AMERICAN LEGION BIRTHDAY
The American Legion's birthday is March 15, the day in 1919 when the first American Legion caucus took place in Paris. The American Legion is the largest veterans organization in the country, with around two million members and over 13,000 posts worldwide. The organization was founded by members of the American Expeditionary Forces who were still in Europe after World War I. The Legion's core principles are Americanism, veterans, youth, and national defense. So a very happy 105 years today
Renovation Lounge and Hall
The culmination of much thought and discussion resulted in a wonderful day of work with nearly 30 volunteers. This included professionals in floor installation from our wonderful grant from Home Depot as well as many additional professionals representing several local and not so local companies. Our helpers included MSC Builders, MAS Solutions, Custom Tile and Flooring, CG&G lic flooring, John Steele, The Welding shop, Legionnaires of the American Legion Post 416, Ladies Auxiliary of the American Legion Post 416, Sons of American Legion Post 416, American Legion Riders Post 416, Floor Source , Country Counter Tops Ortonville, Commercial Electric Inc. The volunteer list was simply amazing. They came early and worked all day with a short break for lunch. The volunteers included Ron Timmons, Jim Rose, Tina Carpenter, Brian Kunnard, John Shilling, Rachele Shilling, Gayle Timmons, Mary Eiteuner, Daniel Long, Tony Westrick, Diane Keen, Jay Collins, Jeff Beedle, John Voorhies, Jack Hawkins, Timothy David, John Sortman, Walter Phillips, Jim Gratham, Kelli Tullis, Jesse McMahan, Jim Herman, Richard Schwalm, Maurice Sears, Mark Hickey, Richard Piechowski, Kim Westrick, Mike Carpenter. In the end we have a lounge with a new tile floor, a new PA system, a new video surveillance system, a new ceiling, and a new led lighting system. In the hall we have every wall painted a soft grey, the Tiki bar has a white roof and the background is a cool black. We have new ceiling tiles along with new LED lighting, the floor has been upgraded to a soft grey tile . We have a new PA system along with the new video system. Mission impossible was made possible!!
officers 2023-2024
During this period of time the post made great progress facilitating a major renovation of the post that included replacement of the ceiling in the lounge and hall as well as the floor in the hall and a partial replacement of the floor in the lounge. The pa system was upgraded and replaced the existing PA in the lounge and the hall. The hall was painted and the commander photo display was upgraded which will ultimately include new frames and replacement of the photos with new upgraded images of our prior leaders. The kitchen received new fryers and the auxiliary provided us with a new cadre of crock pots. We also obtained a commercial size mixer which expanded our cooking opportunities. The electrical was vastly upgraded in the lounge and hall. During this time our officer group included Mark Hickey as the Commander. Jeff Biddle as First Vice Commander, Jim Rose as Second Vice Commander, John Shilling as Adjutant, Mary Eiteuner as Finance Officer, Lori Proctor as Chaplain, Ron Timmons as Sargeant of Arms, Jay Collins as Historian/Public relations, Rachelle Shilling as Service officer, Mark Eiteuner as Member at Large, Don Mras as Member at Large