· Regular Meeting April 4, 2018
o Commander Don Dillman called Post 287 to order at 1900 hours. Chaplain Dave Hehn gave the opening prayer. A quorum was established with 16 members present.
o Committee Reports:
§ 2018 Legion Membership= 228 (96%)
§ Sick Call: Herb Clizer, Everett Powell, John Miller, Jerry Fischer, and Paul Menard
§ Post Everlasting: Charles (Pat) Bruffy
o Un-finished Business: Andrew County Government Day: April 12th, anticipate 180 students need volunteers:
§ 0830- meet at the Squadron to help move food/equipment to the Courthouse
§ 1000- flag folding ceremony (2 teams)
§ 1015- conduct tours throughout the Courthouse.
§ Noon- serve lunch meal
o New Business: Memorial Day Ceremony- plans are ongoing.
o For the Good of the American Legion:
§ 2018-2019 Nomination of Officers- this is the first announcement. Nominations will be accepted over the next 2 scheduled meetings. The vote on the slate of officers will be at the May 16th meeting. Officer are elected on an annual basis; however, the usual length of service for each position is 2 years. See Certificate of Post Officials, attachment 3. Nominations are needed for all positions: Commander, 1st Vice Commander, Finance Officer, Chaplain, Sergeant-at-Arms, & Adjutant.
§ Call for 100th Annual Department Convention and Certificate-Delegates-Alternates
o Commander Dillman adjourned the meeting at 1930 hours. Chaplain Hehn gave the closing prayer. The next meeting will be April 18th, at 1900 hours.
· Regular Meeting April 18, 2018
o Commander Don Dillman called Post 287 to order at 1900 hours. Chaplain Dave Hehn gave the opening prayer. A quorum was established with 17 members present.
o Guests/Prospective New Members Present: Jerome Goolsby, 4th District Commander
o Committee Reports:
§ Finance Report: given by Finance Officer Timmy Williams
§ Sons of the American Legion (SAL Commander Beasley): Squadron 287 is in the process of putting together their 2018-2019 Officer Nominations.
§ American Legion Riders (ALR):
· Announcement was made by Commander Don Dillman on the passing of ALR Director Danny Simon.
· Debbie Williams added that the Riders at the monthly meeting “passed the hat” and raised $276 on the spot to be donated to Danny’s family. Legion Rider Chapter 287 will match the $276 as well.
· A motion was made at the Legion meeting for Post 287 to match the donation also. The motion was seconded and passed.
§ 2018 Legion Membership= 229 (96%)
§ Post Everlasting: Danny Simon, Chapter 287 Legion Rider
§ Un-finished Business:
· Memorial Day Ceremony- planning updates by Legionnaire Brian Stackhouse:
o Itinerary: will start at 6 a.m. to get the flags out and to set-up the cemetery. Practice at 8 a.m. Form-up downtown at 9 a.m., with the parade starting at 9:30 a.m.
o Invited Guest Speaker will be Zach Kerns.
o Will need as many volunteers as possible to fill the color guard and rifle team positions.
o Chairs, podium, burlap ground rugs, etc. Plywood on stand-by, if the ground is soggy. Andrew County Lumber will donate 8 sheets of plywood if asked.
o Sound Systems: the one Billy or one Mike has.
o City street barricades and electrical outlet access from the cemetery grounds office will also be needed again this year.
o Hot dogs, chips and a soda will be served at the Legion Post. Donations will be accepted to help cover the costs of the refreshments.
