GUEST EDITORIAL

Commander Message

New Commander/CEO of American Legion Ronald Reagan – Palisades Post 283 Joe Ramirez wrote a message to the community when he began his position. It has been reprinted here with permission. More information, including a link to a six-minute introduction video by Ramirez, is available at alpost283.com.

I am extremely honored beyond words to serve as the commander of our post this year. First and foremost, I would like to thank outgoing Commander Jim Cragg, his wife Susie and daughter Charley for their time with us over the last four years.

Jim often spent countless hours at the post and at functions away from his family so that we could move forward into a new era—being one of the most influential posts in the country. Getting us through the pandemic and the renovation, Jim, with the help of our leaders and members, re-opened the post. Under his leadership, we moved aggressively in providing worthy events that included legionnaires, their families and the community.

Vision

Many of you have asked for my vision. As I thought and prayed, I realized we have only been re-opened for two years with several of our events and programs being new. However, most, if not all, of our programs and events were “homeruns” when it came to their success. Therefore, I would like to continue the momentum that Jim started with a vision statement of my own as follows:

“Building upon our legacy of excellence in service to veterans, their families and our community, Post 283 embraces media and technology to amplify our impact, foster connections, and engage the public through innovative programs and events.”

This means we will enhance our events and programs, and raise their awareness, our profile, the post and the legion through film content, social media, technology and distribution. More specific details will be released soon regarding this agenda.

Finally, I believe all our events and programs are special, but I would like to highlight a few on the agenda that are specifically pushing through previous barriers—The Women Veterans Forum, Legion Gaming and Chapel Sundays at 11:15 a.m.

Feel free to reach out to me anytime at a meeting or send me an email. Remember, if you have an idea, think of ways you can serve on the committee to make it happen. The only person who gets away with ideas alone is my father-in-law and legion member “Bucky” Schmidt.