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This is an appropriate time to look back on
what was accomplished externally during 2007 in support of our mission
to assist our Veterans, their families and the community, and to look at
the lessons learned so we can continue to improve our execution of not
only the external programs but some of the internal ones also. May of
last year was a high point with the distinct honor of having hosted the
President of the United States at our Post Home. As we moved back into
the normal order of business, we achieved much to be proud of. When we
reflect on our accomplishments, we see that our activities in the past
year placed a new-found emphasis on supporting our active duty warriors
and their families while not forgetting Veterans and their families.
Early summer marked the long awaited start by the City of Fairfax on a
project to re-engineer and construct the drainage ditch on our property.
In addition to winning 1st place in the Nation (for large posts) for our
newsletter, we also won 1st place for our float in the local 4th of July
parade. Our own American Legion Riders worked tirelessly on a number of
projects, including Rolling Thunder and the Legacy Scholarship Fund. We
should all be proud of our contribution to the Legacy Scholarship that
was delivered to the American Legion National Headquarters by our Legion
Riders (via motorcycle, of course!) in cooperation with our Department
Commander Andy Robertson. The family day picnic was a wonderful event
made possible by the support and volunteerism of our detachment of the
Sons of the American Legion. Once again this past year we held some
traditional community events such as Veterans Day and Patriot’s Day.
This year, however, we enlisted the cooperation of the FBI American
Legion Post 56 and the 4th Degree Knights of Columbus, and we started
what has become a close partnership with our comrades at the VFW Post
8469. The Christmas season once again was marked by a tremendous number
of volunteers stuffing stockings and we were successful in shipping them
all overseas to be delivered to our active duty men and women in harm’s
way. The Post 177 family also held an emotionally rewarding Christmas
Party for our wounded warriors at Walter Reed Army Hospital. One of the
most memorable events we hosted during the Christmas season was the
Family Party for the men and women on active duty at the Old Guard at
Fort Meyer and their families; a heartwarming and touching event that
made us all realize how lucky we are to have such fine men and women
serving our great nation. Our close working relationship with the
members of the Fairfax City government paid off for the family of late
Navy Captain Gray when some of his personal belongings and military
memorabilia were mistakenly disposed of but then located by diligent and
caring City employees. The Officers of the Post were instrumental in
locating Cpt. Gray’s family in Florida, and his son was able to return
to Fairfax to retrieve his Dad’s property and offer his family’s sincere
thanks for the efforts of all involved. Last year’s Holiday season
marked our efforts to enlist outside help with soliciting donations that
worked very well during the Yuletide season, but due to the slowing
economy was ended in the 1st quarter of 2008. Some of these donations
were used to bring additional cheer and merriment to the soldiers and
families at Ft. Meyer and one other group of approximately 300 warriors
returning after a tour in Iraq. And finally, our efforts to support
Major McCool in his “Resolve to Win” walk from the North/South Carolina
border to D.C. was an event that evoked patriotism and made us all think
about how important it is to take care of our men and women in harm’s
way, never forgetting their sacrifices and what we can do to help them.
Easter was highlighted by the families of our warriors from the Old
Guard at Fort Meyer who participated in the annual east egg hunt held at
the Post Home with the invaluable assistance of the Auxiliary and the
Scouts.
Internally, this past year demonstrated a close working relationship
among the Executive Committee, the Corporate Board and the members. With
all meetings being open to all, the exchange of information was and is
refreshing. As we looked for more and more ways to open up all of the
workings of the officers of the Executive Board and directors of the
Corporate Board to the members, and still perform in accordance with our
Constitution and By-Laws, we did have some hiccups. Some expenditures
were made without complete transparency to members and this was
discussed at the General membership meeting, Apologies were made and a
strategy agreed upon to prevent reoccurrence.
This past year also marked a new found emphasis on the use of the
banquet hall as an important revenue stream. A special thanks to General
Manager Doug Wilson for his efforts and his greatly improved revenue
stream. We have held many more member events, from the Super Bowl Party
to a great celebration of St. Patrick’s Day and the Legion Birthday. We
were also honored to have been selected to host the VFW Post 8469’s
Christmas Party in 2007 and will be hosting it again this year.
In retrospect, all in all it was a great year for Post 177, with some
lessons learned, many new initiatives to develop, and a great year for
increased member participation and volunteerism.
A very special thank you to our Audit Committee (Thanks Tom, Ken and
Joe) for finalizing the details with a new CPA firm and getting the
process underway.
In closing this month I would like to remind everyone about the
elections to be held in May. Please review the ballot and come out to
cast your vote. This is your Post, please participate and vote for the
candidates of your choice.
God Bless America and those serving our great nation.
For God and Country.
Robert B. Sussan, Commander
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