Florida | Florida American Legion

2017 Dept General Session LIVE

WWII Veterans Wanted

Do you know a WWII Veteran who stormed the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944?

Honor Flight South Florida was recently contacted by one of its partners to invite WWII Veterans to go on a very special flight to Normandy for the 75th Anniversary. This trip is scheduled for June, 2019. “This is pretty far away, but it will give these boys something to look forward to want to make that trip”.

This partner of Honor Flight needs a specific group of WWII Veterans who stormed the… beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944.

If you know any WWII Veterans that will fit this criteria, please call Ryan Paton at 954-445-4285.

82nd Airborne Vietnam Era Vet Escorted Home

The 12th District was greatly honored when Congressman Bill Posey reached out for their assistance welcoming home a deceased 82nd Airborne Vietnam Era veteran.

12 members of the 12th District, throughout 4 posts, volunteered to join the Army Honor Guard, and a family friend on the flight line. The 12th District, a large group of riders, and flag waivers lined outside the gate demonstrating the strong bond the American Legion has with its veterans.

[foogallery id=”10837″]

National Poppy Day

Source: https://www.legion.org/honor/237246/national-poppy-day-supports-veterans-honors-fallen

The American Legion
April 27, 2017

The American Legion Family has called upon Congress to designate May 26, 2017, as National Poppy Day to expand awareness and provide support everywhere for all who have served and sacrificed in the U.S. armed forces.

“The American Legion is pleased to bring Poppy Day to the United States, joining countries around the world who use the symbolic flower to remember our fallen and support the living,” American Legion National Commander Charles E. Schmidt said.

This year, the Boeing Company is premier sponsor to help The American Legion, American Legion Auxiliary, Sons of The American Legion and American Legion Riders increase public understanding of the poppy, its meaning and the ways in which it can be used to help veterans today and remember those who have served in the past.

The American Legion Auxiliary has been conducting a Poppy Program for many years and their members’ raise over $6 million annually to provide support for veterans, military servicemembers and their families.

“By wearing poppies on May 26, we honor every U.S. servicemember who has given his or her life in the name of liberty, freedom and democracy,” Schmidt wrote in the May issue of The American Legion Magazine. “At the same time, by wearing this simple red flower, we show our support for veterans of generations to come.”

A new website at www.legion.org/poppyday offers multiple ways The American Legion Family can expand awareness locally and regionally. Included on the site are media tools, message points, sample proclamations for elected officials and easy access to the American Legion Emblem Sales “Poppy Shop,” which offers an assortment of affordable items including the new National Poppy Day pin, kits for making lapel poppies for distribution, fundraising containers, charms, scarves and more.

Also through the website, National Poppy Day donors can make safe, secure contributions with their credit cards and dedicate their gifts to personally honor veterans now living or in memory of those who have passed. All donations directly support military veterans and families through American Legion programs.

The site also provides, under the heading “Get Involved,” a new set of media tools and promotions that can be modified for local use, including press releases, sample social media posts and downloadable high-resolution graphics. The “History” section of the site has a full-color, downloadable poster featuring the poem “In Flanders Fields,” which led to the red poppy’s emergence as an international symbol of military sacrifice.

American Legion Family members who plan poppy distributions and similar commemorations around May 26 and the week leading into Memorial Day are urged to use the hashtags #PoppyDay and #LegionFamily so activities can be shared on Facebook, Twitter and other social media channels.

American Legion Riders participating in their annual Run to Thunder event in Washington, D.C., as well as chapters conducting local rides heading into Memorial Day weekend, are also planning to make the red poppy a visible symbol of sacrifice and encouraging the public to wear or otherwise display poppies to honor those who have served.

The American Legion designated the red poppy as its official flower at the organization’s second national convention, Sept. 27, 1920. Since then, members of The American Legion Family have raised awareness in communities, inspired by the 1915 poem of Canadian Lt. Col. John McCrae, M.D., who saw firsthand from the front lines of World War I the emergence of red poppies around the graves and in the battle zones where blood was shed to protect freedom and democracy. He put that image into words:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

A video from the Salute to Heroes Inaugural Ball in January 2017 features Korean War veteran, California Legionnaire and actor James McEachin onstage reciting the complete poem, which was written in May 1915 and published on Dec. 8 of that year.

