Last year only eleven percent (11%) of posts in Pennsylvania reported their Community Service activities. The Community Service committee does not understand the reason for every post not reporting their community service activities. Every post does something for their community. Therefore, every post should be sending in a report. Our goal this year is to raise the percentage of post reporting to fifty percent (50%).
the community service report form is very easy to use. the first page asks for the important projects your post did, for the community, in the past year. They can be anything from a major undertaking, like a memorial, to helping with a community celebration, to donating money to help with a community celebration or project.
To make it easier to report your activities, there are five categories listed:
- Community Clean Up
- Community Charity Fund Raisers
- Community Service Donations
- Community Volunteer Services
- Active Duty and Veterans Support
Just fill in the blanks. Every post does something in one or more of these categories.
This year the committee wants to know how many things you do in your community that are published. Each year we donate thousands of dollars and volunteer thousands of hours of service to our communities. but yet when people drive past our post homes they think of us as just another bar. It’s our fault. It is our fault because we fail to tell the public of all the good things we do. If we are to change this image of just another bar, we have to tell the public of the good things we do. It is our belief that when we start telling people the good things we do, it will change not only the image of just another bar, but will help the younger veterans see what a great organization we have. And this will help with membership.
As an incentive there are awards given at the convention,. Each year one post from each membership category, is selected to receive a plaque as the best post in Pennsylvania. Wouldn’t a plaque showing how good your post is look good hanging on the wall of your post home? But, you can not receive an award if you don’t send in a report.
REMEMBER: COMMUNITY SERVICE IS ANYTHING THAT BENEFITS YOUR COMMUNITY!!!
By: William H. Bowers Chairman Community Service Committee PA American Legion
WASHINGTON (Jan. 3, 2011) - As more women serve in the armed forces, the number of women veterans - currently about 2 million - will also grow. Yet only about 25 percent of that population is using the VA health-care system.
The American Legion is launching a two-month, worldwide online survey Jan. 5 to find out why.
“Conducting this kind of survey is very important to us,” said Jimmie Foster, national commander of The American Legion. “After analyzing the data we’ve collected, the Legion will be better qualified to make specific recommendations for congressional appropriations, VA programs and facilities, and to increase public awareness of issues facing women veterans.”
Verna Jones, director of the Legion’s division of veterans affairs and rehabilitation, added, “In order to strengthen our advocacy role, we need to conduct a comprehensive survey of women veterans about their experiences and attitudes concerning health care provided by VA, private practitioners, and other health-care providers.”
Jones said that results from the survey will be used to refine The American Legion’s outreach methods, enhance its written and oral testimony to Congress and federal agencies, and to ultimately improve the delivery of women veterans’ benefits, programs and services.
“The survey will also help to identify unmet needs among women veterans, and guide the Legion’s development of specific remedies and recommendations,” said Denise Williams, the organization’s assistant director of health policy. “Then we can offer them to VA as specific actions to eliminate specific health-care problems faced by women veterans.”
The survey will be conducted by ProSidian Consulting in Charlotte, N.C., which specializes in strategic business issues. Its list of clients includes the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and other federal agencies.
Survey questions will cover ten aspects of health-care service quality: reliability, responsiveness, competence, access, courtesy, communication, credibility, security, tangibles and understanding the customer.
The survey was developed by American Legion specialists on women veterans issues. “We understand the sacrifices of women and their role in serving America,” Jones said. “We recognize that women, like their male counterparts, are returning home with illness, disease, injuries and the invisible wounds of war.”
Jones said The American Legion believes the survey’s results “will be a major component in being able to understand the needs of women veterans, and allow us to assist in providing the services needed.”
Women veterans are encouraged to participate in the survey by visiting www.legion.org. It becomes active on Jan. 5 and will remain online until early March, after which analysis of the results will begin.
Happy New Year Legion Family members! As we enter 2011 there are some very important issues before us. Membership is our lifeblood! Efforts to retain and recruit members are of utmost importance for our posts, our Department and our National organization. We must stop the decline in membership! Our posts are the window through which our communities view The American Legion. We encourage all our readers to assist our posts in meeting their membership goals. As we’ve said many time before “membership is everyone’s business!” Get involved in making your post 100% this year.
An area of concern for our members, and especially our post homes, is what is happening with the “small games of chance” legislation. Department Commander Pete Wasco has met with Governor Elect Tom Corbett’s transitional team and discussed the need to address some real changes in the current small games of chance laws. The current law is 30-years old and falls short on realistic limits on prizes and how or what those funds can be legally expended on. The expectations are very high; we will see new legislation passed this year. We will keep you apprised of the process as the new legislation is introduced. We would appreciate if you would contact your local legislator and get them to support this needed change. For those with Internet access the information is on our website at www.pa-legion.com.
