REPORT OF CENTRAL VICE COMMANDER
William Whitmoyer
Greetings, Comrades, and welcome to the 105th Annual Convention of The American Legion Department of Pennsylvania! It has been my great honor and pride to have represented and served you all as the Department Vice Commander for the great Central Judicial Section! Through the trials and tribulations, along with the joys and successes, it has been a fantastic year, overall, due to your dedication to our organization, its mission and Four Pillars, and your love for God and Country!
Thanks and recognition must be given to the wonderful staff at Department Headquarters, without whose knowledge, wisdom, loyalty, and commitment, our organization would soon crumble. Woody, Troy, Kristen, Debbie, Sharon, Dawn, Stephanie, Kimberly, Lewis, Matt, and the whole support staff, you have my utmost and sincerest gratitude! Thank you for your support and seemingly magical abilities to produce the necessary outcomes that make the Department of Pennsylvania shine! You have done so much with so little for so long, that you are now qualified to do anything with nothing! You do not go unnoticed! Although we finished just shy of our 100% goal for 2024 membership, I want to thank and congratulate the other Vice Commanders, the District Commanders, Department Membership Chairman John Fritz, Central Vice Chairmen Jon Hosfeld and Jerry Heid, and all of our members for the tremendous effort you all have put forth this year!
As your Central Vice Commander, I got to visit all eight Districts in the Section and had the honor to attend myriad Post and District meetings and functions, with pride. It is refreshing to see the hard work and dedication our members put into their Posts and their Districts, as well as their communities! I regret that my health situation prevented me from attending more. I’m very proud of you District Commanders and the job you’ve done, even in my absence! I’ve attended Post and District revitalizations with you, and worked with you in outreach booths at the Outdoor show and other events. I’ve witnessed you working the lists, making myriad Buddy Check calls, and embracing the concept of BE THE ONE: Make it personal. You have been making it more about members and less about numbers, and it shows. It has been truly inspiring to see the whole Department step up its game! You can all be very Pennsylvania Proud of that!
You’ve laid the groundwork to counter the effects of the 2025 dues increase, by making our members know that we care more about them than we do about the price of beer and how many winning tickets are left in a jug. But let’s not wait to start building upon that foundation!
We must start now, and continue to remind our members that their dues pay the administrative costs for our American Legion Charities, so that every dollar donated goes to exactly what it’s supposed to. Dues help pay the salaries of our Department Service Officers, so that ANY VETERAN can get no-cost help in cutting through the red tape of VA Benefits. Dues money also helps us send representation to Washington, DC and Harrisburg, to continue the fight for Veterans’ benefits, Military Quality of Life, and our American Ideals. We must continue to educate our members and the public about what The American Legion is and what we do. Keep pushing American Legion programs. Continue to make personal and personalized contact with Veterans and their families and let them know that we, The American Legion, truly care. If we continue to do these things, we will do just fine for years to come.
I wish to thank all the Central Section Officers for their dedication and support this year, but a special thank you goes to my Adjutant, Robby Turlip. You’ve been an indispensable help and guide, and often proxy, but even more, a great friend! I wish you all the best for the success of your campaign, and then tenure as Central Vice Commander!
In closing, I wish to thank you, Department Commander Stephen Lavelle, for your leadership and guidance, not just this year, but since I first met you at my first ever Department Convention, way back in 2009. You’ve been an inspiration, mentor, and friend ever since, and I’m extremely proud to have served as your Vice Commander, Sir! It has truly been my honor to serve you and the Pennsylvania American Legion Family in this role!
God bless you all, our American Legion Family, and our military, and God bless the United States of America!