Dave Miller – VA’s Volunteer of the Year

Dave Miller assists homeless Veterans and those at risk during a Stand Down for Homeless Veterans event at the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center

By Hans Petersen

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

David Miller is VA’s Male Volunteer of the Year. A Marine Corp Veteran, Miller served in Vietnam during the TET II offensive with 3rd Marine Division (9th Marines).

Miller says he got involved in volunteering, “Due to the fact that the Vietnam Veterans were ignored and mistreated and misdiagnosed for years after they returned home. I just wanted to make positive experiences to help all Veterans and also to help them with their issues for health and benefits.

“I speak to youth about how important it is to honor all our Veterans.”

“And after I was diagnosed with my cancer and in a wheelchair for five years, I kept volunteering to not think about my illnesses as well as to help other Veterans with the same problems. This was self medication for me as well.”

The National American Legion Hospital Representative at the Bay Pines VA Medical Center, Miller has volunteered for 27 years and finds the most emotional part of his volunteering is the interest he takes in the hospice and the really sick and disabled Veterans. “It made me thankful for my life, being a cancer survivor.’

He and his wife Kathy Ann live in Largo, Florida. His two grown sons, Jeremiah and Adam, live in Orlando. “They have accomplished so much in their lives.”

Miller says his only real hobby is, “Speaking to children and youth about the importance of patriotism and how important it is to honor all our Veterans. They provide the protection that allows them to enjoy the freedoms that they take for granted.”

And he encourages them to volunteer. “I would hope we can start getting more younger people and younger Veterans to volunteer at our VA hospitals and in the community. They would get so much satisfaction from helping our heroes from the past, present and future. Our Veterans are the life blood of this great country of ours. We must make sure that is never forgotten in all our future generations.”

Marine Veteran and Volunteer David Miller

As part of his volunteer duties, Miller visit patients daily and meets several times a week with Veterans them with their claims and benefits. “I also am an advocate for all Veterans who need help with appointments or any other issues at the hospital or in the community.” He also speaks with young Veterans at MacDill Air Force Base who need guidance or help with any VA issues when they leave the service.

Miller adds, “I would just like to say that I am honored and humbled to accept this great accolade as National Volunteer of the Year. With all the service organizations that are involved, there are so many deserving people that should have won this award. I love to help Veterans in all facets of their lives both at the VA and in the community. It gives me great satisfaction to be able to donate my time for such a worthy cause! God Bless our Veterans and God Bless our great country.”

Source: https://www.va.gov/health/NewsFeatures/2017/April/Marine-Veteran-is-VAs-Male-Volunteer-of-the-Year.asp

Stop HB 1375 / SB 1374 – Act Now!

Dear Legionnaires:

I was extremely dismayed to learn that the HB 1375 / SB 1374 would demolish our highly successful specialty plate program, which includes our Florida Legion specialty plate.

If this legislation passes, the Florida Legion specialty plate, and other Florida specialty plates, will no longer be available. More to the point, the funds raised from the sale of Florida specialty plates will no longer be available.

For the Florida Legion, this would devastate our programs that depend on this critical funding. Our veterans, families, and communities would suffer without the assistance of these funds.

Florida specialty plates in general provide a safety net for tens of thousands of our children, elderly, disabled, veterans, the list is nearly endless, this is a safety net that the Legislature does not have to fund. Over $600 million has been raised by voluntary donations through the specialty plate program since its inception.

Each Florida specialty plate funds a 501c3 non-profit organization within the State of Florida. Any attempt to move funds out of the state is a turnabout of 40 years of Legislative intent.

We strongly urge you to contact your legislators immediately and tell them to vote NO on these two bills.

Please vote NO on the two bills.

This legislation will hurt tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of your constituents.

The Department of Highway Safety license plate brochure shows the STANDARD LICENSE PLATE is the one with the oranges in the middle. So you will get a little unnoticeable footnote at the bottom under the proposed legislation.

