10th District commander’s October report

Happy Autumn to everyone in the Legion Family from the Mighty Tenth District! I must admit that I’m still recovering from the excitement of both the National Convention and the Legionville Camporee. I’m not exaggerating by saying I’ve learned more about The American Legion in the past month than I have in the previous two or three years.

If you’ve never been to Legionville on North Long Lake northeast of Brainerd, I highly encourage you to check it out. It is the Department of Minnesota’s crown jewel with over 600 wooded acres, and pristine lakeshore.

And we, as Legion Family, have been blessed with two events that are open to us there: Camporee and the Legionville Romp.
Camporee, if you don’t know, is when any Legion Family members can go camping at Legionville for a very reasonable price.

There are cookouts, rallies, games and general good fellowship. The Legionville Romp is in the same category, but is geared towards the American Legion Riders as their annual biker rally.

One thing that I observed at both Legionville and National Convention: Many of the active participants, sadly, will not be around in 10 years. This really drives home the need to both recruit and retain new, younger members. And not just get these people into the post, but actually mentor them to be excited, active members. Get them to the rallies, Legion Baseball games, conventions, motorcycle rides, ruck marches, etc. Our future depends on it, now more than ever!