Post Officers for 2014:
Commander:
Sr Vice Commander: Vice Commander: Adjutant: Judge Advocate: Finance Officer: Members-at-Large: Sergeant-at-Arms: Asst Sgt-at-Arms: Service Officer: Chaplains: Past Post Commander: Post Historian/Webmaster: |
Dennis Brown
Larry Havenhill Frank Singleton Ed Miller Nick Youdell Bobby Corbin John Arant, Don Crocker, Randy McGhee, Reggie Sikes Tom Wallace Frank Ofsanko C. Olin Sargent Charles Weaver, David Mullis Geoff Toman Steve Ratcliffe |
Legion Year 2014 Events:
Commander Dennis Brown
- August 12, 2013 was the induction of Post 307 and Auxiliary Officers for Legion Year 2013. We had a great time at the Change of Command ceremony that was held at the new Georgia Army National Guard Readiness Center. As usual, the Post 307 Auxiliary provided a great meal, which was held in a classroom. During supper, several new members and guests were introduced. Special guests were also in attendance: Randy Goodman, Department of Georgia Sr. Vice Commander, and Ann Parks, Past District President of the Auxilliary.
Following supper, the Change of Command ceremony was held in the auditorium. Special thanks to the Georgia National Guard for letting Post 307 use their great facility! Congratulations and thanks to Commander Dennis Brown for staying on as Commander of Post 307 for another year. Thanks as well to all the officers who have accepted their responsibilities for the 2013-2014 Legion year. Commander Brown and the officers were sworn in by Randy Goodman, Dept. of GA Sr. Vice Commander.
In his remarks, Commander Brown reviewed some of the many honors and awards Post 307 won during the last year, including achieving the highest percentage membership in the Department of Georgia, Best Newsletter in the Dept. of GA, Best Website in the Dept. of GA, and 2nd Place for Decorating at the Old Soldier's Day Parade.
Heartiest congratulations to Tom Wallace, Sergeant at Arms, for being awarded the Legionnaire of the year for Post 307. Such a well deserved honor for Tom!
Following supper, the Change of Command ceremony was held in the auditorium. Special thanks to the Georgia National Guard for letting Post 307 use their great facility! Congratulations and thanks to Commander Dennis Brown for staying on as Commander of Post 307 for another year. Thanks as well to all the officers who have accepted their responsibilities for the 2013-2014 Legion year. Commander Brown and the officers were sworn in by Randy Goodman, Dept. of GA Sr. Vice Commander.
In his remarks, Commander Brown reviewed some of the many honors and awards Post 307 won during the last year, including achieving the highest percentage membership in the Department of Georgia, Best Newsletter in the Dept. of GA, Best Website in the Dept. of GA, and 2nd Place for Decorating at the Old Soldier's Day Parade.
Heartiest congratulations to Tom Wallace, Sergeant at Arms, for being awarded the Legionnaire of the year for Post 307. Such a well deserved honor for Tom!
Induction of Auxiliary Officers was conducted by Ann Parks, Past District President. Post 307 has an incredible Auxiliary and they were recognized by both the State and the 9th District as being the "best of the best"! Multiple Department of GA awards were presented to the Auxiliary.
September 9, 2013 - General Membership Meeting
At the September General Membership Meeting, Past Commander Geoff Toman stood in for Commander Dennis Brown, because Commander Brown has a conflict with his work schedule. The features of the event were presentations by the young adults who attended Boy's State and Girl's State this past June. The presentations were generally well done, as the attendees expressed their gratitude for being selected for this opportunity. Several have applied to US military academies and colleges with ROTC programs.
At the September General Membership Meeting, Past Commander Geoff Toman stood in for Commander Dennis Brown, because Commander Brown has a conflict with his work schedule. The features of the event were presentations by the young adults who attended Boy's State and Girl's State this past June. The presentations were generally well done, as the attendees expressed their gratitude for being selected for this opportunity. Several have applied to US military academies and colleges with ROTC programs.