To do this, they misrepresented to these legislators that your plate does little good and is inconvenient and costly for them to administer. This is not true because you paid a great deal of money to create your plate and the current statute allows them to withhold all of their operating costs for handling your plate.

Here are the emails for the legislators in the committees that will hear this legislation starting tomorrow morning at 8.00am –

Thank you,
Mike McDaniel
Department Adjutant
Retired U.S. Marine Corps

Happy 98th Birthday to The American Legion

The Florida Department of The American Legion staff would like to wish The American Legion and it’s members, a very “Happy 98th Birthday”! Please follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/floridalegion and share your videos, photos and celebrations!

Need your home or post painted?

Need your house or Post painted? The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades is looking to help 3 to 4 veterans in Central Florida. The homes must be owned and occupied by veterans, and be located in the same general vicinity in the Central Florida area. Work will be done by professional painters at absolutely no charge to the veteran! For more information contact our Assistant Adjutant, Bruce Comer at bcomer@floridalegion.org or (407) 295-2631. Hurry and don’t delay! Painting begins mid-April!

Women & Minority Veteran Outreach

In honor of Women’s History Month, The American Legion is hosting a day trip to the Orlando VA Medical Center at Lake Nona. Join other women veterans on a visit to the hospital campus and learn about facilities and services dedicated to your specific needs.

If interested in attending, please sign-up now.

Please share this flyer and help us get the word out.

Download Flyer

Sgt. Kirstie Ennis, USMC

Orlando Rocks Benefit, Inc proudly announces two benefits to support Sgt. Kirstie Ennis, USMC. Ennis’s story and journey as an veteran and amputee is inspirational. She was recently featured on the cover of PTSD Journal, click here to read her amazing story.

The first benefit takes place on Saturday, February 18, 2017. Orlando Rocks Benefit, Inc will be holding a “Warrior Ride” in Ennis’s honor. The ride will start at American Legion Post 183 in Fern Park, with 4 stops along the way, riders will also end back at Post 183 for a Luau. Complete details and a flyer can be found on our Event Calendar.

The second benefit will be sponsored by Orlando Rocks Benefit, Inc and Booyah Bus Project, hosted by The City of Kissimmee. Complete details for this event can also be found on our Event Calendar.

Please come out and show your support.

Attention Posts: March on Tallahassee

Greetings Post Commanders,

The American Legion, Department of Florida will be hosting a March on Tallahassee on Tuesday, February 7, 2017. The purpose of this march is to lobby lawmakers to pass legislation that protects veterans’ rights and to discuss key veterans’ legislative issues. Included among these issues are:

Gaming machines in our posts homes
Free tolls for paralyzed veterans

We are requesting that each post sponsor two representatives to attend this march. Please note, the Department will be unable to provide reimbursement for any incurred expenses, each individual post will be responsible for covering the costs of the representatives they elect to send. The event will begin with a Legislative Briefing to be held at Post 13, 229 Lake Ella Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32303 at 9:00 am. Coffee and doughnuts will be served during the briefing. The Legislative Briefing session will inform attendees, in full detail, of each legislative priority, prior to visiting Florida Legislators. Therefore, attendees will be uniformed and more easily able to articulate the legislative agenda.

It is of the upmost importance, that attendees schedule an appointment with their Florida Legislators in advance. Appointment times should be scheduled after 10:30 am on February 7^th, following the Legislative Briefing. We encourage you to schedule appointments immediately, and avoid waiting until the last minute. The Department of Florida requests, that all confirmed appointments be reported to the Department headquarters office, to avoid duplicating our efforts. A list of confirmed appointments will be made available to all attendees as they are provided.