Another Pennsylvania General Assembly issue is increased funding for Act 66 (the service officers initiative). Our Pennsylvania American Legion should be very proud of the performance of our Department Service Officers. Collectively, in a twelve month period, our service officers have served over 6314 veterans, with new federal benefits awarded to these veterans totaling $68,426,503. We have also served at least one veteran in all 67 counties within Pennsylvania. One of the pillars of The American Legion is service to our veterans and we set the standard for maintaining this important legacy!
Posts should have contacted local schools for candidates in our Oratorical Contest. Contestants should already be working on their oration. We would like to see a large turnout for the Department finals in Harrisburg. These young men and women compete for more than $16,000 in scholarship money and the level of preparation at this level clearly establishes this program as the premier event of its kind. The contest is held in the Forum Building, a beautiful historic facility located in downtown Harrisburg, March 5, 2011 at 10 AM. It is the absolutely perfect venue for our event. Another plus is attending this contest it’s free! Try and be present at this event. You will be glad you attended.
The National Commander’s Tour is March 7 in the East at Lehighton; March 8 in Middletown and March 9 at Avalon. Dinner ticket and ad book information have been sent out and is also on our website. Let’s show National Commander Jimmie Foster that we are “Pennsylvania Proud”. Please plan on attending when the banquet is in your area. Also please support the ad booklet as this assists the sponsoring posts in offsetting the costs of planning this dinner.
Legion College was again a great success! Thanks to all committee members who made both events such a complete triumph! Thanks also to our Legion Family members who attended or helped get the word out about these events.
Our annual Holiday Hospital Tour went extremely well this year. Thanks to Hospital Entertainment Chairman Ed Connell for working so closely on the scheduling. We traveled 1328 miles without any glitches as we visited all six State Veterans Homes and ten VAMC’s across our Commonwealth. Thanks to all three of our Vice Commanders - Alex Dombrowsky, Earle “Spanky” McCarney and Joe Cocco - as they accompanied our Department Commander Pete Wasco when we were in their section. Thanks also to Department President Beverly Reinhard, Art Hollerman, NECman Richard Coccimiglio, and our own Past Department Commander Jim “Sammy Claus” Hales, who traveled to each stop and contributed to making the lives a little brighter for the residents and patients we visited. Last, but certainly not least, a “special thanks” to all our VAVS Representatives and all the volunteers who make the days a little brighter for our veterans and for representing our goals so well - we salute you!
A few 2011 dates to remember: The annual Allegheny County Youth Achievement dinner will be held at the Pittsburgh Soldiers & Sailors Hall April 10; February 2 is our 80% membership target date; March 3 is our 85% membership target date; April DEC will be April 1-3 at the Holiday Inn Harrisburg East; Department Commanders Testimonial Dinner will be at the Holiday Inn Harrisburg East April 2 and Department President Reinhard’s Testimonial Dinner will be in Allentown April 9. All testimonial dinner flyers have been mailed out and are on our website. Until next time…
Let me start by wishing everyone a Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, I would like to thank everyone that traveled with us on the Department Christmas Tour and a special thanks to our Department Hospital Entertainment Chairman Ed Connell for making sure everything went smoothly.
By the time you read this article, I will be into my sixth month as you Department Commander and it’s been a very busy six months. I have been blessed to have met so many great people during my travels and I am looking forward to meeting many more during my next six months. I attended both Legion Collages East and West and would like to thank both committees for doing an outstanding job. Both colleges were well attended and very successful.
Well it’s the start of a New Year with some of our programs beginning, such as our Oratorical and Essay Contests. I hope all our districts have been out in the schools pushing these and our other programs.
I commend the section commanders and the district commanders that have made their last target date of 75%. We still have a long way to go and a short time to get there. Let’s all get out there and beat the streets by going to their homes and asking them why they haven’t renewed their membership. Phone calls can be made as well asking them the same.
I hope that all the districts and posts have been pushing my project, the National Emergency Fund (NEF).
We also have a new governor coming in and a lot of new faces in the house and the senate. Hopefully we can get some of our veteran’s legislative issues passed. I had the privilege of meeting with the new governor’s Veterans Transition Team in early December and it went very well.
I feel it necessary to remind everyone of my slogan, “Pride & Performance”. Have pride in this great organization and perform proudly the duties we all took an oath to uphold.
