Department Convention to review constitutional mandates
WILLMAR — All convention committees will have to meet at the 106th American Legion Department of Minnesota Convention in July.
They will need to review the mandates in the Department Constitution & By-Laws.
“They will need to decide whether these mandates are relevant in today’s world,” said Department Adjutant Mike Maxa.
The 19-page document has a constitution of 15 articles, a set of bylaws covering administration, discipline, rules, rules of order and rules for amendments — all followed by applicable mandates from over the years going back to the first department convention in 1919 in Rochester.
The mandates stem from approved resolutions and some get cleaned off the books every five years if they are found to be pointless. The oldest still in existence is from that 1919 convention. It says, “Urge adoption and implementation of a Universal Military Training or Universal Service Act.”
All these years later, where members gather and have casual conversations, it is common to hear many of them say Americans should serve their country in one way or another — in civil or military service — for two years.
Once there, open the folder that says “Constitution & Bylaws.” Download. Print.
Convention committees typically meet to review resolutions, and committees with resolutions will have to review them, too.
An example of a mandate that needs revision is this one from 2010: “That the Oratorical Contest be held on the District Level before December 31st of each year and the Department Contest no later than January 31st of the following year. (Repeals Mandate of 1989.)”
In truth, the Department Oratorical Contest typically falls on the last Saturday of February. The district ones often happen in late January or early February.
Another example is one from 1955: “Recommend to all District Officers that some method be devised to stagger and group according to geographical locations, the time and place of District Conventions and Fall Rallies to make it possible for Department Officers to officially attend and give time to each one.”
Good luck with the “some method” part.
Registration
The Department Convention is July 10-13. Registration begins at 3 p.m. Wednesday, July 9, at Willmar Post 167.
To sign up with a check, click here and download the form. The fee is $20. You also will find a schedule. You can download the rules and convention call in this PDF of the Legionnaire.
To sign up online, click here to go through Eventbrite. The fee is $20, plus a $3.18 convenience fee.
Registration after June 26 goes up to $30 by mail and $30 plus a convenience fee online. Registration at the door also is $30.
The convention is when the business of The American Legion gets done. New department officers are elected. Committee chairs give their reports on what they accomplished in the past year. Resolutions are voted upon and some are sent up the chain to the National Convention.
The event is also a time for sharing ideas. Membership directors learn membership tips. Gambling managers hear from Gambling Control Board staff. New district commanders learn from old district commanders.
Camaraderie and mutual helpfulness are on display, with great entertainment at Willmar Post 167. A shuttle service to the hotels is planned out, too.
A gambling seminar takes place at 2 p.m. Thursday, July 10. A joint memorial service is at 11:20 the same day. The full schedule is printed in this issue.