Golf Tournament - 2013
The Board of Directors of Post 307 expressed their sincere appreciation to Guy Sillay, Richard Knight, Randy McGhee, Bobby Corbin, and all the volunteers and players for their outstanding work on the highly successful 3rd annual golf tournament, September 20th, 2013. Held at Country Land Golf Club again, the weather could not have been better, registration went smoothly, the lunch was excellent, and Country Land did a wonderful job with handling all the little details and hosting the event.
The Board of Directors of Post 307 expressed their sincere appreciation to Guy Sillay, Richard Knight, Randy McGhee, Bobby Corbin, and all the volunteers and players for their outstanding work on the highly successful 3rd annual golf tournament, September 20th, 2013. Held at Country Land Golf Club again, the weather could not have been better, registration went smoothly, the lunch was excellent, and Country Land did a wonderful job with handling all the little details and hosting the event.
The greens and fairways were in great shape this year! Some had to be redesigned and rebuilt due to extensive damage from the unusually heavy rains this past summer.
November 9, 2013 - Post 307 Poppy Day. Poppy donations were a great success this year for Auxilliary Unit 307. At right is the news article showing Dennis "Mac" McKinny selling Poppys in front of the WalMart in Cumming. In addition to being the Department of GA Junior Vice Commander, Mac is a Past Commander of Cumming Post 307. This Photo is from The Georgia Legionnaire, December 2013.
November 11, 2013 - Veteran's Day. The annual Veteran's Day ceremony was once again held in the Memorial Park, Cumming. Management of the event is rotated between the VFW and Post 307, and this year was the VFWs turn. Not only is it well attended by veterans, but also by Scout troops, choral groups, ROTC units, and lots of civilians. The photos are from the Forsyth Herald newspaper.
December 10, 2013 - Post 307 Donates to SAFFT. As the Christmas Party Fundraiser this year, Cumming Post 307 collected toys for children at SAFFT, Supporting Adoptive and Foster Families Together. The SAFFT Family Life Center provides supervised visits for foster children with their biological parents, as well as parenting classes, life coaching and emergency aid for parents of children involved in Juvenile Court. Another part of the services SAFFT provides includes a place where custody exchanges can occur when parents are divorced or separated. The center supports foster and adoptive families by supplying meals, children's clothing, toys, and baby supplies.
In the Forsyth Herald photo above, Heidi Najdek and Ashley Anderson, Executive Director of SAFFT, receive the toys from Geoff Toman, Past Commander of Post 307 and current Senior Vice Commander of District 9, and Randy McGhee, Member-at-Large for Post 307.
In the Forsyth Herald photo above, Heidi Najdek and Ashley Anderson, Executive Director of SAFFT, receive the toys from Geoff Toman, Past Commander of Post 307 and current Senior Vice Commander of District 9, and Randy McGhee, Member-at-Large for Post 307.
American Legion Post 307
announces Elizabeth Ann Trinh as winner of the 76th Annual Constitutional
Speech Contest conducted on February 10, 2014.
Elizabeth Ann is a senior at Northview HS. She received a scholarship check for $250.00
and a First place medal. The contest was conducted at the new
Cumming GA National Guard Readiness Center. The Oratorical Contest, conducted since 1938,
is designed to teach and instill in our students an appreciation for our US
Constitution and the responsibilities, duties, rights, and privileges of
American citizenship. Shown with Elizabeth Ann is John Arant, 2014 Oratorical Chairman and Past Commander of
both Post 307 and District 9 of Georgia.
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April 20th, 2014 - Vet relishes taking part in Honor Flight.
Nick Youdell wanted to visit the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., to honor his father, Edward, who served in the Navy during that time.
“I was 10 years old when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and I remember vividly all the aspects of going through World War II,” he said. “I was 15 when the war was over and that was one reason I really wanted to get to the World War II Memorial — all those World War II guys, they were my heroes when I was a kid growing up.” Like his father, Youdell, 82, ended up serving in the Navy also. Thanks to his service during the Korean War in the early 1950s, the Cumming resident was one of 60 Georgia veterans chosen to take part in an Honor Flight to the nation’s capital on April 2.
