My Fellow Post 295 Gaithersburg Legionnaires. For those of you who don’t know
me, my name is Cliff Bergstresser, and I am your latest Post Commander. Bob
Ouellette is currently pursuing a position as Commander of the Western Region
and can not hold both the Post Commander and Regional Commander at the
same time. We feel certain Bob will be the new Regional Commander for the 2022
– 2023 year. I am honored to be your Post Commander for the second time in my
13 years here at the post.
Speaking of the 2022 – 2023 year, it’s time for membership renewal again. We
didn’t meet our goal of 100% this past year but did better than the national
average. Membership is very important to the American Legion as our numbers
give us a voice with the Federal Government. Currently we are pressing Congress
to do something about the Veterans suffering from the effects of Burn Pit smoke
inhalation, cause when the military burns the camps garbage in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
This coming year will be a challenge as we have financial woes. We lost our one
and only fund raiser during COVID (golf tournament) and are trying to determine
a replacement. We are considering an Army / Navy board if the members are
willing to buy squares. All suggestion is welcome to resolve this. Lastly we are
continuing to meet the second Thursday of the month at the Mission BBQ in
Germantown. Mission BBQ has been wonderful and have allowed us to use their
back room. Going forward we may lose this access to the room since they are
opening a catering call center. That said, we need to fine an alternate meeting
place. I will keep you in the loop.
Greetings,My Fellow Post 295 Gaithersburg Legionnaires. For those of you who don’t know
me, my name is Cliff Bergstresser, and I am your latest Post Commander. Bob
Ouellette is currently pursuing a position as Commander of the Western Region
and can not hold both the Post Commander and Regional Commander at the
same time. We feel certain Bob will be the new Regional Commander for the 2022
– 2023 year. I am honored to be your Post Commander for the second time in my
13 years here at the post.
Speaking of the 2022 – 2023 year, it’s time for membership renewal again. We
didn’t meet our goal of 100% this past year but did better than the national
average. Membership is very important to the American Legion as our numbers
give us a voice with the Federal Government. Currently we are pressing Congress
to do something about the Veterans suffering from the effects of Burn Pit smoke
inhalation, cause when the military burns the camps garbage in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
This coming year will be a challenge as we have financial woes. We lost our one
and only fund raiser during COVID (golf tournament) and are trying to determine
a replacement. We are considering an Army / Navy board if the members are
willing to buy squares. All suggestion is welcome to resolve this. Lastly we are
continuing to meet the second Thursday of the month at the Mission BBQ in
Germantown. Mission BBQ has been wonderful and have allowed us to use their
back room. Going forward we may lose this access to the room since they are
opening a catering call center. That said, we need to fine an alternate meeting
place. I will keep you in the loop.
My Fellow Post 295 Gaithersburg Legionnaires. For those of you who don’t know
me, my name is Cliff Bergstresser, and I am your latest Post Commander. Bob
Ouellette is currently pursuing a position as Commander of the Western Region
and can not hold both the Post Commander and Regional Commander at the
same time. We feel certain Bob will be the new Regional Commander for the 2022
– 2023 year. I am honored to be your Post Commander for the second time in my
13 years here at the post.
Speaking of the 2022 – 2023 year, it’s time for membership renewal again. We
didn’t meet our goal of 100% this past year but did better than the national
average. Membership is very important to the American Legion as our numbers
give us a voice with the Federal Government. Currently we are pressing Congress
to do something about the Veterans suffering from the effects of Burn Pit smoke
inhalation, cause when the military burns the camps garbage in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
This coming year will be a challenge as we have financial woes. We lost our one
and only fund raiser during COVID (golf tournament) and are trying to determine
a replacement. We are considering an Army / Navy board if the members are
willing to buy squares. All suggestion is welcome to resolve this. Lastly we are
continuing to meet the second Thursday of the month at the Mission BBQ in
Germantown. Mission BBQ has been wonderful and have allowed us to use their
back room. Going forward we may lose this access to the room since they are
opening a catering call center. That said, we need to fine an alternate meeting
place. I will keep you in the loop.
My Fellow Post 295 Gaithersburg Legionnaires. It’s hard to believe the summer is
over. We are now in the second month of the American Legion year and looking
forward to participating with the local community here is Gaithersburg. On Labor
Day we were represented in the annual Gaithersburg parade by our Legion Rider
group. Four motorcycles / trikes rode in the parade. Although very warm sitting
on running bike at 3 MPH, many waves, and words of thanks from the citizens in
Gaithersburg. Our next community event will be the Oktoberfest at the Kentland
on Sunday Oct 9 th noon – 5:00 pm. Come out and visit our booth plus enjoy a fall
day activity of the German tradition.
It’s that time of year for our membership renewal. We are currently at 51.90% for
the year, which is on track. Please consider renewing your membership now. That
money helps cover our budget, the Department MD, and National HQ.
Speaking of budget, we decided to have an Army / Navy football game board fund
raiser and party at the Germantown Mission BBQ Saturday Dec 10 th 2:00 – 6:00
pm. Please consider buying squares at $10 per square. The board will be at our
post meetings this fall with the next meeting being Thursday Sept 8 th 7:00-8:00
pm. We plan on having food at the party, plus 50/50 and pull tabs. Our meetings
are typically the second Thursday of the month at the Germantown Mission BBQ
starting at 7:00 pm.
In the news last month, the PACT ACT was signed into law. This act is there to
help our veterans who have been exposed to toxic Burn Pit fumes. This has been
many years in the making and the American Legion has been on the forefront of
this initiative. We are also pushing for the Afghan Interpreters relocation
legislation to help these folks who helped us in that war on terror.
