Legacy Run signups surpass 450

Legacy Run signups surpass 450

More than 450 individuals have registered for this year’s American Legion Legacy Run. Of the 453 signed up, there are 293 motorcyclists with 62 passengers who will ride the entire 1,500 miles from Indianapolis to Houston. Additionally, 43 motorcyclists and eight passengers will join the run along the way. Meanwhile, 47 Legion Family members have also registered as supporters — not participating but paying registration fees to support the Legacy Run.

Online registration will continue until Aug. 9. The Legion will continue to accept paper registrations and payment up to and including the run.

Staff will make a final coordination visit to state highway patrol and city/county law enforcement along the route this week, following up on 60 letters sent to law enforcement and chambers of commerce in early July. The staff will also make a final review of the entire run, including visits to each scheduled stop for final coordination.

The run includes events within the departments of Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. Route planning is complete and is now posted online at www.legion.org/riders. The Legacy Run will depart from American Legion Post 64, 601 S. Holt Road, Indianapolis, on Aug. 18. It will arrive at League City American Legion Post 554 on Aug. 22.

Since 2006, the annual American Legion Legacy Run has generated over $3.5 million in donations for The American Legion Legacy Scholarship.

In other news:

Boys Nation: The 98 Boys Nation delegates arrived July 19 for the 67th session. Two delegates from each of the 49 American Legion Boys State programs will represent their state at Boys Nation where they will receive an education on the structure and function of federal government. The schedule of events can be found at www.legion.org/boysnation/agenda. Visit www.legion.org/boysnation for news updates and livestreaming of events.

Boy Scouts of America: The 2013 National Scout Jamboree is under way at The Summit, Mount Bechtel, W.Va. A team of Scouting Legionnaires, led by NEC-man Elmer Palmer of Montana, are at the Jamboree to greet many of the 68,000 Scouts who belong to Legion-sponsored Scout units, distribute Legion promotional materials, and sign up new Legion members from among the Scout leaders. Palmer reported that in only 24 hours he already signed up six new Legion members.

Flag: ACY staff accepted the invitation extended by the Girls Scouts of Central Indiana and General Stuart Goodwin, executive director of the Indiana War Memorial, to attend a special flag retirement ceremony on July 24 at 2:30 p.m. at Camp Dellwood in Indianapolis. This ceremony is culmination of a collaborative project the Girl Scouts have enjoyed in partnership with the Indiana War Memorials Commission and 500 Festival in collecting flags for retirement.

Membership and DMS Program: The current 2013 traditional membership total is 1,996,056, which is 98.4 percent of the 2013 goal. To date, there are 12 departments that have attained at least 100 percent of their traditional membership goal.

On-Line Renewal Activity: 2014 Membership Year On-Line Renewals (since July 1): 52,648

Sons of The American Legion: The Sons of The American Legion membership for 2013 currently stands at 348,771 members or 98.7 percent as of July 18. The Sons are running 3,662 members ahead of this same date last year.