The Honor Flight Network was begun several years ago as a way to honor World War II veterans who are passing away in rapid numbers every day. The program recently began accepting some Korean War-era veterans to also take part. Any veteran of those eras can register for an Honor Flight, all of which depart from a number of “hubs” across the country, including Atlanta. Youdell’s Honor Flight group included 30 World War II and 30 Korea veterans. Through the program, the veterans and volunteers are flown to the nation’s capital for a one-day, whirlwind tour of several sites, including the World War II and Korean Memorials, the Lincoln Monument, Arlington National Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Due to support from various civic organizations, no veteran pays a penny to take part in the program.
Youdell, who has lived in Cumming with his wife of 56 years, Sue, for more than a decade, was one of several veterans sponsored by the Roswell Rotary Club to participate after being nominated by the Cumming American Legion Post 307.
A Roswell club member also served as Youdell’s escort for the day. Each veteran has his own volunteer to help him throughout the trip since no family members are allowed to accompany them.
Youdell, who served on destroyers in the Caribbean, England, Ireland and Scotland during his four-year stint in the Navy, said he felt honored to be chosen to take part in Honor Flight. “Everywhere we went, people came up to us to thank us for our service,” he said.
The trip was also a way for Youdell, who is also active at the Cumming Veterans of Foreign Wars post, to pay tribute to the other members of his family who have served in the Navy. “Our whole family is Navy,” he said. “My dad served in World War II, I did four years during the Korean War and our son, Mark, just retired five years ago. He did 26 years in the Navy, and his stepson is an officer. “So we have four generations in the Navy.”
Nick Youdell wanted to visit the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., to honor his father, Edward, who served in the Navy during that time.
“I was 10 years old when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and I remember vividly all the aspects of going through World War II,” he said. “I was 15 when the war was over and that was one reason I really wanted to get to the World War II Memorial — all those World War II guys, they were my heroes when I was a kid growing up.” Like his father, Youdell, 82, ended up serving in the Navy also. Thanks to his service during the Korean War in the early 1950s, the Cumming resident was one of 60 Georgia veterans chosen to take part in an Honor Flight to the nation’s capital on April 2.
The Honor Flight Network was begun several years ago as a way to honor World War II veterans who are passing away in rapid numbers every day. The program recently began accepting some Korean War-era veterans to also take part. Any veteran of those eras can register for an Honor Flight, all of which depart from a number of “hubs” across the country, including Atlanta. Youdell’s Honor Flight group included 30 World War II and 30 Korea veterans. Through the program, the veterans and volunteers are flown to the nation’s capital for a one-day, whirlwind tour of several sites, including the World War II and Korean Memorials, the Lincoln Monument, Arlington National Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Due to support from various civic organizations, no veteran pays a penny to take part in the program.
Youdell, who has lived in Cumming with his wife of 56 years, Sue, for more than a decade, was one of several veterans sponsored by the Roswell Rotary Club to participate after being nominated by the Cumming American Legion Post 307.
A Roswell club member also served as Youdell’s escort for the day. Each veteran has his own volunteer to help him throughout the trip since no family members are allowed to accompany them.
Youdell, who served on destroyers in the Caribbean, England, Ireland and Scotland during his four-year stint in the Navy, said he felt honored to be chosen to take part in Honor Flight. “Everywhere we went, people came up to us to thank us for our service,” he said.
The trip was also a way for Youdell, who is also active at the Cumming Veterans of Foreign Wars post, to pay tribute to the other members of his family who have served in the Navy. “Our whole family is Navy,” he said. “My dad served in World War II, I did four years during the Korean War and our son, Mark, just retired five years ago. He did 26 years in the Navy, and his stepson is an officer. “So we have four generations in the Navy.”