Ron Boyd, Department Adjutant – Public Relations Officer

Phone 605-886-3604 Fax 605-886-2870

Issue No. 2862 January 14, 2004

In just slightly over three weeks, Legionnaires, Auxiliary and SAL members will converge on Cedar Shore Resort in Oacoma, SD for the 33^rd Annual Midwinter Conference. The conference is scheduled for Friday – Sunday, February 6-8, 2004.

Activity commences on Friday, February 6 at 10:00 a.m. when the Department Administrative Committee will meet in the Board Room of the Cedar Shore. The Department Executive Committee will convene at 1:00 p.m. in the River Run room of the facility. Administrative and Executive Committee meetings are open to all Legionnaires.

Friday evening will find many of South Dakota’s hardest workers for the organization’s membership drive gathering at the Anchor Bar and Grill in Chamberlain for the Go-Getters reception and smorgasbord. Past Department Commanders will enjoy a gathering that same evening in the Missouri Winds room of Cedar Shore Resort.

Saturday commences with a Joint Opening Session featuring Mr. Gene Eiring, Superintendent of the Michael J. Fitzmaurice State Veterans Home in Hot Springs. The Sons of The American Legion, Detachment of South Dakota will gather in Room 233 for their Midwinter Conference at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.

The remainder of the day on Saturday will feature training/breakout sessions on Americanism, VA&R duties of a Post Service Officer, Adjutant’s duties, Historian’s duties, and a session on how to write a resolution. The final session Saturday afternoon will feature a membership panel discussion followed by presentation of membership awards.

The Joint Banquet will be held Saturday evening in the resort’s ballroom at 7:00 p.m. and will be preceded by an hour-long period of no host cocktails.

National Commander of The American Legion, John Breiden III of the Department of Texas will be the keynote speaker at the Joint Banquet. Commander Breiden is scheduled to arrive late Friday afternoon and will be our guest through the close of the conference on Sunday.

The 15^th Annual All Veterans Reunion will be held at the Holiday Inn in Mitchell, SD Friday-Sunday, February 13-15, 2004. The reunion is sponsored by the SD Vietnam Veterans. The conference will feature guest speakers Jack van der Geest, a Holocaust survivor; Col. Fred K. Green (Ret), who after his retirement from the army served as DoD Special Counsel for POW-MIA Affairs; and Lt. Shane Osborn, USN, the Navy EP-3 pilot whose plane was intercepted by Chinese fighters. Lt. Osborn is credited with saving his crew by gaining control of his crippled aircraft and making a safe emergency landing on the Chinese island of Hainan. He and his crew were subsequently captured and taken into detention by the Chinese.

Registration for the reunion is $45 before February 6 and $40 after February 6. To receive the contract rate at the Holiday Inn contact the hotel at (605) 996-6501 or 1-800-888-4702 and identify yourself as being with the SD Vietnam Veterans and make your reservation by January 26, 2004.

For more information contact Lance Corson at (605) 996-8299 or (605) 996-3662 or mail to: PO Box 355, Mitchell, SD 57301.

Seven South Dakota Legionnaires have been called to Washington, DC to participate in the 2004 American Legion Washington Conference. Those receiving official calls include: William Dolan of Beresford, member of the National Public Relations Commission; Gerald Goetzinger of Martin, member of the National Membership and Post Activities Commission; Darrel Haskell of Conde, Regional Vice Chairman on the National VA&R Commission; D.R. "Don" Mason of Platte, member of the National Security Commission; Larry Price of Redfield, Vice Chairman of the National Americanism Commission; Gene Schumacher of Aberdeen, member of the National Employment Committee; and Ron Tolrud of White, member of the National Children and Youth Committee for Region 6. Also attending the Washington Conference will be Department Commander Wayne Vetter of Cresbard and Department Adjutant Ron Boyd of Watertown.

In addition to attending various meetings of the committees and commissions to which assigned, the attendees will participate in Hill Day on Tuesday, March 9. They will attend a National Legion Legislative Rally at 9:00 a.m. and then, along with other Legionnaires from across the nation, depart for Capitol Hill to visit the South Dakota Congressional Delegation. Tuesday evening they will participate in the National Commander’s Reception Honoring Members of Congress.

The annual South Dakota American Legion Legislative Reception for members of the 79^th Session of the South Dakota State Legislature will be held at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, January 29^th at the Pierre American Legion Post Home. Legionnaires from across South Dakota are encouraged to participate in this annual event.

Although festivities at the Post Home do not commence until 5:30 p.m., Legionnaires are encouraged to arrive early and visit the State Capitol to meet with their respective Legislators and to extend personal invitations to those Legislators from their home districts.

