UTN 02-25-04

2006 Spring District Conventions commenced at the end of March when the first of the 14 District Conventions was held in Reliance on Wednesday, March 29. By the following Monday, the conventions will have been held in 6 of the Department's 14 Districts. Thus far, Spring Conventions have been held in Reliance (Dist 8), Philip (Dist 9), Pierre (Dist 10), Piedmont (Dist 12), Wall (Dist 13), and Lemmon (Dist 11). The Spring Conventions then continue according to the following schedule:

Thur., Apr. 6 - Dist 14 in Aberdeen

Fri., Apr. 7 - Dist 4 in Milbank

This year at the Spring District Conventions, District Commanders and Vice Commanders are being elected to two-year terms in the even numbered Districts. Additionally, County Commanders are being elected to one-year terms in all Districts unless those leaders have already been named by an established county council. Elected as District Commanders and District Vice Commanders are the following individuals:

Kenneth VanKekerix of Witten Post #167 and Tony Opbroek of Burke Post #28 were elected to two-year terms as District Commander and District Vice Commander, respectively, March 29 during the annual District 8 Convention in Reliance.

Nancy Hannah of Pierre Post #8 and Greg Hall of Pierre Post #8 were elected to two-year terms as District Commander and District Vice Commander, respectively, March 31 during the annual District 10 Convention in Pierre.

Dan Walsh of Piedmont Post #311 and Fred Nelson of Spearfish Post #164 were elected to two-year terms as District Commander and District Vice Commander, respectively, April 1 during the annual District 12 Convention in Piedmont.

Luverne Boes of Hermosa Post #303 was elected to fill the unexpired term of District 13 Vice Commander during the annual District 13 Convention in Wall on April 2, 2006. His term will run through the 2007 Spring District 13 Convention.

March 29 (District 8 at Reliance) - Vic Hoffart of Gregory, Gregory County; Wayne Monson of Reliance, Lyman County; and Art Gealow of Winner, Tripp County. County Vice Commanders elected were Don Young of Herrick, Gregory County; David Miller of Presho, Lyman County; and Tom Giessinger of Winner, Tripp County.

March 30 (District 9 at Philip) - Harold Koenig of Martin, Bennett County; Phil Pearson of Philip, Haakon County; Richard Olney of Kadoka, Jackson County, and Marvin Starkjohann of White River, Mellette County. County Vice Commanders elected were Melvin L.J. Young of Allen, Bennett County; Ivan Schilling of Midland, Haakon County; Oliver Willert of Kadoka, Jackson County; and Paul Joseph of Wood, Mellette County. Jones County, Todd County and Washabaugh County were not represented at the convention and the election of County Commanders and Vice Commanders in those counties will be conducted later.

March 31 (District 10 at Pierre) - Ollie Redden of Pierre, Hughes County; Larry Madsen of Gettysburg, Potter County; and Robert Porter of Onida, Sully County. County Vice Commanders elected were Edgar Hemmelman of Pierre, Hughes County; Reuben Reuer of Hoven, Potter County; and Robert Pierce of Onida, Sully County. Hyde County and Stanley County were not represented at the convention and will elect their officers at a later date.

April 1 (District 12 at Piedmont) - Wes Schalesky of Newell, Butte County; Richard O'Dell of Buffalo, Harding County; Larry Rounsevell of Nemo, Lawrence County; and Duane Riedlinger of Black Hawk, Meade County. County Vice Commanders elected were Tom Nary of Belle Fourche, Butte County; Bill Hollister of Sturgis, Harding County; Joe Carr of Spearfish, Lawrence County; and Don Padgett of Piedmont, Meade County.

April 2 (District 13 at Wall) - Rick McDonald of Hermosa, Custer County; R.E. “Chub” Long of Hot Springs, Fall River County; and LaVerne Tech of Rapid City, Pennington County. County Vice Commanders elected were Ken Glaser of Custer, Custer County; Norm Pudwill of Hot Springs, Fall River County; and Van Simpfenderfer of Wall, Pennington County. Shannon County was not represented at the convention and the election of County Commander and County Vice Commander in that county will be conducted at a later date.

April 3 (District 11 at Lemmon) - Donald Tomac of Keldron, Corson County; James Hulm of Timber Lake, Dewey County; Robert Fisher of Faith, Meade County; and Bill Erhart of Lemmon, Perkins County. County Vice Commanders elected were David Wutzke of McLaughlin, Corson County; Gordon Wince of Dupree, Meade County; and Bob Crow of Bison, Perkins County. Ziebach County was not represented at the convention and the election of County Commander and Vice Commander in that county will be conducted at a later date.

Department Commander Phil Anderson of Piedmont is recognizing those Legionnaires who have been chosen by their Posts for providing outstanding support to the programs and projects of The American Legion as he travels the State of South Dakota conducting the Spring Conventions. One Legionnaire is selected by the leadership of each District to be recognized as the District Legionnaire of the Year. Those selected thus far during the Spring District Conventions are:

Deadlines are also approaching for resolutions that are to be considered during the 2006 State American Legion Convention in Brookings, June 15-18.

