· Regular Meeting September 5, 2018
o Commander Don Dillman called Post 287 to order at 1900 hours. Chaplain Dave Hehn gave the opening prayer. The meeting was declared regularly convened. A quorum was established with 18 members present.
o Previous Meeting Minutes: the minutes of the last meeting were made available to the membership. The minutes were not read, and the meeting continued with the installation of officers.
o Guests/Prospective New Members Present: Marvin Harper (Post 102, SAL Squad 287) 4th District Commander.
o Installation of Officers:
§ Presiding Officer- Terry Beasley, 4th District Adjutant
§ Officers in attendance included: Rusty Chester (Post 287 Commander), Mike Grimm (ALR 287 Director), Mark Hummer (Post 287 1st Vice Commander), Candace Cameron (ALR 287 Vice Director), and Barb Ebersole (Post 287 Chaplain).
§ 2018-2019 Officers took their positions after the induction ceremony and the meeting resumed.
o Committee Reports: 2019 Legion Membership = 168 (70%)
o Sick Call: Tim Williams
o Post Everlasting: Paul Menard & Charles (Ken) Puckett
o Un-finished Business:
§ 2018 National Convention Parade (Minneapolis):
· Legionnaire Norm Brosi attended this year’s convention and carried the Post 287 Colors at the National Parade. Due to the forecasted threat of thunderstorms, the parade was held within the convention arena. All went well.
· Norm Brosi did meet up with Post 287 of Rantoul, Illinois, who also kept their continuous presence at every National Convention Parade going.
· We became aware, at this convention, of American Legion Post 298 of Marion, Iowa. They to, have been to every National Convention Parade since their chartering.
· The Sunday morning Missouri caucus also announced, next year will be the last American Legion National Parade. The convention will be at Indianapolis. Legionnaire Brosi commented that Post 287 Adjutant in Rantoul, is working with The American Legion National Adjutant. They are planning on having all 3 Posts, who have been at every National Parade to be at the front of next year’s parade.
· Legionnaire Brosi also brought several items of interest back from the Convention, to include a replica medal given out, during the very first national convention.
§ 2018 Fall 3 C’s (Chicken, Carp Catfish)- 88 patrons were served. All seemed to have a good evening. We had 13 Legion Member Renewals, 1 Legionnaire transferred from Nebraska Post 105 to our Post, and there were 2 Sons of the American Legion renewals.
§ Building Addition- the project has been completed. The final check was mailed to the contractor.
§ Munkres Family Monuments Restoration: Legionnaire Brosi briefed the membership. The project is proceeding. Clinton I Allen Monuments will have the work completed before October 18, 1918. This is the anniversary date of when Dick Munkres was killed in action during World War I. The goal is to have a rededication ceremony in honor of the Posts namesake’s.
o New Business:
§ 2-month-event Schedule- copies were made available, attachment #1.
§ Resolution: Marvin Harper nomination to the 2019-2020 Department Chaplain. The membership was unanimously in favor of voting “Yes” at the upcoming 4th District meeting.
§ Patriot’s Day- no planned events or invitations at this time.
§ Veteran’s Day:
· Helena School- has requested Post 287 for their Veterans Day Assembly to be held on Friday, November 9th from 9 – 11 a.m.
· LaVerna Village- afternoon veteran’s recognition
· Others pending
§ Membership Growth Committee was formed. The Chairperson will be the 1st Vice Commander Mark Hummer. Members include: Edner Rudolph and Shanna Kapp.
§ Flag Folding Team- Terry Beasley will be in charge of getting volunteers trained on the flag folding ceremony.
§ 1st Vice Commander Hummer asked the membership if it would be O.K. for participants of the upcoming Saturday Rodeo to use our Legion lot for parking. There were no objections or conflicts of schedule. Permission granted.
o For the Good of the American Legion:
§ Eagle Scout Ceremony- everyone was invited as Mark Hummer’s sons are awarded their Eagle Scout on Sunday, 16 September at 2 p.m. at the Legion Post.
