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On December 23rd Post 522 will be host a Tom & Jerry Party at David Leet Post 522, Village of Somers. Bring a friend and celebrate the holidays!

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Good Afternoon,

I just wanted to let you know that the sponsorship packets for Badger Boys State were mailed out today!

The 80th session of Badger Boys State will be held June 11-17, 2023 at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The cost of sponsorship for the 2023 session will be $400 per delegate. Your generous donation ensures that we can welcome citizens to our program at no cost to them.

Attached is an electronic copy of the sponsorship materials. If you know of anyone who might be interested in sponsoring a student to Badger Boys State please feel free to share this information with them. We always have students in need of a sponsor.

If you have any questions or need a sponsorship packet mailed to someone who did not receive one please contact Sheri Hicks at Legion HQ at (608) 745-1090.

Your sponsorship and support of Badger Boys State are greatly appreciated.

Bill Cosh

Director
Badger Boys State
(608) 770-1282
billcosh@hotmail.com

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Greetings,

If you haven’t signed up for the Digital Dispatch yet, I urge you to do so.  There is always interesting information!

This dispatch includes a “ROAD MAP TO MYLEGION” that every Legionnaire should read and take action on.

Membership: Numbers don’t matter, its the people that they represent that matter!  Our numbers don’t lie though.  County Commanders, please look at those Posts that are falling back.  We can’t wait for Legionnaires to come to us.  We must go out and recruit them, and we must remind our current members why they joined.

Regards,
Bond
D1 Commander

Do you know what myLegion.org is? If you don’t you are really missing out on some great information about your membership. There are five main sections of the website:

  1. My Account – This is where you update the personal information that you would like to share with the Legion. Among many other things, you can print your membership card.
  2. Member Discounts – Discounts have never been easier to research as they are organized by type, for example Medical, Auto Rental, Moving & Relocation, Travel, and other sections
  3. Subscriptions – You can view a digital version of The American Legion Magazine, The Dispatch, and you can Opt in or out of email for various merchandise offers, media newsletters, and Membership news. You can even sign up for a Flag Alert that lets you know when the US Flag should be lowered to half mast.
  4. There is a section that allows you to Donate to your favorite Legion initiative. There are probably a few that you didn’t know about.
  5. There is also a Contact section that has all the important Legion phone numbers and email addresses.

Click this link to get started. It’s Free with your membership.

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The 1st District Fall Conference this past weekend was hosted by Waterford Post 20.

Department of Wisconsin Commander Julie Muhlie Addressing the 2022 Fall Conference

Commander Nathan Bond talked again about the 72,400 veterans in the 1st District that are not members of The American Legion, and our goal as a district is to get just 5233 of those people to renew / join this membership year, the “most important veterans organization that ever existed” The Commander stressed that the numbers are not important, it’s the people that they represent that are the reason that The American Legion exists. During his talk, he mentioned some of The American Legion’s accomplishments including some from this list…

Pushed for a Federal Veterans Bureau that became the forerunner of today’s Department of Veterans Affairs

Began sponsoring Boy Scout troops

Drafted the first flag code in 1923

At the forefront of efforts to gain a constitutional amendment to protect the Flag from physical desecration

Drafted the original GI Bill of Rights

Championed the GI Bill of the 21st century

Established a youth baseball program in 1925 where 65 percent of professional baseball players today got their start

Created Boys State and Boys Nation

Fosters a greater understanding of the U. S. Constitution through a High School Oratorical Scholarship Program

Spoke out as early as 1966 about the fate of American POWs and MIAs in Vietnam

Was the largest single financial contributor to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington

Raised over 4.5 million dollars for the World War II Memorial

Took the federal government to court for its failure to pursue the effects of agent orange on Vietnam Veterans

Formed the “Family Support Network” to assist families of service men and women

Formed a special task force to assist Persian Gulf Veterans and their families for undiagnosed illnesses

Presented Congress with a dramatic new plan to reform and revitalize the VA health care system by calling for the VA to accept Medicare and opening it up to all veterans

Offers free advice and representation on VA benefits and claims

Fought for veterans benefits; a strong military; moral upbringing of this nation’s youth; a strong national defense; Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation; children and youth Americanism

One important announcement was the new First District webpage, https://1dwilegion.org. Commander Bond’s wishes that department business have a home base on the internet have resulted In the website where you are probably reading this article. In the coming days, all reports and documents will be available here. Keep an eye on the “Document Repository” menu.

