Newsletter
 

New Year
Post Everlasting
New Members
Monthly Meetings
Eligibility For Membership
Accomplishments in 2006
The American Legion Preamble to the Constitution

Monthly Minutes:
February
March

New Year
Welcome to another year of the American Legion! Some of you reading this are not yet members of the Legion family but are eligible veterans. Others reading this are members of the Lacey Post 110, which is the temporary holding place until you find a local Post to call home. If you have any ties to Lake Stevens, live basically within the Lake Stevens School District boundary, or have the 98258 or the 98205 zip code, you will want to be a part of our Post 181. For membership information (new, transfer, or other), contact Adjutant Tom Thorleifson at the above email or phone number.

Email
If you have an email address, please let us know, even if you only check it once a week or only when a grandkid comes to help you with it. Future newsletters and other timely information can be sent out faster, easier, and cheaper by email. Send your email address to Adjutant Tom Thorleifson at this email: LSAmericanLegion@comcast.net.

Post Everlasting
We remember the following 21 Lake Stevens area veterans who passed away in 2006. For each veteran, a memorial flag-lowering ceremony was performed to honor his service to the United States of America. We continue to make a difference in our community by publicly showing support for our veterans. Our veterans will not be forgotten.

New Members
We welcome the following new members for 2007. They have joined since July 1, 2006:

Greg Brace
Jim Dotson
Andrew Heikkinen
Ed Miller
Sean O'Leary
Truman Peterson
Jeremy Phillips
Ron Porter
Kim Ralls
Vern Rasmussen
Judd Schwarzmiller
Bill Vails
Dennis Warren
Roy Wicklund

The following members have transferred from the Lacey Post 110, the Department's administrative holding post. We also welcome them to Post 181.

Roger Barry
Robert Brooke
Grant Brumpton
Brian McLoughlin
Gary Nordby
Stephen Olson
Christopher Pilchard
Kim Ralls
Roger Ratterree
Donald Speirs
Geoffrey Surprenant
Ed Williams
William Zschoche

A special welcome is extended to Charles and Erika Olinzock who have joined us from their American Legion Post in Pennsylvania.

Monthly Meetings
Regular monthly meetings are held on the 4th Thursday of each month at 7:00 P.M. As most of you are aware, we do not have our own building at this time, but we are becoming comfortable at the Senior Center. We are able to store most of our equipment there and we have great access to both the building and the War Memorial. We have been using the Senior Center since the September, 2006 meeting. The Executive Board meetings are held the 2nd Thursday of each month, also at 7:00 P.M. The Senior Center is the building behind the War Memorial and next to City Hall.

Eligibility For Membership
The American Legion is the largest military veterans organization in the world, with Departments in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and France, where the American Legion started in 1919. Membership eligibility is based on honorable federal active duty service with the U.S. Armed Forces between the following dates:

April 6, 1917 to November 11, 1918 (World War I)

December 7, 1941 to December 31, 1946 (World War II)

June 25, 1950 to January 31, 1955 (Korean War)

February 28, 1961 to May 7, 1975 (Vietnam War)

August 24, 1982 to July 31, 1984 (Lebanon/Grenada)

December 20, 1989 to January 31, 1990 (Panama)

August 2, 1990 to today (Operation Desert Shield/Storm, Global War on Terrorism)

Because eligibility dates remain open, all members of the U.S. Armed Forces are eligible to join The American Legion at this time, until the date of the end of hostilities as determined by our government.

Accomplishments in 2006
Post 181 was able to do many things this last year thanks to the efforts of many. No one person did everything, and several persons helped at only one event, but it was the overall teamwork and attitude that made it possible to help our veterans, our community, and The American Legion. If we can get even better support from our members this year, even for that one activity, we will make a huge difference in the lives of people. Consider increasing your involvement by just one more thing for this 2007 year.

• Blue Star Service Banner - 35 to 50 still need to be given out

• Evergreen Boys and Girls State -two boys and three girls were sponsored

• Legion Baseball - sponsored a Junior Legion team last summer

• Boy Scouts of America - Troop 42 and Pack 42 are chartered by us. We recognize Eagle Scouts and Scout of the Year. We give a scholarship for Scout summer camp.

• Veterans Video Project by LSHS leadership class - The second video project in two years was made for Veterans Day 2006. Special thanks to all who participated, and to teacher Emily Garver.

