Commander's Column
March 2010

By Al Davis
Commander, Minnesota American Legion

We just finished the tour of Minnesota with National

Commander Clarence Hill. The crowds were good at the

many stops we made, as well as the media reception.

Commander Hill was covered by several local newspapers

and TV and radio stations. The trip was a lot of miles, lots

of sitting, lots of food, and we met so many of the

Legionnaires in Minnesota whose hard work make us successful.

National Commander Hill delivered a great message to

those in attendance. The future of The American Legion is

in the new era of veterans from the wars in Iraq and

Afghanistan. One of the ways to contact them is to use the

technology that they use: computers and electronic networking.

They are actively on the Internet, and if you wish

to recruit them, you should use those tools to contact them.

You can make your activities known to them so that they

will know what you do in the community, and why they

should choose to join us.

Details and pictures from the tour can be found throughout

this issue of the Legionnaire. In addition to

Commander Hill and myself, we were accompanied by the

Commander's aide, Larry White of Florida, Department

Membership Director Wayne Gilbertson, Department

Adjutant Randy Tesdahl, and Communications Director Al

Zdon. Those four put in a lot of hours and a lot of work to

make the tour successful. Without them it could not have

been done.

During the tour, I embarked on a new crusade to raise

funds for the veterans who reside in the Veterans Homes in

Minnesota. At the time of the tour, I calculated that I had

about 150 days left until the Department Convention, and I

would leave office. I asked those in attendance to donate

one penny a day for the remainder of my term to the

Veterans Homes. And I am asking each of you to also

become penny pinchers, and set aside just one penny a day

until July 24, 2010.

If your Post has a clubroom, consider putting a jar or

other container in the clubroom and ask people to throw in

pennies which will go to the veterans at the Minnesota

Veterans Homes. All the proceeds will go to give those veterans

a little better quality of life. Whether it is an outing

to a local sporting event, going on a fishing trip, or something

as simple as having a picnic or other event at the

Veterans Home. It makes their home just a little more like

home, and they can enjoy some of the little things that we

all take for granted on a daily basis.

And if you don't have a club room, consider asking a

grocery store, bank, gas station, or other business in your

town if they would allow you to put up a jar or container to

collect pennies for veterans.

Pennies don't seem like much, but on the 4 days of the

tour we collected $22.00. If we averaged over $50 a day for

the next 150 days, that would be $7,500 that would go to

improve the lives of these veterans. Taken from the words

of the Preamble of the Constitution of The American

Legion. "To consecrate and sanctify our comradeship by

our devotion to mutual helpfulness."

Thank you, God Bless you, and God Bless America.