New York Mid-Winter DEC
January 22nd to 24th, 2016
Albany, New York
National Vice Commander – Travel Reflections
East bound and down!! Another great experience of how an American Legion Family conducts their coordinated weekend Mid-Winter meetings.
The weekend began with a tour of the Fisher House in Albany, where the Detachment Commander Joseph SantaCrose, NEC Gary Denmon, and Alt. NEC Dave Bishop presented a $2,500 donation to support their program. This was followed by an evening of comradeship for my wife and I with members of the Detachment, to include Past National SAL Commander Chris Cerullo.
The Detachment’s formal meetings on Saturday showcased a broad range of information, which outlined their support for all of the Legion programs. It was impressive to observe the conduct of an entire leadership group that includes five (5) Vice Commanders who cover the ten Districts within the State, which included 26,000+members. The generous contributions of time and monies where nothing less then expected from this great group.
Our afternoon event included attending a reception for the National American Legion Auxiliary President Sharon Canatser (IL), hosted by the Department of New York Auxiliary. It was really nice to be escorted to the front of the line to meet the National President. During her speech, she made comments about her year to-date and gave words of encouragement around the Department of New York’s continued success. It was nice to have a front row table at the luncheon and to be recognized as a National SAL guest.
Our Saturday evening events began with a dinner reception for the Leading Candidate for National American Legion Commander (2016 – 2017), Charles Schmidt (OR), hosted by the Department of New York American Legion, where again we had prime seating and recognition as a National SAL guest in the audience. Great comments about how the Department of New York is succeeding in supporting Legion programs and comments from the Leading Candidates around his background and vision for next year. We finished out the evening enjoying the comradeship of the SAL and Legion Family.
Sunday brought the closing meetings and an additional round of reports, which outlined more donations to support the Detachment Commander’s project and more of the Legion Programs. In my comments to the Detachment, I acknowledged how well they are supporting the National SAL Commander’s vision of R.O.C.K.E.D. through their actions.
A right-hand salute to the Detachment of New York for what you do to support the Legion Programs and a personal thank you for the hospitality that you extended to my wife and me during my visit. Keep up the great work New York SAL!!
William “Bill” Hill
National Vice Commander – 2015-2016