Here are a few resources to help you identify your House Representatives and Senators:

http://www.myfloridahouse.com, select “Representatives” from the menu
http://flsenate.gov, select “Senators” from the menu

The Department is hoping for a large attendance from our veteran advocates, and urges you to make room reservations in advance. Below is an area hotel, that has agreed to a special rate of $99:

Wyndham Garden
Apalachee Parkway

Click here for Hotel Reservations

Tallahassee, FL 32301

Phone Reservations: (850) 201-2028 reservation code: “The American Legion”

The American Legion, Department of Florida thanks you for your continued dedication and Americanism. Together, we will drive the engine of change to ensure our veterans receive the proper care and respect that they deserve. Together, we will make a difference for ourselves, our comrades, our families and our communities. Join us February 7, 2017, and let our voices be heard.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our Executive Assistant, Rachel Castleberry, (407) 295-2631 or by email to rcastleberry@floridalegion.org.

For God and Country,

Michael McDaniel
Department Adjutant
The American Legion, Department of Florida

Mobility for Florida Veterans

L-R: Jack Kump, Bruce Comer (Assistant Dept Adjutant), Joan Wheeler

Orlando, January 4, 2017 – Jack Kump and his wife, Joan Wheeler, have personally donated ten (10) brand new mobility scooters to The American Legion, Department of Florida. Inspired by their commitment to our veterans, SpinLife has also added an additional scooter free of charge, for a total of eleven (11) brand new mobility scooters from scooter sleuth to be given away to Florida Veterans. Mobility scooters have helped a lot of people with disabilities to move around and sometimes even save their lives. Though there are a lot of options out there especially on ScooterAdviser, there are different types that will cater to different needs. Technology has certainly helped society live better lives.

Florida is home to approximately 1.5 million veterans, 22% of those veterans have claimed some level of disability. Jack and Joan have asked that these mobility scooters be distributed to disabled veterans who are in need and lack the funds or insurance to cover the costs on their own. They have entrusted The American Legion, Department of Florida, with the distribution of this remarkable act of kindness.

We asked Jack and Joan what prompted such a noble act. “The scooters are being donated in memory of two WWII vets very special in our lives, Joan’s late father, Robert I. Wheeler, and Jack’s late mentor, Leonard F. Wedge.” Jack also would like to honor Randolph-Macon Academy in Front Royal, Virginia where he attended high school. According to Jack, “Without the military influence, discipline, Espirit de Corps, and direction the school provided, my life would have probably taken a much less productive path”. Jack and Joan believe that all vets are very special people and should be recognized and shown compassion, especially our disabled, fallen on hard times.

If you are a Disabled Florida Veteran, who could greatly benefit from one of these mobility scooters, we would like to hear from you. The mobility scooter must be for the use of the veteran applying, the veteran must be a Florida Resident, provide proof of military service, and have the capability to arrange pick up of the scooter at our Orlando, Florida

Joan Wheeler

Department Headquarters. The American Legion, Department of Florida ask that you write a letter or email explaining why you should receive one of these scooters. Briefly discuss why you feel you should be chosen, include a copy of your DD214 form to verify your veteran service, and be sure to include contact information. All letters and DD214 forms must be received in our office no later than January 28, 2017 for consideration. Late and incomplete submissions will not be considered. Please do not call for inquiries, recipients will be decided by a Department Committee based on the written entries received by the deadline. All entries should be mailed to: The American Legion, Department of Florida, Mobility for Veterans, PO Box 547859; Orlando, FL 32854-7859 or via emailed to mail@floridalegion.org.

Selected recipients will be notified in February to start arranging pickup of their mobility scooters.

The American Legion, Department of Florida would like to extend a debt of gratitude to Jack and Joan, on behalf of all Florida Veterans. It is this type of compassion and kindness that we wish for all of our veterans.

ALA President Kelli’s Homecoming Dinner

JOIN US FOR:

President Kelli’s Homecoming Dinner

President Kelli has had a great year navigating as the 2016-2017 Department President! We are inviting all Auxiliary members, Legionnaires, Riders and S.A.L. to help us celebrate!

When:
Saturday, April 8, 2017
5:00 pm to 10:00 pm

Where:
American Legion Post 7
1760 Turner St
Clearwater, FL 33756

Attire:
Casual Dress
(no shorts or tank tops, tie not required)

RSVP:
Patricia Devine
1213 Inverness Dr
Dunedin, FL 34698
(727) 736-8246

Click here to download flyer/menu.