· 2018-2019 Nomination of Officers- this is the second announcement. The vote on the slate of officers will be at the May 16th meeting: Commander, 1st Vice Commander, Finance Officer- Timmy Williams, Chaplain, Sergeant-at-Arms, and Adjutant- Terry Beasley.
o New Business: Building Add-on Project- the Executive Committee has approved going forward with a 12’by24’ building addition to the building’s main entrance way. The cost of the project will be $27,000. An anonymous donor will donate 2/3rd’s of the cost of the construction. Post 287 will have to make up the difference for the building entrance add-on and on electronic billboard sign. Donation from the donor = $22,000. Total costs to the Post $11,000 to $12,000 ($5,000 for the building, an additional $6,000 for the electronic sign, and a possible $1,000 for additional concrete barriers to protect the building from accidental collisions with vehicles in the parking lot.) This is the first announcement of this proposed building construction project. A motion will be made at the May 2nd meeting for further discussion and voter approval/disapproval.
o Guest Comments: 4th District Commander Jerome Goolsby thanked the Post 287 Legion Family for all our help and support of him while he served as the District Commander. Everyone is welcomed to attend the next 4th District meeting to be held at Post 359 in Saint Joseph of June 10th.
o For the Good of the American Legion:
§ Andrew County Government Day: held on April 12th. Thanks to all of the Legion Family volunteers who helped make this project a success. There were approximately 120 students coming from North Andrew and Savannah High Schools.
§ Pat Bruffy Memorial will be held Saturday, April 21st at the Methodist Church starting at 11 a.m. Post 287 has a Post Everlasting Certificate to present to the family.
§ Legionnaire Kenneth Diggs is now residing in an assisted living facility in Bethany, Missouri and is doing well, as reported by Legionnaire Edner Rudolph.
o Commander Dillman adjourned the meeting at 1925 hours. Chaplain Hehn gave the closing prayer. The next meeting will be May 2nd, at 1900 hours.
· Regular Meeting May 2, 2018
o Commander Don Dillman called Post 287 to order at 1900 hours. Chaplain Dave Hehn gave the opening prayer. A quorum was established with 10 members present.
o Guests Present: Marvin Harper, 4th Central Vice Commander and James Alberty, Troop 60 Boy Scout
o Committee Reports:
§ 2018 Legion Membership= 229 (96%). Timmy Williams & Billy Kretzer have been submitted for Membership Incentive Award Pins.
o Sick Call: Larry Brown at LaVerna Village
o Un-finished Business:
§ Memorial Day Ceremony- planning updates by Legionnaire Brian Stackhouse:
· Itinerary: will start at 6 a.m. to get the flags out and to set-up the cemetery. Practice at 8 a.m. Form-up downtown at 9 a.m., with the parade starting at 9:30 a.m.
· Invited Guest Speaker will be Zach Kerns.
· Will need as many volunteers as possible to fill the color guard and rifle team positions.
· Legionnaire Steve Crockett will provide a transport trailer to help ferry equipment
· Hot dogs, chips and a soda will be served at the Legion Post. Donations will be accepted to help cover the costs of the refreshments.
§ Building Add-on Project: a motion was made and seconded for the 12’by24’ building addition to the building’s main entrance way. After discussion the motion carried.
§ 2018-2019 Nomination of Officers- this is the third announcement. The vote on the slate of officers will be at the May 16th meeting: Commander: Rusty Chester, 1st Vice Commander: Mark Hummer, Finance Officer- Timmy Williams, Chaplain: Barb Ebersole, Adjutant- Terry Beasley, and Sergeant-at-Arms: vacant
o Guest Comments:
§ Vice Commander Harper was just visiting and delivering some paperwork.
§ James Alberty, Troop 60 Boy Scout- briefed the membership on his Eagle Scout Project. Mr. Alberty would like to do video/audio interview of Vietnam War Veterans. The collection will be given to the Andrew County Museum.
o Correspondence: Thank You Card & $100 donation from Marianne Price. Mrs. Price also provide some military background information on her husband Robert L. Price. The Post 287 Honor Guard Team recently provide Military Funeral Honors at Mr. Price’s funeral service.
o Commander Dillman adjourned the meeting at 1925 hours. Chaplain Hehn gave the closing prayer. The next meeting will be May 16th, 1900 hours.
