Weather Alert Due to Hurricane Milton, our Department Headquarters office will be closed starting Tuesday at noon through Wednesday, with a possibility of closure on Thursday. We apologize for any inconvenience and will resume normal operations as soon as it is safe to do so.
Our thoughts and prayers are with all Floridians as we brace for the storm’s aftermath.
Stay updated on our website for important information and valuable resources regarding our Disaster Relief Program. Stay safe! www.floridalegion.org/relief
We are pleased to invite you to the Women Veterans’ Whole Health Summit, taking place on November 2, 2024, at Marriott Hutchinson Island Beach Resort Golf & Marina
This summit aims to address the unique health, and wellness needs of women veterans, providing a platform for education, support, and connection.
Join us for an encouraging day featuring:
Keynote Speakers: Hear from experts in women’s health and veteran services.
Interactive Workshops: Participate in sessions focused on mental health, physical wellness, and holistic care.
Panel Discussions: Engage with leaders in the field as they discuss pressing health issues facing women veterans.
Resource Fair: Discover organizations and services dedicated to supporting women veterans in their health journeys.
Your voice and experience are invaluable to our discussions, and we would be honored to have you join us.
Ron Zaleski left Key West, Fla., on Sept. 11 for a 2,700-mile mission: to walk across the country in support of ending veteran suicide and advocating for life-saving programs. Zaleski, a Marine veteran and member of American Legion Post 159 in Venice, Fla., is walking to San Diego, Calif., and making stops to Legion posts, churches and other veteran supportive organizations along the way to share his mission.
“It’s going to take all of us to fix this,” said Zaleski, who will walk for 10 months while wearing a sign that displays a list of different names daily of veterans lost to suicide, “so their lives may never be forgotten, and we honor their legacy by believing in a brighter future for the brave veterans of the United States.”
This is not Zaleski’s first walk in support of veteran suicide awareness. In 2010 he walked barefoot to Washington, D.C. During the walk he met a mother of a veteran who died by suicide. “The hardest thing that I’ve done on my walk is to hold the mother who lost a child, and she held me like I’m her son, and say, ‘It’s my fault.’ There are no words to that,” he said. “There is no loss that I know of that’s greater than that.”
That experience led Zaleski to form the nonprofit The Long Walk Home where he has helped veterans with suicide intervention, relationship healing, and the skills needed to live meaningful lives.
“I know our program causes a transformative shift in the trajectory of their lives,” he said. “I have seen first-hand by supporting these veterans and their families we have been able to turn their anger into mindfulness, heal damaged relationships for themselves and their loved ones, and create a new mission. We were warriors (in the military). But now is the time to be leaders in our community and in our family. Our program helps them shift that perception.”
The Long Walk Home has two programs – ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) by LivingWorks that’s a two-day program teaching family members suicidal signs to look for and how to intervene, and a 10 Challenge course for veterans that’s a list of guided questions.
Zaleski said the first set of challenge questions are: What are you grateful for when you wake up? What are you grateful you accomplished at the end of the day? And how do you show gratitude?
“Part of these challenge questions is to go out and have a conversation with your loved ones or a stranger,” Zaleski said. “I had an 80-year-old take this who thought he had no problems. His wife made me a batch of cookies and thanked me for the transformation of her husband.”
Zaleski is taking the 10 Challenge course to incarcerated veterans as well. After his visit with about 15 veterans, he learned that they took the knowledge learned and administered the program to the entire prison.
“I would rather prevent suicide than wait till you’re on the ledge where you’ve got nothing left to lose.” he said.
As Zaleski walks 12 hours a day over the next 10 months, he will share the resources available through The Long Walk Home and the Legion’s Be the One suicide prevention mission to save a life through available resources and training.
“I want to direct veterans the best way I can to get the help they need. My hope is by creating a movement rather than just my own passion and advocacy, together we can help eradicate veteran suicide.”
Since they were unable to attend the 2024 American Legion National Convention in New Orleans, American Legion National Commander Daniel Seehafer had a message for the two presidential candidates: Don’t forget about veterans.
The American Legion – Aug 07, 2024
With a new school year starting prior to the onset of the pandemic, members of American Legion Riders Chapter 129 in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., learned from a teacher that has connections to the post that she would spend hundreds of dollars of her own money to purchase school supplies for students who were unable to pay for all of their supplies.
And that didn’t sit well with Chapter 129 and was the reason it started its backpack supplies program. For around six years, the Riders have provided backpacks full of school supplies and delivered them to a different school each year.
