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. 2923 May 17, 2006
eNCLOSED FOR ALL RECIPIents
Enclosed for all recipients of the Up To Now is a copy of the minutes of the May 16th Meeting of the Constitution and ByLaws Committee and that committee’s recommendations on the resolutions which were submitted proposing amendments to the Constitution of The American Legion Department of South Dakota.
A copy of each of the resolutions reviewed by the committee is attached to these minutes. The minutes, resolutions and recommendations are being forwarded to each Post within the Department in accordance with Article XV, Section 1of the Constitution of The American Legion Department of South Dakota.
Also enclosed for all recipients is a copy of a form to register for the Chamberlain Potter Post #3, 1st Annual American Legion Fishing Tournament to be held in Chamberlain on June 24, 2006. For further information contact Lyle DeHaai at 234-6561 or LaVaun Holan at 734-6248.
National Commander Thomas L. Bock
to Visit Department of South Dakota
Thomas L. Bock, the National Commander of The American Legion will visit the Department of South Dakota during the period of May 31-June 4, 2006. Commander Bock will arrive in Aberdeen on Wednesday evening, May 31. That evening he will have a quiet dinner with members of the leadership of the Department in Aberdeen.
On Thursday, June 1, National Commander Bock will visit South Dakota American Legion Boys State on the campus of Northern State University in Aberdeen. He will be on the campus during the morning hours as Legionnaires from across South Dakota visit the campus for Legion Day at Boys State. Commander Bock will lunch with the visiting Legionnaires in the Jerde Hall Dining Facility – after the Boys State Delegates have finished their noon meal. Commander Bock will speak to the assembled Legionnaires immediately following the noon meal in the Jerde Hall Dining facility.
On Thursday afternoon, National Commander Bock and his aide, Department Commander Phil Anderson, NEC Paul Evenson, Alt NEC Larry Price and Department Service Officer Warren Aas will visit with Legionnaires at the American Legion Post 39 in Groton at 3:00 p.m. The group will then make a stop at the American Legion Post 148 in Conde for a short visit prior to returning to Boys State where the National Commander will address the assembled Boys State Delegates at a general assembly at 8:45 p.m.
Commencing on Friday morning, June 2, National Commander Bock and the traveling party will depart Aberdeen on a Whistle-stop Tour of Legion Posts in Northeastern South Dakota. The tour will include the following stops:
Friday, June 2
10:30 a.m. – Coffee - Webster Post 40
12:00 noon – Lunch - Waubay Post 129
3:00 p.m. – Coffee - Milbank Post 9
6:30 p.m. – Dinner - Watertown Post 17
Saturday, June 3
10:30 a.m. – Coffee - Wilmot Post 64
12:00 noon – Lunch - Sisseton Post 50
3:00 p.m. – Coffee - New Effington Post 180
5:00 p.m. – Coffee - Veblen Post 76
Sunday, June 4 – National Commander Bock departs South Dakota en route to the Department of Vermont.
This is an excellent opportunity to show National Commander Bock the high quality of The American Legion Department of South Dakota and the caliber of Legionnaires we have within our Posts. Posts should make every attempt to have a good size group of members of the Legion Family available when the National Commander arrives. This includes members of the Legion, Auxiliary and SAL.
Legionnaires from those parts of the Department that the National Commander will not be visiting are strongly encouraged to get a group of Legionnaires together and make the trip to Aberdeen to experience one of our premier programs, Boys State, in action and to meet with the National Commander on Thursday, June 1.
The official call for the 88th Annual Convention was sent earlier to all Up To Now recipients.
Post Adjutants also received both delegate and alternate delegate credential forms. A reminder that these completed credential forms must be mailed so that they arrive at State Headquarters in Watertown by June 14, 2006 or be handed to the State Headquarters personnel at the State Headquarters Desk in the convention registration area. (Refer to the schedule below to ascertain where the registration desk will be on each day.)
The delegate registration fee of $5 per delegate must accompany the delegate forms when they are mailed to State Headquarters in Watertown or when they are submitted at the registration area in Brookings. The Constitution of The American Legion Department of South Dakota, Article IX, Section 3 states, “The registration fee for each Post’s delegate strength, regardless of attendance, shall be $5.00 per delegate payable to The American Legion, Department of South Dakota, in advance of the election at the annual Department Convention.” For example, a Post with three delegates must pay $15; a Post with four delegates must pay $20, etc., regardless of how many delegates from the Post actually attend the convention.
Representation at the convention is by delegates from each Post. The constitution states “Each Post is entitled to two delegates and two alternates as a Post, plus one additional delegate and alternate for each fifty or major fraction thereof, membership as shown on the books of the State Adjutant fifteen days prior to the convention.
