Ron Boyd, Department Adjutant, Public Relations Officer

Issued B-Weekly from State Headquarters at Watertown, SD 57201-0067

No. 2845 May 21, 2003

Enclosed for all recipients is a copy of the minutes of the annual meeting of the Department Constitution and Bylaws Committee that was held on May 10, 2003 at State Headquarters in Watertown.

Enclosed with the minutes is a full copy of a Constitution and Bylaws Committee Resolution, identified as 2003 Constitution and Bylaws Committee Resolution Nr. 1. This resolution was drafted by the Constitution and Bylaws Committee and recommends a change to the Bylaws; thus it is being forwarded to all Post Adjutants prior to the State Convention in Spearfish. The resolution will be voted on at the State Convention in Spearfish, June 19-22, 2003.

No other resolutions recommending changes or amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws were received by State Headquarters prior to the announced deadline for the submission of such resolutions.

Resolutions that will change or amend the Constitution and Bylaws can still be brought to the State Convention for introduction on the convention floor. Those intending to do so, must be cautioned, that they must be introduced on the floor, Saturday morning, and that there must be "unanimous consent" for every delegate present in order for the resolution to even be introduced.

Also enclosed is a copy of the Post by Post membership standings as of the May 8, 2003 membership target date.

One District Commander, Tom Jurek of District 14, will claim a membership award at the State Convention because his 2003 District 14 membership at this target date exceeded District 14 membership at this target date last year. District 14 had 2,345 members in 2002 on this date and 2,387 members in 2003.

Area Vice Commander Donald Smith of Clear Lake (Area Vice Commander for Districts 3, 4 and 14) will receive a membership award for having attained the highest percentage of his 2003 area membership goal by the May 8^th target date. Vice Commander Smith's area had attained 94.20%. Coming in second in the race was Area Vice Commander Paul Jensen (Districts 1 and 7) with 93.59%.

Posts being recognized for consecutive year All-Time-High memberships include Chancellor and Rapid City Foothills, both finishing their sixth consecutive years with All-Time-High memberships. Brandon, Gary and Old Agency have all added another year of consecutive All-Time-High memberships and now have two consecutive years each.

The District Commander's Achievement Award and District Honor Ribbons both went unclaimed in this year's membership campaign.

The 2003 Session of South Dakota American Legion Boys State will commence, Monday, June 2, 2003 and run through Saturday, June 7. The session will be held on the campus of Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota.

The 60 member staff of advisors and counselors will arrive late Sunday or early Monday to prepare for the 500 plus boys who are registered as delegates for the 61^st annual session.

South Dakota American Legion Boys State was founded at Aberdeen in 1940 and subsequent meetings were held in 1941 and 1942. World War II made it necessary to drop the activity, but in 1946, South Dakota American Legion Boys State resumed.

State Commander Walt Lindemann of Eureka will address the delegates, Monday, June 2, during their initial General Assembly.

State Commander Walt Lindemann has declared Thursday, June 5 as Legion Day at the 61^st Annual Session of South Dakota American Legion Boys State. He encourages Legionnaires from across South Dakota to visit Northern State University during that day to view South Dakota American Legion Boys State in action. This would be an opportune time to visit with the boys that have been sponsored by your community to Boys State.

Boys State activities commence each morning with a Flag Ceremony that is held at 0730 prior to breakfast. Legionnaires, who arrive in time, should plan to attend the Flag Ceremony that morning. The ceremony is held on the practice football field, directly across State Street from Jerde Hall and across the parking lot from the Barnett Center.

There will be a short memorial service held in honor of Darrell Salter during the day on Thursday, June 5. Precise details of the memorial service are still being worked out, but anyone who arrives prior to 1:30 p.m. will arrive in plenty of time to attend the service.

The 2002-2003 South Dakota American Legion Post Adjutant's Administrative and Awards Manual contains a form for the certification of Post Officers to State Headquarters. This should be one of the last official acts of the outgoing Post Adjutant.

The form is green in color and is located immediately after page 10 in the manual. If you cannot locate a copy of the form, please contact State Headquarters and we will provide you with a copy.

Newly elected Post Officers WILL NOT be placed on mailing lists at State or National Headquarters, nor will they be recognized as Post Officials by either headquarters until they have been certified. Additionally, Posts WILL NOT receive their 2004 membership cards until this certification process is completed.

COMPLETED means COMPLETED. DO NOT send in forms that are missing information. All information requested on the form is required for certification. We CANNOT certify officers without their DATES OF SERVICE. We CANNOT certify officers who have NOT YET PAID their 2003 dues. If it is necessary for you to contact the individual officers for complete information or to collect their dues prior to filing the form with State Headquarters  please do so.

At the time of this Up To Now, 127 Posts had not yet certified their 2004 Post Officers to State Headquarters. The assistance of Post, County, District and Department Officers is requested to ensure that the certification of all Post Officers is expedited.

Although the deadline for resolutions proposing amendments to the South Dakota American Legion Constitution and Bylaws has passed, general resolutions are still being accepted by State Headquarters for action at the State Convention in Spearfish, June 19-22, 2003.

