Larry Van Kuran
With the 2019 national convention and fall National Executive Committee (NEC) session now behind us, there is a bit more to share with you.
Appointments of our Department of California Legionnaires to various national committees and commissions by Commander Bill Oxford were ratified. Congratulations to those who were appointed, and we look forward to working together in the coming months.
As a note, for my first year as your NECman, I had been appointed as NEC liaison to the National Finance Commission; this was an eye-opening experience, believe me.
For my second and final year as NECman for our department, I requested and have been appointed to a 1-year term as NEC liaison to the national VA&R Commission, a personal request I had submitted.
Quite a few resolutions were considered at our fall National Executive Committee session, held Oct. 16-18 in Indianapolis. Two resolutions were of particular note:
1) Res. 1, which changes the preamble of the Constitution of The American Legion to read “…to preserve the memories and incidents of our associations in all wars” effective immediately, and passed at the national convention in Indianapolis;
2) Res. 17, “Oppose Deportation of Non-Citizen Immigrant Veterans.” This resolution called for The American Legion to urge Congress to support legislation “…allowing a military Veteran immigrant patriot who either separated or retired and was discharged as general under honorable conditions or above, not to be deported for any non-violent crime, or if they were deported for a non-violent crime, that they be allowed to return to the United States.” The NEC voted to return this resolution to the National Security Commission, on the basis that many states had redefined or downgraded previously serious and violent crimes to misdemeanor status, and work on wording was required.
The first draft of the visit itinerary for National Commander Bill Oxford’s visit with us (Dec. 11-15) has been completed.
We begin in San Diego, and end in San Francisco. Our current plans include visiting several posts (some lunches and/or dinners), several military bases (e.g., Camp Pendleton, Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base, Los Angeles AFB (new home of the U.S. Space Command), Port Hueneme Ventura Naval Base, Vandenberg AFB and U.S. Coast Guard Alameda, etc.). There will be a “black tie” affair at Los Angeles’ Bob Hope Patriotic Hall, sponsored by the Los Angeles County Council and Ronald Reagan Palisades Post 283.
National Commander Oxford’s itinerary will be posted on our department website (caLegion.org) by our web team, and will be updated constantly with changes. This first draft will also be published in our California Legionnaire. Please understand that the itinerary is subject to change as the situation dictates, so please be sure to check the website regularly.
Successfully planning such an itinerary simply cannot be accomplished by one person; it requires high level teamwork of many. So we have drawn from those with significant past experience with previous national commander tours.
With that said, a few kudos are in order: As in past years, Jr. Past ALR President Mick Sobczak will coordinate our own Department of California American Legion Riders in providing mounted escort for Commander Oxford’s entourage for the entire journey.
Chris Yates (D-22 Jr. Past Cmdr) is handling planning for the San Diego area; Orange County District 29 events were planned by Bob Brower and Clay Baxter; Jere Romano (D-24) is handling LA area event planning; Jim Heren (16-741) is scheduling a Port Hueneme tour & overnight lodging, with PDC Dennis Ferch & wife Linda (16-741) handling the Post 741 lunch; Harley Santos (17-125) is scheduling a tour of Vandenberg AFB; Janice Somers (16-66) working our San Luis Obispo Post 66 visit; Autrey James coordinating the visit to U.S. Coast Guard Base Alameda, and Nelson Lum with Helen Wong planning the San Francisco lodging and dinner sponsored by Cathay Post 384.
Comrades, each of you deserve a loud thank you for your help. We could not have done it without you.
Next, many of us are making plans to attend National Legislative Week, March 8-11, 2020 in Washington, D.C.
Some have call-ins, some do not; I attended past legislative weeks on my own, and found the experience to be truly worthwhile. Please, if you are able to do so, consider attending next year.
Finally, efforts in lobbying Congress to change our American Legion eligibility dates, and the subsequent process to modify our National American Legion By Laws accordingly, highlights a simple fact for us all: Our By Laws are the life blood and foundation for our organization, whether at National, Department or Post levels.
Without our By Laws, and without our proper attention to, and abidance by those By Laws and the processes outlined therein, we simply have no organization.
My comrades and friends, here’s wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We will see you on our trips around the state, at visits to districts and again at our department executive committee meeting in March 2020.
