National Post History Contest to kick off

2010 was a memorable year for The American Legion, on both the national and the local level. Post historians who have chronicled 2010 for their posts should start now on finalizing and submitting those chronicles for judging during upcoming department conventions, the first step in the National Post History Contest.

Entries in the categories of One-Year Narrative and Yearbook will be judged by the department historian during the conventions. Only the first-place finisher in each category, certified as such by the department historian, will be sent to National Headquarters for the National Post History Contest, where it will be judged by a committee of past and present department and national historians during Fall Meetings, Oct. 10-13. Winners will receive plaques. All national entries must be certified and submitted to National Headquarters by Sept. 15.

Convention dates vary by department. For this and other information regarding the contest, contact your department historian. A directory of departments can be found here. For department historians, the National Department History Contest, for the best yearly department One-Year Narrative and Yearbook entries, will also take place at National Headquarters during Fall Meetings; these entries are due by Sept. 15, as well.

If you did not put together an entry for the 2010 calendar year, consider starting now on 2011’s. These chronicles can serve as templates for future post members to continue the activities and community service that make your post special. Use your Consolidated Post Report for a list of possible events to cover. Handy guidelines and advice on creating archives can be found in the Post Officer Guide, beginning on page 160.