This year the recipient was Neptune Beach Elementary School, which was provided with 66 full backpacks.
“We decided to help our community out by doing the school supply drive,” said Past Auxiliary Unit 129 President and the former Chapter 129 Membership Chairman Mary Tarnowski. “We’re in a military town. We have a lot of military families … that really run short of money for school supplies. We’ve got a lot of needy families in the area.”
The first-ever donation was made to San Pablo Elementary School. Staff and students and their families were gathered outside with signs thanking the Riders.
“After that first initial contact, we decided it was something that we, as Riders, needed to do for the community,” Tarnowski said. “(Elizabeth Kavanagh) is the principal at Neptune Beach, which we recently delivered to, and she couldn’t thank us enough.”
Members of Chapter 129 donate school supplies at the post throughout the year; Post 129 also donated $1,000, while Unit 129 contributed $200.
“We also try to get some supplies for the teachers,” Tarnowski said. “They wanted tissues, hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes … and we always try to get them some copy paper.”
PROJECT VetRelief is experiencing a high volume of financial assistance applications and temporarily will not be accepting any NEW requests until September 1st, 2024. Applications that have been submitted before Thursday, August 1st, 2024 will be processed by our temporary staff members and considered for assistance. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding with our small team dedicated to serving our veteran community.
Please note, Project VetRelief is a privately owned program of the American Legion, Department of Florida. The guidelines for financial assistance have been established by the PROJECT: VetRelief Board of Directors. Our funding is based on charitable donations; and with limited resources, we must evaluate each request for assistance carefully and thoughtfully.
With deep sorrow, we inform you of the passing of Department Historian Les M. Martin of Palmetto, Florida. Les passed away on July 30, 2024, at the age of 76. He is survived by his wife, Harriet Martin, and three sons, Alan, Brian, and Christopher. Details regarding services are not yet available. Updates on the arrangements will be shared via email and on the Department’s website.
Les was a U.S. Navy veteran who served during the Vietnam War Era and was a dedicated member of Bradenton Post 24. Over his 44 continuous years with the American Legion, he held numerous leadership positions, including Post Adjutant (1999-2000 and 2002-2003), Post Commander (2000-2002), Post Judge Advocate (since 2023), District Vice Commander (2019-2021), Department Children & Youth Chair (2019-2022), Department Sgt-at-Arms (2022-2024), and Department Historian (since the 2024 Department Convention). On a National level, Les served on the Americanism Council (2019-2022), the Children & Youth Commission (2019-2022), and the Security Council (since 2022)
Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00am on Sunday, September 15th at Post 24, 2000 75th St. W., Bradenton, FL 34209.
Please keep Les’s family and friends in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.
BY Lawrance Monk Delegate for Post 394 District 12
Day 1: Sunday June 16th.
The night before, I collected my bags and headed for the American Legion Post that I need to get to so I can be picked up. Right before I got picked up I said goodbye to my parents one last time before I made my way to Tallahassee. After my post got picked up, we went to one more post so they could get picked up too, and we were on our way to the capital.
Sunday morning, we arrived at FSU. We were early, so we had to wait a little bit before going on our way to see our dorm rooms. Around 7am, we were allowed in so we could take our belongings with us to find our rooms. I was assigned to Space County, so I was on the top floor. Upon getting to the first floor, I was welcomed by both of my counselors and was shown my room and was given the items I would need to get through Boys State. Like everyone else, I was given a roommate, but my roommate has not arrived yet, so I tidied up the place before he came in. After my roommate settled in and we both rested, it was time for our first city council, where we had our “City Elections”. I had not run for any since none of them interested me. Right after we settled all the “City Elections” besides the Mayor spot, we headed to the Tucker Center (the basketball court where the Seminoles play) where we would have our meals, lessons, elections and the majority of our projects for the entirety of the program. We were introduced to some important people within our program and had our first lunch at Boys State.
Sunday afternoon, we were given 4 special classes we could choose from, and I chose 2: Public Speaking and How to Create a Bill to be Passed to Law. Those were two one-hour special courses and I learned a lot from them, applying it as the week goes on. After that, we went over to be told about how the program works and what our main schedule is for the week. Then, we started our first City Project.
Everyone from each city will separate and work on a project, like how a city council will usually work. I worked with my city until time was up. Then, we headed to our dorms.
