The turnout at the Annual Midwinter Conference this past weekend was very good. An estimated 400 Legionnaires and Auxiliary members attended the event which was held at the Ramkota Inn River Center and Convention Center in Pierre.

State Commander Walt Lindemann of Eureka declared the event a great success. Commander Lindemann commended Pierre Post #8 Commander Nancy Hannah, Auxiliary Unit #8 President Helen Zander and the Legionnaires and Auxiliary members of Pierre for their superb efforts. This year marked the first time in several years that the event had been held somewhere other than in Chamberlain / Oacoma.

National Commander Ron Conley of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was at the conference center for the entire period of the event. National Commander Conley commended South Dakota on our membership work when he attended the Go-Getter's Reception and Smorgasbord which was held at the Post #8 Log Cabin. He stated that we should be very proud of our #2 spot in the nation in the membership recruitment drive.

National Commander Conley attended the Legion session during which attendees viewed a videotape of Department Commander Walt Lindemann challenging a committee decision to reject a resolution to open the eligibility dates for membership in The American Legion at the National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Commander Conley stated that he had led the charge in an attempt to open those dates several years ago.

National Commander Conley gave a very dynamic speech at the Joint Legion and Auxiliary Banquet on Saturday evening. About 225 people attended the banquet. Commander Conley spoke about our organization's fight to ensure that mandatory funding is provided for VA healthcare for all veterans. He spoke of his visits to VA healthcare facilities all across the U.S. He has promised himself that he will visit at least one VA healthcare facility in every state, and after each visit he writes a report on the facility that he sends to VA Secretary Anthony Principi in Washington, D.C.

Commander Conley also spoke about the backlog of approximately 300,000 veterans who are waiting to receive treatment from the VA. He says that the "I Am Not A Number" campaign will put faces on the numbers. He said, "This program will show Congress the collateral damage of the under-funded system. We will show them veteran after veteran after veteran, real people with real healthcare needs who are being neglected by the currently under-funded system."

Commander Conley also addressed his concerns regarding the CARES (Capital Assets Realignment for Enhanced Services) program. He said, "The American Legion is vitally concerned that the process will be used to deal with budget-driven concerns rather than responding to the needs of veterans. We are also concerned that it will focus on getting rid of things rather than shaping the system to provide for maximum services."

On Saturday, attendees attended breakout sessions on Americanism and Membership, along with training and information sessions for Post Service Officers and Post Historians.

The State Athletic Commission recommended that 2004 state tournaments be played in Mitchell (bowling), Hot Springs (golf), Burke (State "B" Baseball, sponsored by the Herrick Post) and Aberdeen (State Championship Baseball Tournament).

The Athletic Commission voted to keep the registration fee to register a team for American Legion Baseball at $70, the same rate as last year.

During its meeting, the State Educational Loan Committee approved nine educational loans. Seven were initial loan applications and two were for second loans. Loans are currently offered for $1,500 at a rate of 3% interest.

Due to the SD Veterans Commission and SD Veterans Council holding meetings in Pierre, immediately following the Midwinter Conference, the minutes of the Executive Committee and Administrative Committee were not completed prior to this mailing. Those minutes will be included with the next Up To Now.

SD American Legion District High School Oratory Contests are completed. The next phase of the competition will be the East River / West River or Semi-Finals section of the competition.

The winners from Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10 and 14 will meet in Chamberlain on Saturday, February 15, 2003 at the Chamberlain High School for the East River contest. The contest will begin at 1:00 p.m.

The winners from Districts 8, 9, 11, 12, and 13 will meet in Rapid City on Sunday, February 16, 2003 at the Rapid City Post #22 Post Home starting at 1:00 p.m. for the West River contest.

The finals for the South Dakota American Legion High School Oratory Contest will be held in Pierre on Saturday, February 22, 2003. The site for the contest will be the Congregational Church at 123 N. Highland.

Legion Lobbyists John Dewell of Pierre and Ron Boyd of Watertown have been monitoring the action at the State Capitol in Pierre since the 78th Session of the South Dakota State Legislature convened on Tuesday, January 14th. Bills of interest to veterans and veteran's organizations consist of:

HB 1024, will revise the dates of service which qualify an individual to be classified as a veteran under SD law. The law currently reflects an ending date of March 31, 1991 for the Gulf War. This bill will establish a new ending date of June 30, 2004. (Under SD law, the ending date cannot be left open) - This bill has passed the House of Representatives and is currently waiting for hearings in the Senate.

HB 1025, will provide additional protection for military discharge documents (DD 214) which are filed with the county register of deeds. These documents are currently public documents once filed, this bill will limit the person to whom those documents can be released. This bill has passed the House of Representatives and is currently waiting for hearings in the Senate.

HB 1094, this bill requests an appropriation of $1,000,000 to fund real property tax refunds and relief for the low income elderly and disabled.

HB 1096, this bill would establish the South Dakota Volunteer Reserve (SDVR). The SDVR would be a group of civilian volunteers who would be available to respond to emergency situations in South Dakota. Preference will be given to veterans of military service who wish to serve in the voluntary reserve.

HB 1122, this bill would authorize no-cost hunting licenses for active duty service men and women in South Dakota.

HCR 1004, this concurrent resolution recognizes and honors the service and achievement of the South Dakota National Guard.

SB 57, provides for the temporary replacement of certain elected officials called for active duty in the armed forces. This bill enables counties and towns to temporarily replace members of many councils, boards and commissions with other citizens of the community during the absence of elected members due to activations.

SB 66, establishes a homeless veterans initiative program within the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The American Legion Legislative Reception for Legislators, Constitutional Officers and Legionnaires will be held Tuesday, February 4th, starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Pierre Post #8 Log Cabin at the south end of Pierre St. Get a group of Legionnaires together from your Post and come to Pierre to meet with the legislators from your district. Come early and visit with your legislator at the capitol and extend a personal invitation for him or her to meet with us at the cabin that evening.

Edwin Hodgdon Post #124 at Dupree and Brattvet-Green Post #66 at Lemmon have endorsed Dean Vance of Spearfish for the office of Area Vice Commander for Districts 10, 11 and 12.

Bergstrom-Bodeen Post #128 at Hudson has endorsed Mark Weinmann for the office of Area Vice Commander for Districts 1 and 7.

Membership for 2003 stands at 24,628, or 92.16 percent of goal.

DO NOT FORGET, February 11th is the next target date deadline. Commander Lindemann has pledged that we would have 92.65% of our membership by that date. We still need 130 members to meet that goal. No matter how many or how few memberships your Post has collected, please forward all membership that has been collected that you are holding to State Headquarters as soon as possible. DO NOT HOLD THEM. All memberships need to be in State Headquarters no later than February 11th to be overnight mailed to National.