101ST NATIONAL CONVENTION AUGUST 23-29, 2019 | INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA Discover Your #LOVEINDY Moment
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The American Legion THE AMERICAN LEGION 101ST NATIONAL CONVENTION OFFICIAL PROGRAM & ORGANIZATION REPORT OFFICIAL PROGRAM & ORGANIZATION CONVENTION THE AMERICAN LEGION 101ST NATIONAL 101ST NATIONAL CONVENTION AUGUST 23-29, 2019 | INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA Discover Your #LOVEINDY Moment MOMENT #0083 Uncovering the history behind the monuments and memorials. Indy is proud to host The American Legion’s 101st National Convention and the Centennial Birthday. This is a city that takes pride in honoring the sacrifices of American veterans and their families. The American Legion calls Indy home, and we welcome you as family. For what to see, do, and eat, go to VisitIndy.com Page CV2 American Legion Auxiliary Sons of The American Legion American Legion Riders 99th National Convention 48th National Convention TABLE OF CONTENTS WELCOME Greetings from President Trump . .2 Historical Content . .32 Greetings from Indianapolis . 3 Patriotic Memorial Service . .33 From the President of the American Legion Auxiliary . 4 Convention Attractions . 34-37 From the American Legion National Commander . 5 Hotel Directory . .38 National Commander’s Year in Photos . 6-7 Local Entertainment . .39 2019 National Convention Of cials . .8- 9 Indianapolis Map . 40-41 Standing Commission & Committee Meetings . 10-13 Convention Center & Exhibit Hall . 42-43 Legion Training . .15 Resources. 44-49 SAL National Convention . 16-17 Standing Rules of the National Convention . .19 ORGANIZATION REPORT . .51 Special Guests of the 101st National Convention . 20-24 National Of cers . .52 Honor Roll . .25 National Executive Committee . .53 Distinguished Service Medal Recipients . .26 Commissions & Committees . 55-59 Distinguished Guests . 27-29 Financial Reports . 60-78 Parade Route and Rules . 30-31 Thank You . 79-80 Indianapolis skyline overlooking the city’s Market East District Photo courtesy Visit Indy 2 THE AMERICAN LEGION 101ST NATIONAL CONVENTION GREETINGS FROM INDIANAPOLIS Mayor Joe Hogsett Governor Eric Holcomb Department Commander Rodney Strong On behalf of the city of Indianapolis, It is a pleasure to welcome you to it is my pleasure to welcome you to the 101st American Legion National Welcome to the Hoosier State. On the 101st American Legion National Convention. Hoosiers are proud that behalf of the Indiana American Legion Convention. As home to The American veterans from around the nation Family, I would like to welcome you to Legion’s national headquarters, will be gathering in The American Indiana. Indianapolis is always proud to welcome Legion’s home city of Indianapolis. We are extremely honored to host veterans back to our city, originally It is a privilege to host this group of the 101st National Convention right delegated by the Legion in 1919. outstanding men and women who have here in downtown Indianapolis, and The American Legion has earned committed themselves to serving the we hope you take advantage of the its recognition as the nation’s largest United States of America. sites while you are on ground. wartime veterans service organization As a Navy veteran and member of Indianapolis devotes more acreage through more than a century of American Legion Post 510, than any other U.S. city to honoring commitment to mentoring youth, I truly appreciate the unrivaled our nation’s fallen, and is second only providing scholarships and f nancial aid, commitment, work ethic and passion to Washington, D.C., in the number of advocating patriotism and honor, and of all servicemembers and staf of The war memorials. transforming the lives of veterans, their American Legion. We must never fail We aim to bring Hoosier hospitality families and their communities. to recognize the sacrif ces that our to our entire Legion Family for the During your stay, I hope you take servicemembers, past and present, as convention. I personally hope to meet time to visit our many war memorial well as their families, have made and as many of our visitors as I can. monuments. Indianapolis prides itself continue to make for those of us at Please let our department know if on having the second-highest number home. you need any assistance, and have a of monuments in the United States, Thank you all for your service to this wonderful time in our beautiful state. just behind Washington, D.C. These country. It is truly an honor for the city include the Indiana War Memorial, the of Indianapolis and the state of Indiana Congressional Medal of Honor Memorial, to host the 101st celebration of The the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, and American Legion. the USS Indianapolis Memorial. To those who have served and those currently serving, thank you for your sacrif ce and bravery. I wish you all the best for a successful and enjoyable convention and hope you’ll visit Indy again soon. RODNEY STRONG JOSEPH H. HOGSETT ERIC HOLCOMB 2018-2019 