Hotel Information:

Days Inn
2940 Gulf To Bay Blvd
Clearwater, FL 33759 US
+1-727-799-0100

Rate: $79.99 when you book by March 25, 2017.
Code: American Legion

Battle of the Bulge Day Proclamation

Gov. Rick Scott has signed the annual Battle of the Bulge Day Proclamation, commemorating the 72nd anniversary of one of the most important battles of World War II. (See attached in two versions.)

The last major German offensive on the Western Front began on Dec. 16, 1944 and lasted until Jan. 25, 1945, resulting in an Allied victory.

Click here for Proclamation.

Orlando VA Updates

Our Associate Director, Kalautie S. JangDhari, has accepted a position as the Medical Center Director of the West Texas Veterans Health Care System effective December 11,2016. As many of you know, Ms. JangDhari has been serving as the Interim Director at West Texas since November 2015. Ivan Itebejac our Chief of Pharmacy has been our Acting Associate Director and will remain in this position until we hire a new Associate Director.

Also you may have seen the story about the Orlando VA in the news related to a story that ran in USA Today. Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning (SAIL) is an internal guide to identify and focus on areas for improvement. We use quarterly SAIL data to ensure that we have a comprehensive assessment of all aspects of health care services.

The article in USA Today sites older data but our recent SAIL metrics show a significant improvement in individual metrics as well as a change in our rating to a 4 Star in FY16 QTR3 (this is a 5 star program). Many program efforts have contributed to our rating increase. This includes addressing access concerns with a variety of modalities, such as direct scheduling in our audiology and optometry clinics, our 24 hour Urgent Care Center, and increasing same day access.

We have also focused on preventive health measures, including the recent development of a clinic for complex heart failure patients who require frequent monitoring, medication adjustments, and hospitalizations. The Orlando VA Medical Center was the first VA entity in Florida to insert a Cardio MEMS device to support our care of patients with these special cardiac needs.

This year’s addition of acute care hospital beds serve our Veterans well while positively impacting our SAIL measures as we direct attention to keeping patients safe from infections and other harm. The plan to incrementally phase in active hospital beds is showing success even in the limited inpatient hospital data we currently have, reflecting lower mortality rates, fewer central line, urinary catheter, and MRSA infections, and shorter than average lengths of stay.

~ Heather Frebe
Public Affairs Officer, Orlando VA Medical Center

NAMI Family-to-Family Program

Veterans and Family Members:
Starting January 7, 2016, join the Bay Pines VA and National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) every Saturday from 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. for the NAMI Family-to-Family program. The meetings will take place in building 1, room B214 at the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center.

The program is offered at no cost and is intended to educate participants on how to support a loved one with mental illness and or substance abuse conditions.

For more information and to register today, contact Phyllis Beede at 727-547-8683 or visit nami-pinellas.org/family-to-family/.

You can also watch an informative video about the program at this link: https://youtu.be/ae1ru1SBaaI

Mental health conditions impact everyone…not just the individuals diagnosed. The Family-to-Family program can help.

2016 Fall Conference a Success

The American Legion, Department of Florida 2016 Fall Conference kicked off November 18^th – 20th. The event was held at the Hilton, Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, FL, where guests were greeted with cookies and a friendly smile upon check-in.

We estimate that more than 500 legionnaires attended this year’s Department Fall Conference, a great turn out and show of support. Thank you to all who were in attendance.

Headquarters was stationed in the hotel’s South Ballroom offering Department Emblem Sales, Membership assistance, Program Information, General Information, Photo Sessions, Project: VetRelief table and new additions of “Legion Online” and Centennial History show case. “Legion Online” featured laptops which guests could utilize to view the Department website, National website and MyLegion, with staff members on hand to offer assistance. The Centennial History show case featured historical relics from our Legion history. Last minute tickets sales for the 2016 Fall Raffle were also sold, along with discounted parking vouchers. Our friendly and dedicated Department staff and volunteers were eager to help Legionnaires with their Legion needs and questions.

During this Conference, Service Officer School trained 57 new Service Officers to serve our communities. Many classes such as Legion Institute, Post Training, Officer Training, Membership Training, etc. were also in high attendance.