• Aquafest  booth and parade - We made a great showing leading the parade especially with the help of our Cubs. At the booth we made many contacts for Blue Star Banners and potential members.

• Legionnaire of the Year Dinner - 65 attended with many awards given

• National Emergency Fund (NEF) - several members donated to this American Legion program.

• Flag Retirement Ceremony - organized by member Ron McEntire with the Scouts on Flag Day

• Installation of Officers - all offices were filled

• Information Booth Dedication July 4 - new flag and booth dedicated

• Poppy Fundraisers Memorial Day and Veterans Day - these two days are our only fund raisers and the community responded very well. This is where we need extra help.

• Memorial Day services at Machias and LS War Memorial - community events by our members with messages by member Robert Legg, USAF Chaplain.

• Flag lowerings for 2006 - as noted in the newsletter

• Legion Riders - we have at least one rider, and looking for more

• Color Guard for LSHS football games - five games, including standing in the dark during a power outage at the start of the national anthem. Thanks to member Tony Morea for organizing this.

 •Website - online in May, with several thousand hits already and favorable comments from many

 •newsletters - three newsletters last year, up from two in 2005 and none previously

 • info to Journal and Herald - Increase awareness to the general public about Post 181

• politics - member Steve Hobbs from Lake Stevens elected as state senator

• Women’s Auxiliary - close to getting started, with help by Gloria Sanford, wife of member Dennis Sanford

• move to Senior Center - first meeting in September, has been a positive change

• increased dues - unfortunately but necessary and long overdue

• State convention - attended by Jack Sahlbom and Tom Thorleifson in Yakima

• District conference - attended by Dick Qualey and Tom Thorleifson in Arlington

• Level 1 Service Officer Training - attended by Chad Kent and Tom Thorleifson

• visits by Department Commander Vince Schmitt, Department Membership Chairman Bob Wallace, Department Service Officer Kathy Nyland, County Executive Aaron Reardon, School District Superintendent Dave Burgess, Fire Chief Gary Faucett, Arlington Commander Virgil Wallace, Everett Commander George Brown, Snoqualmie Commander Steve Fenton, Snoqualmie Adjutant Rick DeWitt; and politicians Mike Hope (member), Robert Legg (member),, Steven Hobbs (member),  and Doug Rouslstone

• July picnic at Tuver’s - great success, thanks again Dick and Tuver

• August picnic at Tuver’s - and hoping for a repeat in 2007

• 100% Membership attained before Veterans Day - second year in a row

• membership by 31 Dec exceeds highest previous total - second year in a row

Let's make 2007 the best year ever!

February 22, 2007
Minutes

The meeting was called to order at 7:00:12 P.M. by Commander Jack Sahlbom. A quorum was present with 27 members. We had five guests. Minutes from the January meeting were read and approved.

Guests were introduced: Junious Hagglund, a 35-year Legionnaire transfer from South Whidbey Post 141; Brian Lipsey, an Army veteran friend of Member Don Mulder visiting from Monroe; Rebecca Green, a spokesperson for “Relay for Life” cancer fund raiser, and friend of Member Ron McEntire; Ryan Ingram, LSHS teacher and coach of the American Legion baseball team; Steven Kesler, a Legion ballplayer and LSHS senior.

Rebecca Green was introduced as a speaker for the “Relay for Life” fund raiser to be held on June 9 and 10 at Marysville-Pilchuck High School in Marysville. She left information for us.

Committee reports:

Officer Nomination - Bill Lund reported the following recommendations so far for 2008 officers: Tony Morea, Commander; Bob Bechtloff, 1st Vice Commander; Steve Hobbs, 2nd Vice Commander, Tom Thorleifson, Adjutant; Dick Qualey, Finance Officer; Alan Butterfield, Judge Advocate; Dale Smith, Chaplain; Chad Kent, Service Officer; Howard Negaard, Historian; Ron McEntire, Sgt-At-Arms. Other suggestions and nominations are welcomed.

Legionnaire-of-the-year Dinner - Bill Lund reported that it will be held on May 5, doors open at 6 PM, eating at 6:30 PM, at Ebeneezer Lutheran Church. Come earlier to help set up, and stay late to help clean up. Cost will be about $20 per person. Several menu items were suggested by the caterer for us to choose. We voted for suffed pork loin.

