Newsletter

American Legion Post 56 Monthly Bulletin

February 2007

Commander's Message

Well, winter did arrive in MN after all.  It only means it is time to move on to something better for whatever.  Groundhog Day will tell us what is in line for us - Really!!  Maybe you better stick to Valentine’s Day on the 14th and just remember your sweetheart.  Oh yes we have been told we don’t have a heart but you always have a sweetheart and maybe you would like to come to the club for a fine dining evening that night.

Thank you to all the volunteers that have helped make special events a success and just the regular things to get done that everyone else takes for granted such as Tom & Jerry’s, selling meat packs, helping with breakfast, paying the bills, cleaning up the club, and just plain being honest and loyal to the club.  Oh yes, you can still help.  Breakfast every 4th Sunday from 8 - 12:30 can always use helpers so check the sign up sheets.  Also, Herberger’s Community Days is coming again so you can buy or help sell coupon booklets for the March 3rd sale so again check the work sheet.

Events and special fundraisers are posted on the calendar in your flyer but after you have read it and throw it away you can still check on events at the club and Post by checking with your website at www.americanlegionpost56.com.  If you haven’t looked at this site yet please do so as there are many good photos and information about the Post 56 and the club.  This is important for you to check on as any special new event that couldn’t make the flyer we will add to the website news flash so check us out!!!  Say thanks to the Lighthouse Event Center group for their program and donation to the Legion for their 1942 Armed Forces Radio Show. Hopefully, you were able to attend the one in Dec. or the one on Jan. 27th which was the 1940’s Armed Forces Radio Show - Valentine’s program.  Watch for more of these events at the Lighthouse Event Center on 638 Marshall St., Albert Lea.

Thanks for your renewal and to the new members of Post 56.  We are at 997 or 93.35% of goal.  Remember, the dues since Jan. 1, 2007 are now $35.  Please save us a call by stopping in or mailing your renewal if you haven’t done so yet.

One big special event that the Post has voted to support is American Legion Baseball which will cost about $4,000 which will have to be raised by the club through fundraisers.  Gaming does not have the money to help anymore (unless we get a windfall).  Please watch for events so you and your friends can come and support the program or if you wish to send a cash donation just mark it American Legion Baseball and we thank you very much.

Several of us attended the National Commander’s dinner in LeCenter and heard again the message of back to the basics of the American Legion.  We heard membership is good but still needs to increase.  When a Post has a club it is important for it to exist so members need to support it in anyway they possibly can so show the community your importance and what you do for the community.

Another thank you goes to those attending the Jan. Post meeting as it was great to see so many.  We will have steaks before the Feb. 19th meeting.  Hopefully, we will have even more attend.  I would like to give you some information about the club for future concerns by me and the board.  We need to look to the future not just week to week or month to month.  First, our membership consists of the following:  WWII - 300; Korea - 286; Vietnam - 328; Persian Gulf to current - 44; Members currently serving - 6; and 100 not indicated which era so you can see about 60% of our members are at least 72 years old or older.  Of this amount maybe 500 come into the club once a year and only about 125 are very active (spending) in the club.  Second, we have a major debt of about $121,000 that takes about $1,500 per month to service.  Anyone care to leave a legacy or if 500 members could pay $300 in the next few months we could pay it off and allow more money for donations and operations.  Third, our daily operations is operating profitable but need to control costs, labor (we are a full service club), promote, and have honest help and still offer items at a reasonable price.  We need 150 meals on Thursday night, and more throughout the week.  Fourth, increasing gaming so there maybe more money for donations.  Currently, gaming is allowed to pay for our utilities, real estate taxes, water & sewer, and part of the loan for air conditioning and furnace which they sometimes do have enough to pay all the bills so the club has been able to make up the difference.  Fifth, is the size of the club operation feasible or would a smaller building be better or is a meeting location better yet?  Membership may only be about 500 in 5 years.  This is all informational but if you really wish to help immediately you can send a Mortgage Reduction Donation to the Post and mark it debt reduction.  It is now time to step up to the plate.   Thank you.

For God and Country
Arnie Mulso, Commander

Club Update

Hi!  Happy February.  Hope your all surviving the cold spell we’re having.  I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year.  We’d like to thank everyone for coming in to support us and enjoy all our New Year’s activities.  We loved seeing everyone and appreciated your patronage.  I’d also like to say thank you to all the employees and volunteers for their hard work this past year.

February looks to be a busy one.  Feb 3rd - Day Breakers Kiwanis Fish Fry serving from 4:30 pm - 7:30 pm.  Feb 10th - The Family Y Youth Drive Fish Fry 5 pm - 7:30 pm.  Feb 12th - the board meeting at 6 pm.  Feb 14th - Bring your sweetheart and join us for a special Valentine’s Day menu serving from 5 pm - 8 pm.  Feb 16th - Don Freeman is retiring from Alliant Energy and celebrating here at the club.  Please come in and wish him well.  Feb 17th - a farewell party for Ron Gabrielson.  Dinner tickets may be purchased through the County Administrator’s Office and space is limited.  Feb 18th - the Noon Kiwanis will be hosting a Dad’s Belgium Waffle Breakfast at the club.  Feb 19th - 6 pm supper followed by the Post meeting.  Feb 24th - join us for Paul Knutson, performing his Elvis show in the lounge from 8 pm - Midnight.  It’s sure to be great fun.  Feb 25th - join us for the Post Breakfast serving from 8 am - 12:30 pm.  Feb 28th - the Auxiliary Salad Lunch from 11 am - 1 pm.

