Legion history contest winners announced
2023-2024 American Legion National Historian Edward DeGumbia of Connecticut made his report to the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Indianapolis on Oct. 11, in which he announced the top finishers in the American Legion National History Contests.
NADHAL (National Association of Department Historians of The American Legion) judged a total of 32 history contest books in four divisions, sent to the library at National Headquarters from departments and posts across the country as well as the Department of France. The judges included six past national historians, five past department historians and one current department historian.
The divisions and awards are as follows.
Department Narrative: First place, Indiana
Second place, North Carolina
Department Yearbook: First place, Nebraska
Second place, Missouri
Third place, New York
Post Narrative: First place, Pony Express Post 359, Department of Missouri
Second place, Frierson-Nichols Post 8, Department of Florida
Third place, Highland Park Post 374, Department of Iowa
Post Yearbook: First place, Women Veterans of Southwest Missouri Post 1214, Department of Missouri
Second place, Coon Valley Post 116, Department of Wisconsin
Third place, Mohawk Post 308, Department of Oklahoma
DeGumbia added that new designs for competition are planned for 2024-2025; information will be forthcoming to department adjutants. The NEC passed Resolution 20 making a number of changes to the contest’s timing and parameters, most notably: the department history contest will consist of one digital entry per department, and the post history showcase will consist of one hard-copy and one digital post entry per department (post entries are sent after winning their respective department contests).
The full participant list:
Department Narrative
Place, Winner, Historian/Creator
1st Place, Indiana, Stephen J. Defeo
2nd Place, North Carolina, Bill G. Richard
Department Yearbook
Place, Winner, Historian/Creator
1st Place, Nebraska, Jennifer L. Laux
2nd Place, Missouri, Jerome L. Goolsby
3rd Place, New York, Frank Carletta
Participant, Massachusetts, Robert Jerdan
Participant, Oklahoma, Rhonda J. Tyler
Participant, North Carolina, Bill G. Richard
Participant, France, Doug Haggan and James Settle
Post Narrative
Place, Winner, Location, Historian/Creator
1st Place, Pony Express Post 359, St. Joseph, Mo., Jerome L. Goolsby
2nd Place, Frierson-Nichols Post 8, Winter Haven, Fla., Ronald Fraser
3rd Place, Highland Park Post 374, Des Moines, Iowa, Shawn Gebhardt
Participant, Fred Brock Post 828, San Antonio, Al Alford and Burrell Parmer
Participant, Field-Allen Post 148, Windham, Maine David Tanguay
Participant, Matthew Blount Post 555, Pelham, Ala., Shauna Hadley
Participant, Neal Thomas Jr. Centennial Post 209, Colorado Springs, Colo., Kurt Skinner
Participant, Pike County Post 197, Zebulon, Ga., Bryan D. Richardson
Participant, Siloam Post 29, Siloam Springs, Ark., Lessley Jack Carroll
Post Yearbook
Place, Winner, Location, Historian/Creator
1st Place, Women Veterans of SW Missouri Post 1214, Springfield, Mo., Terri Budzyna
2nd Place, Coon Valley Post 116, Coon Valley, Wis., Frank Mathison
3rd Place, Mohawk Post 308, Tulsa, Okla., Rhonda J. Tyler
Participant, Jackson-Perks Post 71, Charles Town, W.Va., Timothy Paulin
Participant, Temple Post 133, Temple, Texas, Shirley Platt
Participant, Canby Post 122, Canby, Ore., Bunny Bigley
Participant, War Memorial Post 30, Camden, Maine, Jeff Sukeforth
Participant, Eddie L. Roberts Post 333, Columbus, Ga., Barbara A. Russum
Participant, Kings Mountain Post 24, Johnson City, Tenn., Allen Jackson, Michael Metzner, Susan Jackson and Bryon Lauzon
Participant, Central Square Fuller-Taylor Post 915, Central Square, N.Y., Heather Stevens
Participant, Julius Shryer Post 430, Durant, Iowa, Scott Wolf
Participant, George Lee Post 532, Hayesville, N.C., Robert Seibert
Participant, Oro Valley Post 132, Oro Valley, Ariz., Thomas Roblee
Participant, Lithuanian Post 154, Baltimore, Henry L. Gaidis