The Henry G. Fix Post 23 meeting was held on Thursday, December 2nd at 7:55 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. 25 members were present.
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 that get well cards were sent to Clarence Kooistra and Ed VanEmmerick. Members requested a card be sent to Neil Albers. The membership report was given by Nancy Grandy. She reported that we currently have 178 paid members. Our total goal is 212. This is 84% of our goal and well ahead of our Department goals.
Bob Bennett, the Americanism Officer reported no students currently planning to participate in the Oratory Contest. He is working with the school and Legion Auxiliary to get applications in by January for Boy’s State this summer. Legislative Officer Paul Evenson had no report. He did report that the Honor Guard participated in the Veterans Day Program at the school, and have done several military rites at the South Dakota Veterans Cemetery. He was excited to welcome Rex Tollefson to the Color Guard. The Wreaths Around America event will take place on Saturday, December 11th at the Veterans Cemetery with attendees given the opportunity to place wreaths. There was no baseball report.
The Veterans Day program was very well received with good participation by the attendees. Matt Sorenson and Arden Sorenson were speakers and spoke of their recent trip on the Honor Flight. Frank Koens was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for his 55 years of service in the Post 23 Honor Guard. What an amazing achievement for Frank!
Gary Lyngen reported that all parts of the building now have the updated LED lighting. The Commercial Club will be hosting the annual Hometown Christmas on December 11th. They will be updating all Christmas lights on Main Street buildings. 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 at the Post 23 facility. Several volunteers were gathered to assist with this event.
Commander Grandy and Andy Lyngen met with Mayor Greg Beaner about fireworks. Commander Grandy reported that Post 23 will “pass the hat” for donations and will help with set up and execution of the fireworks show. The City will purchase the fireworks and ensure there is insurance for the event. Mayor Beaner assured that Veterans will be the focus of the fireworks. The city looks to expand the celebration and fireworks and may organize additional events on the day of the display.
Commander Grandy appointed Rob Meyer, Brian Siemonsma, and Nancy Grandy to conduct the required audit of Post financial records. Nancy will coordinate the audit session for January, 2022. Paul Evenson spoke on the importance for Veterans to have ready access to their DD 214. The form is needed for access to benefits, headstone, and funeral rites for Veterans.
Milbank is the “Birthplace of American Legion Baseball”. They are conducting a fundraising campaign to build a new baseball field complex. The original field will no longer be available due to a school expansion. A motion was made and passed to contribute $250 to the project. A motion was approved to donate $100 to the V.A. Hospital holiday services program. The Post also approved a donation of $50 to the hospital holiday popcorn program.
The next Post meeting will be held January 6th with the meal at 7 pm and the meeting at 8 pm. The next Post breakfast will be December 5th with pancakes, sausage, and biscuits and gravy on the menu. The 2022 Post raffle tickets are available for members to pick up and sell.
The raffle drawing was held. Winners this month were Connie Schmiesing, J.R. Hofer, Lemoyne Edmundson, Kyle Evenson, and Marlyn Conrad. They will each receive $150. The bonus drawing was held with Theresa Hurley and Gerald Johnson each winning $500. The meeting was closed by Commander Grandy with the traditional ceremony at 8:55 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Mark Wiesner, Post 23 Historian
