Post 2 Early Bird BBQ and Membership Drive

I am writing this post today to invite you to join with me as your First Vice Commander in making MEMBERSHIP our number one goal this 2015 membership year. It is no secret that our membership has suffered over the past five years for several different reasons to include transfers, deaths, mediocre communication, and inefficient efforts to bring awareness to what Post 2 has been doing over time.

I am here to say that THE BUCK STOPS HERE. We must aggressively attack the issue of membership and this is the year that we turn our decline around! I am presently putting together a demanding year-long plan to achieve our goals and more. While we have not received our goal numbers for the 2015 membership year at this time, our goal truly should not be a number or a percentage. What our goal should me is to have AS MANY MEMBERS IN OUR POST AS POSSIBLE. This will require us to engage and communicate with our membership. This will require us to begin aggressive work IMMEDIATELY to not only stop the bleeding, but to repair the issues. And it will require forward thinking in our approach to recruiting new membership to bring our numbers back up once again. We must stay ahead of the goals set for us by National and continue to push forward for the good of not only our current American Legion post and our programs, but to preserve the organization for the future!

I’d like to invite you to come on down to the American Legion on Thursday evening, July 24^th between the hours of 5:30 and 8:00 and join us for an Early Bird BBQ and Membership Drive! Come down, enjoy hot dogs and chips on us, renew your membership for 2015, visit with other Legion members and officers, and re-visit the building and the Pickled Parrot. There will be a cash bar available as well. This event is taking place outdoors on the east side lawn of the American Legion building. Save yourself the postage and come down and take care of your membership while enjoying a meal and catching up with your fellow Legionnaires. (In the case of rain, the event will be held indoors.)

As a part of our revitalization plan, the mission of fixing our membership woes is paramount. Other portions of the revitalization plan include standing up more community programs, seeking out volunteers to aid with the building and premises, strengthening our manpower with our existing programs, and seeking out young veterans to join our organization to ensure a healthy future for our organization.

On behalf of Commander Michele Olson and our officers of Post 2, we HIGHLY ENCOURAGE YOU to come down to the Post on Thursday, July 24^th if you are able. Please show us that you onboard with me in committing to the future of our organization. If you have questions, you can contact me by e-mail at christopher@danoandchris.com or by phone at (701) 306-7567. Thank you for your time and I sincerely hope to see you at this event. God bless you, our veterans, and the American Legion.

Christopher Hanson

First Vice Commander



The Jass Festival Returns to the American Legion

The Jass Festival will be hosted by the American Legion for a third straight year bringing the popular jazz festival downtown once again!  This year, the festival will collect items for the Fargo VA Medical Center as admission to performance events.  These items will be given to Veterans in need at the hospital.  The festival will begin with a show by popular FM band 'Post Traumatic Funk Syndrome' on Saturday night, August 9th, from 8pm-10pm (21+ event).  Performances will continue the next day for all ages with a continuous afternoon of local jazz groups from noon until 6pm.  All events will take place on the outdoor stage at the American Legion.  For more information on the festival, CLICK HERE. 

Another Tragic Story and the VA

CLICK HERE to watch video on a tragic story as posted in the Burnpit on the American Legion website.  The videos tell the story of a veteran who died waiting for an ambulance at an Albuquerque VA hospital.

VAVS Report - July

David Lee

As the summer months have begun, there has not been too much to report.

We received the VAVS Summary and Annual Joint Review and all areas under the review were rated excellent.

Parking is still a problem at the VA.

Summer youth volunteering has been very good.

Next Bingo date at the VA will take place on July 10th at 7pm.

There are still many volunteer opportunities at the VA that need to be filled, especially Courtesy Vehicle Drivers on Monday and Friday.

PTSD/TBI Care: Is It Effective?

The American Legion and their members do not believe that the current PTSD/TBI care systems and procedures are effective enough.  CLICK HERE to read more about this very important issue that many of our young service members are struggling with day in and day out.

Seventy Years of the GI Bill

The American Legion recently celebrated the 70th anniversary of the GI Bill, one of the most famous education benefits utilized by thousands of service members every year.  CLICK HERE to read more about the history of this valuable program. 

WE NEED YOUR HELP - Building Projects

We are desperately in need of help around the building at Post 2.  An endless list of tasks is building and growing and your aid is needed in the form of "sweat equity".  Cleaning and maintenance in and around the building is essential and we are calling on you to help us out if possible.

Most tasks are routine and do not take too much time.  There are a limited number of large projects that also need to be taken care of as well.  Any help you can contribute would be appreciated very much.

CLICK HERE TO READ A FULL LIST OF TASKS THAT NEED TO BE TAKEN CARE OF IN THE POST 2 BUILDING!

Contact Christopher Hanson at (701) 306-7567 or Tommy Tolman at (701) 237-4013 to volunteer today.