Armed forces, as well as First responders, Law Enforcement, EMTs, and Firefighters and their families, and Thank God daily for the blessing He gives us daily.

Harvey Satterwhite, Chaplain

Auxiliary Unit 52 Report

This month, I want to share a renewed optimism and respect for the American Legion Auxiliary and your Unit 52 Executive Committee (UEC).

Several months ago, an injustice was brought to the attention of the UEC. The UEC came together to address the situation head-on and determine the correct processes and procedures to bring the issue to the attention of those who could resolve it. The ALA National organization investigated, and the issue has been resolved fairly and justly.

In case you do not know, your Unit 52 UEC is made up of your elective officers, which includes me, Janet Tracy – Vice President; Linda Kerensky – Treasurer; Carolyn Donnelly – Secretary; Toni Miller – Chaplain; Sheila Field – Sgt at Arms, and Patti Elliott – UEC member-at-large. I would also like to recognize the work of the National ALA Constitution and Bylaws Committee and our Department of NC National Executive Committee representative Julie Smith for their guidance in navigating protocols.

Our upcoming events include: A Sew/Craft Day on Thursday, 3/7/24 at 2 p.m., followed by dinner at Hometown Café and the UEC meeting at 6:30 p.m. The District Meeting is on Saturday, 3/16, at 9 a.m. in Oxford. We will hold a Bake Sale and Serve food at the Post Fish Fry on Good Friday, 3/29, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

In the Spirit of Service, not Self,
Velinda Moore, Unit 52 President

Annual Awards Banquet and
105^th Legion Birthday Celebration

Saturday, March 16th, 6pm

We will award and recognize the following honorees:

• Emergency Medical Technician
• Fire Service Officer
• Law Enforcement Officer
• Community Service
• Legionnaire of the Year

Please be there on the 16^th March to show our appreciation for the men and women who serve our community.

Fish Plates Fundraiser

Post 52 will sell fish plates ($10) on Friday, March 29th, from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Legionnaires will prepare for the fundraiser on Thursday, March 28, at 1 p.m.; all help is welcome with the cooking/serving on the 29th. All who can help are needed, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

(Sorry, no oyster plates due to cost)

Need assistance dealing with the Veterans' Administration? Contact our Franklin County Veterans' Service Officer, Brenda Wilkins,
at 919 496-1939.