Issued Bi-Weekly from State Headquarters at Watertown, SD 57201
Ron Boyd – Department Adjutant – Public Relations Officer
www.sdlegion.org Email sdlegion@dailypost.com
No. 2903 August 10, 2005
RAPID CITY POST 22 - STATE BASEBALL CHAMPIONS
Rapid City Post 22 was presented the South Dakota American Legion Championship Trophy in ceremonies following the final game of the 2005 State American Legion Baseball Tournament Championship game on Sunday, August 7 in Rapid City’s Fitzgerald Stadium.
The tournament commenced on Wednesday, August 3 and ran through Sunday. The teams which had advanced to the Championship Tournament consisted of Sioux Falls East, Sioux Falls West, Pierre, Watertown, Aberdeen, Rapid City Post 320, “B” Baseball Representative Parkston, and host Rapid City Post 22.
The Championship Tournament is an eight team, double-elimination tournament. Daily game scores for the tournament were as follows:
Wednesday, August 3
· Sioux Falls East 4 – Rapid City Post 22 3; Sioux Falls West 2 – Aberdeen 15; Pierre 7 – Parkston 3; Watertown 17 – Rapid City Post 320 6
Thursday, August 4
· Sioux Falls East 3 – Pierre 9; Sioux Falls West 11 – Rapid City 320 7; Aberdeen 4 – Watertown 1; Rapid City Post 22 21 – Parkston 4
Friday, August 5
· Aberdeen 10 – Pierre 4; Rapid City Post 22 4 – Watertown 1; Sioux Falls East 14 – Sioux Falls West 12
Saturday, August 6
· Pierre 1 – Rapid City Post 22 10; Sioux Falls East 12 – Aberdeen 6
Sunday, August 7
· Sioux Falls East 0 – Rapid City Post 22 11; Rapid City Post 22 12 – Aberdeen 6
Max Fenske of Rapid City Post 22 was selected as the winner of the “Big Stick” Award with a tournament batting average of .578.
Chris Kessinger of Sioux Falls East was the recipient of the Tournament Player of the Year Award.
Sioux Falls West received the Porter T. Talcott Sportsmanship Award.
Ryan Lee Olson of Belle Fourche was selected as the winner of the 2005 Samsung Scholarship and will receive a $1,000 scholarship to be used at the school of his choice.
Congratulations to all the teams who participated in the State Championship Tournament. And Thank You to the dedicated supporters of American Legion Baseball from Rapid City Post 22 for all their hard work in hosting the tournament.
Rapid City Post 22 will now advance to The American Legion National Regional, Central Plains Region 6 Tournament in Mandan, ND. The tournament will be played August 11–15, 2005 at Mandan Memorial Ballpark in Mandan. Post 22, representing South Dakota, will compete against the State American Legion Champions from Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and Wisconsin.
The winning team from the Central Plains Region 6 Tournament will advance to The American Legion World Series which will be held August 19-23, 2005, RIGHT HERE in South Dakota – in Rapid City.
PARKSTON IS STATE “B” CHAMPIONS
Parkston Post 194 emerged victorious at the recently completed South Dakota American Legion State “B” Baseball Tournament in Groton. The tournament concluded on Sunday, July 31, 2005 in Groton.
Tournament play in the eight team, double-elimination tournament started on Wednesday, July 27. Teams advancing from the “B” Regional Tournaments included, Parkston, Winner-Colome, Madison, Elk Point-Jefferson, Milbank, Britton-Claremont, Howard and host Groton.
Daily game scores for the tournament were as follows:
Wednesday, July 27
· Milbank 9 – Britton-Claremont 5; Madison 9 – Elk Point-Jefferson 6; Parkston 28 – Winner-Colome 11 (5 innings); Howard 4 – Groton 1
Thursday, July 28
· Winner-Colome 16 – Britton-Claremont 9; Groton 9 – Elk Point-Jefferson 1; Parkston 14 – Milbank 6; Madison 4 – Howard 3
Friday, July 29
· Milbank 7 – Groton 8; Winner-Colome 12 – Howard 2 (6 innings); Parkston 6 – Madison 3
Saturday, July 30
· Madison 11 – Winner-Colome 1 (5 innings); Groton 10 – Parkston 1
Sunday, July 31
· Groton 8 – Madison 5; Parkston 6 – Groton 1
The highly coveted Porter T. Talcott Sportsmanship Award was presented to the team from Madison. Chris Sherman of Winner-Colome was awarded the “Big Stick” award with a tournament batting average of .615. Jeremy Wermers of Groton was named the Tournament Player of the Year.
