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| Changing
your address ? Please leave new address at the club or mail to:
American
Legion Post 56
P.O.
Box 1056
142
N. Broadway
Albert
Lea, MN 67007 |
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American
Legion Post 56 Monthly Bulletin
June
2008
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Commander's
Message
By the
time you receive your newsletter, Memorial Day will be over. This holiday
commemorates U.S. men and women who have died in military service to their
county. The Memorial in Memorial Day has been ignored by too many of us
who are beneficiaries of those who have given the ultimate sacrifice. Often
we do not observe the day as it should be, a day where we actively remember
those who have given the ultimate sacrifice.
Serving Our Troops, is still planned for June 1st. There will be a Steak
Dinner for Guard Units that are in Kosovo, our local Guard Unit is part of that
group. Their families will be served a noon meal, entertainment, a live
two way video link for families to speak directly with their loved ones in
Kosovo. This will be located at the Mayo Civic Center. There has
been a very generous response from the area businesses. They have opened
this occasion up to local citizens also, if you want to go.
Flag Day is June 14. We are preparing to hold the Flag burning ceremony at
the National Guard Armory at 2 pm.
This is my final Commanders article. I want to THANK everyone for all the
cooperation there has been. The Sunday breakfasts have been necessary,
most of the revenue went back into club account. In the coming months,
maybe that will change and the money can be used for other projects.
A BIG thank you to Vern Strand, when I became Commander, Vern came to me and
asked if I could find someone to take his position over. It finally got
done. I feel we as an organization are very indebted to Vern for the last
12-15 years of service to the American Legion.
In the coming years, you will find me doing what you do so well - Volunteering
for the American Legion.
Support our Troops, Pray for them, Thank them for the Services that they have
done. Hug a Veteran.
For God and Country
Commander Post 56
Gary Anderson
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Club
Update
Hello Everybody;
Summer has arrived, and with it all of the things that make Albert Lea and
Minnesota two great places to live. There has been a lot of conversation about
the state of our club. So, I would like to take a moment and share with you some
information that I have shared with the board and they have asked me to share
with you. First, it takes $6,500.00 per week in revenue to operate our club,
without the help of any monies from gaming. Since the first of the year we have
averaged $5,698.20, which would mean we are about $800.00 a week behind
projections. Now, that may seem like a big number, but it is just a number. And,
one that we as a staff, works on each week to improve. In April, we averaged
$6,898.00 per week, we have also reduced our accounts payable by $10,000 since
the first of March. In June, we are raising the price of our menu items
due to an increase in food and shipping costs. The greatest way that you can
help the club reach its weekly goal is to use it, and invite a friend to dinner.
We will be having food Monday thru Saturday starting in June, and we will also
have food starting at 12:00 pm on Saturday’s in June. We will have Texas
Hold’em starting Monday June 9th in the bar, there will be no charge for this.
On Wednesday June 11th, we will be having a Smelt and Burger Feed, this is to
help raise Money for a new oven. Finally, a huge THANKS to the Ladies of the
Auxiliary for purchasing the club a new steam table, and congratulations to
Florence Olson who is our Employee of the Month, she is a huge asset and runs a
great kitchen.
As Always Thanks For your Support
Todd
Utpadel
Club Manager
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F.Y.I.
There’s an impressive consistency in the way veterans of this area observe
Memorial Day.
Through the years the local veterans have followed the same schedule as they go
to Lakewood, St. Theodore and Hillcrest to salute the memories of veterans
buried in those cemeteries. This is followed later in the morning by the
aerial drop of the memorial wreath, depending on the weather, at Fountain Lake
Park. The city’s observance ends with a parade and program at Graceland
Cemetery near the war memorial.
The only changes for this series of yearly observances are with the post in
charge (Leo Carey Post 56 or VFW Freemond Madson Post 447), the main speaker,
and some of the participants.
Another outstanding Memorial Day observance involves the honor guard from
American Legion Post 317 in Emmons. Each year this group honors the
veterans buried in seven nearby cemeteries. Those cemeteries, in order,
are: Lime Creek Synod (Iowa), Like Creek, Oak Lawn at Emmons, Silver Lake
(Iowa), St. James Catholic, Brush Hill and Bear Lake.
Still another honor guard from Post 404 in Alden salutes the deceased veterans
at Concordia-Pickerel Lake, Shady Oaks, Conger, Carlston and Alden Cemeteries on
Memorial Day.
Let’s also recognize the Legion posts from Glenville, Hartland, Freeborn, New
Richland and Ellendale who continue the fine tradition of honoring the veterans
and deceased citizens from past generations on Memorial Day.