Don’t forget Laurie’s Karoake Korner Feb 2nd, 9th, 16th and 23rd.  It’s always great food, fun and entertainment.

All of us at the club are looking forward to your continued participation in booking parties, weddings, and special events with us.
Have a great month!

Heidi Watson

Food and Beverage Manager

F.Y.I.

Last month we featured an excellent letter to the editor of the Tribune written by Ethmer Wright.  Now here’s another excellent letter to the editor by Duane Hatleli which was published on page 4 of the Jan. 9, 2007 issue.

With Duane’s permission, we’re reprinting this very pertinent message for both Post 56 and Post 447 members.

Ed Shannon, Editor

Post 56 American Legion and Post 447 VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) desperately need your support now.  We need your attendance at post meetings (Post 56 and Post 447).  Attendance at the post meetings is very low.  Membership at Post 56 American Legion is well over 1,000 and yet it has about 15 average at the post meetings (last meeting we had 10 in attendance).  Don’t be surprised if you find the front doors locked at Post 56 if members don’t step up to the plate and get involved.  We need your support (attendance at the meetings, Thursday night suppers, Tuesday night hamburgers).  Post 56 has a beautiful building and so let’s all use it.  Bring your friends along with you to supper.  Commander Arnie Mulso is working very hard to keep Post 56 open - he is on his second year at being Commander of the Post - but needs a lot of help.  Post 56 has no 1st Vice Commander or 2nd Vice Commander.  Please consider filling these positions.  (Former commanders, how about another year as a commander).  Members don’t just belong, get involved.  This goes for Post 447 also.  Don’t just belong, get involved.  We need young veterans to begin  getting involved and consider taking an officers position.

    Duane Hatleli
    Post 447 VFW commander
    Post 56 American Legion member

Auxiliary News

We hope your New Years was happy, safe and filled with great expectations for the coming year.

New Years Day at the Legion Club was lots of fun with Tom and Jerry’s, Karoake and live music by Donnie Klossner.  The dance floor was filled with waltz and polka dancers!

The winter meeting of District 1 in Adams on Saturday, January 6 was well attended.  What a nice club they have in that little town!  Only sad news of the day: the men beat the women on membership so we had to dance “The Chicken Dance”.  (I hope those videos won’t be shown anywhere.)

When I was at the Armory on Thursday Jan. 11th for the blood drive they were quite busy...and  that’s good news.  The sign-in sheet showed several Legion members as donors and that is a good sign of generosity shown by our members.

Wasn’t that a nice picture of Heidi, our club manager, on the front page of the Albert Lea Tribune?  Great story by Ed Shannon, too, not to mention the good publicity it gave us.  Keep up the good work, Heidi!

By the time you read this January will be behind us and as an author once wrote, “If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”  February brings holidays that are fun, like Valentine’s, and patriotic ones like President’s Day.  We are working on the Salad Luncheon which will be Wed., Feb. 28.  Pat Johannsen is chairing it and she counts on good help and good donations from all you faithful members.  The Salad Luncheon is one of the fundraisers that finance the donations we make to worthwhile community projects.

Let’s make 2007 a successful and exciting year for our Auxiliary!  The next meeting is at 7 pm, Wed., Feb. 7.  Be there!  Bring a friend!  The board will meet Mon., Feb. 5 at 5:15 pm.

For God and Country

Joyce Rhody, President

Auxiliary Luncheon

Wednesday, February 28th  -  Serving 11am to 1pm

Menu

Salads, Hot Beef on Bun, Bars

Donation  $5.00

American Legion Post 56 Club Room

142 North Broadway

HOWARD J. CHRISTENSEN
Born Jan. 15, 1923.  Died Jan. 4, 2007.  He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was a member of the American Legion plus many civic organizations.

ORLAND S. ERICKSON    
Born July 11, 1921.  Died Dec. 28, 2006.  He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and was a member of the American Legion.

ROBERT A. KUEHL
Born May 28, 1923.  Died Dec. 17, 2006.  He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II and was a member of the American Legion.

Dollar-A-Month (D.A.M.)

Thank you for your contributions to the Dollar-A-Month fund.  All contributions support the Post 56 club facilities, maintenance & continued growth of our organization.

Judi Olson,

D.A.M. Account Manager

To make a donation, click on the link to our D.A.M. Fund Account Page.

The deadline for the March issue will be the Wednesday following the post meeting.  This will be the deadline in the future!

Veterans Memorial Update

As of January 17th a total of 1,998 of the paver bricks and 41 sponsorships have been sold to honor those who served in the nation’s armed forces.  There’s still room for more paver bricks and more sponsorships!

A check with Jon Rhiger indicates the dedication of the now completed Freeborn County Veterans’ Memorial will be held at a future date to be announced.

Post 447 VFW and Auxiliary meetings are held on the 2^nd Monday of every month at the American Legion Post 56 Clubrooms @ 7:00pm. Come and join VFW Post 447. 

Veterans helping Veterans.

Book Your Upcoming Special Event

with Heidi  373-7993