American Legion Greer Post #11 held its monthly meeting on August 15 with 29 members in attendance. Commander Clayton Rados thanked the cooks for the delicious meal. We had many guests for this month’s meeting. Legion coaches Matt Slaba and Sam Metzger were in attendance along with team members: Carlin Hopkins, Matt Link, Preston McFayden, Javian Pesicka, Ted Slaba, Frank Soukup, and Tyler Tjeerdsma. The coaches thanked the Legion for sponsoring the team. The young men did their best and had a great time.

Also in attendance was Sharon Haar with daughter Roberta and her son, Sidney, both home from the Netherlands. Sharon was the recipient of a Volunteer Award from the VA for her dedication. She has worked 5632.5 hours of volunteer hours in the 18 years she has been volunteering. A tremendous round of applause was given by our local Post.

Chaplain Don Kotab gave the invocation which was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. The Preamble to the Constitution of the American Legion was recited by all members. Commander Rados then called the meeting to order.

Minutes – Adjutant Dave Isebrands read the minutes of our last meeting. Minutes were approved as read. Our membership goal for 2025 is 161.

Treasurer’s Report – The treasurer’s report was handed out by Treasurer Danie Gruenewald and was approved as presented.

Americanism – Americanism Officer Don Kotab stated things have been very quiet and the scholarship money will be sent when proper addresses are received.

Service Officer – Service Officer Merle Stone gave his report.

Baseball – Officer Jerry Seiner said the baseball coaches have been paid. Gate receipts were able to cover the expenses incurred with paying the two umpires needed for each game.

Legion Riders – Jay Youngbluth and Bruce Specketer accompanied the jeep on their motorcycles to Scotland for their parade. Merle and Clayton road in the jeep and threw out candy. The Riders worked the brat feed and were able to raise money which was donated to the Honor Flight program. Bruce and Jay may go to Piedmont for the State Commander’s homecoming August 17th.

Bingo – There will be no Bingo here at the Post over Labor Day weekend. Bingo will resume on November 1. The Swim Team asked to use the Post for Bingo on October 6 to help raise money to pay for uniforms. It was agreeable to all and Jay will do the calling. We will need help with the event. Paul Kucera heard from the business regarding checking and cleaning the Bingo machine. When they are in Yankton, they will make the trip to Wagner to clean and check ours. Our machine is old enough that parts may no longer be available.

Veterans Service Officer – Jerry Seiner informed the members of the new VA Veteran Directed Care Program. Any veteran enrolled in VA Health Care is eligible for this program. The intent of the program is to provide supportive care to veterans, allowing them to age safely and independently in their own home. Veterans manage a monthly budget provided by the VA to purchase goods and services to meet their needs. This includes directly hiring employees, including family members, to provide personal care services. Veterans who served at Camp Stronghold (K-2) in Afghanistan may have encountered several environmental or hazardous exposures. If you served in that location, talk to a Veterans Service Officer. Two military scholarship applications were announced: the Sanford Health Military and Veteran Scholarship and the VFW Sports Clip Scholarship. Application is open to military personnel with each scholarship awarding $5,000. Call Jerry for more information.

Old Business – Rick Zolnowsky is making storage cabinets upstairs for the Auxiliary. He has one made and will make another to facilitate their needs. A letter was received from the IRS regarding our 990N and re-instatement as a non-profit. Dave I. dropped the letter off to Amanda Bechen as the process is ongoing.

New Business – Dan Horner from Delmont is a new member here tonight. Jim Bastemeyer donated new lights for the Legion stand for Labor Day. C&B will allow us to use a Gator for food transportation during the event. Mark Roberts has a refrigerator we can use and if not, Jerry Seiner will donate one. Ice buckets will again be needed to keep things cool and we can again use the Boy Scout trailer for storage. We will place the flags in the park on Friday the 30th at 4:00 and erect the Legion food stand at 5:00.

The Post received donations from Darcy Kaberna and Brent Gabel, Jim and Bernie Hill, Willie and Jeanene Horner, and Bob and Margaret Roberts honoring Curt Kaberna. Also donated in honor of Curt, would be funds for a new flag and pole. A thank you was received from the Francis “Lob” Soukup family for the military honors at his funeral. Also received were funds for a new flag and pole in his honor. Darcy Foster also funded a new flag and pole honoring her father, Dale Torstensen. A Thank You was also read from Roland Crisman for the walker for him to use.

Wagner will host the fall District 8 meeting here at the Post on October 27. There will be a luncheon at noon with the meeting to follow at 1:00 PM. Our monthly drawing winner was Ron Kahler, who was not present. Chaplain Don Kotab gave the final prayer and we closed in due form.