Legion baseball - Tom Thorleifson introduced Coach Ryan Ingram. Ryan and player Steven talked about Legion baseball and each expressed their gratitude for the help we give them. We signed their application and presented them with two checks to cover the $400 registration and $240 mandatory insurance.

Boys and Girls State - Dale Smith showed a video about Boys State sent out by the Department of Washington.

Adjutant’s Report: Tom Thorleifson reported these things:
- a newsletter was mailed out today to 216 address, between 50-60 were potential transfers or new members
- membership is at 139 paid members with 162 names on the roster, which includes prepaid transfers to our post
- District Spring Conference is 14 April in Burlington
- also on 14 April is the Chamber of Commerce welcome to Lake Stevens event at LSHS and we have a booth space reserved there
- it was moved and seconded to accept Post 110 transfers automatically into our post as part of the program established and promoted by the Department of Washington for new members

Finance Officer’s Report: Howard Espeseth said our balance today was $2,954.88. This did not reflect the $200 to the Scouts or the $640 to the Legion ball team. He also reported that $7000 was put into a CD at 4.9% for 7 months, directed by the executive board at the February 8, 2007. The board made that decision based on the budget approved at the January 25, 2007 meeting by the general membership.

Tony Morea reported that 5,000 poppies arrived for Memorial Day. They will be given out on the Saturday of the Memorial Day weekend. Tony received the welcome packet from the Chamber of Commerce and presented Jack with the plaque and packet. Tony then introduced member Lisa Elder who spoke to us as the Aquafest secretary. She is helping us get our Aquafest booth located at the War Memorial, which will fit nicely next to the Aquafest booth and the City of Lake Stevens booth.

Jack read a letter from the Department of Washington recognizing Post 181 for being the first post in the 111 - 250 member catagory to get to 100% membership. We were given a check for $75 by the Department of Washington for our efforts.

Introductions were made. We had 28 members and 5 guests present.

Respectfully submitted,

Tom Thorleifson
Adjutant


Attendance:

Lisa Elder, Truman Peterson, Fred Cushman, Jim Mitchell, Chad Kent, Brian Lipsey, USN, guest, Vern Rasmussen, Ray Henderson, Tony Morea, Ryan Ingram, LSHS/Legion baseball, Steve Kesler, LSHS Sr, Legion ballplayer, Dennis Gaasland, Elmer Schmelzer, Bill Taylor, Dick Qualey, Bill Lund, Judd Schwarzmiller, Junious Haggland, Emmet Stormo, Jim Martin, John Common, Gary Wolfe, Don Ren, Becca Green, guest, American Cander Society, Ron McEntire, Pat Macey, Alan Patchett, Donna Patchett, guest, left early, Bob Bechtloff, Howard Espeseth, jack Sahlbom, Tom Thorleifson, Dale Smith
 

March 22, 2007
Minutes

We met at the Senior Center at 7:00 PM. Commander Jack Sahlbom announced that Sergeant-At-Arms Tony Morea would be conducting the meeting. Tony conducted the opening ceremonies and then called the meeting to order. Adjutant Tom Thorleifson read the minutes from the February 2007 meeting. It was moved by Member Pat Macey and seconded by Member Ron McEntire to accept the minutes as read. The motion carried.

We had a quorum of 17 members. There were no guests, but we welcomed Jim Taylor, a new member and transfer from Post 110. He is a USAF Vietnam veteran.

Committees:

Boys and Girls State - Dale Smith delivered the Boys and Girls State information to the LSHS teacher. Dale will be following up on it to make sure things are submitted in a timely manner.

Nominations - Dick Qualey reported for Bill Lund on the current nominations for Legion officers: Tony Morea, Commander; Bob Bechtloff, First Vice Commander; Steve Hobbs, Second Vice Commander; Tom Thorleifson, Adjutant; Dick Qualey, Finance Officer; Chad Kent, Service Officer; Howard Negaard, Historian; Dale Smith, Chaplain; Alan Butterfield, Judge Advocate. Other nominations from the membership are welcomed. Elections will be at the next meeting on April 26, with installation at the Legionnaire Dinner on May 5.

Poppies - Sergeant-At-Arms Tony Morea reported that the stores have been contacted by Member Durwin Moore and all are very willing to have us there for Memorial Day. We will need plenty of help to cover the days, but sign ups will come later.

Membership - Adjutant Tom Thorleifson reported that paid membership is currently at 143, with 12 prepaid transfers for a current total of 155 members. The automatic transfer program has been disapproved by National, but there is already a plan in place to contact these potential transfers for membership in our post.