Commander, Mayor, City of Indianapolis Governor, State of Indiana Department of Indiana THE AMERICAN LEGION 101ST NATIONAL CONVENTION 3 FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY Serving alongside American Legion National Commander Brett Reistad as a Legion Family leader this year has been an honor. What an amazing time! I appreciated having such a wonderful national commander to work side by side with, as we represented our great organizations. Commander Reistad is a f erce advocate for veterans, servicemembers and their families, and a staunch supporter of the entire Legion Family. Thank you, dear Legionnaires, for your part in making my of cial visits to various post homes extremely enjoyable. You showed me a level of hospitality, comfort and care most people usually reserve for family and close friends. Meeting, and really getting to know, many of you and other members of our Legion Family during my travels was truly memorable. Seeing Legionnaires and Auxiliary members within the same post homes working the mission, supporting one another and displaying a sincere mutual respect for one another was great. As the Legion and Auxiliary each embark on another century of self ess service, I hope the teamwork among Legion Family members continues. Our commingled missions can be fulf lled with a joint ef ort and KATHY DUNGAN unwavering commitment from both sides of our post homes. Drane-Prine Unit 79, Wesson, Miss. Together, we can continue to honor and help our veterans, our military and their families; mentor youth; encourage patriotism; and enhance communities. That is the promise made long ago, to those we serve, by the founding fathers and founding mothers of our organizations. Together, we can continue serving our heroes. God bless you all, 4 THE AMERICAN LEGION 101ST NATIONAL CONVENTION FROM THE AMERICAN LEGION NATIONAL COMMANDER There are many milestones of The American Legion’s f rst century that stand out. The adoption of the U.S. Flag Code. The creation of the Veterans Bureau and later the Department of Veterans Af airs. The drafting and passage of the greatest social legislation in American history, the GI Bill. These are just a few that come to mind. As we celebrate our centennial, it is easy to focus on these and overlook some of our more recent accomplishments. Late last year, the federal government shut down, but the Legion stood up. As Americans celebrated the New Year, the Coast Guard continued to protect our shores while its 41,000 members faced unprecedented pay stoppages. Unfortunately, the shutdown continued as the days and weeks passed. The American Legion found this unacceptable and took action. We provided more than $1 million of Temporary Financial Assistance to Coast Guard families in need through our Veterans & Children Foundation. This was in the form of nonrepayable grants, and it was $1 million more than what the government provided during that same period. The shutdown ended, and the Coast Guard was retroactively paid, but Congress still hasn’t passed the Pay Our Coast Guard Act that would prevent such delays in the future. The American Legion will continue to press our lawmakers to complete this unf nished business. We’ve had other successes on Capitol Hill, though. President Trump signed the Blue Water Navy Veterans Act, which will f nally extend the benef ts so many veterans earned while exposed to Agent Orange as they served BRETT P. REISTAD on ships of the coast of Vietnam. National Commander Virginia We are seeing the implementation of the VA MISSION Act, legislation that will consolidate community care programs, reform the VA health-care infrastructure and expand benef ts given through the VA Caregiver Support Program. Congress passed the Let Everyone Get Involved in Opportunities for National Service Act, better known as the LEGION Act, which enables The American Legion to change its constitution to ref ect the fact that everyone who served honorably since Dec. 7, 1941, may be eligible to join the organization. This legislation recognizes that military members who served during periods outside earlier designated war periords also risked their lives during unrecognized conf icts. Upon a constitutional change to ref ect this law, millions of veterans from that period may become members. This year, we put additional ef orts into engaging our members and creating a welcoming environment in which Legionnaires frequently check on the well-being of their buddies. I f rmly believe the departments that achieve the highest renewal rates are the same departments that put “buddy checks” into action. Finally, The American Legion has once again etched itself in the annals of Supreme Court history. It is f tting that we successfully defended a cherished veterans memorial, but we also protected a symbol of sacrif ce erected by Gold Star Mothers and early members of The American Legion. With a 7-2 vote in The American Legion v. American Humanist Association, the Supreme Court ruled that a cross-shaped memorial to fallen World War I heroes in Bladensburg, Md., can remain.