This past Monday, April 25th, the Post was fortunate to host two of our active duty members. Coincidentally, they are sisters! ALA member Wendy Smith daughters Army Specialist Samantha Nicole Smith and Marine DI Sargent Gabrielle Renea Ortega were both home at the same time. That has to be rare (but hopefully not in Wendy’s case)! Thanks for stopping by.
Wendy provided some other photos as well…
It’s always great to hear about our active duty members, but this one is extra awesome. ALA Member Wendy Smiths daughter Gabrelle had her 1st day as a DI 3-18-22 @ MCRD San Diego. They called her “The Scary Hat”. Mom’s pretty proud, and so are we!
Congratulations to The American Legion, Kenosha Post 21 Finance Officer and Judge Advocate, Steve Tindall for his selection as Kenosha’s 1st Quarter 2022 Hometown Hero. The event last night during the City Council Meeting was attended by his family, friends and fellow Legionaries. Well deserved, Steve!
After being awarded the 2021 4th quarter Hometown Hero this past December, last night Commander Thomas J. Visintainer Sr. was presented with an award for Hometown Hero of 2021. Congratulations Commander, well deserved!
Congratulations to Elijah Bogar, Katelynn Ripper, and Joshua Cao, our 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners respectively. We were proud to have these three outstanding youths read their winning entries at our Pearl Harbor / Paul Herrick Memorial Service. The prizes were $500.00, $300.00, and $200 for the three high school students.
The American Legion, Wisconsin State Commander, Greg Eirich who traveled from Sheboygan for the days events, presented the awards. The commander gave a well received talk on leadership and the Legions Four Pillars of Service.
On hand to congratulate the winners was State Representative Samantha Kerkman who talked with the winners and their families at length.
It could be argued that writing (communications) is the most important tool of a leader. The simple act of deciding to do so by entering this contest is a good indication that we are dealing with future leaders of business / and or our communities. Seeing future leaders conversing with these two current leaders was a very welcome site, and a highlight of the evening.
We want to note that there was only one entry from a middle school student. We did not distinguish between age or school groups in this, our first year of having this contest. In that light, an Honorable Mention goes to 6th Grader Ryleigh Konitzer for her well done entry.
NOTE: to view a slideshow, click on the title of the article, then click on one of the pictures.
Photo Credits: County Adjutant, Michael Hellquist
I am proud to announce that our Commander, Thomas J Visintainer Sr. has been selected as Kenosha’s Hometown Hero for the 4th Quarter, 2021. The Commander will be presented with the award on Monday, Dec 20th, 2021 at the beginning of the Common Council Meeting in Room 300 of City Hall at 7:00pm. Stop by and show your support for “Woody” and wear your Legion Cover to show support for The American Legion.
Commander Karl Stuvengen forward an invitation from TAL State Administrative Manager/Event Planner Angela Chappell. This a great opportunity for members to meet people from all over the state and share ideas.
Please contact us if you are interested.
Attachments:
OPPORTUNITY #1 MIDWINTER CONFERENCE:
If you haven’t heard, Midwinter is right around the corner. Since we know you have a yearning for learning, you do not want to miss this conference. We have attached the training brochure for this year’s event, along with the registration and housing forms. You can find all of this information, schedules and more at https://bit.ly/2022MW. We would love to see you January 13-16, 2022 at Ho-Chunk for the 2022 Midwinter Conference. Oh and did we mention Elvis is coming Saturday night 😉
OPPORTUNITY #2 STANDING COMMITTEES:
We love that you took the time to attend Legion College courses to learn more about the organization, now you have the opportunity to put that knowledge to use. Each year the Department Commander has seats to fill on the Department Standing Committees. We challenge you to think about your strengths, education, vocation and passion to see where you could best serve. There are 14 Department Committees; to learn more about these opportunities go to wilegion.org, click ‘Get Connected’ and then ‘Committees & Commissions’ and click on the ones that interest you to learn more about that committee/commission. If you are interested in serving, fill out the attached Fillable Standing Committee Application and give it to your District Commander for submission to the Department.
On the evening of December 7th, Mayor John Antaramian, Post 21 Commander Thomas Visintainer, and American Legion Auxiliary President Donna Lewens, dedicated 58th Street from Sheridan Road, East as Post 21’s namesake and Son of Kenosha Paul Herrick.
Herrick was killed on December 7th, 1941 aboard the USS Arizona (BB-39) during the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor. He is believed to have been at his General Quarters station on the forward part of the ship at the time of, or shortly after, the attack started. His body was never recovered and he is permenently entombed aboard the ship with many of his shipmates.
You can read more about Paul in his page on this website under the history menu.
During our open house, on Saturday, December 4th between 2 and 5 PM, Local authors Joe Campolo Jr., Richard Bell 9 (and another local veteran author) will be signing copies of their books on Sunday.
Visit Joe’s website here for more information and more dates: https://namwarstory.com/events/
Post 21 will open it’s doors to all citizens of Kenosha, and to our brothers and sisters from all veteran groups, on December 4th, 2021 from 10 am to 3pm, and on Sunday December 5th from 12pm to 4pm.
Current Exhibits
Award Presentation & Memorial Service
Our Remembrance Ceremony will take place on December 7th:
We are proud to announce that Mayor John Antaramian and Post 21 Commander Thomas J. Visintainer Sr. will be dedicating 58th Street between the lake and the Sheridan Road as “Paul E. Herrick Blvd”. During the ceremony later that evening, they will be presenting the Essay Contest Awards.
This website is full of information about the Department of Wisconsin. They have a good calendar, and you can read the "Badger Legionnaire" online!
MyLegion is an outstanding way to keep up with the latest benefits of membership! You owe it to yourself to check it out and create an account.
National Headquarters is busy on social media!
This is the GO TO place for Kenosha County Veterans to find out about your benefits, etc, etc!
