Big Twelve winners announced

Five American Legion departments have earned a $2,000 reimbursement toward the purchase of computer equipment after finishing first in their respective categories in the Big Twelve Competition. The winning departments met the goal of their pledged membership percentage by the March target date.

The winning departments were:Category I (departments of 100,000 or more members) - Ohio.Category II (70,000-99,999 members) - Wisconsin.Category III (40,000-69,999 members) - Iowa.Category IV (25,000-39,999 members) - Kansas.Category V (10,000-24,999 members) - Vermont.

There was no winner in Category VI (9,999 or less members).

National Commander Clarence Hill made a change to the program this year, awarding the second-place finishers in each category $1,500 computer equipment reimbursement. The second-place finishers in each category were Michigan (Category II), Nebraska (Category III) and Maine (Category V).

The following departments reached 90 percent of their goal, meeting Hill's challenge, and were awarded a $1,000 reimbursement for computer equipment: Delaware, South Dakota, North Dakota and Montana.