‘Be the One’ Weekend

By Victor E Martin, District 22 Second Vice Commander

On behalf of American Legion District 22 in San Diego, THANK YOU!

This past weekend, American Legion District 22 held the first “American Legion ‘Be the One’ Weekend” event in San Diego. It has received national attention, and the successes have been shared with American Legion Posts nationwide.

I would like to especially recognize and thank:

Commander Nikolai Camarato, Commander at American Legion Post 731
Mr. Ray Flores, San Diego County Office of Military and Veterans Affairs, Chairman of California American Legion Baseball Commission
Ms. Akilah Templeton, President/CEO at Veterans Village of San Diego
Ms. Christina Pineda, Program Manager at Courage to Call
Mr. Arturo Garcia, Outreach Coordinator at Cohen Clinic
Mr. Andrew Hall, Community Engagement & Partnership Coordinator for Community-Based Interventions for Suicide Prevention at the Veterans Administration
Mr. Maurice Wilson, 1st Vice President of San Diego Veterans Coalition and Executive Director of the National Veterans Transition Services
Ms. Roxanne Jones, American Legion San Diego Women’s Post 451
Ms. Maggie Mudd, American Legion San Diego Post 6
Mr. André Andrews Jr, American Legion Pacific Palisades Post 283
Ms. Sandy Woodhouse, American Legion El Cajon Post 303
Mr. Tom Preston, 1st Vice Commander at American Legion Post 6
Ms. Desirae Smidt, American Legion Escondido Post 149
Mr.  Amado C Salinas II, American Legion Department of California Judge Advocate
Ms. Amy Forsythe, Public Affairs & Communications Officer, and Podcast Host and Special Event Moderator for The American Legion
Ms. Donna Smith, American Legion District 22 Auxiliary
Mr. Ronald Stark, President at San Diego Veterans Coalition
Ms. Lillian Moss, American Legion District 22 Historian
Mr. Ruben Castaneda, American Legion San Diego Post 6
Mr. Chris Yates, American Legion extraordinaire
Commander, Robert Partlow, Commander American Legion District 22
Mr. Jeff Freeman, American Legion Department of California Membership Director
Mr. Mike Smith, Department of California American Legion Riders President
Mr. David Brambila, American Legion Department of California Vice Commander
Mr. Jeff Jewell, American Legion Department of California Sgt-at-Arms
Mr. Sam Flores, American Legion Department of California Adjutant
Commander John Aldridge, American Legion Department of California Commander
Ms. Michele Steinmetz, National Membership Engagement Coordinator for American Legion National Headquarters
Mr. Henry Howard, Deputy Director of Media & Communications at American Legion Magazine
Mr. Robert Heinisch, American Legion National Executive Committeeman
Mr. Mike Rohan Aide to the American Legion National Commander
Mr. Autrey James, Chairman of the American Legion National VA&R Commission
Commander Daniel Seehafer, National Commander of the American Legion
… and the many more volunteers who worked diligently in supporting the “Be the One Weekend” here in San Diego.

A very special thank you to American Legion San Diego Post 6 for providing an enormous amount of support including supporting Santa’s visit, providing an amazing color guard, providing several volunteers each day, presenting a great HAM radio demonstration, a wonderful gaming demonstration, and supporting the Chat & Chew Breakfast on Friday.

Lastly, this past weekend would not have been possible without the tremendous support and incredible generosity of American Legion Post 731 and their Commander, Nikolai Camarato! Please ensure to thank the Commander and his team for their unwavering support. His dedication and commitment to this endeavor, our military and veteran families is admirable and essential in our Legion! Thank you, Commander, for all you’ve done to ensure the success of this event!

PRESS & RESOURCES:

National American Legion Article on San Diego American Legion District 22’s ‘Be the One’ Weekend:
https://www.legion.org/betheone/260786/be-one-make-difference

American Legion Department of California Post Event Interview with Vic Martin:
https://fb.watch/p0k4W2mcQ0/

For more information and coverage – Follow American Legion Department of California’s Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/calegion

Or visit San Diego American Legion District 22’s Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/Legion22SD

NOTE: An After-Action Report will be created and released after the first of the year to identify what could be improved. You may receive a poll to ask about your experience and feedback in the coming week(s). Please take a couple minutes to complete the questionnaire when you receive it.

Again, thank you and Happy Holidays!

BE THE ONE WEEKEND PHOTOS