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The American Legion

Peter J Courcy Post 178

Executive Committee Meeting Minutes

December 12, 2019

Commander Fred Rogers called the meeting, held at the Frisco Senior Center, to order

at 1830. The opening ceremony included a prayer and reciting the pledge of allegiance.

Officers Roll Call – See the attached "PEC Attendance Roster": In attendance

were Ted Ruybal, Michael Shasteen, Jonathan Martindale, John Lee, Glena

Rogers and Roy Brewer.

Adjutant Parsons announced that a quorum was achieved.

Officer Activity Reports

o Commander - Fred Rogers - see attached report.

o Adjutant - Delbert Parsons - see attached report.

o 1st Vice -Thor Anderson – see attached report.

o 2nd Vice - Rob Altman –see attached report.

o Post Activities

o Public Relations

Photo Retention

Communications Program

o Finance Officer - Terry Meyering - see finance report attachment. Larry

Marshall motioned to approve the November Financial Report, subject to

Audit. The motion was seconded by Paul Jones and approved.

o Chaplain - John Allen - no written report.

o Judge Advocate - Paul Jones – no written report.

o Service Officer - Kevin Robinson – no written report.

o Historian - Bob Sirois - no written report.

o Sgt-At-Arms - David Break - no written report.

o Stephanie Cleveland - no written report.

o Larry Marshall - no written report.

o Ed Mendlik - no written report.

o James Trombley - no written report

o Larry Wilhelm – no written report.

Program Chairperson Reports

o American Legion Riders - Matt Ostergaard - no written report.

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o Boys State - Larry Marshall - see attached report.

o Law & Order - Stuart Sax – no written report.

o Government Affairs:

o Legislative - Charles Wright - no written report.

o Get Out the Vote (GOTV) - Larry Marshall/Rick Redden - see attached

report.

o Oratorical - Raymond Vinson - no written report.

o School Awards - Ted Ruybal – no written report.

o Scouting - Leonard Havron - no written report.

Committee Chairperson Reports

o Membership Outreach – John Lee – no written report. The visitation sub-

committee, Chaired by John Lee, is diligently working with our “home-

bound” members and veterans in assisted living homes and nursing

homes. Johns written reports are filed with the Chaplain and Commander

and not published due to the nature of the information within the

report. Any questions should be directed to John Allen, Post 178

Chaplain.

o Honor & Remember – Roy Brewer – no written report. The purpose of this

committee is to honor and recognize the honorable service of veterans as

they enter the last stages of their lives. The short, quiet service includes a

flag folding and presentation, a certificate in recognition of honorable

service in the Armed Forces of the United States and a branch of service

pin. This committee will hold their first service on 21 December 2019

honoring a retired Chief Master Sargent, U.S. Air Force veteran, for his 29

years of faithful service.

o Frisco Veterans Advisory Committee – Michael Shasteen – no written

report.

o Color Guard - Larry Wilhelm - see attached report. Beginning in January

2020 the Color/Honor Guard will hold two rifle squad practices per month

with the Frisco Police Department.

o Wreaths Across America – Larry Marshall – see attached report.

Commander Rogers presented a plaque to Jonathan Martindale for his

valued donation of U-Haul trucks the past two years that were used at

DFW National Cemetery for Wreaths Across America. Jonathan is also

providing two trucks for the 2019 event and will also assist with the

program.

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o Fund Raising - Greg Gomel - no written report.

o Annual Giving – Open

o Grants – Open

o Raffle – David Grandfield - no written report.

o Cruise – Patrick Walker – The 2020 cruise will be October 18, 2020 on the

Liberty of the Seas out of Galveston, Texas.

Unfinished Business

o Officer Mentoring - all officers are encouraged to select and mentor a

member for each officer position.

o Open Committees are Fund Raising Sub-Committee Chairs for Grants and

Annual Giving.

New Business

State Oratorical Update – Fred Rogers – The 2020 State contest will be conducted at the Collin Community College. More information will be presented later.

Update on the future use of the Frisco Senior Center for meetings. Commander Rogers requested an ad-hoc committee be formed to investigate a location for the Post Executive meetings, Post Membership meetings and Auxiliary membership meetings can be held beginning January 2020. The Frisco Senior Center will close in December. Members of the Committee are: Stephanie Cleveland – Chair Rob Altman Delbert Parsons Larry Marshall Thor Anderson Ed Mendlik

The December Membership meeting is cancelled.

