FROM THE DESK OF

James “Woody” Hogan, Department Adjutant

As the summer comes to a close and the leaves start to fall it is time again to focus on our new American Legion 2025 Membership year. Greetings from your department headquarters staff. We have concluded another successful Department Convention and have elected a new slate of officers for the 2025 American Legion year. With new leadership comes new ideas on how to get the Department of Pennsylvania running more efficiently and effectively. There will be several resolutions this year with the intent of accomplishing these tasks. Please support our leadership in this effort.

This is also the time for new leadership at the Post level to imitate and plan for new ideas for your Posts to be a vibrant and contributing factor in your communities. We have fallen off the mission somewhat in this Commonwealth. Our American Legion Posts need to represent the Four Pillars of The American Legion in our communities, and once your community sees who we are and what we do, it will be easier for you to recruit new members to be on our team. So take the time and see what your Post is doing in your town. If the answer is nothing, please formulate a plan to change that.

We also are heading to New Orleans at the end of August to elect a new National Commander. James LaCoursiere, Jr. hales from the Department of Connecticut and is an Air Force Veteran. He is also an avid member and supporter of the ALR program being the Departments Past Director. We already have the dates he will be visiting our Department if elected. Please save these dates in your calendar and attend the dinner in your Section to meet the National commander and make our Department Pennsylvania Proud. The tour will begin in the Eastern Section with a dinner on March 17th, 2025 at a Post to be determined. Central Section’s dinner will be on the 18th at Linglestown Post 272. The Western Section will be at a Post to be determined on the 19th of March 2025.

Our Department American Legion College dates are set and the registration will be online. Please look for the flyers in your Post soon as they are mailed to every Post Adjutant. It will have the link to the registration page. Legion College East will be held at Cumberland Valley Mountain View Middle School, the same venue as last year, on October 26th, 2024. Legion College West will be held at Latrobe High School, the same venue as last year, on November 2nd, 2024. If you have never attended Department Legion College it is a great opportunity for you to learn how your American Legion Post is to function and how to become more involved in our American legion programs. Please save the dates and plan on attending. I will see you there.

Lastly, I would like to commend all the Posts that made 100% in membership renewal last year. We had a good year, and it showed by the number of delinquent members at the department level decreasing a fair amount. Please keep up the good work, and let’s try to make Department Commander Fritz a 100% Commander at the National level. We have not accomplished this is over two decades, and I know we can if we all work together and call those members that have not paid their dues starting in October and not waiting till it’s too late.

I remain…Devoted to mutual helpfulness,

James “Woody” Hogan

Department of Pennsylvania Adjutant