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JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2010

COMMANDER:  Hello everyone. Well, we made it through the holidays and now on with a new year.  Thanks to all the volunteers for doing a great job this past year.      Welcome aboard to all of our new members.  Please stop by the Post and introduce yourself to your fellow Comrades.

Please join us for the Law and Order Night Awards presentation on Tuesday, 26 January, 2010 at 5:30 p.m.  This is a great program to recognize the Best of the Best from our local Law Enforcement and Emergency Response Teams.  Cost is $10.00 at the door for dinner and refreshments.  We appreciate your support for our civil servants. 

 SECOND NOTICE- The election of Post Officers will be held Tuesday, 11 May 2010 at the regular meeting at 8:00 p.m. If you would like to run for an office please submit your name to the Nomination Committee, Adjutant Michael Bukowski or the Finance Officer Ray Steckman.  All Post positions are open each year and any Post member can run if they have been initiated.  Please do not run for an office just to hold the title.  You must be present at the meeting to be elected, if not you must submit a letter of intent.  Be sure to attend the meeting to vote for your choice of Legion members running for office for the upcoming year. 

Don’t forget to register for the Dept. Spring Conference being held at the VAB Resort Hotel and Conference Center 19-21 March 2010.  For God and Country, B. J. Miller 

FIRST VICE COMMANDER: Our current membership stands at 75% with 750 New/Renewals.  Our goal for the year 2010 is 1,067.  Legionnaires, we need your help. If you haven’t renewed for 2010 please mail your dues or see me at the Post. Our dues are still $30.00.  We voted not to raise the dues this year to avoid losing membership because of a $5.00 increase.  It is a rough time for a lot of people, and the few dollars do make a difference.  Membership is the lifeline of our Post, and we need to let everyone know that we are THE BEST AMERICAN LEGION POST IN THE STATE OF VIRGINIA.  Please let your friends, neighbors, and co-workers know what programs we offer to support our veterans and active duty personnel who serve our country.  If each of us got just one person to join, our membership would double in short order, but they have to be asked.  The next time we meet, I hope you can say, “Turner, I’ve got you one,” if you can’t say that, ask more. For God and Country, Larry Turner

SECOND VICE COMMANDER: The New Year’s Eve Party was an outstanding success.  Ticket sales were not the best that we’ve had in the past, but all that attended had a very good time, and all had a good breakfast to start out the year served by Chef Jimmy Taylor and his assistant Tony Moore.  This year we decided to honor our over 70 seniors with a free ticket as long as they were members in good standing.  We had the pleasure of 8 that were in our company when the New Year’s Baby and Father Time arrived.  (This was worth the price of the ticket.)  The bar was stocked with all the favorite alcohol drinks and a full line of non-alcohol drinks.  The food consisted of heavy hors d’oeuvres.  The music this year was provided by Walt DeGraaf, a well-known and respected DJ that has performed at many of our events with nothing short of a superb performance.  We decided on a DJ versus a band in order to save money.  The two/three person bands now cost $1,200.00 and up for a 4-5 hour performance.  We just don’t have that kind of money.  The rest of the winter is pretty much party free, so rest up and get ready for spring.  For God and Country, Larry Turner

POST ATHLETIC OFFICER:  I hope you all had a happy holiday season, but now it is time to get down to work regarding the state American Legion Bowling Tournament which will be held on the 27-28 of February 2010. Deadline for applications is 1 February 2010 to Post 325 Danville, VA.  Let’s not be late.  Applications can be found on our website thanks to Byron.  If you are reading a hard copy and want an application, please give me a call at 853-0475, and I will get you an application.  If anyone wants their application typed and verified by the Post and USBC you need to get them to me by the 15^th of January.  After typing and verification, I will forward applications to Post 325.   The Athletic Fund will have a hospitality room at Inn Keeper West on Friday and Saturday night.  There will be a sign-up sheet for a bus posted in the lobby of Post 327 on the 1^st of January.  Cost will be approximately $43.00.  We must have 50 participants. So, if you want the bus, be sure to sign up early.  A deposit of $20.00 must be paid by 1 February, and the remainder by 15 February. 

