Woodbury Post 501 Summary E-Newsletter - July 2020
Post Meetings: Woodbury City Hall has cancelled our conference room reservations for the remainder of 2020. Our June Post meeting was held at Vice Commander Dolans backyard where we could have enough space to social distance from one another. It was discussed, during this meeting, what we would do for meeting venues for the rest of the year. Vice Commander Dolan took for action to talk with the VFW Post 9024 Commander to see if they have been able to use their conference room at the Green Mill restaurant or over at Birdie Golf in the Valley Creek Mall. With that information the Post will discuss our options at the July meeting. Our 23 July meeting will be held on a conference call. Take advantage of this opportunity to join our meeting, to get involved in the inner workings of your Post, and have your voice and opinion heard.
Membership Update: Thanks to all of you that renewed their American Legion membership for 2020. You helped us achieve more than 100% of goal prior to the 2021 Membership meeting this past Saturday. That is a lot to be proud of.
In the beginning of July you will be receiving a letter and or email from the MN Department for the 2021 membership renewal. Remember that your 2020 membership expired on 30 June 2020. So the sooner you renew the longer you can enjoy all of the benefits that go with a Legion membership.
Post Communications: It was reported last month that the Woodbury Bulletin would cease publication in the first week in May 20. The Woodbury Bulletin has been a valuable publication to get the word out to the community on what the Legion Post is doing. Vice Commander Dolan has submitted a general article about Post 501 to the Woodbury Connector for a future edition. The Woodbury Connector is a free magazine that is mailed to all Woodbury residences. Hopefully this will be the start of many articles in this publication to get the word out to the community on Post 501 activities.
Woodbury Veterans Memorial Council (VMC): Post member Bruce Nettleton has been overseeing the veteran’s pavers, at the memorial, for many years. Recently he inspected the veterans pavers and saw that all of the pavers repainted last year look good, 28 of the 72 pavers rated fair last September are now needing to be repainted, and 7 more pavers that were considered good last year now need to be repainted. Based on his inspection there will be 35 pavers that will need to be repainted this year. There is still plenty of room for additional pavers at the memorial. If you would like to purchase a paver for yourself or a gift for a fellow veteran please go the VMC web site: http://www.woodburylionsvetmem.org/
Community Service: Community service is at the very heart of The American Legion’s core beliefs and an integral part of the Preamble to the Constitution of the Legion, the Sons and the Auxiliary, "…to inculcate a sense of individual obligation to the community, state and nation…" The American Legion’s role as community-service provider has been fulfilled in thousands of ways throughout the last century. One of the measures that the Posts get recognized each year is the amount of volunteer hours our members serve throughout the year. In the 2014/15 reporting year Post 501 had the most volunteer hours in the Minnesota Department. We would love to get that type of recognition this next reporting year. We normally collect this information from the members that attend our monthly meetings. I know that there is a lot more members that volunteer on a weekly basis that we need to gather that information. If you volunteer at an organization such as, a local charity, youth programs, VA home, etc., I would ask that you send me your hours at the end of each month to dolanrp@verizon.net.
Post 501 Change of Command: At the 25 June meeting there was a change of command for Post 501. Commander Tom Grezek turned over the Post Commander position to Vice Commander Bob Dolan. Tom has tirelessly led the Post for the past 18 years. Tom over those years increased the Post membership and has involved the Post in a number of community and charity events such as Wall of Thanks, Poppy Days, Woodbury Days, Woodbury Veterans Memorial Golf Tournament, and sponsorship of the Air Force JROTC program and Boys State candidates. Next time that you see Tom give him a hearty congratulations and thanks. He really deserves it.
Upcoming Events
2020 Poppy Days: The Post will be getting together with the Woodbury VFW Post 9024 to discuss 2020 Poppy Days prior to our July Post meeting. We need to take into consideration the safety of our members, customers, and the store fronts that we have conducted Poppy Days in the past. We will see if it makes sense to do a combined American Legion/VFW event or separate events over a 2-3 weeks time period.
Joint Veterans Picnic: This event, currently scheduled for 11 August, is still in limbo. Hopefully over the next month we will see if we can move forward with a decision on this event.
Woodbury Lions Club 10th Annual Golf Tournament: This year the Annual Lions Club Golf Tournament, in memory of Dick Stafford, will be held on August 10th, at Eagle Valley Golf Course. A portion of the proceeds goes to the upkeep of the Woodbury Veterans’ Memorial. The event will include box lunch, range balls, putting contest, a 4-person scramble, silent auction, dinner and awards receptions following the golf. Many prizes and surprises!
Register now at https://www.planmygolfevent.com/35489-WoodburyLions_Golf_2020/. If you would like to volunteer working the registration table, stuffing goody bags or putting together the silent auction table give me a shout at dolanrp@verizon.net or 703-851-5416.
May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right.
