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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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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 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/

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Do you want to improve your Post? Do you want to take your American Legion membership to the next level? If so, consider attending the Department of Wisconsin’s MidWinter Conference.

There is a small admission fee of just $20 if you send in the Registration before January.  The training classes, interesting meetings, and camaraderie more than make up for it. Not to mention the pins and doo-dads available at the vendor tables.  It won’t hurt to click this Midwinter Conference link to see what they have to offer.  Also, it will give you a chance to take a look at the Department’s website!

You and your Post will be better for going!

By the way, did you know that the Department has a Facebook Page!

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Commander Bond made time to attend the Kenosha County Common Council monthly meeting and holiday party hosted by Twin Lakes Post 544.   He talked fondly about one of his long time Legion mentors, Past Department Commander Bud Mautz, who transferred to Post Everlasting recently.

The Commander discussed membership and it’s importance to the Legion. Also of great importance were the members themselves. He beseeched everyone to “Call Some One” as it is the season for buddy checks.  He summed up his talk stating that our fellow veterans need us, and to “Make sure that we are there for them”.

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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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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 year’s First District Silent March was in a beautiful place on a perfect day. We were joined by Local Police and the Elkhorn VFW. The following Posts participated in the march: 21, 24 45 135, 172, 183, 188, 327, Also participating were the Department ALA units 35 24 and 95, SAL Squadrons, and the Legion Rider Officers. Also participating were the Local VFW District officers. Commander Bond noted that Veterans from different organizations participating in events such as together is important to the Veteran Community.

Check out the “Media” menu above to get to a photo album of the event.

Commander Bond’s remarks follow:

There are One-thousand, five-hundred, four Wisconsinites unaccounted for from conflicts involving the United States since December 1941.

No group has invested more in The United States of America than her military veterans and their families.  We are the ones who have risked life and limb. We are the ones who have given blood, sweat, and tears. We are the ones who have been witness to the sacrifices of our comrades, even the ultimate sacrifice.  No one is more invested in America than we are.

We the members of The American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars are here today because of those 1,504 Wisconsinites and the other nearly 80,000 unaccounted for US military-service members. We are here to remember them.  We are here to remember the families who do not know the fate of their Solider, Marine, Sailor, Airman, or Coast-Guardsman.

We are not just here to remember though.  We are here to insist that the efforts for a full accounting of these individuals be continued; that these families receive the closure they deserve.  We are here to insist that the efforts—both nationally and here in Wisconsin—to complete this noble effort, be fully funded.    We call upon the candidates for the Wisconsin Legislature and Governor’s office to commit to fully funding The University of Wisconsin Missing-In-Action Recovery and Identification Project.  The Project’s team members recover, identify, and repatriate the remains of U.S. service members by conducting annual field excavations and year-round research assistance to families of missing service members. The project consists of an interdisciplinary team of academic experts and student volunteers in the fields of history, archaeology, forensic anthropology, and biology, all collaborating to make the mission a success.  Our Wisconsin Leaders must fully fund this project’s mission.

So, thank you all for being here today, and thank you in advance for calling your preferred candidate and asking for their commitment to funding the UW’s MIA Recovery and Identification Project.

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On Saturday, 13 August at Lake Geneva Post 24 the Legion Wisconsin 1st District had their officer installation ceremony and annual Christmas party. Check out photo’s of the event from the “Media” Menu.

Commander Len Jegerski’s Post 24 put on a very nice event. The company and the food were top notch! Thank you Post 24 for your outstanding effort!