Since the public launch of national planning for the 100th Anniversary at the 95th National Convention in Houston in 2013, Legion departments have been forming their own Centennial committees.
The Department of Missouri, the earliest adopter – due to adjutant Lowry Finley-Jackson being a member of the national 100th Anniversary Observance Committee – is well along the path; the “Missouri Model” profiled in the Legacy & Vision booklet uses districts as the linchpin of communication. Most of the posts in the department have at least the shell of a page started, the majority by district committee members.
The Department of Michigan has formed its committee and is moving ahead with preparations. National staff members attended the department’s Mid-Winter Conference in February to conduct a Centennial workshop; national committee chairman - and Past National Commander - Robert W. Spanogle, a Michigan native, stopped in and addressed the attendees, calling the 100th Anniversary at its heart “a celebration of the posts.” National Commander Mike Helm, also at the conference, spoke to the dual goals of legacy and vision: “Looking back … [will] make us face the future.” Michigan currently has 11 posts listed on the Centennial Celebration site, several having been started by individuals before the department committee’s formation.
The Department of Florida’s committee is chaired by Past National Commander Clarence Hill, who has called on posts, districts and areas to examine their past for material to use in the observance. Department Historian Shelli Romeu has been a dynamo since the committee’s 2014 formation – she has personally started pages for more than 270 Florida posts, and is working on transferring administrative powers to the posts themselves.
The Department of Washington’s committee was officially approved by the Department Executive Committee at their Mid-Winter Conference at the end of January. Department Commander David Hodgeboom, the force behind the committee’s formation, reports that appointed members will represent the four areas of the department, with representation by Iraq/Afghanistan veterans and at least one woman veteran. A representative from the Auxiliary and the Sons will be present, but not vote.
The Department of Connecticut's committee is chaired by Past National Historian Frazier Brinley; the official motion activating the committee was approved by the DEC in November 2014, but Brinley has been including historical pieces in the department publication since September 2013. The department has also announced its own official centennial date: June 10, 2019, the 100th anniversary of the first meeting of the temporary executive committee on June 10, 1919.
Contact your department to find out how their plans are progressing, and what you can do to help. A directory can be found at www.legion.org/departments.
