NEF distributes grants to Arizona Legionnaires

The American Legion National Emergency Fund paid out four grants last week to Legionnaires who were displaced by the Yarnell Hill Fire, a blaze ignited by lightning on June 28, near Yarnell, Ariz. On June 30, the fire killed 19 firefighters with the Prescott Fire Department’s interagency Granite Mountain Hotshots.

Total payout for the four grants was $2,790.

The wildfire was fully contained by July 10.

In other news:

American Legion Baseball: The 87th American Legion World Series concludes Aug. 20, with the championship in Shelby, N.C. The eight regional champions are:

  • Northeast Region – Branford, Conn.; sponsored by Post 83
  • Mid-Atlantic Region – Brooklawn, N.J.; sponsored by Post 72
  • Southeast Region – Wilmington, N.C.; sponsored by Post 10
  • Mid-South Region – Gonzales, La.; sponsored by Post 81
  • Great Lakes Region – Napoleon, Ohio; sponsored by Post 300
  • Central Plains Region – Burnsville, Minn.; sponsored by Post 1700
  • Northwest Region – Waipahu, Hawaii; outside sponsored
  • Western Region – Petaluma, Calif.; sponsored by Post 28

Full coverage is available at www.legion.org/baseball.

Membership and DMS Program
The delegate strength date was July 29 and the report has been downloaded. The 2013 traditional membership goal is 1,996,056. As of the delegate strength report, the total was at 1,966,876 members which is 98.538 percent of the goal.

DMS Program 2014: The 2014 Membership Year began on July 1, 2013. However, the first DMS mailing for the 2014 year was Aug. 16, 2013. As responses to the first mailing begin to come in, the response numbers will continue to grow. The initial numbers are from responses received after July 1. These responses were primarily from earlier mailings but are attributed to the 2014 year.

DMS Acquires:        Prospects    2,274
                               Expires    576
                               TOTAL    2,850

2014 Goal-101,500        % of Goal-2.81 percent

Current Renewal Rate for 2013 DMS Members: 18.22 percent (31,976 of 175,469 new 2013 members)

On-Line Renewal Activity: 2014 Membership Year On-Line Renewals (since July 1): 96,935

Sons of The American Legion: The Sons of The American Legion membership for 2013 currently stands at 351,537 members or 99.5 percent on Aug. 16.  At present, the Sons are running 3,230 members ahead of this same date last year. There are 21 detachments that have already achieved 100 percent.