Hard-copy post histories will no longer be judged at national level for contests.
On Wednesday morning, 2024-2025 American Legion National Historian Jennifer Laux made an oral report to the National Executive Committee, in which she announced the winning entries in the 2024 National Post History Contest and changes to the competition.
Laux, of Nebraska, has worked with staff in the National Headquarters library to establish contact with the 2024-2025 department historians, in order to send them the latest information and request media and memorabilia from National Commander Jim LaCoursiere’s visits over the next year, as well as recommendations from the Legion’s America250 Ad Hoc Committee.
Another main duty of the national historian is to oversee the history contests, judged by members of the National Association of Department Historians of the American Legion (NADHAL). 2024 and 2025 are seeing sea changes in those decades-old contests. Per Resolution 20, the winners of the first-ever digital history contests – traditionally submitted in hard-copy format – were announced during the 105th National Convention in New Orleans in August. Four post and seven department histories were submitted and judged by a new set of criteria included in the 2024 Officer’s Guide.
2024 is the final year for hard-copy post entries. Fourteen were received, and the results are as follows:
Julius L. Shryer Post 430 (Durant, Iowa), Scott Neil Wolf, 1st Place
Jackson-Perks Post 71 (Charles Town, W.Va.), Timothy Paulin, 2nd Place
War Memorial Post 30 (Camden, Maine), Jeff Sukeforth, 3rd Place
Frierson-Nichols Post 8 (Winter Haven, Fla.), Ronald Fraser, Participant
Temple Post 133 (Temple, Texas), Fred Hairston, Participant
Coon Valley Post 116 (Coon Valley, Wis.), Frank Mathison, Participant
Carter C. Hanner and Mamon G. Sharp Post 129 (Stillwater, Okla.), Gerald McClain, Participant
Sioux Falls Post 15 (Sioux Falls, S.D.), Sharon Taplett-Lundgren, Participant
Adams, Hanna, Moore Memorial Post 156 (Ellicott City, Md.), Randy Bohn, Participant
Milton J. Brounshidle Post 205 (Kenmore, N.Y.), Derek Sansone, Participant
Saxton-Willis Post 64 (Heber Springs, Ark.), Michael Hernandez, Participant
Hickory Post 48 (Newton, N.C.), Keith Covill Sr., Participant
John J. Morris Post 62 (Sun City, Ariz.), Dwight D. Amery, Participant
Jesse C. Lynch Post 71 (North Augusta, S.C.), Dusty Dawson, Participant
Laux stated, “For every post and department who submitted an entry, even if you didn’t win, your efforts are certainly appreciated by everyone in The American Legion, and you can be proud of the work you have done to record your history.”
For 2025 on, the digital department history contest will be judged in August. Rules for the 2025 contest will be announced by Oct. 13, 2024. Departments may also submit one digital and one hard-copy post history for a best-practice showcase. These will not be judged at the national level contest, but digital submissions will be posted on the Omeka platform, and hard-copy submissions are planned to be displayed at the national convention. Although post-level histories will no longer be judged on the national level, departments are encouraged to conduct their own contests in whatever way they choose.
- Library & Museum