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The updated 1st District Constitution / By-Laws to reflect the amendment voted on at the Fall Conference. Judge Advocate and Past Department Commander Ted DeMicchi presented the changes in accordance with procedures at the 1st District Fall Conference in Ordfordville.

The document can be found in the [Documents Repository/Constitution and ByLaws] menu option.

Note: If you are on your phone, the menu is the small box with three stacked lines on the upper left.

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If 1st District Commander Bond wasn’t able to attend your Post or County’s last meeting, here are his current topics…

  • Take note of legionnaires that have not yet paid.  This number is too large at this point in the membership drive year.  Please take the time to make contact with the members that have not yet renewed and importantly, find out why!
  • National has raised dues for National/State to $35.  Your Post Data Report should be reviewed for accuracy and turned in by the deadline
  • CVSO Information VA Health Care eligibility – March 5th PAC Act – Tell your folks to review changes!  Sign up for eligibility even if you don’t need it at this point. There is a time limit that I can help as I will be retiring from the Walworth County CVSO in 2025.
  • Facebook Groups Wisconsin American Legion 1st District / WI American Legion Family Group – have your folks and their spouses join.  Lots of great information
  • Websites wilegion.org, 1dwilegion.org  legion.org and legion.org/action (Sign up for digital dispatch)
  • Sunday May 5th – 1st District Conference at Post 24. Make sure that your post has it’s authorized delegates there.

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Oratorical Contest CANCELLED

This year’s contest has been cancelled due to a lack of participation. Please make promoting this excellent program a priority for 2024.

Are you a student that is, or wants to be, a good public speaker? Are you interested in Civics, arguably one of the most important subjects in the United States of America today? Do you have ambitions to speak publicly, or perhaps become a politician? The American Legion has an Oratorical contest program that is a really good opportunity for students to in 9, 10, 11, or 12th grade to start their journey, and win scholarships to help with their studies.

Interested students start out by contacting their local Wisconsin American Legion Post. 1st District Posts contact information can be found under the “1D Posts” menu above.

The winner at the ensuing American Legion Post contest will then move on to a County contest. The American Legion Wisconsin’s Waukesha County will have their contest at the HHS Building in Elkhorn starting at 9:00 AM on February 3rd.

The winner of the County Contest moves on to the Regional contest scheduled on March 23, 2024 at Ripon College. The winners at the Regional level move on to the finals contest the same day and go home with a $3000 scholarship. From there you will have about a month to prepare for the National Contest in Hillsdale, Michigan in May to compete for a $25,000 scholarship.

Time is running out for the 2024 contest, so start working on your speech, and contact your local post today. Note that there are annual assigned topics which are in the links listed below:

From a personal point of view, I have attended some of these contests, and I’m certain that some of the contestants are going to be our leaders in the future.

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The Oconomowoc and Okauchee Posts are having a meat raffle fundraiser. On Saturday October 14 noon to 4.

The location is Post 399 in beautiful downtown Okauchee. There will be food and beverages available. 

We have 17 great cuts of meat from Michael’s meat market in Waukesha. I’m sure you will find many to your liking.

There will also be a 50/50 raffle. 

All proceeds will be used for Veterans Support by both Posts.

Please come a help make this event a success for our posts.

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1st District 2nd Vice Commander Thomas J Visintainer Sr’s son Tom Jr. made this outstanding video of this year’s Silent March. Check out the Media Menu for the pictures or click here!

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This year’s Fall Conference will be at Paul Herrick Post 21 in Kenosha:

The American Legion
Paul Herrick Post 21
504 58th Street
Kenosha, WI 53140

Parking

  • There is a public parking lot directly across the street on the South side of the building.
  • The Post has a parking lot around the building.
  • There are many spots on the street in the immediate vicinty of the Post
    • Be aware that Franks Diner has a lot of business in the morning It’s probably best not to park on the street in front of the restaurant. They are great neighbors!
    • Franks was featured on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” some time ago.
  • Be careful of spots dedicated to the apartment building residents.

