2019–2020 National History Book Contest Postponed
From: National Historian James “Jim” A. Mariner
To: Department Historians, Department Adjutants, Past National Historians and
NADHAL Members
Date: June 22, 2020
First, I hope everyone is doing well and keeping safe with our worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Just imagine what our founding members would think returning from WWI with the worldwide flu pandemic from 1918 through 1920. As we continue with our Buddy Checks and what we do to serve America’s communities, states, and nation we are laying a “A FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE.”
With cancellations and postponement of many programs, conventions and events and considering some departments do their judging at the Department Convention and others do not, we wanted to be fair to all for our 2019–2020 National History Book Contest. A recently received e-mail from National Adjutant Daniel Wheeler included a revised schedule for the 2020 October Meetings in Indianapolis, Indiana due to COVID-19 Social Distancing. These changes have been made for the safety of everyone.
The 2019–2020 National History Book Contest will be postponed until the Spring 2021 NEC Meeting and will still be using the 2019 Officer’s Guide (hard copy or online copy) criteria for the 2019–2020 timeframe. The new deadline for National History Book Certification Forms will be April 2, 2021. The New Historians Workshop has also been cancelled as part of the 2020 October Meetings.
In our Department of New Mexico, we plan to have the 2019-2020 history books mailed before and/or hand carried to our Mid-Winter Conference in early February 2021 where we can hold the judging and declaring winners before the May 2021 Spring NEC Meetings for our National History Book Contests. Again, this will be using the 2019 Officer’s Guide (hard copy or online copy) for the 2019–2020 timeline for the year history. All our departments have different ways of holding their Department History Book Contests, so this is a change but as U.S.A. military, veterans and Legionnaires we adapt and go forth to carry on our American Legion history tradition.
NADHAL will meet electronically for the Fall 2020 Indianapolis, Indiana meetings at a time yet to be determined. As NADHAL we need a big thank you to all our national staff working on our Fall 2020 Meetings with electronic meetings and social distancing keeping all of us safe. NADHAL committees are currently working on electronic history books judging, logistics and rules for any future national disasters or future national pandemics. Currently, we need to carry on our tradition of our hard copy history books. We look forward to our NADHAL electronic meeting.
More details and information on the Spring 2021 Meetings to include our National History Book Contest judging will be coming closer to the meeting dates.
In closing, while keeping safe with adaption and change during these unprecedented times please remember preserving and recording our history is important as we are building “A FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE.”
“For God and Country”
James “Jim” A. Mariner
The American Legion
National Historian