Parkston advanced to the South Dakota American Legion Championship Baseball Tournament in Rapid City where they will represent the best of the American Legion “B” Baseball in the overall State Championship for American Legion Baseball.
Congratulations to all the teams who worked so hard to advance to the “B” Tournament. You are all winners. Thank you for participating in American Legion Baseball – a great youth activity that started right here in South Dakota.
And Thank You to all the dedicated supporters of American Legion Baseball from Groton Post 39 for your commitment to the youth of our nation as exemplified by your hosting the South Dakota American Legion “B” Baseball Tournament.
RAPID CITY TO HOST WORLD SERIES
Rapid City Post 22 will host the 2005 American Legion World Series, August 19-23 at Fitzgerald Stadium.
Activities commence prior to actual tournament play. On August 17, the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association, along with the Post 22 Baseball Alumni, will conduct a baseball skills clinic for youth at 4:00 p.m. at Fitzgerald Stadium. That same evening at 7:30 p.m. there will be a Major League vs. Post 22 Alumni baseball game. Some of the participating athletes scheduled to appear include Kevin Bass, Paul Blair, Tom Browning, Bert Campeneris, Jay Johnstone, Harmon Killebrew, Dave Kingman, Bill Lee, Rick Miller, Renne Stennett, Bobby Thigpen, and John Tudor.
August 18th There will be a challenging round of golf with these same former major league players at The Golf Club at Red Rock. Entry is limited to the first 16 foursomes. Entry fee is $2,000 per four-person team. Play will be a shot gun start, best ball scramble. Fees include green fees, cart, ALWS memorabilia, flag and hole prizes, 8x10 framed photograph of each participating professional athlete, cocktail reception on August 17th, breakfast at Millstone Restaurant prior to tournament on August 18th. An awards ceremony and reception will be held August 18th at the conclusion of the golfing. For more information on the golf outing contact Tournament Co-Chairs, Barry Sykora at 605-394-8946 or Kevin Heuther at 604-431-2750.
The 2005 American Legion World Series Banquet will be held at 6:00 p.m., August 18, 2005 at the Best Western Ramkota Hotel at 2111 N. LaCrosse St. in Rapid City. Banquet tickets are $25 per person. Master of Ceremonies for the banquet will be Dick Jonckowski, “Voice of the Golden Gophers” and the Keynote Speaker for the evening event will be Harmon Killebrew. For information or to order tickets contact Laurie Fenske via telephone at 605-342-2389.
American Legion Baseball comes home to South Dakota – where it all began. Show your support of this great youth activity of The American Legion. For information on the schedule of play or to purchase tickets please go to www.alws2005.com.
COMMANDER’S HOMECOMING
Piedmont Post 311 will host a Homecoming Celebration for Department Commander Phil Anderson on Saturday, August 27, 2005. The event is open to the public and all American Legion Family members are strongly encouraged to attend. Show Commander Phil he has our support as we embark upon a new Legion year under his leadership. Please see the enclosed flyer for specific details on the Homecoming Celebration schedule of events.
DISTRICT AMERICANISM CONFERENCE
Members of the Department Americanism Commission will meet with District Americanism Officers on Saturday, August 13 in Mitchell to plan the schedule for implementation of the Department’s Americanism program for 2005-2006.
The Conference will be held at the Holiday Inn in Mitchell and will commence at 10:00 a.m. Discussion will center around establishing the schedule for the Post, District, Area and Department High School Oratorical Contest. Newly appointed Department Americanism Officer Dorothy Erhart of Deadwood (member of the Lead American Legion Post) will be chairing the conference.
District Commanders and Area Vice Commanders are encouraged to attend this conference to ensure that they are aware of the schedule of events and the overall plan for conducting this year’s Americanism programs.
