The Henry G. Fix Post 23 meeting opened on Thursday, July 11th at 7:52 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. 12 members were present.
The minutes of the previous meeting were presented and approved. The finance and social reports were approved. Bills were approved for payment.
Service Officer report was given by Tony Grandy. He reported that no sympathy cards were sent this month. Joe Vandersnick mentioned his brother Tom recently got out of the hospital. Nancy Grandy is working on the August Post newsletter.
The membership report was given by Tony Grandy. He reported that our 2024 membership number ended up at 201 members. Great work by the go-getters. For 2025 we expect our goal to be 201 members. We currently have a total of 99 renewed members at this point. That puts us at 49.3% right out of the gate. This is largely due to individuals taking advantage of the 3-year renewal. Great teamwork by the Post and Go-getters to be at that current level. Nancy will pass out the membership cards to go-getters at the August meeting.
The adjutant reported that Deborah Stowe attended the Youth Trooper Academy. Bob is working to replace some of the worn flags for the holidays.
Legislative Officer Paul Evenson had no report. The color guard did not lead the Jesse James day parade due to inclement weather. Discussion took place about opportunities for a trailer to be used in future to allow members to ride in some events. Our color guard presented the flags during the Post Independence Day which was very well received. A motion passed to donate $100 to the Benton Howe Scholarship Foundation at the Pack the Park event.
Tony Grandy presented the baseball report. The Independence Day food event was a huge success. The adjutant read a letter of appreciation from Tom Godbey. We received many words of praise and thank you that day.
The bathrooms were discussed. Gary Lyngen has coordinated to have the bathroom work done mid to late August. The flagpole that Post 23 donated was installed at the softball complex on July 10th.
The Department Convention was held in Pierre from June 20th through June 23rd. The Garretson Post was very well represented. Nancy Grandy from Post 23 won the Department Legionnaire of the Year! Hats off to one of our own for making it to the top of the competition. Well-deserved recognition for Nancy and all she does every month!
Our next Post meeting will be Thursday, August 1st. It is our annual corn and chicken feed! The meal starts at 6:30 pm. The meeting will follow at 8 pm. Boys State, Girls State, Youth Trooper, Firefighter of the Year, Teacher of the Year, and baseball coaches are all invited! Our new Department Commander also plans to attend. The next Post breakfast will be July 28th from 9 am to 1 pm with pancakes served.
Josh Lampe asked if the Vietnam Veterans Poker Run could use the building on September 7th. A motion passed to allow for them to use our building for the Poker Run. Thank you cards were received from the South Dakota Community Foundation, the American Legion Foundation, and Ride 605 American Legion Riders for our donations.
The monthly raffle drawing took place. We drew for July. Winners were: Dan Bonte, Liz Bennett, Markus Nace, and Leroy Austin. Each will receive $150!
Commander Jon Schmidt closed the meeting with the usual ceremony at 9:01 pm.
-Respectfully submitted,
Mark Wiesner,
Post 23 Historian