Later that evening, we had a brief overview of what we did today as a city and were told about some special extracurricular activities we can do before the day actually starts. We were told about a talent show, but unfortunately, I couldn’t go because I sliced my thumb right before I left for Boys State, meaning I can’t do my talent (Rubik’s Cube). We were also told about the morning run that will take place at 5 in the morning. Everyone was sent to their dorm rooms around 10:55 pm before Taps/ Lights Out, meaning a Bugle player would play Taps, meaning it’s time to go to our rooms. I worked up until 1am to talk with my parents and get work done to prepare for the next day.
Day 2: Monday, June 17th
Around 5am, I woke up for the Morning Run. There was a large crowd of maybe 50-60 kids out there, like we were having a PE Class. We followed the Counselor in charge of the Morning Run and ran to a specific place before we could run anywhere to do exercise as long as we didn’t leave the boundaries. At around 6am, we were sent back to our dorms to get ready with our day. At around 7am we had breakfast in the Tucker Center, which was mainly Scrambled Eggs, Hash Browns (or any other form of potato) and juices to choose from, like it will be for most days throughout the week. After breakfast, we had lessons about the Executive Branch and the Judicial Branch. We also had lessons about law, where I answered a question about what kind of laws there are (I answered Military Law), and then we had a guest speaker talk to us.
Monday afternoon after lunch, we worked on county elections (city elections were yesterday), so we had elections where we elected our county representatives for special spots. I ran for a few, but I didn’t get voted into any of them (I didn’t speak clearly enough, and I wasn’t seen as competitive). After the elections, we had a county project, where we shared a scenario with the city on the same floor as us. I put as much input as possible, making me a good asset for the department I belonged in. After dinner, we had a few announcements of what was going to happen in the next few days, along with a reminder that there was no Morning Run Wednesday morning.
As we arrived at our dorms Monday night, we went to finish our county project, but my group was finished, so I volunteered my time to help the others in the other departments, but they respectfully declined my assistance. Shortly after, we had a Christian gathering, where more than a dozen Christians came together to share testimonies and beliefs (People had separate denominations). I would say that was the most wholesome moment I had in Boys State, being able to talk with other Christians including the chosen Chaplain of the program (props to him being the spiritual leader for our program). Later, I was pulled in by a fellow Boys Stater in my city and was asked if I would like to study with them around 5 in the morning. I agreed and then went to my room to finish some work and talk with my parents. I went to sleep at roughly 12 am because when my roommate and I woke up, we would leave to join a study group for an important test that lawyers take, called the Bar Test.
Day 3: Tuesday June 18th
Tuesday morning around 5am, I woke up along with my roommate to enter a conference room on our floor so we can study for the important Bar Exam (The Exam that Lawyers take so they can practice Law). Me along with a small handful of others studied for the exam before it was time to get ready for the day.
After Breakfast (the usual eggs, bacon or sausage, some form of potato and fruit juices), we took the Bar Exam after a review. I was not able to see my score until later that afternoon. But now we had more guest speakers and lessons about the Legislative Branch and about the spots that we can run for in the government (House of Representative, Senator, etc.) I planned to run for Senator.
After having lunch in the afternoon, we went to our places to start voting for the second county elections. Each county was separated throughout the other places. My County didn’t want to vote me for Attorney General and replaced me with another person, but I was showing my fullest support throughout the primary elections. I tried my best, but maybe it wasn’t the right spot for me. We got to choose our County Candidates to represent us. They will run and represent us tomorrow for primary elections and eventually state elections. For now, we just got to choose our County Candidates.
After dinner that evening, we were sent to our dorms a little earlier than usual. We were also given last minute time to work on our county projects, but since my team finished way earlier than the rest of the teams, we had nothing to work on. I used that time to talk with my family and finalize my speeches for tomorrow. Knowing there is no morning run the next morning, I will be able to sleep in and rest easily. That night was the best sleep I have ever had in Boys State. I got to sleep around 11:15 pm and didn’t have to wake up until 7:30 am next morning. That was the best sleep I ever had in that week.
Day 4: Wednesday June 19th
Wednesday Morning, I went to sleep a few hours later. I enjoyed every second of my sleep, knowing most of my work has been finalized and there is no morning run. My roommate talked about feeling better and relaxed after that sleep and to be honest, I felt the same. Around 8am everyone in my city left our rooms and ate our light breakfast (a large muffin). It’s a light breakfast and I liked it because I’m not a breakfast person. After getting to the Tucker Center, we had most guest speakers, but they are not like any other ones. People in charge of certain Military Academies spoke about their programs and also the Mayor of Tallahassee came in to speak too. He pulled me for a conversation, and I will never feel this honored for a long time. I also got to check out the Military Academy exhibits, and I was interested. I am not sure if I really want to go, but I will keep it just in case.
