“News from the Hut”
for American Legion Post #142; Hominy, Oklahoma.
>>> by Gary Lanham

What an amazing experience. I attended the State Convention last Saturday in Oklahoma City. The Commander and I pretty much played tag team to make sure Post 142 was represented, to note things of interest, as well as vote on important matters. Having been dropped in Oklahoma by the USAF the last few years of the Vietnam War into the reserves I never left. Over those years, I have been all over the state for one reason or another. That made it interesting to see other representatives with hometowns embroidered in their service caps. Broken Bow, Moore, Weatherford and many others were there.

The room was packed as the new Constitution was presented for a vote from the National Office and the usual back and forth ensued. It was sometimes raucous and debated but always with passion. There was plenty of laughter as things went back and forth but in the end the Constitution was overwhelmingly voted in by the body. Then we divided up into our Districts to vote in new leadership. For our District 1B the following officers were elected: District Commander, Crystal Deal (Post 141) A former Navy Seabee, Jerry Lakey (Post 1800) former 18th Airborne Corp Paratrooper was elected as Vice Commander as well the National Convention Representative with RC Mackey as alternate. We then entertained a few folks who spoke, running for broader positions. One thing to note was that it was announced during the general meeting that over $22,000,000 for Youth Programs nationwide.
Next week, I look forward to reporting Charles O’Leary’s inputs from the 2nd day of the convention where State Officer Election results will be known. There may be other notable information to pass on as well.
This is my final reminder to get your Post membership renewals in the mail to our Post, do not mail them in to National. Or just bring them to the Hut and give them to Jack Cross or Steve Swinford and Jack will get your membership card to you. If you need to mail them here is the address: Post 142, 118 S. Wood, Hominy, OK 74035 and Jack will get them that way also.
Our regular meetings are the first and third Thursdays. This time around we will have a short meeting August 7th, and then on August 8th at 6:00PM our Installation of Officers Dinner. An added plus is that quarterly the meeting will be a shared event with the Auxiliary (more details to follow). Monday morning Koffee Klatch meetings for July are still up and running starting around 0700 till about 0900. Come by where we catch up on each other’s mischief and storytelling. If you are a veteran come on by. If you have a good story it may end up in print!