The Henry G. Fix Post 23 meeting opened on Thursday, January 4th at 8:03 pm. The meeting was opened by Commander Beth Welch with a salute to the Colors, POW/MIA observance, the Pledge of Allegiance, and Preamble to the American Legion Constitution. Nancy Grandy offered an opening prayer. 17 members were present.
The minutes of the previous meeting were presented and approved. The finance and social reports were approved. Jim Kurtz indicated he would like to step down as Finance Officer this year. Bills were approved for payment. A motion was made and passed to donate $100 to the Garretson Fire Department for their annual banquet.
Service Officer Nancy Grandy reported that a sympathy card was sent to the family of Mark Rozeboom on the passing of their grand-daughter Lilah. A get-well card was sent to Robert Reuland and Bill Cook after their recent surgeries. The membership report was given by Jon Schmidt. He reported that our 2024 goal is 204. For 2024 we currently have a total of 184 members at this point. This puts us at 90% of our goal already! Our January goal from State is 80%. Great teamwork by the Post and Go-getters to be at the current level.
Bob Bennett has scheduled meetings with the Garretson Juniors to discuss Boy’s State and the Youth Trooper Academy. Brian Siemonsma plans to get quotes for uniforms for all three teams. We currently have coaches for 14U and 16U.
The Legislative Officer Paul Evenson reported that the American Legion Legislative Day is January 22nd. The Honor Guard will provide honors for Randy Rueland on January 6th at the funeral home.
The Wall Upgrade Committee will report next meeting on final options. Commander Welch will work to get the bids completed. Gary Lyngen discussed the work needed to finish bathroom water repairs. Commander Welch has several hats, polo shirts, and t-shirt options for Post 23 clothing sales. Hometown Christmas was a huge success at the Legion. The Post served breakfast and had record turnout from the community. The Fireman’s Bingo event was held at the legion and did extremely well also. Andy Lyngen led the charge in showing off the Department parade float in our hometown parade. Future events for our Post Fourth of July were discussed.
Raffle tickets are now available for the 2024 - 2025 season. This is our Post’s main fund raising event. Please get your tickets from a Legion member.
Our next Post meeting will be Thursday, February 1st. The meeting will be at 8 pm with the meal starting at 7:00 pm. The next Post breakfast will be on February 4th. The Department Mid-Winter Conference will be held February 16th through 18th in Deadwood. The Minnehaha County meeting will be February 25th in Valley Springs with a 7 pm start time. Our District meeting will be in Hartford on April 7th.
Post donations were discussed to support the Garretson community. A motion passed to donate $2000 to the Garretson School Angel Fund and $2000 to the Garretson Food Pantry. Rob Meyer mentioned that our beer cooler needs repair. The Post Adjutant will check on possibly getting a replacement cooler from a local distributor.
A sympathy card was received from the Legion Auxiliary. A thank you card was received from Marilyn Flanagan after winning a raffle drawing.
The monthly raffle drawing for January took place. The winners were: Thompson Eslinger, Ben Johnson, Andy Lyngen, and Gary Wolkow. Each will receive $150. Commander Beth Welch closed the meeting with the usual ceremony at 8:56 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
-Mark Wiesner, Post 23 Historian