Ed Shannon
Editor
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Auxiliary
News
By the time you read this, “June will be busting out all over”...we hope!
With the coming of June comes the end of my two-year tenure as president
of your Legion Auxiliary. For this pleasure and the honor of serving you,
I thank you.
As a past president I will still be very active and interested in supporting our
troops and our veterans in anyway we can. My grandson has 13 years in the
Navy and is now being transferred to Norfolk, Virginia, from where he may
eventually be deployed to Iraq. My granddaughter has just been called up
for her second tour in Iraq. So, yes, we continue to hope and pray and
work for this generation of young people serving our country.
Your new president will be Pat Johannsen and she and I just went to the
3-day convention of District 1 American Legion and Auxiliary in Wabasha. The
weather was beautiful and the Wabasha Legion and VFW did a fine job of hosting
us. The 70-plus women who attended were dynamic and enthusiastic about the
future of our Legion Auxiliary. We passed some good measures to strengthen
our organization, honored our deceased members in Memorial Service, and elected
new officers for the coming year. Louise Freiboer, who attended our
installation here, relinquished her gavel to Myrna Gunderson of Mabel.
Bonnie Schneider took over the chores of distributing poppies and lining up
workers to offer them at various locations in town. This is always one of
our more meaningful and noticeable activities in the community. Wear a
poppy! Show gratitude to our veterans!
Our new officers will be installed at a dinner meeting, with the men, on Friday
evening, June 27 at 6:00 pm. Please plan to attend and show your support
of officers and chairmen.
Our next membership meeting will be Wednesday, June 4 following a potluck supper
with the men at 6:00 pm. Board will meet at 5:00 pm Monday, June 2. Thank
you for your support these past two years.
For God and Country
Joyce Rhody, Auxiliary President
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It has been one full calendar year since we started our debt reduction program.
We have accomplished this: Reduced debt by $26,660; 96 members or
friends of the American Legion have donated; our payoff would be $83,195. Thank
you everyone that has donated and if you haven’t we still are accepting
donations.
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Taps
HOWARD L. COLVIN
Born May 10, 1929. Died April 24, 2008. He served in the U.S. Marine
Corps during the Korean War and was a member of the American Legion, VFW, Elks
and Eagles.
ADRIAN G. “BUD” HERMAN
Born March 27, 1920. Died May 3, 2008. He served in the U.S.
Army during World War II and was a member of the American Legion and VFW.
SANFORD F. “SANDY” SCHAER
Born Nov. 23, 1912. Died May 5, 2008. He served in the armed forces
during World War II and was a member of the American Legion.
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Dollar-A-Month
(D.A.M.)
Lois Fairchild In Memory of Woodie Nixon of Big Fork
Jeanette and Paul Peterson In Memory of Jack & Lil Cashman
Ruth Strand In Memory of Bud Herman
Eileen and Cindy Schmitz In Memory of Bud Herman
Craig and Mary Nelson In Memory of Eslie Bergstrom
Karin Mattson In Memory of Eslie Bergstrom
Reid & Sherry Ulve In Memory of Bud Herman
William and Helen Aanerud In Memory of brothers Alan, Robert
and Clarence
Reid and Sherry Ulve In Memory of Patrick Dean McQuillan Sr.
Jim and Mary Hallum In Memory of Eslie Bergstrom
Donald and Joanne Johnsrud In Memory of Robert Skophammer
Pendra Nelson In Memory of Eslie Bergstrom
Donations to the Honor Guard
Robert D Knutson In Memory of Bud Herman
Neil Larson Family In Memory of Neil Larson
Sanford F. Schaer Family In Memory of Sanford F. Schaer
Art and Rosie Anderson In Memory of Eslie Bergstrom
Bob and Doris Miller In Memory of Eslie Bergstrom
Bob and Doris Miller In Memory of Susan Borland
Jim and Mary Hallum In Memory of Eslie Bergstrom
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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.
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The
deadline for the July issue will be the Wednesday following the
post meeting. This will
be the deadline policy in the future!
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Veterans
Memorial Update
As of May 21 a total of 2,485 of the paver bricks and 46 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!
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Post
447 VFW and Auxiliary meetings are held on the 2nd Monday of every
month at the American Legion Post 56 Clubrooms @ 7:00pm. Come and
join VFW Post 447.
Veterans
helping Veterans.
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| Note: Content from
this page is edited from American Legion Post 56 monthly newsletter
bulletin. |
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Book
Your Upcoming Special Event
with
Todd 373-7993 |
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| Social
Hall & Kitchen available at no charge to non-profit organizations
for fundraisers or meetings. |
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