General Session was held Saturday and kicked off with Post 286 Color Guard’s Presentation of Colors. We took pause to honor our POW-MIA and five lost Legionnaires this year: Rene Stachelrodt Jr., Past Dept Scholarship Chairman; Ed Miller, Past Southern Area Commander; Cauleen Dolan, Past 9^th District Commander; French Shannon, Past 9^th District Commander, and Charles Johann, Past 1^st District Commander.

During the opening ceremonies, Department Commander, Department Adjutant and several other Department Officers entered sporting kilts and leprechaun attire in good spirit with Commander Joe Magee’s Irish-American heritage. Many laughs were had watching these well-respected men struggle with skirt kilt etiquette. Membership Director, Irene Graham also made a splash with leprechaun attire while assisting Jerry Brandt during the Membership Awards portion of the program.

National Judge Advocate, Phillip Onderdonk, joined us in a short and spirited speech as a special guest speaker. Wendy Jo Bost, Public Service Administrator at the Orange County Library System and Mimi Coenen, Chief Operations Officer at CareerSource of Central Florida also gave a heartfelt address and shared a short video on a joint program they have implemented with our veterans, military personnel and our youth. The Son’s of the American Legion and Auxiliary also stopped by for a quick hello and special guests of their own.

Dennis Boland, NEC, presented this year’s Child Welfare Awards. Bronze Plaques/Emblems for donations ranging from $500 to $749 were awarded to: District 13, Tampa Bay Post 152, Tequesta Post 271, Key West Post, Palmetto Post 309 and Fort Pierce Post 40. Gold Plaques/Emblems for donations exceeding $1,000 were awarded to: Largo Post 119, Spring Hill Post 186, Dunedin Post 275, Belleview Post 284, Lehigh Acres Post 323, Lady Lake Post 347, Tampa Post 5 and the Department of Florida. Eunice Butts and Dianne Boland were each presented with the 1 Diamond CWF Lapel Pin and Dennis R Boland was presented with the 5 Diamond CWF Lapel Pin. Department of Florida received: the Excellence Award; U.S. Udie Grant Award for most donations by the Florida legion Family in the amount of $86,784.33; Garland Murphy Award for Legion Department contributing the most donations to the CWF. PDC Jim Ramos was awarded a Diamond Lapel Pin.

Department Adjutant Mike McDaniel followed, delivering a brief report on Department business, and sharing an inspirational piece of our history and the importance of The American Legion. Our Candidates then presented a brief speech on why they would best serve our Department. A list of these candidates and their endorsements can be found on our department website: https://www.floridalegion.org/news-events/department-convention/endorsement-letters/.

After a brief break for lunch, the General Session resumed with the drawing of the 2016 Fall Raffle Winners, with the grand prize of $10,000 up for grabs. Those lucky winners are:

Grand Prize ($10,000) – Jamie Knapp of New Port Richey, FL
2^nd Prize ($5,000) – Robert Wrobel of New Smyrna, FL
3^rd Prize ($2,400) – Thomas Blaney of Jupiter, FL
4^th Prize ($1,500) – Joseph Wagoner of Fort Pierce, FL
5^th Prize ($1,000) – Richard Stewart of Gilford, NH
6^th Prize ($1,000) – Howard Weingrow of Palm Beach Gardens, FL
7^th Prize ($500) – Rudy Panganiban of Orlando, FL
8^th Prize ($500) – Dwayne Enos of Jacksonville, FL
9^th Prize ($500) – Stephen Benner of Leesburg, FL
10^th Prize ($500) – Florenda Nicoloff of Melbourne, FL

Following reports from our Program and Committee Reports, Department Membership Chairman, Jerry Brandt, presented numerous posts with awards for meeting/exceeding their membership goals. Membership awarded 117 posts for meeting the 55% Goal, 101 whom met 60% Goal, 64 whom met 70% Goal, 10 posts whom met the 100% Goal. Also among Membership Awards were the Pioneer Awards, awarded to Edward Butcherine, Leo Kiffner, Gary Barton, Bobbie Jo Dino, Bob Deutsch and Thomas Listy. A warm welcome to our newest Post 410 in Rochledge, FL.