The over-50 men’s softball team needs players 50 and older and will have a meeting at 3:00 p.m., 21 February 2010 in the Post home.  Anyone born in the year 1950 is eligible to play.  Come out to the meeting and hear what the BULLDOG has to say and then make your decision if you would like to play.  If you know someone who is 50 and would like to play, bring him along.  Refreshments will be served at the meeting.  Jeff E., you are eligible this year, you know!!!   I’m going to the meeting just for the refreshments.  See you on the 21^st of February.  For God and Country, Jim Norton 

POST CHILDREN AND YOUTH CHAIRMAN: The kid’s had a wonderful time at the Christmas party held on Sunday, December 20^th.  For God and Country, Mark Harris

ALA PRESIDENT: Happy New Year Ladies – I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  Well, here we are starting the new year.  Our ticket weekend is 1, 2, & 3 January.  The Juniors have breakfast on Sunday, January 31^st.  February is a busy month for us.  We have a baked Spaghetti dinner planned for 5 February, and the Juniors are having their 4^th annual Chili cook-off.  If you would like to donate a pot of chili, please contact Jane Evans at 627-6151.  We will have our annual Valentine Steak dinner on 12 February.  The Juniors will have a baked burrito dinner on the 19^th.  Thank you everyone who supported the Juniors’ Christmas bazaar.  It was a great success.  Don’t forget membership.  We would really like to reach our 100% goal early.  We can’t do it without you. 

SECOND NOTICE OF ALA ELECTION OF OFFICERS.  The ALA election of officers will be held the first Tuesday in May 2010 at our regular 7:00 p.m. meeting.  For God and Country, Nancy Bell

SQUADRON 327 COMMANDER: Greetings Comrades. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and looking forward to an outstanding New Year!  

Please check your membership card, if it is a 2009 you need to renew.  You need to be current with your dues in order to get a new door key. Also, your membership is important to the squadron, as it keeps us strong and enables us to continue working the American Legion programs that help our Veterans.  I think we had a good year raising money for our programs, and hope we can do even better this year. In these tough times it is getting harder to get donations, so we will need more of you to pitch in and help. Some of the things we will be working on this year will be our annual Poker Run. I hope to start organizing it in the next few weeks. We need help soliciting donations in January and February before the local businesses give away their yearly charitable donations. We also are going to try and sponsor a VCW Wrestling Show which I think will be a good fundraiser.

I wish some of the members that never ever come out would start the year out by trying to get involved with your squadron. We would love to have some new faces and fresh ideas!

Our dinner for January will be Steak Subs and Fries.

In February we will be having our Super Bowl Party. Dave Samson will be in charge and needs help with this. Please bring a covered dish and get with him to assist with setup or cleanup. We all like to have fun, but we also need to pitch in. This is the 2ND Notice for Elections to be held in June. Please start thinking about running for an office and getting involved. See any current officer if you have any questions. For God and Country, Steve Gower, Sr.  

ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT: SECOND NOTICE:  ASSOCIATION ELECTIONS FOR 2010  Elections will be held on Sunday, February 14^th, 2010 with results announced at the Association meeting on February 16^th.  All candidates for office will be posted by January 25^th on the bulletin boards in the club.  On election day, February 14^th, ballots will be available at the Post from NOON until 6 p.m. when election voting will be closed.  You must have a current 2010 membership card from the American Legion Post 327 in your possession to receive a ballot.  A voting officer will be assigned to verify eligibility and monitor voting procedures.  When the polls close, the voting officer and two appointed Association members will count the ballots and provide the results to the Association President.  For God & Country, Jim Martin

ASSOCIATION CLUB MANAGER:  New door keys will be available on Saturday, 2 Jan 2010.  You must have your 2010 membership card with you to get your new key.  Don’t forget to pay your $5.00 locker fees for 2010 by 31 January.  For God and Country, Sandra Wright

EDITOR:  If you would like to receive your newsletter by e-mail, please let me know.  Our e-mail address is amlg327@yahoo.com.  You may also get the newsletter online at www.legion327.org. 

 May God bless each of you with great health, prosperity, and happiness in this new year. For God and Country, B.J. Miller