DEPARTMENT OF WISCONSIN
Greetings fellow Legionnaires:
As many of you know, the state Oratorical Competition was held in Ripon last weekend. Our District contestant from Omro did not win the big prize, however everyone there thought he had a wonderful presentation (as did all the contestants). He also gave his speech at the Americanism Banquet and I believe everyone was blown away by what he had to say. His topic was on the First Amendment and needless to say, he was very knowledgeable on this. I’m sure he spoke for at least ten minutes and held our attention through the entire speech. Getting back to the competition, I certainly would not want to be a judge for this competition as I would find it most difficult to pick out the best one! If you ever get the opportunity to attend this competition and hear these young men and women speak, you should definitely do so – it is quite impressive. These young people are our next leaders and I firmly believe (after hearing what they had to say) that our country will be in good hands in the future!
The Americanism Banquet was held in Oshkosh on February 8th. Congratulations to our 6th District recipient of the Legionnaire of the Year Award, Donald Taddy from Post 165 in Two Rivers. There were five nominations overall for this distinguished award and in my mind there really are no losers as all nominated have done so many great things for their local Post. I’m hoping that next year we will have many more nominations because I firmly believe that EVERY POST has a member worthy of this prestigious award. Keep your eyes, ears, and hearts open as the year goes on for the person you feel fits the bill and be sure to nominate them next year.
Commander Dave thanked the 6th District for the fine evening and commented on the well-run program. He also thanked everyone who worked to make the evening a success. I, too, would like to express my thanks to all.
A newsletter wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t mention membership. We are doing well and I believe we’re above the level of what they expect at 85 percent of our goal. Now is the tough part – to get that last 15 percent to meet our goal of 100 percent.
I would like to remind the Executive Committee of our District Executive Meeting in Kingston which is schedule for March 10. Last fall we DID NOT have a quorum. The Executive Committee is comprised of all elected and appointed District Officers, six County Commanders, and the past District Commander. Please make every effort to attend this meeting. As a side note, all Legionnaires are welcome to attend this meeting.
Also mark your calendars and plan to attend the Spring Conference which will be held in Green Lake on April 26.
Thank you for all you do for the American Legion!
Bob Borszich
6th District Commander