The Henry G. Fix Post 23 meeting was held on Thursday, September 2nd at 8 pm. The meeting was opened by Commander Tony Grandy with a salute to the Colors, the Pledge of Allegiance, and preamble to the American Legion Constitution. Chaplain Welch offered an opening prayer. 21 members were present. Special guest Cody Linneweber was presented the Firefighter of the Year Award. Cody will now compete at the district level.
The minutes of the previous meeting were presented and approved. Bills were approved for payment. Service Officer report was given by John Schmidt. He reported no names mentioned to him and no requests. The membership report was given by Randy Megard and reported that the membership cards are out. We currently have 85 paid members. 29 renewals were received at the meeting, for a total of 114 members paid. We are now as 52% of our goal for the year.
Americanism Officer Bob Bennett reported that he has delivered Oratory Contest information to the school. Bob and Liz Bennett are repairing several flags. The 6 foot flag poles have all been replaced with 5 foot poles. Our Post scholarship endowment fund balance is at $20,389. Paul Evenson stated there is no current legislative report. Paul E. Dillard has been elected as out National Commander. Jeff Konechne had nothing new to report for the baseball program. The Commander is pleased to report our preamble is now framed and ready to use.
Garretson will host the District 7 meeting at our location on September 25th. There will be an Executive Committee meeting at 10:00 am, social at 11:00 am, meal at 12:00 pm, and meeting at 1:00 pm. Approximately 90 people are expected to attend. Both Legion and Auxiliary organizations will participate.
All is going well with the Honor Flight Fund Raiser. It will begin with a breakfast and then transition into a lunch meal with burgers and brats. It will be held on Sunday, October 3rd from 9 am to 2 pm. All proceeds will go the Honor Flight. Local member and businesses have donated funds to cover all meal costs. Donations will all go to the mission on the Honor Flight. Members of Midwest Honor Flight will be present at the event. Special thank you to Reid Christopherson for assisting with a media plan and for writing an article in the local paper.
Gary Lyngen reported on the scope of interior replacement of the fluorescent lights. Steve’s Electric will be replacing all interior fluorescent lights with LED lighting. There was discussion on whether the Post should pay for some individual memberships. The Executive Committee recommended that if a Go-Getter or member identifies a situation where we should consider paying someone’s dues they should speak with the Post Commander. The Commander will then review and work with Executive Committee to make a determination. Commander Grandy noted that Mary Ann Swenson was recognized by Dusty Johnson during a ceremony honoring Vietnam Era Veterans at the Military Heritage Alliance. Mary Ann was one of 34 receiving a pin and certificate.
The Post received a bill from the city for the drainage and sidewalk project. After discussion is was decided to pay $7500 toward the bill due to change in scope of work and contractors. The Garretson Commercial Club will be updating all Christmas lights on Main Street buildings. The Post passed a motion to pay the cost of the new LED lights. The Commercial Club is also raising funds for a sound system on Main Street and a new electronic billboard on the highway. They will host a Christmas brunch as a fundraiser on December 11th in the Post 23 building.
Owen Wiese reported that his grandson SSG Sean McPadden had arrived home safely from a recent tour to Afghanistan. There was discussion of a possible future monument dedicated to those who served in the Global War on Terrorism.
Our next Post meeting will be Thursday, October 7th. The meal will take place at 7 pm, with the meeting following at 8 pm. Our next Legion breakfast will be October 3rd to raise money for the Midwest Honor Flight with breakfast and lunch options.
The raffle drawing was held. Winners this month were Mitch Frewaldt, Rose Nedved, Brian Bausian, Racheal Lebo, and Dwayne Jacobson. They will each receive $150. The meeting was closed by Commander Grandy with the traditional ceremony at 9:25 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Mark Wiesner, Post 23 Historian