Resolutions proposing amendments to the South Dakota American Legion Constitution and By-Laws must reach State Headquarters at least six (6) weeks prior to the convention. To meet this deadline, those resolutions must reach Watertown by Friday, May 5, 2006. This will allow adequate time for the Department Standing Committee on Constitution and By-Laws to consider any proposed changes and transmit that committee's recommendations to the local Posts via State Headquarters.

The Constitution and By-Laws Committee will be scheduled to meet at State Headquarters during the week of May 15-19 to consider any resolutions that are submitted.

General resolutions should be submitted to State Headquarters by Monday, June 12, 2006. All general resolutions will be reviewed by the Convention Resolutions Committee, which will then assign the resolutions to the appropriate convention committee. The Convention Resolutions Committee will meet during the morning of Friday, June 16, 2006, during the convention in Brookings.

All resolutions must be typewritten, double-spaced and two copies must be submitted to State Headquarters. Post officials must certify that each resolution was adopted during a regular Post meeting, with the date of the meeting in the resolved clause of the resolution, and the resolution must be signed by the Post Commander and attested to by the Post Adjutant.

Invitations are being accepted from Posts wishing to host the 2009, 2010 and 2011 South Dakota American Legion State Conventions.

The offers must be submitted in writing by the prospective host Post, signed by the Post Commander and attested to by the Post Adjutant. Invitations must reach State Headquarters in Watertown by Monday, June 12, 2006.

Invitations should consider all available facilities and accommodations. The Convention Next Meeting Place Committee will consider the invitations when it meets during the State Convention in Brookings on Friday, June 16, 2006.

Invitations should be submitted to the State Adjutant, American Legion State Headquarters, PO Box 67, Watertown, SD 57201.

Post Adjutants are reminded that they have a responsibility to certify the Post's 2007 officers to Department Headquarters in Watertown. This certification process is one of the last official duties of the outgoing Post Adjutant. The form for certifying your 2007 Post Officers can be found in the 2005-2006 South Dakota American Legion Adjutant's Administrative and Awards Manual. Immediately after page 11 in that manual there is a white-colored page that explains the certification process and the next page is the green-colored Post Officer Certification Form.

Newly elected Post Officers WILL NOT be placed on mailing lists at State or National Headquarters, nor will they be recognized as Post Officers by either headquarters until they have been certified. Additionally, Post WILL NOT receive their 2007 membership cards until this certification process is completed.

Complete information requested on the Officer Certification form is required. All blanks must be filled in. We cannot certify Post Officers without their dates of service (enlistment and discharge dates). We must have complete mailing addresses, phone numbers, Legion ID #, and would certainly appreciate having the officer's email address if one is available. All Post Officers who are being certified must be members in good standing - this means they must have already paid their 2006 membership dues. If any of this information is missing, including the payment of the 2006 membership dues, your officers WILL NOT be certified.

The 61^st Annual South Dakota American Legion Bowling Tournament will be held at the Riverview Lanes, 960 4^th Street NE in Huron, SD, on the weekends of April 8-9, April 22-23, and April 29-30, 2006. There will be singles, doubles and team competition.

The entry fee is $18.00 per event. The entry fee is divided as follows: $7.25 bowling, $1.50 expenses, and $9.25 to the prize fund. 100% of prize fund will be awarded.

The entry forms were mailed out to all recipients with the February 22^nd copy of the Up To Now and the entry form is also in the March 2006 edition of The South Dakota Legion News. Additional entry forms are also available from State Headquarters.

Get your Post Team together and head for Huron on one of these three weekends and support your American Legion athletic events.

The Up To Now, No. 2919, dated March 22, 2006 erroneously reported that Arlington Post 42 had the highest percentage of its 2006 membership goal by March 8^th in the 125-199 goal-size group at 103.65% of goal. THIS INFORMATION IS INCORRECT.

The Post that actually had the highest percentage of its 2006 membership goal by March 8^th was Piedmont Post 311 in the 125-199 goal-size group at 113.13% of goal.

We congratulate Piedmont Post 311 for their accomplishment and apologize for any inconvenience this oversight may have caused.

The Department's membership goal on this date last year was 25,135. That equates to a decrease of 815 members. This Department cannot continue to lose members at this rate. We must make a real effort to reverse this trend.

Each Post must immediately review their membership roster, identify the delinquent members, and take steps necessary to ensure that these members are given the opportunity to renew their membership. These delinquent members are our comrades and it is our responsibility to ensure that they are given the opportunity to continue to enjoy the benefits of belonging to this great organization.

If there are Posts out there that are holding membership dues - please forward them immediately to the Department Headquarters.

UP TO NOW!