Thanks for 2 great years as district commander

The past two years as district commander have been a whirlwind. I’ve only been a member of The American Legion for three years so becoming commander was like drinking from a fire cannon.

I don’t think I was the best at it, but I definitely had fun getting to know everyone along with the hows, the whys, the ways, the etiquette and the Robert’s Rules of Order! Ha ha!

Thanks to Teresa Ash for getting me involved at the district level of The American Legion right out of the gate. She had a vision about younger veterans becoming district level leaders.

This is an ever-present change that will have to take place. Younger veterans are always going to have to take the place of the older veterans to keep this organization alive. New ideas and new boots on ground have the potential to really bring veterans and their families together.

The issue that we ran into is that us younger veterans still work 40-plus hours a week and have young children and schedules that just don’t line up.

Being in this position helped me see all of the ways that this organization is great. The camaraderie is like no other. At The American Legion, any veteran can create a group to bring veterans together like I have with the Legion Cruisers and the Food Shelf Ruck March and what Gabe Keith did with the Writers Club. Going to the conventions and meeting veterans from all over the state and world has been something I truly look forward to.

I won’t be transitioning to a leadership position after being district commander, I want to be more active at the post level. We are in a constant fight to keep Arcade-Phalen Post 577 afloat, and this year we are going to be putting ideas into motion. We hope to make that post the place to be on the east side.

Congratulations to incoming Commander Dan Bronk on being elected commander!

Bronk has been a vital member of The American Legion both post level and district level. He has brought forth great ideas to improve North St. Paul Post 39 to generate more revenue and members.

He has also done a fantastic job at being Area 1 district vice commander. Many times when I couldn’t make it or just plain forgot about a meeting or RCCC, Dan would be there and ran the meetings. He’s always been kind even when I don’t understand things or forget things. I look forward to the great things that he will accomplish in his time as commander.

Thanks to my best friend, Jesse Kalinoski, for stepping up when we were a man down and becoming the Area 2 district vice commander. Jesse and I met one day at the firing line when we were a part of the 309th Army Reserve Engineer Company going to Kuwait in 2011.

We started chatting because we both shot a 37 and were both old PFCs. I was 28 and he was 31. He was from Bravo Company 1-194 and I was Bravo Company 2-135. We became Facebook friends and eventually became good friends. He’s always got my back, and I always have his. I know all of this American Legion stuff is a lot to learn, and we don’t always know what we’re doing, but I’m happy that you got involved. You’re doing great things!

Thanks to all of the commanders and leadership that came before me. Thanks be to the veterans that have since passed on during my time as commander.

Since I won’t be commander anymore, I won’t be able to write these columns or newsletters anymore. Add me on Facebook  to see firsthand what we’re doing to help veterans going forward.

Thank you!

Jonathan Hayworth is the immediate past 4th District commander.