February 2026 Newsletter

I hope everyone survived the earthquake, it was an interesting event here, not sure if I would like to live in a place this happens often. My family would like to Thank You for the cards, calls and memorials for our grandson/son, Zane. We have an amazing network of friends. 

What did you do for Martin Luther King Day? I believe everyday could be a day of service. Some ideas are to host a Veterans Appreciation lunch or breakfast; Community clean-up of parks, schools, or cemeteries that honor veterans; collect and distribute hygiene kits to veterans that are homeless; have a food drive; deliver baked goods or thank you baskets to police, fire departments, EMS, and 1^st responders. Please make sure you include your activities in the Impact Report. How did you remember the Four Chaplains?

We are in high gear to get the ALBAGS (American Legion Boys and Girls State) program off to a good start. The dates are June 14-20^th at Carroll College. The cost is $300 per delegate, that doesn’t cover all the costs unless we have more delegates attending. We need to really get into the schools, homeschool families, and private schools. What a great opportunity for our young people for learning about how government works. We have a great team that is working hard to build this program up. Our hope is every Unit, Post, Squadron and Riders will budget $300 to send in every year to relive some of the pressure of the ALBAGS Committee’s fundraising (if you don’t have a delegate to send, we hope you will send $300 to help keep the program going.)

We are gearing up for the Spring District meetings. Here are the Districts and dates, contact  your District Commander for more info. March 7-District 8; March 8-District 9; March 14-District 1; March 1-District 2; March 21-District 11; March 22-District 10; April 11-Disrict 5; April 12-District 4, April 18-District 6; April 19-District 7; and April 25-District 3. I plan on attending District 2, 9 and 11 since I was unable to attend them in fall. On a side note, I prefer to sit with my members than up at a head table, that how I get to connect with our Auxiliary members.

The Americanism Contest theme is “Celebrating America’s 250^th Birthday and the Veterans Who Fought for Our Freedom.” *Take note, there is a new and updated cover sheet.

Begin focusing on our Scholarships available, National President’s The Children of Warriors; The Spirit of Youth Scholarship offered to Junior members in all 52 departments; Member Loyalty Scholarship, Non-traditional Scholarship, the Department of MT Scholarship, all are due March 15^th, 2026.  Get the info into the schools.

Junior Patch Program has a new Patch for the Spirit of Youth Scholarship, Juniors and young SAL can earn this patch by fundraising and earning $5 per each year of age. The Rising Star Junior Award for juniors ages 8-13, this award is in conjunction with the Junior Member of the Year but doing outstanding volunteering.

Keep our Servicemembers in your hearts and prayers and wear R.E.D. (Remember Everyone Deployed) on Fridays. There is an order form for apparel in The American Legionnaire January newsletter.

National Salute to Veteran Patients Week, celebrated annually during the week of Valentine’s Day at all VA facilities nationwide. Contact the VA Center for ways you can participate.

The National American Legion is challenging The American Legion Family to celebrate America’s 250^th Birthday in a unique way. Individuals or teams can participate in 3 categories; Community Service, Mental Wellness and or Fitness. Ideas are; collecting 250 food items to distribute to veterans or food banks; Walking 250 steps each or 250 miles on a bike; Volunteer 250 hours to posts, units, squadrons, veteran’s homes or veteran’s hospitals; donating 250 items (shoes, clothing, blankets and other necessities to veteran’s homes or homeless shelters).

The American Legion’s legislative page http:www.legion.org/advocacy/legislative  T

The American Legion’s Grassroots Action Center makes it easy to stay informed, tools for communicating online with your legislative representatives and more.

“People may not buy into what you do, but they buy into why you do it.” Simon Sinck, American Author    

Remember we are still pushing for getting our membership up. I know we can do it!

For God and Country

Montana Treasures-Copper, Silver, Gold and Veterans

Leona Somerfeld, Department of MT president