Live coverage of Washington Conference

Live coverage of Washington Conference

Two marquee events of The American Legion’s 51st Washington Conference next week will be shown live on www.legion.org from the Renaissance Hotel in the nation’s capital.

The March 22 Commander’s Call features speeches from American Legion National Commander Jimmie Foster and top U.S. government officials, along with a special appearance by Albert Snyder, the father of a fallen U.S. Marine, whose case against the Westboro Baptist Church was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.

During the Commander’s Call, Snyder will receive a check onstage for over $26,000 that was raised on The American Legion’s Burn Pit blog site to help him defray legal costs of his battle, which ended in an 8-1 ruling March 2 in favor of the church, which protests at military funerals nationwide – and did so at services for Snyder’s son – because the group believes war deaths are God’s punishment of U.S. tolerance for homosexuality.

The Commander’s Call will be streamed live Tuesday on the national website from 8:30-11:30 a.m., Eastern time.

On Wednesday, March 23, Holocaust survivor and longtime Boys Nation supporter Nesse Godin will receive the National Commander’s Public Relations Award. (For a complete list of past recipients, click here.) The ceremony and her remarks will be streamed live from 1-2 p.m., Eastern time. Video coverage of the Commander’s Call, the National Commander’s PR Award Ceremony and other activities at the Washington Conference will appear on www.legion.org soon after they are completed.

The Washington Conference kicks off a schedule of live-streamed 2011 American Legion events that includes the championship round of The American Legion National Oratorical Contest in Indianapolis, debates and election activities at Boys Nation, all games of The American Legion Baseball World Series Aug. 12-16, and gavel-to-gavel coverage of The 93rd American Legion National Convention from Minneapolis Aug. 27 through Sept. 1.