General resolutions should be into State Headquarters in Watertown by Tuesday, June 17, in order to be transported by the headquarters staff to Spearfish. General resolutions can also be accepted at the site of the 85^th Annual State Convention in Spearfish. Resolutions brought to the convention city should be filed with the Department Adjutant prior to the initial meeting of the Convention Resolutions Committee. That meeting is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on Friday, June 20.

Two typewritten, double-spaced copies of the resolution must be submitted. Post officials must certify, in writing, that each resolution was adopted during a regular Post meeting and the certification must include the meeting date.

A total of 58 American Legion baseball teams are registered so far this year in South Dakota. By Comparison, the Department had 59 teams registered at this time last year, and 57 teams registered the year before that. As usual, there are some new teams this year and some that have withdrawn from the program.

All teams have an eye on a state tournament berth. The State "B" Tournament will be July 30  August 3 in Parkston and the State Championship Tournament will be August 6-10 in Pierre. Regional elimination tournaments will start in July.

The State Athletic Commission will make the final team alignments and classifications during its June meeting which is scheduled for Saturday, June 14^th at the Ramkota Inn and Convention Center in Pierre. Please note: This is a change; the Athletic Commission will no longer hold its two annual meetings in conjunction with the Midwinter Conference and the State Convention. The Athletic Commission meeting will be held sometime prior to those meetings. This year, it is a week prior to the State Convention.

May 15^th was the deadline for registering teams for the $70.00 fee with State Headquarters. The fee for registering late, between May 16 and May 31, will be $110.00 and teams registering late, between June 1 and June 15, will be charged $160.00.

No teams will be permitted to participate in American Legion baseball tournament competition whose state entry form, proof of insurance, and accompanying registration fee is not on file with State Headquarters in Watertown by June 15, 2003.

The South Dakota American Legion State Athletic Commission will hold its June meeting to make final team alignments, select tournament umpires and determine pairings for tournament play, Saturday, June 14, 2003 at the Ramkota Inn and Convention Center in Pierre.

Regional Officers and other interested persons are encouraged to attend. The meeting is open to all interested persons.

Eddie Robertson Post #76 of Veblen has announced their endorsement of Aaron Anderson for the office of State Vice Commander for Districts 3, 4 and 14.

This is a reminder that Posts need to send new memberships and renewals to State Headquarters in a timely manner.

If memberships are not sent regularly, members will continue to receive renewal notices from National Headquarters in the mail. Members can also lose their subscriptions to the South Dakota Legion News, The American Legion Magazine, and cannot obtain their American Legion discount of prescription drugs until their dues reach State Headquarters, despite the Legionnaire having paid his/her dues in a timely manner.

In addition, the Post is at odds with that section of the National Constitution and Bylaws requiring dues payments to reach Indianapolis within 30 days of receipt by the local Post.

Memorial Day, also called Decoration Day, is a patriotic holiday in the United States. It is a day to honor Americans who gave their lives for this country. Originally, Memorial Day honored military personnel who had died in the Civil War (1861-65). The holiday now also honors those who died in any war while serving the United States.

Major General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic proclaimed May 30 as a special day for honoring the graves of Union soldiers. Logan served as commander in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans of the Civil War.

Several communities claim to have originated Memorial Day. But in 1966, the U.S. government proclaimed Waterloo, New York, the birthplace of the holiday. The people of Waterloo first observed Memorial Day on May 5, 1866, to honor soldiers killed in the Civil War.

Memorial Day is observed on Monday, May 26^th this year. This should be a special day for all members of The American Legion. Make sure your Post is observing this special day and encourage all members and their families to participate in local observances. "All gave some  SOME GAVE ALL." Let's remember them on this special day.

State Commander Walt Lindemann has named the following State Convention Committee Chairpersons: Resolutions, Wayne Monson of Reliance; Americanism, Bernard Rolstad of Sisseton; Credentials, Dick Sievert of Sioux Falls; Employment, Earl Schultz of Aberdeen; Internal Organization, Larry Madsen of Gettysburg; National Security, Dan Regan of Rapid City; Next Meeting Place, Betty "Sam" Vaughn of Brookings; Rehabilitation, Kerwin P. "PeeWee" Douthit of Hot Springs; and Rules, David Owens of Iroquois.

Named as Convention Committee Liaisons were: Resolutions, Earl Wilmarth of Kadoka; Americanism, Bill Dolan of Beresford; Credentials, Ron Kazmierczak of Rapid City (member of Hill City Post); Employment, Donn Grandpre of Aberdeen (member of the Conde Post); Internal Organization, Jerry Goetzinger of Martin; National Security, Don Clarke of Wessington; Next Meeting Place, Rod Martens of Black Hawk (member of the Piedmont Post); Rehabilitation, Ron Hoffer of Roscoe; and Rules, Leland Berndt of Mobridge.

Fred Weller Post #186 in Eureka is hosting the 2003 SD American Legion State Golf Tournament Saturday and Sunday, June 28 and 29. Tournament flyers and official entry forms were mailed to all Post adjutants with the April 9, 2003 edition of the Up To Now.

The entry fee is $50.00; motorized cart fee is $10.00. There will be no trail fee for those who bring their own carts.

For more information, please contact Cal Neuharth, Eureka American Legion, Box 505, Eureka, SD 57437, ph. 605-284-2939.

2003 membership stands at 25,875, or 96.36 percent of our National membership goal.