After lunch in the afternoon, we had our elections where we would vote for each spot to represent our party (Governor, Attorney General, and 2 Commissioners). No one in my city has got to represent us, but that’s okay. A little bit after the primary election, we had the main election between the Federalists vs the Nationalists. As a Nationalist, I supported the Federalists in all the spots besides the Attorney General.
The voting for this election was like no other. We got to vote like how we would do for the present, electronically. We fill in the blanks on our paper ticket, put it in the machine for the vote to count, then we get a “I voted” sticker. I got the feeling of what voting feels like for the first time. While the main election was going on, we had a talent show. I enjoyed the performer that danced and solved a Rubik’s Cube at the same time. While that guy was on stage, everyone in my city shouted my name and told me to go out there to try to compete against him, although it was a bad idea since my thumb is still hurting from being sliced on Saturday. However, after the talent show, I made a petition to host a Rubik’s Cube competition before Boys State Ended. Many people signed and I turned it into my counselor and he will bring it up to the Director of FALBS. I won’t know if my request will get accepted until the next day. For the winners of Boys State elections, all the Federalists won and not a single Nationalist was close for the Attorney General, which was down by less than 15 votes.
That night when we returned to our dorms, the Federalists were making fun of the Nationalists, which included me. I didn’t mind it that much because I already believed the Federalists would do better than the Nationalists. My roommate agreed not to not make fun of me for the party’s loss and I didn’t care about the loss. I went to bed at 12am. I tried sleeping at 11 but the moment I realized I will actually be able to go inside the Capitol building and do work like a Representative made me so excited. I just couldn’t wait.
Day 5: Thursday June 20th.
Thursday morning at around 5am, I left again to do the run. I was so exhausted that after running, I fell asleep, sleepwalking. I was woken up and got taken back right before I left the designated area. I kept trying to fight my sleep, wishing I didn’t leave the dorm. After I returned, I showered and got ready to go since I had no time to sleep more before going. I was suddenly awake when I remembered I was going to be able to go to the Capital later in the day and I was excited, making me feel wide awake again. Shortly after breakfast, we got seated at the basketball court where we took all our tests and lessons and some other things. The House and Assembly (Assembly is the alternative spot for House of Representatives if you don’t get elected for House) went to the capital where they got to visit the House Chamber and pass laws (I wasn’t sure what the Senate and the Forum, the alternative for Senate were doing). The Assembly was first, so the house went to the House Gallery. I took that as a good time to sleep because it was about an hour long, so I napped. I stayed awake, however, for the most important parts.
In the afternoon right after lunch, we went back to the Capital, which was a 20-minute walk. It was the House of Representatives turn. I spoke regularly so I can fight for or against the bills, depending on the bill. I was able to save a bill using the “Reconsider” Motion, which was to redo the last motion, which was to vote for my case, passing it to the Senate. I felt like I did a lot and I wanted to do more, only if there was more time. The counselor told me that the petition I made to host a Rubik’s Cube competition couldnot be fulfilled because the agenda was too full and there was no room to squeeze in the competition. It made me sad, but I fully understood.
Later that evening, right before the sun went down. My city and counselors were led by a student from FSU, showing us around the campus. FSU had many buildings, a giant library, a game area, swimmable fountains and deluxe dorms for more special students (staff too?) After about an hour of touring, we headed back to our dorms, had a city meeting and then I was given a special request by someone in my city. I was asked to sponsor the bill that he made since it passed the Senate. Unfortunately, I had to turn him down, telling him I am not good at sponsoring the type of bill he wants me to sponsor. Instead, I referred him to someone else that would do a much better job than me at sponsoring his bill. He thanked me for being humble and honest and went to the person I referred him to. I went to bed as early as possible, knowing tomorrow is the last full day of Boys State. I want to go home, but I didn’t want to let go of all the friendships I have made with the counselors and the other Delegates.
Day 6: Friday June 21st
I didn’t do the morning run this morning. I woke up at around 6:30 because I knew I needed as much rest as possible. I showered and got my dress suit ready to wear when I returned to the dorms. I am supposed to have an Awards Ceremony later that night. I went to eat breakfast and continue the day like normal.