I hope to see all of you at the January DEC. God bless.
The American Legion’s national headquarters expressed strong opposition to a proposed gambling casino that would be located next to the battlegrounds of the Civil War’s most crucial battle.
Speaking at a Sept. 21 press conference at the State Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., American Legion Executive Director Peter Gaytan told the audience, “Many say the issue of Gettysburg and this casino is a local issue - I say they are wrong. The history of the country is a national issue and The American Legion believes in protecting Gettysburg - protecting the honor and sanctity of the grounds that those men died and fought for.”
Gaytan’s remarks reinforced an American Legion press release issued Aug. 12, calling a plan to build a casino near the Civil War landmark a “national disgrace.” The proposed casino site is right next to land where Union and Confederate cavalry fought a bloody engagement.
The formation of a new anti-casino group, Veterans for Gettysburg, was announced at the press conference, where a group of Gettysburg citizens, some sporting “No Casino” T-shirts, stood on the Capitol’s main staircase behind the featured speakers: Gaytan, Jan Scruggs of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, and historian Edwin Bearrs, who is also a decorated World War II veteran.
Veterans for Gettysburg also sent a letter to Gregory Fajt, chairman of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, asking the board to reject a developer’s application to open a gaming facility a half-mile from Gettysburg National Military Park.
“We are not against a casino; rather, we are for Gettysburg,” the letter said. “We concur with the judgment of over 275 American historians who also voiced their concern for this project’s unavoidable conflict with Gettysburg’s place in American history.
“We stand on behalf of the millions of Civil War veterans who endured four harrowing years of combat, but are no longer with us to speak for themselves. As you would honor (veterans’) service, we ask you to remember theirs.”
Representatives of the Civil War Preservation Trust also attended the press conference. The organization’s president, James Lighthizer, applauded the formation of Veterans for Gettysburg.
In a statement, Lighthizer said that Gettysburg “holds a special place in the hearts of all Americans, but it is particularly dear to those who have felt the heat of battle. The call to military service is a tie that stretches across the generations and makes all of our nation’s veterans truly one ‘band of brothers.’”
Thanks all who Supported the USS Wasco On Oct 2 2010 for NEF Fund to raise over $2500
The National Emergency Fund has provided over $6,000,000 in direct financial assistance to Legion family members and posts. The National Emergency Fund has kept posts from closing and enabled Legion family members to begin to rebuild their homes and their lives.
The Pennsylvania American Legion Riders got behind our Department Commander Wasco and supported his project the NEF Fund.
There was a Benefit Run for the NEF will on October 2nd that started at 8:00 am. The cost was only $10 per person. We will visited many Posts including 910, 386, 998, 420, 26, 143, 730, and 733. We returned to Department Headquarters around 1:00 pm. We had an all American cookout including hamburgers, hot dogs and refreshments.
We support our Department Commander Pete Wasco’s project for the NEF and now show us what you can do to support the NEF fund.
Click Here to visit the Pennsylvania American Legion Riders website
Washington (Sept. 29, 2010) – Dan Dellinger, former chairman of The American Legion’s Economic Commission, has been appointed to the Obama administration’s Interagency Task Force on Federal Contracting Opportunities for Small Businesses.According to an April 26 White House press release, the task force was established in order to “coordinate executive departments’ and agencies’ efforts towards ensuring that all small businesses have a fair chance to participate in federal contracting opportunities.”
Dellinger, who owned a construction management and general contracting company for more than 20 years, currently serves as chairman of the Legion’s national security commission. His military background and extensive experience with small businesses make him a perfect addition to the task force, according to a colleague.
“He’s a veteran and business owner, so he understands the challenges that both groups go through,” said Joe Sharpe, director of The American Legion’s economic division. “He is in a unique position to speak for the veterans community, he understands the issues, and it is great for him to be on this task force and ensure that veterans receive a fair amount of government contracts.”
Sharpe says that Dellinger will focus on getting federal contractors to work more effectively with service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs), awarding them the amount of contracting dollars they are supposed to be receiving.
“Right now, there’s a law that says that three percent of federal dollars will go to service-disabled veteran small business owners, and that mandate has never been reached,” said Mark Walker, deputy director of the Legion’s economic division. “Having Dellinger on the agency task force will help the White House understand these issues and ensure that these agencies will uphold their mandates to fulfill these promises to veteran servicemen and women.”
Dellinger was raised in Vienna, Va., and is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War as a company commander, and was promoted to captain while serving in the Army Reserve. A member of The American Legion for 29 years, Dellinger is a former Vienna town councilman and currently serves as judge advocate for American Legion Post 180. He lives in Vienna with his wife, Margaret. They have two children, Scott and Anne.