Announcements & Correspondence - Adjutant Parsons

December 13, 2019 is workday at DFW National in preparation for

Wreaths Across America.

December 13, 2019 is FVAC Veteran Social which will be held at AC Hotel

in Frisco. More information will be provided later.

December 14, 2019 is Wreaths Across America at DFW National

Cemetery.

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December 19, 2019 there will be a Social gathering at the Green Gator

beginning at 1900. This is a fun event so please plan on attending.

Closing Ceremonies were conducted and the meeting adjourned at 2015.

Meeting Minutes respectfully submitted by:

Delbert Parsons Adjutant

Minutes approved by Fred Rogers Commander:

Name Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Fred Rogers Commander X X X X X X X X X X X X

Thor Anderson 1st Vice Commander X E E E X X X E X X E X

Rob Altman 2nd Vice Commander X E E X X X X E X X X E

Delbert Parsons Adjutant X X X X X X X X X X E X

Terry Meyering Finance Officer X X X X X X X X E X X E

John Allen Chaplain X E E X E E

Paul Jones Judge Advocate E X X X X X X X X E E X

Kevin Robinson Service Officer X E E E X E X X E X X X

Bob Sirois Historian X X E X E E X E A X X X

David Break Sgt-At-Arms X X X X X X

Stephanie Cleveland Executive Member X X X X E E X X X X X X

Larry Marshall Executive Member X X X X E X X X X X X X

Ed Mendlik Executive Member X X X X E E E X X X X X

James Trombley Executive Member X X X X E E X E X E X X

Larry Wilhelm Executive Member X X X X X X

Codes: X=Present, E=Excused, A=Absent

American Legion Post 178 Officer Attendance Roster 2019-2020

Commanders Activity Report Fred Rogers 15 November 2019 to 12 December 2019 11/20 Participated with Color Guard at Frisco Mayors Roundtable 12/2 Attended Frisco Lakes Veterans Group meeting recognizing Post 178

Boys State delegate, Preston Cook. 12/4 Attended Honor & Remember Committee meeting 12/6 Traveled to Clyde Cosper veterans home in Bonham to deliver clothing

items and gifts for the staff 12/7 Participated in recruiting event at Frisco Gun Club Participated in Post booth at Merry Main Street 12/10 Attended 4th District Finance Committee meeting in Plano Attended Post 178 Color Guard practice

Adjutant Report

December 2019

December 7, 2019 Participated in membership drive at the Frisco Gun Club.

December 7, 2019 Attended Merry Main Street membership drive.

Report Submitted by:

Delbert Parsons

Adjutant Post 178

Frisco, Texas

Membership 12/19

Thor Anderson

2019-2020 Goal 526

As of 12/12/2019

Current Members 457 (86.9% of goal)

Renewal (382/ 74.03%)

Post Excellence Award

The American Legion's Post Excellence Award has added new criteria. To qualify for the Post Excellence Award, a post is required to achieve excellence in four areas: membership, submission of the Consolidated Post Report (CPR), attaining a 90 percent renewal rate and community activity.

We had a membership drive on 12/7 at the Frisco Gun Club we had 1 new member and 2 transfers.

Attended by Fred Rogers, Delbert Parsons, and Thor Anderson

We had a booth at Frisco Merry Main Street also on 12/7. We had many good conversations but no new

members.

Attended by Fred Rogers, Delbert Parsons, Joanne Schumm, and Thor Anderson

I am working on a table at Stonebriar Mall in January.

All members are asked to recruit one new member – It is not hard to do, when you are out and about at

work, church, or events and meet a veteran “Just Ask”

Thor Anderson

Membership Chairman

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The American Legion

Peter J Courcy Post 178

2nd Vice Commander Executive Committee Report

December 12, 2019

Officer contributions for the month of November 2019

1. Worked with Auxiliary Unit 178 to ensure Annual Dinner at Crest Infiniti was a success.

2. Posted press release mentioning the 2019 LEGION act and Post involvement in programs benefitting our

community to web site and Facebook Page.

3. Observed Navy/Marine Corps Birthday at November Membership Meeting. Thank you, Michael Shasteen, for

helping us find a sponsor.

