By Jay Pateakos
Herald News Staff Reporter
Swansea — With the average age of its members being well above 80, the local American Legion — the group behind a majority of the fundraisers in town — are looking for a few good men and women.
They don’t have to be young, they just need to want to get involved and stay involved in the community, said Legion Post 303 treasurer and past commander Leo Bernier, 81, who has been involved with the Legion for 49 years.
Although the Legion has 423 members for Post 303 listed in its books, Legion member Ernie Wheeler, 84, said the group is lucky to have 15 members in attendance at any given function.
In addition to the Legion’s work with the Boy, Girl and Cub Scouts, the Legion allows their hall to be rented to the community and hosts a number of fundraising events through the year to benefit charities in the town. One of its most recent fundraisers was a clamboil for the creation of the Lt. Cabral Memorial Soccer Field behind Joseph Case Jr. High School. This effort raised $5,000 for the project.
Each year, the Legion also gives away about a dozen scholarships, between $500 to $1,000 each. “The problem is, many of us are dying and not being replaced,” said vice commander Frank Crook, 83, a 36-year member. “The younger generation seem to not want to get involved. We’re trying to get young people in, but they don’t want to join organizations. They’ve got other things to do.”
But the problem isn’t just with the Legion, said Wheeler, its with just about any organization these days.
“Look at the Knights of Columbus,” said Bernier. “They’ve got their property up for sale.”
Although the criteria for joining the Legion used to be that members must have served in any military branch during a conflict, that changed with the Gulf War. From Aug. 2, 1990 to the present, because a cessation of hostilities has not been determined by the U.S. Government, any person entering any branch of service between 1990 and now can join the Legion.
“One day of federally active duty,” said Don Banville, 61, department vice commander.
The Legion dues are $25 each year.
“Everyone thinks that the only people that join the American Legion are old people,” said Crook. “But we have a wide range of ages, some between 35 and 50.”
Wheeler said that only about 10 percent of the members are active, and even this number is a stretch. At every function, the same faces are seen and the same people are there doing all of the work.
“You see us at the Memorial Day parades and the Veterans Day parades,” said Bernier. “Our hall is open to the community free of charge and we want people to use it.”
The Legion also sponsors Boys’ State, a program geared toward junior high school students who are future leaders in the community, and who show character and are examples to other youths.
Crook said a number of youths the Swansea Legion has sponsored over the years have gone on to become state troopers and other leaders in the community — something the Legionnaires are very proud of.
“We are very community-minded and we are all very proud to be American and we want to promote that in our youth,” said Bernier. “Kids don’t get much of that any more, especially in school.”
But they can’t continue to do it without more active members.
“Just take a look at us. How much longer do you think we’re going to be here?” said Crook. “There’s a lot of vets out there.”
In a rare visit, the American Legion’s National Commander, Marty F. Conatser, an Illinois native, will stop at the Swansea Legion 303 post on April 5, where he plans to spend the morning with the Legionnaires.
Wheeler said its been nearly a decade since the last national commander paid the town a visit.
For information on joining the Legion, call Banville at 774-488-4288.
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Herald News Staff Reporter
Swansea — With the average age of its members being well above 80, the local American Legion — the group behind a majority of the fundraisers in town — are looking for a few good men and women.
They don’t have to be young, they just need to want to get involved and stay involved in the community, said Legion Post 303 treasurer and past commander Leo Bernier, 81, who has been involved with the Legion for 49 years.
Although the Legion has 423 members for Post 303 listed in its books, Legion member Ernie Wheeler, 84, said the group is lucky to have 15 members in attendance at any given function.
In addition to the Legion’s work with the Boy, Girl and Cub Scouts, the Legion allows their hall to be rented to the community and hosts a number of fundraising events through the year to benefit charities in the town. One of its most recent fundraisers was a clamboil for the creation of the Lt. Cabral Memorial Soccer Field behind Joseph Case Jr. High School. This effort raised $5,000 for the project.
Each year, the Legion also gives away about a dozen scholarships, between $500 to $1,000 each. “The problem is, many of us are dying and not being replaced,” said vice commander Frank Crook, 83, a 36-year member. “The younger generation seem to not want to get involved. We’re trying to get young people in, but they don’t want to join organizations. They’ve got other things to do.”
But the problem isn’t just with the Legion, said Wheeler, its with just about any organization these days.
“Look at the Knights of Columbus,” said Bernier. “They’ve got their property up for sale.”
Although the criteria for joining the Legion used to be that members must have served in any military branch during a conflict, that changed with the Gulf War. From Aug. 2, 1990 to the present, because a cessation of hostilities has not been determined by the U.S. Government, any person entering any branch of service between 1990 and now can join the Legion.
“One day of federally active duty,” said Don Banville, 61, department vice commander.
The Legion dues are $25 each year.
“Everyone thinks that the only people that join the American Legion are old people,” said Crook. “But we have a wide range of ages, some between 35 and 50.”
Wheeler said that only about 10 percent of the members are active, and even this number is a stretch. At every function, the same faces are seen and the same people are there doing all of the work.
“You see us at the Memorial Day parades and the Veterans Day parades,” said Bernier. “Our hall is open to the community free of charge and we want people to use it.”
The Legion also sponsors Boys’ State, a program geared toward junior high school students who are future leaders in the community, and who show character and are examples to other youths.
Crook said a number of youths the Swansea Legion has sponsored over the years have gone on to become state troopers and other leaders in the community — something the Legionnaires are very proud of.
“We are very community-minded and we are all very proud to be American and we want to promote that in our youth,” said Bernier. “Kids don’t get much of that any more, especially in school.”
But they can’t continue to do it without more active members.
“Just take a look at us. How much longer do you think we’re going to be here?” said Crook. “There’s a lot of vets out there.”
In a rare visit, the American Legion’s National Commander, Marty F. Conatser, an Illinois native, will stop at the Swansea Legion 303 post on April 5, where he plans to spend the morning with the Legionnaires.
Wheeler said its been nearly a decade since the last national commander paid the town a visit.
For information on joining the Legion, call Banville at 774-488-4288.
Comments (2)
Commander"
I just joined the American Legion Post 123 in our town, however, there are only 7 of us. Can you contact me and give me some pointers for increasing our membership? Greatly Appreciated!
Sincerely,
Lloyd J. Loberg
289 Cordelia Drive
Myrtle Creek, OR 97457 97457
Posted by Lloyd Loberg | 03/26/08 7:08 PM |
Getting conncected to the next generation is the first step.
I just joined, five years after retiring from the National Guard, and I found that very few of the current Legion members were using the internet.
To reach those under 50, you have to have a web presence, and you have to ask them to come.
If you lay out the challenge of service, many will pick up that challenge. They just need to be "connected to" in order to get their attention.
Posted by Jim Pratt | 03/31/08 4:03 PM |