§ 4th District Commander Harper stated the National Commander has set a Membership Goal of “gaining one new member.” Commander Harper congratulated Post 287 for already meeting this goal by gaining a new member at tonight’s Membership Night 3 C’s Fry. ADDED NOTE: Post 287 has recruited “7” new members for 2019 to date.
§ Monetary Donations Received: Robert Stubblefield Family donated $100 to go towards the Munkres Family Monuments Restoration, and Menard Family donated $250 in memoriam to the passing of Legionnaire Paul Menard.
§ Commander Chester recognized and thanked all the volunteers for tonight’s 3 C’s Fry.
· Commander Chester adjourned the meeting at 1945 hours. Chaplain Ebersole gave the closing prayer. The next meeting will be September 19th, 1900 hours.
· Regular Meeting September 19, 2018
o Commander Rusty Chester called Post 287 to order at 1900 hours. Chaplain Barb Ebersole gave the opening prayer. The meeting was declared regularly convened. A quorum was established with 16 members present.
o Previous Meeting Minutes: the minutes of the last meeting were reviewed. A motion was made, seconded and approved to accept the minutes as read.
o Guests/Prospective New Members Present: three new members attended both the Legion Rider and Legion meeting this evening: Brianna and Eric Moe, and Jeremy Samples.
o Committee Reports:
§ Finance Report: given by Finance Officer Timmy Williams
§ American Legion Riders (ALR): (Legion Rider Tim Williams):
· Chapter and Legacy Scholarship Fundraising Committee- they are simply put, “Raising ideas for fund raising.” More will be reported in the near future on various activities/rides.
· School Supply Drive- remains on-going. An additional school, out of the County has been added to the annual charity list. The generous donations received will go towards nine schools this year.
§ Growth Committee- Legionnaire Edner Rudolph shared, when the Post celebrated the 50th Anniversary there was a parade of the Legionnaires around the Savannah Downtown Square. Legionnaire Rudolph suggested the Post could repeat the Parade around the square to include all our American Legion Family entities of Post 287, as well as invite all the other Posts of the 4th District.to participate. After discussion, the parade will be scheduled for Post 287’s charter anniversary date of April 17th, 2019.
§ Flag Folding Committee- Legionnaire Beasley stated any Legion Family member interested in learning the flag folding procedure to let Billy Kretzer, Tim Williams or himself know. The Post if requested on an occasional bases to conduct flag folding ceremonies at public events and military funerals. New members will be incorporated gently into the teams. Our ceremony is simple to learn, so don’t be intimidated. New member Jeremy Samples stated he has some flag folding experience and would be glad to help.
§ 2019 Legion Membership = 175 (76%)
o Sick Call: Everett Powell, Gene Davis, Herb Clizer, Sonny Todd, Kenneth Diggs, and Billy Kretzer
o Un-finished Business:
§ Munkres Family Monuments Restoration: Legionnaire Norman Brosi reported Clinton I Allen Monuments has completed the foundation restoration work. The monument company also uncovered an additional marble headstone, when excavating around the burial site. Pictures of the project were taken by Steve Crockett & Norm. The Post will now make plans for:
· Rededication Ceremony on the anniversary date of Dick Munkres death. The date of the ceremony will be Sunday, October 21st at 1 p.m. Plans include having a flag folding ceremony and rifle volleys at the gravesite.
· Fundraising Dinner, plans to be announced.
· The Post will also seek additional donations from the public, during our monthly Legion Family Breakfast.
· Legionnaire Brosi will seek additional historic information and possibly some funding from The Andrew County Museum.
§ Homecoming Parades:
· North Andrew Homecoming will be Friday, 21 September. The Color Guard will be provided by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 12053 from Amazonia. The American Legion Riders Chapter 287 will accompany the VFW honor guard.
