The COVID 19 epidemic, among other things, has significantly harmed our Post 66 operations and finances. We are currently operating in the RED and need to develop new sources of income.

We would appreciate your ideas and help to improve our financial status. Our financial health is a topic that will be with us for many years.

Looking at next year’s budget and focusing on fundraising, a budget meeting will be held at the Post on Monday, March 21 at 10:00 a.m. Please attend.

AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY (ALA), UNIT 66

The ALA is busy with the Girls State program interviews.  Janice Somers, Jacqueline Plumey, and I (Laurie Richards) have interviewed 5 schools. The ALA sponsors San Luis Obispo High, Mission College Prep, Morro Bay High, Atascadero High, and Templeton High.  The ALA will be sending 5 young ladies to California State University, Sacramento where the girls will be submerged in an amazing week of learning.  Focused on responsible citizenship, leadership, and love for God and country.

Our unit is working with local schools for Americanism-Essay-Contest and Poppy Poster/Essay contests.

Levi Gonnion, Legion 66 member who is currently deployed, has requested American flags to be sent to his battalion to fly from their Apache Helicopter. American flags waving from the helicopter were approved by the ALA.  Our unit will also be adopting his battalion, Unit TF Attack, to support them with letters, cards, flags, and whatever they need.

On February 19 a workshop was held in Santa Maria for anyone from the ALA.  Several of the Unit 66 members were able to attend.  Those who attended were recertified in Leadership Training.

Auxiliary Unit 66 sponsors the family night movies on the last Friday of the month.  All movies are geared toward young viewers.  Popcorn is available along with candy bars. Our March Movie Night will be on March 25, at 6 p.m. The movie will be “Secret Life of Pets.”

Laurie Richards
Unit 66 President
The American Legion Auxiliary

American Legion Leader Elections

Submitted by Rick Pushies, Post 66 Webmaster, Department of California Web Team. Originally published by The American Legion in the American Legion Training Newsletter on April 17, 2017.

It will soon be time to elect new leaders in our local posts. Sometimes Legionnaires question, who is eligible to hold office in your post? Traditionally, every member of a post, that is in good standing (dues paid current), is eligible to hold office in their post.

The annual cycle of The American Legion begins each year on July 1 and runs through the end of June the following year. The officer election cycle starts to come into view in March when nominations begin to be made for new leaders at the post. During April and May, the officer election process continues and by the end of June the annual election process is over, till the cycle begins again the following year.

The quality of the leaders we elect significantly impacts the success of our posts. Posts that have a sizeable pool of Legionnaires with a passion to serve as leaders are blessed. Good leadership candidates have a clear vision for success in our post and give us hope, that things will get better.

Looking for Leaders

What should we look for in the Legionnaires we elect to lead our post? The most obvious is a desire to serve. Legionnaires who really want to serve as leaders, usually make better leaders than those who do not.

Here are some thoughts on the kind of things we should all look for, in the Legionnaires, we select as leaders:

• A true passion for The American Legion.
• Have a willingness to learn more about our history and programs.
• Have the time and energy needed to succeed.
• Ability to develop a clear vision for post success.
• Is an effective and frequent communicator.
• Effective computer skills are increasingly becoming important.
• Can get the job done and keep the Legion Family together.

The Legionnaires we elect to lead our posts are important. Seek out and elect the best Legionnaires available to lead, then work hard to support them, as we work hard to serve all our veterans.

What are post leaders responsible for? In the broad view, they are responsible for the success of our post. To find a more detailed answer to the question of what leaders do, look at these documents:

• Your post constitution, bylaws, and standing rules.
  These should be available from the adjutant.
• Post Officer Guide and Manual of Ceremonies
• Post Adjutant’s Manual
• Post Operations Manual and Post Building Guide

Post leaders are elected by the post membership or appointed by the newly elected Post Commander, per the post bylaws. The key post leadership roles are Commander, First Vice Commander, Second Vice Commander, Adjutant, and Finance Officer. Good post commanders work with and through other post leaders.

Read more . . .

Post 66 Elections

Post 66 Bylaws

The nomination of officers for the coming year began at our March meeting and will continue in April and May. The election will be held at the May meeting.  Current nominations are for:

• Post Commander: Yvonne Hampton
• Adjutant: Rich Powell
• Finance Officer: Maggie Glidden
• First Vice Commander, (none)
• Second Vice Commander (none), and
• Six Executive Committee Members
  • Patty Hahn
  • Robert Bettencourt
  • Bill Fieldhouse
  • Janice Somers
  • (none)
  • (none)

The Post Commander, Adjutant, and Finance officer are required officers for a post to maintain an American Legion Charter. The remaining post leaders share, with all members of our Legion Family, the responsibility for our post’s success.

There are also a number of leadership positions the new post commander will appoint. We will provide more information on them in next month’s newsletter.