To Register for the Conference, please visit this SquareReader Payment website:

More to Follow

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The 1st District of the Wisconsin American Legion is comprised of 45 posts from five counties in southeastern Wisconsin. Every year since 1983, the 1st District Legionnaires, along with all other veterans and civilians, have rendered respect for those who may still be serving this country as a POW or are classified as Missing in Action. This tribute takes the form of a Silent March.
            The Silent March is best described as a quiet, solemn procession. The participants walk in unison with reverent silence and the only sound to be heard is a lone drumbeat. It is not a parade with marching bands, sirens and a great deal of fanfare. All veterans and the general public are invited to participate. The distance traveled is usually up to one mile.
            The march concludes with a ceremony that includes guest speakers, a presentation of the POW/MIA table ceremony, and a reading of the names of Wisconsin veterans who are still MIA from Vietnam. Each name is accompanied by the toll of a bell and the release of a black balloon. A balloon is also released for MIAs from World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War and the Gulf War. It is usually a very moving observance and an appropriate manner in which to show our respect for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice while in captivity and for those missing in action whose fate is still undetermined.
            Attendance at the March has been growing ever since Congress established the third Friday in September as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. The 1st District Silent March takes place on the next day and is hosted each time by a different Legion post within the 1st District. This year’s march marks 40 years of remembrance and will be hosted by Twin Lakes Post 544. It’s an event that is the highlight of the year for the district. Other districts in the state as well as around the country are always encouraged to host their own marches. We shall never forget and we must push for a full accounting of all our servicemen and women.

Download the Posters / Invitation…

POW-MIA-SILENT-MARCH-INVITATION-SIGNEDDownload
POWMIA-Poster-8.5-x-11-Mission-BBqDownload
PW-MIA-Letter-Black-Mission-BBQDownload

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The 1st District Spring Conference was held on Sunday, May 7, 2023. Here are some highlights:

Department Vice Commander Karl E. Stuvengen, 2023-2024 Candidate for Department Commander, gave a briefing on some of the Departments current programs. A good place to keep up yourself is this link on the Departments website: https://wilegion.org/headquarters-updates-news/. He also noted that Consolidated Post Reports (CPR’s) are due at the end of May from your Post, and your SAL Squadron. Not turning in a CPR can be detrimental in the event your Post is part of a disaster. CPR’s should be a continual priority of your Posts leadership. Karl spoke on the importance of getting new members and perhaps more importantly, keeping the ones we have. Vice Commander Stuvengen passed the word that Department Commander Muhle was happy with our membership progress, and the he himself was proud to be from the 1st District. The legacy of the American Legion is as important now as it ever was, especially when it comes to representing veterans to the State and Federal government. “Recruit the next YOU!”

The Keynote Speaker, Yiayia Wischki gave an impassioned talk on her “Be The One 4 our Youth” campaign. Some of her messages were: “Don’t wait until you’re in crisis”, and “Keep em’ talking, and keep em’ alive” The program provides young people with a mission and tasks that they believe will address Bullying, Self Harm, and Suicide. For more information email Yiayia at BTO4OURYOUTH@GMAIL.COM. Their website bto4ouryouth.org will be online soon.

We heard from Gail Minks and Jim Johnson, and Linda Pfeiffer, candidates for Department Vice Commander.

Also on hand was State Chaplain of the American Legion Riders, Dan Workenaour, who gave a talk on their upcoming “Back to Basics Tour”. The event is “OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!” You can find out more here: http://alrawis.org/B2B/index.html

1st District Commander Nathan Bond doubled down on his offer to defer costs of taking The American Legion’s “Basic Training” course available here: https://www.legion.org/alei. The Commander also spearheaded a final push for the Membership year by having us call a member of our post that has not yet paid during a 5 minute break in the meeting. I didn’t actually hear any results, but I did hear one side of some of the conversations. Pretty cool! There is still some time to re-sign members. “They don’t call us the 1st for nothing. Let’s lead the way”.

All available Committee Reports are available online under the Document Repository Menu here: https://1dwilegion.org/2023-fall-conference-reports/