· Savannah Homecoming will be Friday, 28 September. No invitation to participate has been received yet.
o New Business:
§ 2-month-event Schedule- copies were made available
§ Members of the Year Awards:
· Legionnaire of the Year Resolution: Timmy Williams was nominated. A motion was received and seconded to approve the resolution. Motion carried. The resolution will be submitted at the December district meeting.
· Sons of the American Legion Member of the Year is Steve Crockett. His write-up for submission to the Detachment is still being developed.
§ New Committees formed at tonight’s meeting:
· Flag Etiquette Programs for Youth- the committee will be Chaired by Barb Ebersole. Legionnaire Brian Stackhouse Auxiliary member Debbie Williams will get the ball rolling by putting together a standardized teaching program and also order a Flag Etiquette teaching DVD offered thru Emblems Sales.
· Courthouse Square Centennial Parade- numerous members will serve on this committee.
o For the Good of the American Legion:
§ Sons of the American Legion Mark Brock asked all members to consider being a volunteer for our numerous breakfast and dinner events. New volunteers are needed to start taking some of the work load off the volunteers who have been working the events over the many years. Emails will be sent out seeking new volunteers. Please let him know if you can help, so he can better manage the number of new people to be oriented. The breakfast and dinners are some of the Post’s major fundraising methods for our numerous charities.
§ Commander Chester relayed a message from 1st Vice Commander Mark Hummer thanking everyone who attended his son’s Eagle Scout Ceremony last Sunday. Vice Commander Hummer would like to have a continued American Legion presence and ceremony participation at the future Eagle Scout ceremonies.
§ Fire Extinguisher service has been started. The Post now has 3 of the “ABC” fire extinguishers accessible at the main internal entrance door, south side exit door, and the kitchen. A 4th “K-class” fire extinguisher, good for grease fires is located in the north storage area. The extinguishers will be inspected annually, and replaced periodically.
§ The Andrew County Museum started their monthly afternoon coffee sessions for the Fall and Winter months. The veterans who attended todays gather suggested helping the Post, whenever doing parades. They wanted to come up with some way of informing the spectators the proper etiquette when the Colors are passing by, such as: rising if physically able, the removal of head gear and placing your hand over your heart, or the option of veterans rendering a salute. After discussion, some of the suggestions at tonight’s meeting included:
· Having some youth marching ahead of the Color Guard with a sign, banner or some other form of communication/interaction with the parade spectators.
· Having some youth marching ahead of the Color Guard with a sign, banner or some other form of communication/interaction with the parade spectators.
· Commander Chester adjourned the meeting at 1955 hours. Chaplain Ebersole gave the closing prayer. The next meeting will be October 3rd, 1900 hours.
· Regular Meeting October 3, 2018
o Commander Rusty Chester called Post 287 to order at 1900 hours. Chaplain Barb Ebersole gave the opening prayer. The meeting was declared regularly convened. A quorum was established with 13 members present.
o Guests/Prospective New Members Present: Ken Ballard- moved from New Virginia, Iowa and is a current member of The American Legion Post in Saint Mary’s, Iowa.
o Committee Reports:
§ Sons of the American Legion (Squadron Commander Terry Beasley):
· Current Balance = $5,222
· Membership = 37 (74%)
· Veterans Day of Honor- next one will be November 18th at the Cameron Veterans Home
· Detachment Fall Conference (October 27th): there will be at least 5 Squad 287 members attending: Ron Raines, Cecil Raines, Mark Brock, Mike Walter, and Terry Beasley
· Centennial Project: Munkres Monument Rededication: the event will be October 21st at the Savannah Cemetery. Plans include to have a small dedication speech, flag folding ceremony, and rifle volley.
· 2018 – 2019 Projected Donation Budget = $3,025.
§ American Legion Riders (ALR): (Legion Rider Tim Williams):
· Chapter and Legacy Scholarship Fundraising Committee- they are simply put, “Raising ideas for fund raising.” More will be reported in the near future on various activities/rides.
· School Supply Drive- remains on-going. An additional school, out of the County has been added to the annual charity list. The generous donations received will go towards nine schools this year.
