SEPTMEBER 21, 2012 COMMANDER’S MESSAGE PLANNER
September 21-23 National Children & Youth Conference, Indianapolis
21 POW/MIA Recognition Day
23-29 Employ the Older Worker Week
28-30 National Americanism Conference, Indianapolis
October
National Disability Employment Awareness Month
3 National commander’s testimony to joint session of House, Senate Committees on Veterans’ Aff airs, Washington
14 Child Welfare Foundation board of directors meeting, Indianapolis
15-16 Fall Meetings: Commanders & Adjutants Conference, commission and committee meetings, Indianapolis
17-18 Fall Meetings: National Executive Committee meetings, Indianapolis
27-31 National Legion College
November
Membership Retention Month
1-2 National Legion College
6 Election Day 11 Veterans Day
18-24 National Family Week
22-30 Holiday Blood Donor Drive
ACTIVATION
Want to get involved in one of The American Legion’s many national programs? Do you have a question about veterans aff airs, national defense or what is going on in Washington? All you have to do is pick up the phone or send an e-mail.
Americanism/Children and Youth (317) 630-1203
acy@legion.org
Economic (202) 861-2700
econ@legion.org Finance
317-630-1222 fi
nance@legion.org
Internal Aff airs (317) 630-1330
ia@legion.org
Legislation
(202) 263-2981
leg@legion.org
National Convention (317) 630-1292
dholmes@legion.org brobinson@legion.org
National Emblem Sales (888) 453-4466
emblem@legion.org emblem.legion.org/
National Security/Foreign Relations (202) 861-2700
nsfr@legion.org
Public Relations (317) 630-1253
pr@legion.org
The American Legion Magazine (317) 630-1298
magazine@legion.org
The American Legion Library (317) 630-1366
library@legion.org
Veterans Aff airs and Rehabilitation (202) 861-2700
var@legion.org
American Legion Baseball (317) 630-1249
jquinlan@legion.org http://legion.org/baseball
American Legion Child Welfare Foundation (317) 630-1202
www.cwf-inc.org
American Legion Endowment Fund (317) 630-1202
Boys Nation
(317) 630-1207
acy@legion.org
Family Support Network (317) 630-1395 (800) 504-4098
familysupport@legion.org
Junior Shooting Sports (317) 630-1249
cshort@legion.org
Legion College (317) 630-1265
mherndon@legion.org
National Emergency Fund (317) 630-1321
ia@legion.org
National Oratorical Contest (317) 630-1249
cshort@legion.org Help support OCW this year Lying in a military hospital bed, a wounded
servicemember faces a long recovery. Just yester- day, one of our nation’s fi nest young people in the military was engaged in an overseas war zone, helping to keep America safe. But in the blink of an eye, everything changed.
Rescued from the battlefi eld and rushed to a military hospital, this young hero is among countless service- members who face weeks, months and even years of recovery. T ey can be found in overseas military hospi- tals, warrior transition units stateside and other facilities where around-the-clock expert medical care is dispensed. What’s missing, however, are
or helicopter crash. It doesn’t matter how the injuries occurred, what matters is that the United States and T e American Legion do everything possible to rehabilitate and care for our wounded, injured or ill military personnel. Care from doctors, nurses and specialists goes
a long way in healing the physical and emotional wounds of war. Operation Comfort Warriors must fi ll in other gaps by purchasing necessary items – loose-fi tting sweatsuits for burn patients, for instance, or exercise and fi shing equipment to encourage physical activities, magazines, iPods, CDs and DVDs to provide entertainment. At the 94th annual National Convention, I
James E. Koutz National Commander
items termed “non-essential” in government checklists. But to a patient confi ned to a hospital facility, items that bring comfort and forge camaraderie among those rehabilitating are, indeed, essential. Consider this: In the heat of battle, the wounded are whisked away quickly and transported to a medical facility. T ere is no time to collect personal belongings. No time to pack a handful of reading materials or favorite movies to watch. No time to buy exercise equipment at a sporting goods store. Our rehabilitating servicemembers need a
range of items that help them recover, stimulating their minds and exercising their muscles. T is is where T e American Legion’s Operation Comfort Warriors program makes a diff erence. All OCW donations are used to purchase items that prove invaluable to America’s recovering warriors. T ese servicemen and women travel the long
road to recovery aſt er suff ering injuries from a variety of sources – a roadside bomb, sniper attack
Correspondence and letters to the editor: The American Legion Dispatch P.O. Box 1055
Indianapolis, IN 46206
Published monthly. Printed by HNE Printers, Columbus, Ind.
All American Legion publications are entitled and encouraged to reproduce all staff -written stories within, but please credit Dispatch as the source.
A proud member of The National American Legion Press Association.
Editorial offi ce: (317) 630-1352 Fax: (317) 630-1280
Online:
www.legion.org
announced that OCW would be my major fundraising program for this year. My goal is for T e American Legion family and its supporters to raise $500,000 for OCW. Just imagine what that money can do for our recovering servicemembers. Every one of us has a role to play in this
endeavor. How can you help? You can contribute. You can go online to www/
legion.org/OCW or mail a check to Operation Comfort Warriors, c/o T e American Legion, P.O. Box 1055, Indianapo- lis, IN 46206. No donation is too small. Conduct a fundraiser at your post. Coordinate
with an Auxiliary unit, Sons of T e American Legion squadron, Legion Riders chapter, church group or another nonprofi t organization. Remem- ber – unlike many other charities – 100 percent of donations go directly to those in need. It’s up to us – every one of us – to ensure that
when our recovering warriors need us, we are there to provide comfort and support. It’s the least we can do for those who sacrifi ced so much to protect America.
Memoranda
NATIONAL COMMANDER’S TESTIMONY OCT. 3
American Legion National Commander James Koutz will deliver testimony before a joint session of the House and Senate Committees on Veterans’ Aff airs on Oct. 3. He will outline the Legion’s legislative goals for the upcoming 113th Congress. He delivers the testimony in Room 345 of the Cannon House Offi ce Building at 10 a.m. It will be preceded by a breakfast honoring Koutz and members of Congress.
Any member of The American Legion family who wishes to attend the commander’s testimony is encouraged to do so. Seating is limited. Cannon is located across the street from the Capitol South Metro station, on the Blue/Orange lines at 1st and C streets SE.
RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR VETERANS DAY EVENTS
If your post wants to conduct a Veterans Day ceremony this year, The American Legion Public Relations Division has all the tools you need to pull it off . The Legion’s PR Toolkit and resource annexes off er a complete kit of easy-to-use media products that can be tailored to promote your American Legion post activities during the course of the year.
www.legion.org/prtoolkit
STILL SERVING AMERICA
Does your post have a unique community program, an innovative recruiting method or a creative way of spreading the Legion message that could be implemented at posts across the country? Tell us how your post and its members are Still Serving America.
In submitting your information, include your full name, address and telephone number. Send your items, labeled Still Serving America, to the correspondence address at left.
EDITOR Steve B. Brooks
CONTRIBUTORS Eldon Lindsay
Cameran Richardson Matt Grills Jeff Stoff er
Henry Howard DESIGNER
Jason Reed
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