By Lauren Maffeo
The American Legion is sponsoring a College Fair to help shrink the costs of college for students and their families. This college fair is unique because it’s hosted by veterans. The men and women who have served our country by protecting our freedoms is now working to help the young men and women of our state attend college.
Click Here for the informative flyer
The American Legion presented over $5 Million in awards in 2009 around the country.
The American Legion invites you and your family to Soldiers and Sailors Hall in Oakland, Allegheny County on November 15, 2010 for scholarship opportunities.
These scholarship opportunities include:
- Regional and local presented by veterans organizations
- Government programs like ROTC (Army, Navy and Air Force), the 5 Military Academies, the GI Bill, USAR and the National Guard
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Contests including written, spoken and participated in (including Legion Baseball, Scouting, Boys and Girls State, Essay and Speech Contests)
There is money out there, let us help you find it.
We are leaders!
More information coming soon - check back!!
Survival in an emergency
To prevent acts of terrorism on American soil, we must enlist all of our intelligence, law enforcement, and homeland security capabilities. These threats and hazards include terrorism, natural disasters, large-scale cyber attacks, and pandemics. To protect our homeland we should continue to integrate and leverage state and major urban area fusion centers that have the capability to share classified information; establish a nationwide framework for reporting suspicious activity, and implement and integrated approach to our counter terrorism information systems to ensure that the analyst, agents, and officers who protect us have access to all relevant intelligence throughout the government. As we do everything within our power to prevent these dangers, we also recognize that we will not be able to deter or prevent every threat.
That is why we must also enhance our resilience-the ability to adapt to changing conditions and prepare for, withstand, and rapidly recover from disruption. To keep Americans safe at home, we are also integrating our homeland security efforts seamlessly with other aspects of our national security approach, by strengthening our preparedness and resilience.
By effectively managing emergencies, we are building our capability to prepare for disasters to reduce or eliminate long term effects to people and their property from hazards and to respond to and recover from major incidents. You may need to survive on your own after an emergency. This means having your own food, water, and other supplies in sufficient quantity to last for at least three days. Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster, but they cannot reach everyone immediately. You could get help in hours, or it might take days.
In addition, basic services such as electricity, gas, water, sewage treatment, and telephones may be cut off for days or weeks. Some of the things you can do to prepare for the unexpected, such as making an emergency supply kid and developing a family communications plan.
There are important differences among potential emergencies that will impact the decisions you make and the actions you take. You should learn more about the potential emergencies that could occur where you live and the appropriate way to respond to them. In addition, learn about the emergency plan that have been established in your area by your state and local government. Emergency preparedness is no longer the sole concern of earthquake prone Californians and those who live in the part of the country known as “Tornado Alley.” For Americans, preparedness must now account for man-made disasters as well as natural ones. Knowing what to do during an emergency is an important part of being prepared and may make all the difference when seconds count.
In closing, a reminder that September is National Preparedness Month and is designed to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses, and communities. There are three simple steps in accomplishing this: Get Prepared, Get Trained and Get Involved!
Written by Eugene R. Paul National Security Chairman Department of Pennsylvania
WASHINGTON (Sept. 24, 2010) – While loudly applauding its intent, leaders of The American Legion say that new federal legislation designed to bolster small business may not do enough to support veteran-owned enterprises.
The legislation being questioned by The American Legion is H.R. 5297, the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010. Introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) this past May, H.R. 5297 would create a $30 billion small business lending fund to be administered by the Secretary of the Treasury, as well as provide $12 billion in tax breaks to help small businesses.
“The Small Business Jobs and Credit Act is a terrific piece of legislation in its purpose,” says Joe Sharpe, director of The American Legion’s economic commission, “but it does very little, if anything, to correct the sorry circumstances facing service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses today.”
Government regulations require that three percent of all appropriate government contract money be awarded to eligible small businesses owned by service-disabled military veterans. Yet, to date, awards have totaled only about half that mandate.
“We are not asking for preferential treatment, but simply some legislative language that levels the playing field,” says Sharpe. “Without going into minute detail, let’s just say the current wording does not do the job.”
Jimmie Foster, national commander of The American Legion, says “Historically, the federal government has done very poorly with regards to implementing veteran preference rules on contracts. This time, from our point of view, things must be different. When implementation of this law is accomplished, veteran-owned businesses must finally be able to gain the recognition – and contracts – they deserve. The American Legion will campaign hard to make sure that happens.”