4. 4 of 7 2019 2nd Vice Commander action item plan items are complete to date. On track to complete 7 of 7.

Social Committee report for Executive Committee Discussion

- Mayor’s Social December 13, 2019 (tomorrow) from 6-9pm bring a unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots

- Social at Green Gator in lieu of membership meeting next Thursday evening

Public Relations Committee report for Executive Committee Discussion

- Worked on Facebook donation tab, cannot proceed unless we become a 501 c(3)

- 20 posts for the month of November (Veterans Day & Thanksgiving variables) on Facebook with 1986

people reached

Rob Altman II

2nd Vice Commander

BOYS STATE UPDATE

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2019

1 – Post 178 will have 11 high schools participating in the 2020 Boys State

Program. We have all Nominee’s names for 2020 and I have emailed them to

send me their Resume and Name & Photo Release Forms by December 20th.

2 – We have 30 Boy State Nominees and we will select up to 25 to attend Texas

Boys State.

3 – An email will be sent to request the Texas Boys State Application to be

completed and emailed to me by Saturday, January 11, 2020.

4 – We will have a Boys State Committee meeting on Monday, January 13, 2020.

The meeting will be held at Strikz Entertainment Center located at 8789

Lebanon Road, Frisco, Texas 75034 ( Southwest intersection of Preston Road &

Lebanon Road).

5 – Interviews for the Nominees will be conducted between February 10th and

March 15th at their respective high school.

6 – Several of us attended the Frisco Lakes Veterans Group Decembers social

and they wanted a representative from Boys State & Girls State to speak of their

experience attending Boys & Girls State. Preston Cook was the Boy State

Delegate that spoke on behalf of the Boys State Program and he did an

outstanding presentation. Karlene Stelling was the Girl State Delegate. The

Delegates stole the show for the afternoon.

Submitted by: Larry Marshall – Boys State Chair

“GET OUT THE VOTE”

VOTERS REGISTRATION

THURSDAY, 12, 2019

1 – Texas Primaries (including Collin & Denton Counties) will be March 3, 2020.

Therefore, we will need to conduct Voters Registration events in January 2020

for the new registered voters to be eligible to vote in the Primaries.

2 – We will conduct these Voters Registration events in advance of the March

primary:

Frisco Lakes North Amenity Center

Tuesday, January 7th from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm

Larry Marshall and Rick Redden from 9:00 am to noon

Ed & Virginia Mendlik from noon to 3:00 pm

Frisco Lakes Main Amenity Center

Thursday, January 16th from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm

Larry Marshall and Rick Redden from 9:00 am to noon

Terry Meyering and David Break from noon to 3:00 pm

Frisco Lakes North Amenity Center

Tuesday, January 21st from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm

Larry Marshall and Rick Redden from 9:00 am to noon

Ted Ruybal plus one other from noon to 3:00 pm

Liberty High School

Friday, January 24 from 12:40 to 2:40 pm

Larry Marshal and Rick Redden

Submitted by: Rick Redden - “Get Out The Vote” Chair

HONOR / COLOR GUARD UPDATE

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2019

1 – The Color Guard participated in 9 events this past month.

2 – The Color Guard has 1 event scheduled for December:

December 20th - Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl Frisco Bowl.

Larry Wilhelm

WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2019

1 – Distribution of the full cases of wreaths will be placed along the curbs of the

roads on Friday, December 13th. We will have a group of volunteers travel to

DFW National Cemetery to assist with the placement of the cases.

2 – The volunteers will meet at the Walmart located at FM423 & Stonebrook

Blvd. at 6:45 A.M. and carpool to DFW National Cemetery at 7:00 A.M.. Larry

Wilhelm will be coordinating the carpooling at Walmart.

3 – Please attend the Wreath Laying Ceremony and help lay a wreath on a

Gravesite on Saturday, December 14, 2019. The Memorial Service begins at

10:50 A.M. We will be carpooling again. Meet at the Walmart at 8:00 A.M. and

depart for D/FW National Cemetery at 8:15 A.M.

4 – There are 48,00 Gravesites and the Goal is a Wreath for every Gravesite.

5 – As of December 10th, 41,690 Wreaths have been purchased.

6 – Chris and Mary Bush exceeded their goal of 4,000 wreaths by 200%.

7 – There are 12 sponsors for Wreaths Across America.

Submitted by: Larry Marshall – Chair