Lastly, we have a new National Commander Vincent J. Troiola, who message this
year is “Be the One” with his focus on reducing veteran suicides. If you are
struggling with this issue, please consider calling the 988-emergency suicide
hotline or text 838255. There is no shame in getting help.
My Fellow Post 295 Gaithersburg Legionnaires. It’s hard to believe the summer is
over. We are now in the second month of the American Legion year and looking
forward to participating with the local community here is Gaithersburg. On Labor
Day we were represented in the annual Gaithersburg parade by our Legion Rider
group. Four motorcycles / trikes rode in the parade. Although very warm sitting
on running bike at 3 MPH, many waves, and words of thanks from the citizens in
Gaithersburg. Our next community event will be the Oktoberfest at the Kentland
on Sunday Oct 9 th noon – 5:00 pm. Come out and visit our booth plus enjoy a fall
day activity of the German tradition.
It’s that time of year for our membership renewal. We are currently at 51.90% for
the year, which is on track. Please consider renewing your membership now. That
money helps cover our budget, the Department MD, and National HQ.
Speaking of budget, we decided to have an Army / Navy football game board fund
raiser and party at the Germantown Mission BBQ Saturday Dec 10 th 2:00 – 6:00
pm. Please consider buying squares at $10 per square. The board will be at our
post meetings this fall with the next meeting being Thursday Sept 8 th 7:00-8:00
pm. We plan on having food at the party, plus 50/50 and pull tabs. Our meetings
are typically the second Thursday of the month at the Germantown Mission BBQ
starting at 7:00 pm.
In the news last month, the PACT ACT was signed into law. This act is there to
help our veterans who have been exposed to toxic Burn Pit fumes. This has been
many years in the making and the American Legion has been on the forefront of
this initiative. We are also pushing for the Afghan Interpreters relocation
legislation to help these folks who helped us in that war on terror.
Lastly, we have a new National Commander Vincent J. Troiola, who message this
year is “Be the One” with his focus on reducing veteran suicides. If you are
struggling with this issue, please consider calling the 988-emergency suicide
hotline or text 838255. There is no shame in getting help.
My Fellow Post 295 Gaithersburg Legionnaires. It’s hard to believe the summer is
over. We are now in the second month of the American Legion year and looking
forward to participating with the local community here is Gaithersburg. On Labor
Day we were represented in the annual Gaithersburg parade by our Legion Rider
group. Four motorcycles / trikes rode in the parade. Although very warm sitting
on running bike at 3 MPH, many waves, and words of thanks from the citizens in
Gaithersburg. Our next community event will be the Oktoberfest at the Kentland
on Sunday Oct 9 th noon – 5:00 pm. Come out and visit our booth plus enjoy a fall
day activity of the German tradition.
It’s that time of year for our membership renewal. We are currently at 51.90% for
the year, which is on track. Please consider renewing your membership now. That
money helps cover our budget, the Department MD, and National HQ.
Speaking of budget, we decided to have an Army / Navy football game board fund
raiser and party at the Germantown Mission BBQ Saturday Dec 10 th 2:00 – 6:00
pm. Please consider buying squares at $10 per square. The board will be at our
post meetings this fall with the next meeting being Thursday Sept 8 th 7:00-8:00
pm. We plan on having food at the party, plus 50/50 and pull tabs. Our meetings
are typically the second Thursday of the month at the Germantown Mission BBQ
starting at 7:00 pm.
In the news last month, the PACT ACT was signed into law. This act is there to
help our veterans who have been exposed to toxic Burn Pit fumes. This has been
many years in the making and the American Legion has been on the forefront of
this initiative. We are also pushing for the Afghan Interpreters relocation
legislation to help these folks who helped us in that war on terror.
Lastly, we have a new National Commander Vincent J. Troiola, who message this
year is “Be the One” with his focus on reducing veteran suicides. If you are
struggling with this issue, please consider calling the 988-emergency suicide
hotline or text 838255. There is no shame in getting help.
My Fellow
Post 295 Gaithersburg Legionnaires. It’s hard to believe the summer is over. We
are now in the second month of the American Legion year and looking forward to
participating with the local community here is Gaithersburg. On Labor Day we
were represented in the annual Gaithersburg parade by our Legion Rider group.
Four motorcycles / trikes rode in the parade. Although very warm sitting on running
bike at 3 MPH, many waves, and words of thanks from the citizens in
Gaithersburg.
Our next community event will be the Oktoberfest at the Kentland
on Sunday Oct 9th noon – 5:00 pm. Come out and visit our booth plus enjoy
a fall day activity of the German tradition.
It’s that time
of year for our membership renewal. We are currently at 51.90% for the year,
which is on track. Please consider renewing your membership now. That money
helps cover our budget, the Department MD, and National HQ.
Speaking of
budget, we decided to have an Army / Navy football game board fund raiser and
party at the Germantown Mission BBQ Saturday Dec 10th 2:00 – 6:00
pm. Please consider buying squares at $10 per square. The board will be at our
post meetings this fall with the next meeting being Thursday Sept 8th
7:00-8:00 pm. We plan on having food at the party, plus 50/50 and pull tabs.
Our meetings are typically the second Thursday of the month at the Germantown
Mission BBQ starting at 7:00 pm.
In the news
last month, the PACT ACT was signed into law. This act is there to help our
veterans who have been exposed to toxic Burn Pit fumes. This has been many
years in the making and the American Legion has been on the forefront of this
initiative. We are also pushing for the Afghan Interpreters relocation
legislation to help these folks who helped us in that war on terror.
Lastly, we have a new National Commander Vincent
J. Troiola, who message this year is “Be the One” with his focus on reducing
veteran suicides. If you are struggling with this issue, please consider
calling the 988-emergency suicide hotline or text 838255. There is no shame in
getting help.
Cliff Bergstresser
Commander Post 295