The Henry G. Fix Post 23 meeting was held on Thursday, August 5th at 7:54 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. 38 members were present. Special guests Gary Wolkow, Department Commander, Pat Mullins, District 7 Commander, Bill Peters, Minnehaha County Commander, Kevin Hempel, Department Adjutant, and Larry Maxwell, District 7 Vice Commander were present. Also attending were Gabe Johnson, Boy’s State, Lauren Fick, Girl’s State, and Oliviyah Thornton, Youth Trooper Academy. The guests thanked the Post for their experiences and the opportunities and education given.
The corn feed was a huge success. Corn, cucumbers, tomatoes, and chicken were served. Special thanks to Art Jones and Mike Swenson for donating the corn, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Thank you to Brian Tyrell for providing storage for the fresh vegetables at Jesse James Store.
The minutes of the previous meeting were presented and approved. Bills were approved for payment. Service Officer report was given by John Schmidt. He mentioned that cards were sent to the family of Jerry Muchow, the family of Edwin Lutz, the family of Debra Reuland, the family of Mark Westover, and a sympathy card to Adam Stiefvater for the passing of his mother Jean Stiefvater. Mark Williamson asked that a sympathy card be sent to the family of Oscar Schmidt, a local Veteran who passed away. The membership report was given by Randy Megard and reported that the membership cards are out. We currently have 24 paid members. District Commander Andy Lyngen reported that the Post 23 2021 goal is 212.
Americanism Officer Bob Bennett reported that Cody Linneweber will attend the September meeting for a presentation of the Firefighter of the Year Award. Bob has received Oratory Contest information and will share with the school. Gary Lyngen and Bob Bennett placed several new flag holders on Main Street. Mark Williamson announced that August 7th is National Purple Heart Day and requested flags be placed out for that holiday.
Paul Evenson stated there is no current legislative report. Our Post Honor Guard has had a good participation during recent internments at the State Cemetery. The Honor Guard presented honors for Mark Westover during his recent ceremony.
Jeff Konechne gave the baseball report. The season is complete for all teams. A motion was passed to pay all coaches $750 each. The fireworks program received many accolades by people in the community. Thanks went out to all involved with a special thank you to Andy Lyngen, J.R. Hoeffert, Chad Harris, Steve Larson, and Ryan Larson.
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.
It was decided to have a special brunch fund raiser for the Honor Flight program. 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. 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.
Jeff Konechne reported that coordination is being made with Steve’s Electric to get a cost estimate on replacing interior fluorescent lights. A plan and estimate will be presented at the September meeting. Department Commander Gary Wolkow complimented the Post for exceptional performance in numerous areas. He appreciated the extra effort for the Honor Flight program. District 7 Commander thanked the Post for hosting the fall district meeting and for having a “rocking Post”. Minnehaha County Commander Bill Peters spoke on Minnehaha County only having one Veterans Service Officer and how that is not sufficient.
The sidewalk and street construction are complete. Our Post will need to landscape the areas around the new construction. Our next Post meeting is September 2nd. The Post passed a motion to donate $200 to the Paralyzed Veterans of America Trap Shoot program. The next Legion Breakfast will be offered on October 3rd for the Honor Flight Program.
The raffle drawing was held. Winners this month were Lemoyne Edmundson, Barb Larson, Robin Baum, and Kris Frerk. They will each receive $150. The meeting was closed by Commander Grandy with the traditional ceremony at 9:04 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Mark Wiesner, Post 23 Historian
