7th District commander’s January 2024 report

Greetings to all of my fellow Legionnaires.

To all in the 7th District and all of the other districts around this great state of Minnesota, I hope you had a happy holiday season.

The past year was a challenging year for The American Legion. Minnesota continues to strive to show all of the other states that we are strong. Membership continues to be a challenge for all of us. The 7th District sits in fourth place, but I know we have and can do better.

Let’s get out there and talk to our members and to the servicemembers we know and tell them about The American Legion, what the Legion has done for them, and what we can do for them.  Remember to keep our comrades in arms that are not able to be with their families this Christmas due to a deployment or a posting out of their home state, along with that remember those veterans who are in care facilities or those who are homeless and less fortunate than us.

It was nice seeing many of you at the Pearl Harbor Rally several weeks ago, and I am hoping to see all of you at the 7th District Mid-Winter Conference in New London on Jan. 20. We have set an alternate date in case of bad weather which is Jan. 27. Registration starts at 8 a.m. Pre-registration is $15 with late registrations or paying at the door is $18. The reason for asking for pre-registration is to allow the people preparing the food to have a basic idea of the number of attendees. Remember that the registration fee covers the cost of your meal with any additional monies to the post or to a project identified by the Auxiliary. Watch for the registration form in the December newsletter which will go out at the end of this week.

Again, I will remind all of you about my project for the year, “Veterans helping Veterans,” which is the Montevideo Veterans Home. It hosted an open house on Jan. 2 at 4 p.m. I am hoping that your post will think my project is a good cause.

Some other upcoming events that maybe of interest to you are the 7th District Convention, which will be May 18 at Morris Post 29. Department Events that are coming up are the Sweetheart Rally in Forest Lake on Feb. 3.  The Department Convention will be July 11-13 and will be hosted by Willmar Post 167, which is in our district, and will be at the Willmar Convention Center.

The Department Fall Conference will be in St. Cloud again at the River’s Edge Convention Center on Oct. 24-26. If you have not attended or are new to The American Legion, all of these events can help you learn more about what the Legion does for you and other veterans. I hope to see many of you at these events.

Should you have any questions or concerns, feel free to call me. I can be reached at home 320-406-2700 or on my cell 320-339-9927 or email at jancrs1@gmail.com.

Remember our strength lies in our numbers.