Throughout the morning and afternoon, I took law classes and helped pass or destroy laws like I did the day before and had lunch in between. Around 4:30, we were sent to our dorms to rest a little bit before the Awards Ceremony. We rested a little more before our final council meeting before we headed off to the Tucker Center one last time. I asked my counselor for special permission to disappear a little so I can buy our city snacks and drinks and also to get souvenirs and he gave me permission.
I went off to hand the cashier 30$ to load a random box of random combinations of snacks and drinks. He understood immediately what I was doing so he helped with part of it (I thank him for that) and I headed upstairs to my floor as fast as I could. We had a meeting where the counselor asked how many people were leaving that night instead of the next morning. I will be staying the night. After we left for our dorms to get some rest, then change, I made an announcement to the city. I announced out loud “We know how today is the last full day of Boys State, right? (Everyone agreed). I know some of us are leaving tonight. I wanted to do this later, but some of you guys wouldn’t have a chance if I were to do it later tonight. So, I have something for you guys, give me a second.” As I turned around to get the box of snacks and drinks from the nearest table, everyone in my city was hyping me on and cheering me on. As soon as I went to grab the box and turned around, everyone shouted and applauded. I said to everyone to start with 1 so everyone can get one and then if they wanted, they could come for seconds. I have earned high respect from the delegates and the counselors in my city (I have 2, but 1 is a very busy one, but I don’t blame him [keep working hard!]) for they all have earned my respect and gratitude in many ways. Besides the Christian gathering I had on Monday; this was the most wholesome moment for me. Shortly after everyone got snacks and the ones who wanted seconds got seconds, I headed for my dorm to talk with my family. I am ready to finish the rest of my time at Boys State before it is time for me to go.
After spending time with my fellow “citizens”, I went off to get ready for the awards ceremony. I got dressed (in the pictures) and I prepared to head for the Tucker Center. I went with my city and counselors headed there. Upon getting there, we had one last meal at the Tucker Center. When I walked in, I felt like I just walked into a 2-Michelin Star Restaurant. The presentation was amazing, the food was 100x better (the normal food we had before this was decent), and we had real utensils (We normally use plastic plates and utensils). I ate like I was in Olive Garden (it felt weird to do that since I normally eat like if I am at a speed eating competition ). We had our awards after the food, and we headed back to our dorms for the last time. My roommate and I packed so he and I can do a sleepover at another dorm (It was 6 of us total). I said goodbye to everyone that was heading out before the night and got each other’s contacts (I didn’t get all of them, but I got a special few). We slept and we needed to get ready before 6am the next day.
Day 7: Saturday June 22nd
I have to wake up along with my group at 5:30am. We needed to be finished by 5:55, so I took my things, got showered and headed my way out. I got to make one more goodbye to everyone that had a meaningful impact on me (my entire city did in one way). I will see them again one day. I shed a few tears, but only a few because I knew I would be able to contact them in the future.
After leaving the dorm building at 6am, I went with my group that was riding my bus home. There I found all my friends I found from school. I have run into them before, but after that entire week, I had limited contact with them. But it’s alright, we all got to meet new friends and spend time together.
I got interviewed this morning, just like Sunday morning upon arriving. Sunday morning, I was asked my name and what I will be expecting upon being at Boys State. This morning, I was asked if I got what I expected being at the trip for Boys State. Here are my answers…
Sunday Morning: “What would be expected from Boys State?”
“I think I will have an amazing time getting to learn more things I wouldn’t have learned elsewhere, get to make long-lasting friendships and be able to change as a person.”
Saturday Morning: “Did you get what you were expecting at Boys State?”
“Yes and much more. I learned some lifelong skills that I was not only able to use for Boys State, but to also use it later in life. Boys State has changed me as a person, made many good friends and I learned a lot more about Florida than I could not have learned from anywhere else.”
3 minutes after the interview, my bus was ready to get loaded to head home. We are going back to the Legion Posts that we went to before heading to Boys State Saturday Night. It was a long ride, so I slept for a little bit and 4-5 hours later, I made it to my Legion Post. I said goodbye and thank you to the driver and I settled outside by the tables. I waited for a few and then my mother took me home.
I appreciated a lot of what Boys State has done for me even after the program. I appreciate all the things that the once-in-a-lifetime program has taught me. I thank my school for recommending me, especially the 2 teachers that told me about it. I thank my Legion Post for approving of me and I can’t thank you enough. And most importantly. Thank you, Boys State, for the many useful things in life that I would likely fall behind on if it wasn’t for you guys. Thank you, and this was my full experience at Boys State!
