Legion Baseball players vying for national team

Legion Baseball players vying for national team

Two American Legion Baseball players have been selected to try out for the U.S. national team that will compete in the IBAF 18U World Cup in Taichung, Taiwan, in September.

Christian Donahue of Mililani, Hawaii, and Marvis Gorgas of East Hampton, Conn., are the two Legion players selected. Donahue is an infielder while Gorgas plays infield and pitches.

They will be among 40 baseball players who will participate in national trials in Los Angeles in late August. Twenty of those players will represent the U.S. team.

Team USA won the gold medal at last year’s IBAF 18U World Championships.

In other news:

Oratorical: On July 2, members of ACY and Public Relations staff will travel to J.B. Stephens Elementary School in Greenfield, Ind., to complete filming of the upcoming "How to Conduct an Oratorical Contest" video, which will be available to posts, districts and departments here. Scenes to be shot will portray a local contest, complete with an auditorium, a judges briefing room, a tabulation room, hallway outside a contest room, and an assigned topic prep room. Already complete is the narration and introduction portion of the video, which features the 2010 National American Legion Oratorical Champion Tori Beth Black of South Carolina.

Temporary Financial Assistance: The American Legion’s Temporary Financial Assistance program has granted $259,500 to assist 463 minor children of 249 veterans affected by the tornadoes in May in Oklahoma. TFA is made possible through the generosity of Legionnaires and the American Legion Endowment Fund.

American Legion Boys Nation: Seventy-eight American Legion Boys State delegates have been certified for American Legion Boys Nation with 53 having completed the online registration process. California, Connecticut, Louisiana and New York are conducting their programs this week.

Membership and DMS Program: The current 2013 traditional membership total is 1,958,224, which is 98.1 percent of the 2013 goal. To date, there are 12 departments that have attained at least 100 percent of their traditional membership goal.

The 2013 membership year will close on June 30, 2013. The 2014 membership year will begin on July 1, 2013. However, the first DMS mailing for the 2014 Year will be on Aug. 16, 2013.

Based on the four DMS mailings this year, we have acquired 97,149 prospects, 78,324 expires, 175,474 total.

2013 Goal – 185,000 (94.9 percent of goal)

Current Renewal Rate for 2012 DMS Members — 51.06 percent (96,799 of 189,577 new 2012 members)

On-Line Renewal Activity: 2013 Membership Year On-Line Renewals (since July 1) – 185,862

Sons of The American Legion: The Sons of The American Legion membership for 2013 stands at 345,622 members or 97.8 percent. The Sons are running 4,359 members ahead of last year.