§ Growth Committee- Legionnaire Edner Rudolph clarified there was no motion for continuing the plans of a Centennial Parade around the square. A motion was made, seconded and then approved to have a Centennial Legionnaire Parade Committee. Chairperson will be Terry Beasley. Members will include: Edner Rudolph, Billy Kretzer and Dan Pettit. The committee will meet determine a parade date and agenda. Initially the occasion will be known as, “American Legion Day.”
§ Flag Folding Committee- Legionnaire Beasley. The next events with opportunities for others to participate in flag folding will include: Munkres Monument Rededication, the many Veteran’s Day school assemblies, and the Andrew County Senior Center luncheon program.
§ Flag Etiquette Committee- the chairperson shall be Don Dillman. Members include: Debbie Williams and Brian Stackhouse. 40 & 8 members: Don Dillman, Billy Kretzer and James Jones will also coordinate efforts between The American Legion and the 40 & 8 group. Plans include: ordering 10 flag-educational DVD’s, and putting together a program to be presented at the local schools. Chairman Dillman will check with the School Superintendent of the intentions of our groups. The 40 & 8 has a program titled, “Flags for 1st Graders.”
§ 2019 Legion Membership = 176 (76%)
§ Sick Call: Everett Powell, Gene Davis, Herb Clizer, Sonny Todd, and Kenneth Diggs
§ Un-finished Business:
· Munkres Family Monuments Restoration: the plans remain to have a small dedication speech, the flag folding ceremony, and a rifle volley. There will be one more regular meeting to finalize plans for this October 21st event, starting at 1 p.m. and the Savannah Cemetery.
· Veteran’s Day- volunteers needed for the following:
o Thursday, 8 November: (11 a.m.) Andrew County Senior Center Veteran’s Day Lunch & Program; and (2 p.m.) LaVerna Village afternoon Veteran’s Day Program.
o Friday, 9 November: Helena School
o Saturday, 10th November (7-9 a.m.) Legion Family Monthly Breakfast; and Saint Joseph Veteran’s Day Parade
· School Supplies- Debbie Williams all of the donations have been collected and boxed. The supplies will be delivered to 9 schools’ tomorrow.
§ New Business:
· 2-month-event Schedule
· Columbus Day- Billy Kretzer will ensure the flags are placed around the Courthouse.
· Legionnaire Rudolph led the group in thanking Timmy Williams on the culmination of all of his efforts in ordering and getting installed the electronic sign above the outside front entrance.
· Change to the Troop 60 Monthly Monetary Donation:
o 1st Vice Commander Mark Hummer suggested instead of mailing the $50/month donation to Troop 60, to keep the funds being donated in a separate bank account. Money accumulated in the Troop 60 Donation fund could be used as needed towards buying awards and other recognition items such as: Eagle Scout coins, promotion scarfs, etc.
o Communication needs to be closer between the Post, the Post Charter representative and the Scouts.
o As items are sponsored by Post 287, Legionnaires could do the actual presentations to the Scouts; increasing our involvement with Troop 60.
o 1st Vice Commander Hummer will discuss the ideas with the Troop 60 leadership.
§ For the Good of the American Legion:
· Chaplain Ebersole had a number of “Get Well” cards for member’s signatures.
· Legacy Scholarship results as posted in the, “The American Legion Dispatch, September 2018:”
o “Did You Know? The American Legion Riders raised $600,000 for the Legion’s Legacy Scholarship Fund during the 1,000-mile Legacy Run from Hutchinson, Kan., to Anoka, Minn. Legion Riders gathered on stage during the 100th National Convention in Minneapolis to present more donations. In total, a record $1,256,930 was raised – the fifth straight year the ride helped raise more than $1 million. The American Legion Department of Minnesota led the way, donating $251,000. Other top Departments donations were the Departments of Missouri ($93,324); South Carolina ($65,204); Florida ($57,005); Wisconsin ($45,439); and Kansas ($57,005). Ohio Post 537 in Wintersville donated $15,000. Other donations on the National Convention floor included: $44,315 for Operation Comfort Warriors and $139,651 for the National Emergency Fund.”
o Legion Rider Williams updated the latest tally from The Department of Missouri Legion Riders has totaled = $131,000.