NOTE: The Athletic Commission will not meet during the Midwinter Conference. The South Dakota American Legion Athletic Commission is scheduled to conduct its midwinter meeting Saturday, January 24, 2004 at the Pierre American Legion Post Home. The meeting will convene at 1:00 p.m. (The decision was made last year to separate the Athletic Commission meeting from the Midwinter Conference.)

All Posts that have submitted bids for 2005 Department athletic events are encouraged to send a representative to speak in support of their bids. Posts hosting 2004 Department athletic events must make reports on their preparation for those events. Representatives of Posts hosting 2004 Department athletic events are also expected to be present to sign the contracts for their event.

Due to the lack of participation, the Brieden’s Rangers Post "Renewal Team" Recognition program deadline date has been extended until the Legion’s Birthday membership deadline date of March 10, 2004. The form for a Post to certify the formation of its Post Renewal Team to Department Headquarters is enclosed with this Up To Now for all commanders.

This program allows Posts to qualify for a special "Brieden’s Rangers" flag banner, a special recognition certificate and to receive Brieden’s Rangers cap pins for all members of their Post Renewal Team if they attain 100% renewal of their 2003 membership by the cutoff date. All Posts are encouraged to participate in this recognition program.

Bensley-Rounds American Legion Post #280 of Iroquois has endorsed David Owens, Sr., for the office of District 2 Commander.

The Area Contests for The American Legion High School Oratory Contest in South Dakota will be held in accordance with the following schedule:

Area of Districts 1 & 7 – Sunday, February 15, 2004 at 2:00 p.m. at the Irene American Legion Post Home in Irene.

Area of Districts 2, 5 & 6 – Sunday, February 1, 2004 at 1:30 p.m. at the Mitchell 4-H Building.

Area of Districts 3, 4 & 14 – Sunday, February 1, 2004 at 2:00 p.m. at the 1^st United Methodist Church, 4 2^nd Ave., SE, Watertown.

Area of Districts 8, 9 & 13 – Sunday, February 8, 2004 at 2:00 p.m. at Rapid City American Legion Post #22, 818 E. St. Patrick St., Rapid City.

Area of Districts 10, 11 & 12 – Faith, SD – Date, time and place to be announced.

Enclosed for Commanders are the following items:

1) A letter and nominating form from State Employment Committee Chairman Donn Grandpre which should be used to nominate a business firm within your community for consideration for the Employer of the Disabled Award. This award is presented annually to a business firm in South Dakota by The American Legion Department of South Dakota.

2) A post-by-post reporting of 2004 membership statistics as of the end of the year, December 31, 2003.

3) A form for certifying the formation of a Brieden’s Rangers Post Renewal Team to Department Headquarters. For more information on this program – please read the earlier article on Brieden’s Rangers Post Renewal Teams in this edition of the Up To Now.

Your subscription to the National American Legion Magazine is based on your membership dues. Each Legionnaire is entitled to 12 issues of the magazine for his/her annual dues.

State Headquarters often receives phone calls from irate Legionnaires who have not received his/her magazine when everyone else they know has already received theirs. In checking with National Headquarters, the State Headquarters Staff often discovers that the Legionnaire has already received his/her twelve issues. This happens because the Legionnaire waits more than 12 months between the time they pay their dues for one year and the time that they pay their dues for the following year.

For example: If I paid my 2004 dues in January 2004, I will probably start receiving my magazine in March 2004. The last issue of the magazine to which I am entitled will be February 2005. The American Legion National Headquarters will print the address labels for the March, 2004 issue of the magazine sometime in mid-late January 2005. If my 2005 dues are not paid by that time, I will not be included in the March 2005 mailing label list. My magazine subscription will be interrupted by how many every months I wait to renew my membership.

Those members who are PUFLs are ensured that their names will continually be on the mailing list and should never experience an interruption to their magazine subscriptions. Thus, you have another benefit of the PUFL membership.

The 79^th Session of the South Dakota Legislature convened at noon on Tuesday, January 13, 2004 in Pierre. The Legion Representatives, Ron Boyd of Watertown and John Dewell of Pierre were in Pierre for the beginning day.

Governor M. Michael Rounds started his State of the State address by saying thank you to the brave men and women of South Dakota who are serving in our Armed Forces and who have been activated and deployed as members of the South Dakota National Guard and Reserve forces. The governor proceeded to inform the members of the legislature that he intended to seek legislation this year to institute a Veterans Bonus for these men and women, similar to the veterans bonus programs of the past. The specifics of the amount of the bonus and other details will not be known until the governor’s bill is submitted to the legislature.

The 59th Annual South Dakota American Legion State Bowling Tournament will be held at the Village Bowl in Mitchell, SD on the weekends of March 13-14 and March 20-21.

Tournament Rules and an Official Entry Blank are enclosed for all recipients of this Up To Now.

The deadline for registration is March 21, 2004 at 4:30 p.m.

2004 membership stands at 24,321 or 91.37 percent of the Department’s 2004 membership goal.