Aquafest - Sergeant-At-Arms Tony Morea reported on the Aquafest planning meetings. We will carry the colors at the start of the parade, behind the police and fire vehicles. We will want our scouts will carry flag info in front again. Our booth is hoped to be next to the War Memorial on Main Street.

Sick Call - Finance Officer Howard Espeseth’s wife Anne passed away recently. Member Alan Patchett is doing ok after getting a pacemaker. Member Elmer Schmelzer’s wife passed away at the beginning of the year and it had not been mentioned in any meeting, even though members were aware of it. Member Don Silcox is still under 24-hour care and Service Officer Chad Kent is looking into helping Don’s wife Annetta.
Adjutant’s report - Adjutant Tom Thorleifson reported on a variety of things that have happened since our February 2007 meeting:

The Department of Washington has a new commander, Roy Layton.
The website was updated on 1 March 2007 by Jennifer Morea.
Blue Star Service Banners were presented to Caleb Olsen’s parents by Tony and Tom, and to Dylan Robinson’s parent’s by Jack and Tom.
Chad Kent will be the central contact for storing photos and news articles.
Information about our meetings and website have been submitted to the Everett Herald, Lake Stevens Journal, Chamber of Commerce, Lake Stevens Online, and The American Legion Post Locator (National).
The Chamber of Commerce held a luncheon attended by Chad, an evening mixer attended by Tony and Tom, and a breakfast on March 29 that Jack will attend.
Chad volunteered to attend Level 2 Service Officer Training.
The fifth annual Seattle Mariners Armed Forces night is April 3.
An Eagle Court of Honor was held to present David Beers with his Eagle Rank. Eight Legionnaires were present.
Don Mcoy, WWII, Army, flag lowering was held on 3/10/07.
Ben Heart Johnson, WWII, Navy, flag lowering was held on 3/17/07.
Chad is sorting our post’s data files to consolidate and make them current and accurate.
The letter from local resident Elsa Burfitt was read about her husband’s death 30 Jan 07. He was a 110 member in Lake Stevens.
The email from Claire Olsen requesting a Blue Star Service Banner was read.

Old Business:

John Common reported for Don Mulder about the mailboxes that will become our flag disposal boxes. They have been sandblasted but need primed and painted at a cost of $300. There was discussion, with a decision to communicate with Don and the auto body shop to see if the work could be done for less. To get the boxes ready for June 14 Flag Day, this will need to be done in the next two weeks.

There will be another flag lowering this Saturday at 10:00 for George Rutter, USN, WWII.

It was mentioned by Member Dick Qualey that the War Memorial does not belong to the American Legion but to the community. There is a separate governing foundation for it made of community members from different organizations. Donors to the Memorial should be recognized for their contributions. There was continued discussion about the role and prominence of the War Memorial in Lake Stevens. Dick mentioned that there is another organization called Synergy which is helping to make all the different community organizations come together.

Tony reported that he and Jack went to the Kiwanis breakfast on March 21 and received a $500 check for the War Memorial Fund. They each had a chance to speak to the Kiwanis.

Member Pat Macey mentioned the need to get publicity for more events in the newspaper.

New:

“Spotlight Lake Stevens” April 14 at LSHS. Tony will be coordinating this with help from others.
District 2 Spring Conference in Burlington April 14. Tom and Jack are going.
Legionnaire Dinner is May 5 which will also be officer installation. Dinner is $20 a person. The cutoff date for tickets is the April 26th meeting. There are only 100 total tickets available, and none can be sold after the April meeting because of planning and prepartion by the caterer.

For the good of the American Legion:

Jim Taylor won the door prize - the Red, White, and Blue Freedom Rider M&M motorcycle/sidecar candy dispenser. Murray Moen and Ron McEntire each won a “Support Our Troops” car magnet.

The American Legion’s birthday was March 15. Tony brought a cake for us after the meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:13 pm.

Respectfully submitted,



Tom Thorleifson, Adjutant

Members present:

Stan Anderson, John Common, Fred Cushman, Junious Hagland, Chad Kent, Pat Macey, Ron McEntire, Frank Mobius, Murrey Moen, Tony Morea, Howard Negaard, Dick Qualey, Don Ren, Jack Sahlbom, Dale Smith, Jim Taylor, Tom Thorleifson