The facility picked by Post 20 was well suited to the conference, and the food and amenities were top notch. Thanks to Post 20 Commander James Cairo, IT Support and Social Media Officer, B. Shane Morris, and Post 20 Membership for all they did to make the conference a success.

Photographs of the event can be found under the Media menu.

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1st District Commander Nathan Bond with Kenosha County Commander Tom Visintainer addressing Kenosha County leadership.

72,400! Do you know what that number is and what it represents? First District Commander, Nathan Bond, wants you to know! This is the approximate number of veterans in First District.  “THE MEMBERSHIP NUMBERS DON’T MATTER! It is the veterans and their families that those numbers represent that matter,” said Cmdr Bond.

Cmdr Bond reiterated to the Kenosha County Post Commanders his dedication to increasing the membership of the “most important veterans organization that ever existed.” He continued, “Our membership mission is to let as many of the 72,400 know what we do. It’s not the number of times you ask someone to join, it’s them wanting to join that’s important, and you need to tell them why they want to join this winning team… It should be our goal to let every one of the 72,400 know, as often as possible, what we are doing.  Because, they want to know; they need to know. They want to continue their service to the country, and they want to be part of a winning team! Isn’t that why you joined?”

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If a Post Officer is able to mark a Member deceased in MyLegion.org, it is not necessary to notify HQ via paper or email of the status.  A bi-monthly report of the recently updated status will automatically notify HQ that the Member is deceased and will appear in a report run for the “Last Bugle” publication in the Badger Legionnaire.

An email or paper copy of the Member Data Form or “Last Bugle” notification form is only necessary if the Post Officers are unable to use MyLegion.org to complete the updates.  If the Member Data Form is used, please only use one-ply of the form (save the other 3-plys for other notifications).  HQ no longer needs multiple copies.

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The Headquarters Building will be CLOSED  from 9/26/2022-10/7/2022 for renovation.  HQ and ALA Staff will be available by phone, voice mail and/or email.  However, if you need anything, please let us know as soon as possible as our capabilities will be limited due to lack of access to files and supplies during the renovation.

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1st District Service Officer Richard Strehlow’s outstanding report is now available here. Check out the “Document Repository” menu for the page.

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This isn’t about numbers of members, but it is about what the numbers represent.  This is about serving our fellow Veterans and their families.  This is about maintaining the Legacy that has been passed on to us.  This is about service to our communities, the State, and Nation.

The Good News: We are on track and actually ahead of National’s membership goals for us.

The “Bad” News: We have less than 4% “market penetration.” Even when we hit the goals that Department and National have set for us, we will only have 7% of the Veterans in our 5 Counties belonging to this OUTSTANDING organization.  There are about 72,400 Veterans living in Kenosha, Racine, Rock, Walworth, and Waukesha Counties.  Those veterans and their families need us to lead them into this Legacy.  They need us to tell them the story of The American Legion.  They need us to remind them of their obligations to their community, State, and Nation.  They need us to bring them along into the future of The American Legion and the future of “…the real America, the America worth fighting for.”

So, NOW IS THE TIME! Now is the time to call and talk to our current members.  Challenge them to maintain their commitment to this organization.  Now is the time to call and talk to those who recently joined and are being carried on the 2930 list.  Now is the time to call those on the 2930 list from 2022 and 2021 and challenge them to renew their commitment; to remind them of the WIN that The American Legion just got for them out of Congress and the VA with the passage of the PACT Act.  Send letters, call on the phone, text message, and even knock on doors.

County Commanders, please elicit from your Posts the dates of their membership rallies that are to be held NLT November 13TH.  This can also be done by your County as a whole at the same time and location.  I am happy to be present and make calls along with the rest of your leadership team.  The more wins we have NOW, the easier March, April, and May will be.

Thank you for your hard work to date.  It isn’t about the membership numbers to me, except that they reflect our impact on the lives of Veterans, on the community, on America.  “To whom much is given, much is expected.” We have been given a legacy and we must not only maintain it, we must strengthen it and pass it on.

Bond

D1 Commander

262-215-3481

PS: Thanks again to all of you who were at the POW/MIA Silent March.