· 1st Vice Commander Hummer shared that he received many comments of appreciation and respect for the military honors rendered on behalf of John Braman on October 1st at Saint Patrick’s Church.
§ Correspondence: Thank You card from Mrs. Sony Todd
o Commander Chester adjourned the meeting at 1950 hours. Chaplain Ebersole gave the closing prayer. The next meeting will be October 17th, 1900 hours.
· Regular Meeting October 17, 2018
o Commander Rusty Chester called Post 287 to order at 1900 hours. Chaplain Barb Ebersole gave the opening prayer. The meeting was declared regularly convened. A quorum was established with 17 members present.
o Previous Meeting Minutes: the minutes of the last meeting were reviewed.
o Guests/Prospective New Members Present: Steve Gabrault, new member recently moving to Cosby coming from Vermont.
o Committee Reports:
§ Finance Report: given by Finance Officer Timmy Williams
§ Sons of the American Legion- Detachment Western Vice Commander Mike Walter reminded the membership Squad 287 will be doing the Veteran’s Day of Honor event at the Cameron Veterans Home on November 18th.
§ American Legion Riders (ALR): (Legion Rider Tim Williams): Ride events are slowing down as the weather gets colder, and winter approaches. Chapter and Legacy Scholarship Fundraising Committee- still working on ideas/ways to raise donations to go towards the Legacy Scholarship Fund.
§ Flag Folding Committee- Chairman Terry Beasley: Rusty Chester and Steve Crockett are currently practicing the flag folding procedure. Vern Tobey has volunteered to learn the Flag Folding Ceremony using the Madison Rising DVD.
§ Flag Etiquette Committee- Chairman Don Dillman.
· The 10 DVD’s have been received and will be made available to loan out to the different schools, and/or used during our Flag Etiquette programs.
· Has not connected with the school Superintendent as of yet, and will keep trying.
· The group will look at incorporating the 40 & 8 “Flags for First Graders Program,” both the flag folding and non-flag folding versions.
· Vice Commander Hummer stated “Mondays make a good day for scheduling events such as this, as the Air Guard members are usually free on this day.”
o 2019 Legion Membership = 189 (82%)
o Sick Call: Everett Powell, Gene Davis, Herb Clizer, Sonny Todd, & Kenneth Diggs
o Un-finished Business:
§ Munkres Family Monuments Restoration
· Welcome – 1st Vice Commander Mark Hummer
· Invocation- Chaplain Barb Ebersole
· Opening Ceremony: Posting of the Colors & Pledge of Allegiance
· Dedication to Munkres Memorial - Norm Brosi
· Moment of Silence - 1st Vice Cmdr. Hummer
· Rifle Team (3 volleys & Taps) - Honor Guard Team
· Benediction - Chaplain Barb Ebersole
§ Veteran’s Day Events- volunteers needed.
§ Change to the Troop 60 Monthly Monetary Donation: awaiting decision of Troop 60
o New Business:
§ 2-month-event Schedule- copies were made available
§ K-5 Book Donations: Linda Criss is collecting monetary donations to purchase books to give to children in the grades of K-5. This drive is being done for simple purpose of allowing kids to have an opportunity to have a book they can call their own. The Riders and SAL have already donated $100 each. A motion was made for the Legion to donate $100. The motion was seconded. The motion carried after no further discussion.
o For the Good of the American Legion: Chaplain Ebersole invited everyone to attend the annual Auxiliary Veterans Day Dinner. The meal will be on Monday, 12 November at 6 p.m. The meal will be catered by the Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA).
· Commander Chester adjourned the meeting at 1950 hours. Chaplain Ebersole gave the closing prayer. The next meeting will be November 7th, 1900 hours.