DAKOTA DREAM POST
Department Commander Phil Anderson of Piedmont has announced a new award that all Posts are encouraged to work toward attaining. The award will consist of a unique plaque to be hung in the Post Home and will serve to distinguish the recipient’s status as a Dakota Dream Post.
A Dakota Dream Post is an American Legion Post that has documented evidence showing that the Post is a model American Legion Post – an American Legion Post that is multi-faceted and is working programs of The American Legion in all of the Legion’s areas of interest. The designation as a Dakota Dream Post will signify that the Post is meeting its administrative responsibilities; has active programs in the areas of Americanism, Children and Youth, Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation and National Security.
There are 25 items on the criteria listing to be designated as a Dakota Dream Post. Seven items are mandatory* and the Post must satisfy 20 of the 25 items on the list to qualify. The criteria listing follows:
*Exceed the previous year’s membership by June 1, 2006
*At least one member of the Post must attend the District Meetings
*Post must pay its Department Convention Delegate Fees
*Post Officers must be certified by June 1
*Must have a Post Service Officer who has attended a Veterans Forum
*Must Submit a Consolidated Post Report
*Post must have Constitution and Bylaws on file at Department Headquarters (or be taking steps to make sure that one is produced and placed on file at Headquarters)
Have an Auxiliary Unit
Have a Post Newsletter and belong to SDALPA
Send delegate(s) to Boys State
Conduct Flag Education/Etiquette training with a youth group
At least one Post member must attend the State Convention
At least one Post member must attend the Midwinter Conference
Must submit a Post Americanism Report – on time
Must have one Post member who has completed The American Legion Extension Institute
Have a Post Legionnaire of the Year
Submit your Post Data Form on time
Post must participate in the Go-Getter Program
Must hold regular Post meetings (summer off is ok)
Post must participate in Patriotic Holidays (Memorial Day/Veterans Day)
Have an Honor Guard/Firing Squad that participates in Veterans funerals
Have a Post Home or a regularly established meeting place
Conduct/participate in VAVS activities (volunteer services or donations)
Support Children and Youth Programs (Special Olympics/Child Welfare Foundation/ Childrens’ Miracle Network, etc.)
The Post must have some sort of Family Activities Program during the year
NATIONAL CONVENTION – HAWAII
The members of the South Dakota Delegation for The American Legion 87th National Convention will be departing during the next week – heading for Honolulu, Hawaii. The members of the South Dakota Delegation will be staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Village on Waikiki, within walking distance of the Hawaii Convention Center.
Members of the delegation include PDC Gene Schumacher of Aberdeen (Delegation Chairman), Dept. Adjutant Ron Boyd of Watertown (Delegation Secretary), Department Commander Phil Anderson of Piedmont, NEC Paul Evenson of Sioux Falls, PDC Glenn Green of Pierre, PDC Gerald Goetzinger of Martin, PDC Bill Dolan of Beresford, PDC Don Young of Herrick, PDC Ron Tolrud of White, PDC Vern Sip of Wagner, Betty “Sam” Vaughn of Brookings, Chuck Kunstle of Corsica, Darwin Wahlert of Sioux Falls, Dick Sievert of Sioux Falls, Dept. Judge Advocate John Dewell of Pierre, Don Hentges of Humboldt, DSO Warren Aas of Watertown, Dept. Master-At-Arms G.D. “Hoot” Gibson of Sioux Falls, Merle Stone of Wagner, Greg Hall of Pierre, Nancy Hannah of Pierre, Dean Bymers of Raymond, Gunner Baatrup of Huron, Paul Jensen of Wakonda, District 5 Commander Larry Lindhorst of Cresbard, District 9 Vice Commander Verle Whipple of Martin, District 6 Commander Bob Miller of Kimball, and Warren “Buck” Sealey of Colome.
The National Standing Committees and Commissions will meet on Saturday, August 20 and the Convention Committees will meet on Sunday, August 21. All delegates with Convention Committee assignments will be providing reports to the delegates when the SD Delegation has its National Convention Caucus on Monday morning, August 22. National Commander Candidates Tom Bock of Colorado (2005-2006) and Paul Morin of Massachusetts (2006-2007) are both scheduled to address the caucus.
The convention General Session will start Tuesday morning and run through Thursday noon, August 25.
MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
2006 membership stands at 9,490 or 36.48% of goal.