· Regular Meeting May 16, 2018
o Commander Don Dillman called Post 287 to order at 1900 hours. Chaplain Dave Hehn gave the opening prayer. A quorum was established with 14 members present.
o Committee Reports:
§ Finance Report: given by Finance Officer Timmy Williams
§ American Legion Riders (ALR): 4th District Director, Timmy Williams
· Vet-2-Vet will be held at the same day and time as next month’s Legion Family Breakfast on June 9th. Most of the Legion Riders will be at the Vet-2-Vet event. The Legion will need as many volunteers as possible with a potential of up to 300 guests for the breakfast, since there will be a lot of people in town for the All Classes High Schools Alumni Reunion Weekend.
· The June Legion Rider meeting has been moved up one week earlier than usual, since the Missouri Legacy Ride will be in progress during the regularly scheduled meeting. Chapter 287 will have many riders participating in the Legacy Ride again this year.
· Volunteers will be needed for the July Legion Family Breakfast, as many of the Legion Riders will be at the Department Convention, also occurring on that same weekend.
§ 2018 Legion Membership= 229 (96%)
§ Sick Call: Larry Brown at LaVerna Village (Savannah), John Miller at LaVerna Village (Saint Joseph), Gene Davis- failing health, and Sonny Todd- failing health
o Post Everlasting: Caryl N. Rowe
o Un-finished Business:
§ Memorial Day Ceremony- planning updates provided by Legionnaire Brian Stackhouse.
§ 2018-2019 Nomination of Officers- this is the fourth announcement of the slate of officers. There were no further additions or changes. A motion was made to accept these nominations. The motion was seconded. The slate of officers was unanimously approved by acclimation. 2019 – 2020 Officers:
· Commander: Rusty Chester
· 1st Vice Commander: Mark Hummer
· Finance Officer- Timmy Williams
· Chaplain: Barb Ebersole
· Adjutant- Terry Beasley
· Sergeant-at-Arms: vacant
o New Business:
§ Legionnaire Vernon Tobey requested permission for the Heroes for Heroes group to be able to access and use our Legion parking lot, during their annual bull riding event fundraiser on June 22-23, 2018. Permission granted by the membership.
§ Building Rentals- Tim & Debbie Williams brought it to the attention of the membership of the issues/incidents involving building rentals and including the lack of revenue generation from this endeavor. A motion was made to limit the building rentals to Legion Family Members only, with some exceptions for individuals and groups who have had been long-term renters in good standing. The motion was seconded. Discussion included:
· Contracting professional cleaners after each event.
· Increased rental fees
· Increased deposit fees
· Stricter criteria and enforcement on the return of deposit fees.
· Impact of building rentals on community relations with the Post
· After discussion, it was a unanimous vote to discontinue renting the build to the general public, except for the few exceptions.
§ Building Rental Fee Rate- a motion was made to have a new flat rate of $100 when a Legion Family Member rents the Legion Building with no particular time limit restrictions during the day of rental. Motion was seconded and passed.
o For the Good of the American Legion:
§ Edner Rudolph and Billy Kretzer will be boring out the flag pole holes around the courthouse and at the cemetery on Thursday, May 17, 2018. They will also paint marks on the ground to make it easier to located each flag pole hole.
§ One of the air conditioning units recently received some emergency maintenance. The item fixed was the condensate pump. Costs were minimal.
§ Legionnaire Brian Stackhouse commented on the success for the Post’s long-term financial planning using Gertsema Wealth Services during these last 10 years.
§ Legionnaire Timmy Williams was recognized with the National Commander Denise H. Rohan 2018 Membership Incentive Pin for recruiting 3 new members this year to Post 287.
o Correspondence: Thank You Card Nancy Simon for thoughtfulness for Post 287 at Danny Simon’s passing.
o Commander Dillman adjourned the meeting at 1945 hours. Chaplain Hehn gave the closing prayer. The next meeting will be June 6th, 1900 hours.
