Department of California

District 18

The monthly meeting of District 18 The American Legion will be held Friday, November 20^th , 7:30 p.m., at Monterey Park Post 397, 338 S Ramona Ave., Monterey Park,  with Commander George “Bucky” Curtis of  Covina  presiding.  Dinner precedes the meeting at 6:30 p.m. Reservations for dinner  may be made by calling the Post at 626-571-9211.

Valley Forge Chairman Alex Rivney of La Puente will have information available on the Valley Forge Teachers Workshop. at Freedoms Foundation, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, a national institution dedicated to improving the understanding  of the fundamentals of the American way of life as expressed in the Declaration  of Independence, The Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  Posts in the San Gabriel Valley sponsor many local teachers to the workshops each year, touching the lives of hundreds of students.

The “good news” from Washington (September 16, 2009) is the report that the U.S.  House of Representatives and the Senate has passed a resolution designating September 16^th as “The American Legion Day”, the anniversary of it’s founding  in 1919 while troops were still in France.  The resolution sponsored by Representative Debbie Halverson (D-Ill) praised the 90-year-old veteran service organization for its continuing work to aid wounded warriors and military families.

Membership in The American Legion is the first concern of 1^st Vice Commander John Sampson of Pomona and all members of the organization.  Eligible veterans are urged to consider membership in the largest wartime veterans organization in the world.  Posts are located throughout the San Gabriel Valley and can be contacted directly, or for further information   1^st Vice Commander Sampson can be reached at Jes1735@!verizon.net

Boys State Chairman James Cooper urges Posts to notify him as soon as possible on the number of reservations needed by each Post for the 2010 session of California Boys State in Sacramento and contact needs to be made with the schools for dates to conduct the interviewing process when delegates are selected..  The Boys State program involves a week-long study in civics and government, teaching our youth the duties, rights and responsibilities of citizenship.