The Henry G. Fix Post 23 meeting opened on Thursday, March 6th at 7:01 pm. The meeting was opened by Commander Jon Schmidt with a salute to the Colors, POW/MIA observance, the Pledge of Allegiance, and Preamble to the American Legion Constitution. Chaplain Lampe offered the prayer. 21 members were present.
Special guests were Cheryl and Kevin Swenson and 5 family members. Also present was Taielar and Sarah DeZotell and Dave Dawson. Taielar completed her Basic and Advanced Individual Training last week. She is a new member of the Legion. Dave Dawson was introduced as the most recent new member. Cheryl Swenson was presented the EMT of the Year Award. She has served the Garretson community as a thirty one year veteran of the Garretson Ambulance Service.
The minutes of the previous meeting were presented and approved. The finance and social reports were approved. Bills were approved for payment. Rob Meyer mentioned the successful Pizza and Puzzle night held by the Garretson Commercial Club at the Post last month.
Service Officer Nancy Grandy sent a get-well card to Gary Winterton. Gary also received a condolence card for the death of his brother Paul. Nancy sent a get-well card to both Lee and Judy Hanson who have both been in the hospital recently. A congratulations was given to Gary and Cheryl Lyngen on the birth of their granddaughter. Denise Schmidt was picked as the Auxiliary 23 Unit Member of the Year!
The membership report has our 2025 goal at 201 members. We currently have a total of 189 renewed members (94%) at this point. There are currently 9 members that have not renewed for this year. Our April goal is 95%. Great job by the membership team!
Bob Bennett gave the Americanism report. The cord for Danika Juhl’s recent enlistment has arrived. It will be presented at the school Awards Banquet in May. Bob is working to complete the applications for 4 boys to attend Boys State this summer. The Post will recognize the Post Good Samaritan Award in April and the Firefighter of the Year in August.
Paul Evenson reported that the Legislature continues to meet. A bill to allow for-profit companies to charge Veterans for preparing disability claims is on the Governors desk to sign. State and local organizations can to do this for free for Veterans. The Honor Guard gave Funeral Honors at the State Veterans Cemetery for a local Veteran.
No baseball report was given. Paul Evenson, Jim Kurtz, and Nancy Grandy attended the Mid-Winter Conference in Oacoma. The “Be the One” training was called out as being exceptional training.
The next Post meeting will be April 3rd with the meal beginning at 6:30 pm, and meeting at 8 pm. This is our annual steak feed for new members! New members will be recognized, and we will have our election of new officers.
The next Post breakfast will be April 6th from 9 am to 1 pm and will highlight pancakes and sausage. A surprise Easter Bunny will be present for the kids! There will also be a bike given away to a lucky boy or girl!
The next County meeting will be April 29th at Dell Rapids at 7 pm. The next District meeting will be held March 30th in Garretson. Our Post will prepare the meal. Brian Siemonsma was chosen as Post 23 Legionnaire of the Year. Congratulations to Brian for all he does for our Post and community!
Commander Schmidt shared thank you notes from the Garretson Community Scholarship and Midwest Honor Flight for recent donations. The 2025 Go-Getter Awards were presented to: Reid Christopherson, Paul Evenson, Tony Grandy, Nancy Grandy, Gary Lyngen, Rob Meyer, and Beth Welch.
The monthly raffle drawing took place. There were 4 drawings for March. The lucky winners were: Garretson Insurance Agency, Denise Schmidt, Heidi Fink, and Richard Bakken. Each will receive $150!
Commander Jon Schmidt closed the meeting with the usual ceremony at 7:50 pm. Following the meeting, Post Historian Mark Wiesner read the Annual History Reading. Comments followed from all past Commanders of Post 23.
Respectfully submitted, Mark Wiesner, Post 23 Historian
