Woodbury Post 501 March 2021 Newsletter
Commanders Corner: I wanted to use this time to recognize 2 of our long term members.
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Rudy Fadlovich is a 50 year continuous Legion member who served in the US Marine Corps during the Korean War. Rudy is also a paid up for life member.
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Allen Nippoldt is a 60 year continuous Legion member who served in the US Air Force during the Korean War.
I salute both Rudy and Allen not only as being long term Legionnaires, but also in serving our country during a wartime period. I will be presenting a Certificate of Continuous Membership to both of these individuals shortly.
Membership Update: As of today, we have 140 renewals, which means that we are at approximately 95% to goal. We are almost to goal. Let’s get this over the goal line with the remaining few that need to renew. If you still need to renew go to www.legion.org.
Poppy Days 2021: We discussed 2021 poppy distribution at our monthly meeting last week, discussing separate or joint distribution, time frame for a single distribution, time interval if there are two distributions, and available resources.
After considerable discussion, consensus of Post members present was that we have two, joint distributions, with both organizations participating in each distribution. One distribution would be in May and the second in September. Regarding poppies to be distributed, members felt it would be less confusing for "customers" if we distribute one poppy (VFW or American Legion) at each distribution, rather than distributing both poppies in single distribution, as we did last year. Suggestion was that we distribute American Legion poppies in May and VFW poppies in September. Donations from both distributions would be divided equally between the two organizations. Our next step is to contact the merchants for their agreement prior to May distribution. Once we have the merchants onboard, I will be sending out an email for Post volunteers for the May dates. I hope I can count on you to be part of both of these fund-raising events.
Boys State: Boys State for 2021 is a go and the Post is seeking candidates. The 72st Annual American Legion Boys State that will be held June 13-19, 2021. At this point it is not known whether Boys State will be held on the campus of St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota or virtually. This decision will be made shortly.
Applicants to Boys State must be juniors in High School, be in the upper class scholastically at their school and reside in Woodbury. The information packets should be going out to the schools shortly. For more information on Boys State go to the American Legion Minnesota Department web site at http://www.mnboysstate.org/
If you know an interested High School junior please contact the Woodbury Post 501 member Mr. Tom Grezek at grezek@msn.com or 651-235-5553. or myself with potential candidates.
Save The Dates:
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Memorial Day Event: Planning is underway for a Memorial Day event at the Woodbury Veterans Memorial on 31 May 2021. The size of the event will depend on COVID-19 restrictions in place at that time. As we get closer to the event more information will passed out.
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Joint Veterans Picnic: This will be held on 10 Aug 2021 at the Carver Lake Park at 5pm. This has always been a popular event in the past and hopefully we should be able to break bread together as a veterans family.
This Month in History – National Vietnam War Veterans Day : The Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017 established The National Vietnam War Veterans Day to be celebrate each year on March 29. National Vietnam War Veterans Day is a way to thank and honor our nation’s Vietnam veterans and their families for their service and sacrifice.
Congress identified five objectives for this Commemoration:
1.To thank and honor veterans of the Vietnam War, including personnel who were held as prisoners of war, or listed as missing in action, for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the United States and to thank and honor the families of these veterans.
2.To highlight the service of the Armed Forces during the Vietnam War and the contributions of federal agencies and governmental and non-governmental organizations that served with, or in support of the Armed Forces.
3.To pay tribute to the contributions made on the home front by the people of the United States during the Vietnam War.
4.To highlight the advances in technology, science, and medicine related to military research conducted during the Vietnam War.
5.To recognize the contributions and sacrifices made by the allies of the United States during the Vietnam War.
Post 501 salutes all of our veterans that served during the Vietnam War.
The Task Ahead of You, is Never as Great as the Power Behind you.