Membership was an important focus of this General Session as numbers have been on a decline over the last few years, due primarily to an aging demographic. Posts were encouraged to continue recruiting efforts and find new ways to attract members and appeal to the younger demographic. The American Legion is a legacy that we hope to pass from generation to generation, so long as there is an America. Increasing communication efforts among Posts, Department, Officers and Chairman was also an area where improvement was encouraged.

The General Session closed with final remarks from Commander Joe Magee and closing ceremonies.

Saturday’s events closed with the President & Commander’s Banquet that evening. Sunday concluded the Fall Conference, with a Religious Service that morning and a Department Executive Committee Meeting immediately following.

Overall, the 2016 Fall Conference was a great success. The Conference was well-organized and ran fairly, smoothly, although there were a couple of unforeseen hitches along the way. We sincerely apologize for the last-minute change of class locations to the Palm Building, which caused some confusion. This was due to an error by the hotel, in which they profusely apologized for, and treated our guest with an endless cookie buffet, enjoyed by many in the Headquarter’s Ballroom. This was the final year for Department events at this hotel, unrelated to this instance. Future Fall Conferences will be held at the Renaissance SeaWorld Orlando and Conventions will be held at the Marriot Orlando World Center.

Florida Legion College will be held February 16 – 18, 2017, more information is available on our department website: https://www.floridalegion.org/news-events/florida-legion-college/.

We hope that you will also join us June 28^th – July 2^nd, 2017 for the Department Convention to be held at the Marriot Orlando World Center.

2016 Fall Raffle Winners

We just concluded another successful Fall Conference, thank you to all who were in attendance. It is with great pleasure we announce the following winners for the 2016 Fall Raffle:

1^st Jamie Knapp New Port Richey, FL $10,000

2^nd Robert Wrobel New Smyrna, FL $5,000

3^rd Thomas Blaney Jupiter, FL $2,500

4^th Joseph Wagoner Fort Pierce, FL $1,500

5^th Richard Stewart Gilford, NH $1,000

6^th Howard Weingrow Palm Beach Gardens, FL $1,000

7^th Rudy Panganiban Orlando, FL $500

8^th Dwayne Enos Jacksonville, FL $500

9^th Stephen Benner Leesburg, FL $500

10^th Florenda Nicoloff Melbourne, FL $500

Congratulations to this year’s raffle winners! Thank you for playing.

Grand Re-Opening Post 104

Post 104 is proud to announce their Grand Re-Opening. Post 104 has put in great effort to rebuild and breath new life into this 85 year old location.

You are invited to join their January 2017 festivities.

Click here for flyer.

Membership Incentive Raffle for Fall Conference

ATTENTION POSTS:

We hope you are busy preparing to join us next week. We wanted to take a moment to encourage you to participate in our Membership Drive Raffle to be held at Fall Conference, November 18-20, 2016.

Membership is what fuels our organization and our posts are the ones who recruit and steward those members.

To thank you for your hard work and dedication we will offer a special incentive at Fall Conference.

For each membership card your post brings in we will give your post a chance to win one of three prizes. The more cards you deliver us at Fall Conference, the greater your chances!

· First Prize $250

· Second Prize $150

· Third Prize $100

Rules:

Fall conference will be held at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista at Walt Disney World Resort, November 18 – 20, 2016. For every paid membership card turned, while in attendance of Fall Conference, a ticket will be entered into the drawing. All membership cards must be turned in by 5:00 PM on Friday, November 18, 2016 to be eligible to win. Drawing will be held during General session on Saturday, November 19, 2016, at 9:00 AM. An authorized post representative must be present during the drawing, and must provide corresponding winning ticket number to claim prize. First ticket drawn will be awarded 1st Prize of $250, second ticket drawn will be awarded 2nd Prize of $150 and third ticket drawn will be awarded 3rd Prize of $100. For complete details and or questions, please contact Irene Graham (igraham@floridalegion.org), Membership Director at the Florida Department Headquarters.

Download Flyer