This year, the date for determining the number of delegates is May 31st, 2006. The constitution requires that delegates be chosen by each Post, from its own membership. Alternates will have power to vote only in the absence of the regular delegates.
The schedule of events for the Annual Convention is outlined below:
1:00 p.m. Registration desk opens Brookings Inn (note that the State Headquarters Registration Desk does not open until Friday morning.)
1:00 p.m. State American Legion Administrative Committee meeting, Brookings Inn – Room D
3:00 p.m. State American Legion Executive Committee meeting, Brookings Inn – Room D
6:00 p.m. Past State Commanders’ social/dinner, Brookings Inn – Room D
9:00 a.m. Registration desk opens, Brookings Inn
9:00 a.m. State Headquarters desk opens to receive delegate credentials, distribute Go-Getter cards
Brookings Inn
10:00 a.m. Resolutions Committee Meeting – Brookings Inn – Campus Room
11:30 a.m. S.D.A.L.P.A. luncheon/meeting at Brookings Inn – Room D
1:30 p.m. Convention Committee Chairmen meet with Commander Anderson and Adjutant Boyd
in the lobby of Brookings High School
2:00 p.m. All convention committees hold initial meeting, designated rooms – Brookings High School
4:30 p.m. Memorial Service, Brookings High School – Bell Auditorium
6:00 p.m. No Host Cocktails – Brookings Inn – Rooms A, B and C
7:00 p.m. Joint Auxiliary/Legion Banquet – Brookings Inn – Rooms A, B and C
8:00 a.m. Registration desk opens, Brookings Inn
8:00 a.m. State Headquarters desk opens to receive delegate credentials, distribute Go-Getter cards Brookings High School – Hallway outside Bell Auditorium
8:30 a.m. Concert, State Legion Band, Brooking High School Bell Auditorium
9:00 a.m. Convention business session convenes in Brookings High School Bell Auditorium
3:30 p.m. Assemble for American Legion Olympics Competition – Brookings High School Track
6:00 p.m. Go-Getters’ Cocktail Party at Brookings Post 74
6:30 p.m. Go-Getters’ Smorgasbord at Brookings Post 74
8:00 a.m. Registration desk and State Headquarters desk open to receive delegate credentials,
Brookings High School – Hallway outside Bell Auditorium
9:00 a.m. Convention business session reconvenes, Brookings High School Bell Auditorium
12:00 pm Elections . . .
Delegates and alternates delegates to National Convention
State Commander
State Vice Commanders
State Master-at-Arms
Installation of newly elected officers by Immediate Past State Commander Gene Schumacher
Eighty-Eighth Annual Convention Adjourns
Post-Convention meeting of State American Legion Executive Committee in front
seats of Bell Auditorium, immediately following convention.
CONVENTION JOINT BANQUET TICKETS
This is a reminder that anyone attending the 88th Annual South Dakota American Legion Department Convention in Brookings should purchase their tickets for the Friday, June 16th Joint Legion, Auxiliary and SAL Banquet in advance. A copy of the form for ordering your tickets was printed in the March edition of the SD Legion News and copies were enclosed with the last edition of the Up To Now.
Tickets are $20.00 each and can be ordered from Brookings American Legion Post 74. The deadline for purchasing your advance tickets is June 5, 2006.
2006 NATIONAL LEGION COLLEGE
Department Headquarters is now accepting applications for the National American Legion College. The College will be held in Indianapolis, IN, Oct 29–Nov 3, 2006. Applications must be submitted to State Headquarters in Watertown, by June 14, 2006. Candidates must have military service from 1982 or later and must have completed The American Legion Extension Institute prior to submitting their application.
Applications will be reviewed by a panel of Past Department Commanders at the State Convention in Brookings. The application chosen by the PDCs will be forwarded to National Headquarters to be screened by a panel of Past National Commanders during the National Convention in Salt Lake City, UT and their selections will be announced by National Headquarters shortly after the conclusion of the National Convention.
Application forms can be obtained from State Headquarters in Watertown or from The American Legion National Website at www.legion.org.
MEMORIAL DAY
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 have 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.
Make sure that 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.
BOYS STATE 64th ANNUAL SESSION
The 2006 Session of South Dakota American Legion Boys State will be the 64th annual session. The session will commence Monday, May 29 and run through Saturday, June 3. 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 and early Monday to prepare for the approximate 470 boys who are registered as delegates for this 64th 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, Boys State was resumed.
State Commander Phil Anderson will address the delegates, Monday, May 29, during their initial General Assembly.
MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
2006 membership stands at 24,747 or 95.12% of goal.