The Department of Connecticut held our 101st Annual Convention, at the Trumbull Marriott. Post 86 was honored to receive 7 awards, and nominated the Wilton Police Department for Police Department of the Year award which they received. Congratulations to Past Sgt.-at-Arms Sean McNeill for receiving the Peter Loux Sergeant-at-Arms Award for exemplifying "the highest values of service to the American Legion, Community, State and Nation, along with excellence and leadership." In addition, the we received the "100% Post Membership Quota Certificate"; The Henry S. Bialoglowy Plaque for "the greatest contribution to the display, promotion, presentation and education on the American Flag" (2nd consecutive year); The Joseph F. Mardu Plaque for "sponsoring the most outstanding School Awards Program as an Americanism endeavor"; The Lewis E. Waller Plaque for "having shown the greatest participation and work in caring for homeless veterans". In addition, the National Commander awarded Post 86 The Membership Retention Award, as well as the Team 100 Post Excellence Award. Post 86 was one of only four Posts in the entire Department to be so honored!
June saw a busy month, between Middlebrook School awards, the DAR and Hillside Cemetery celebrating Flag Day at the Post by handing out Flags and popsicles. In addition, we donated a check for $1,000 to the Wilton Police Department's Lt. Dave Hartman for his climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro next February to raise funds for the Special Olympics. We said goodbye to longtime member Bill Schofield, at his funeral June 22nd, then invited Geir Magnusson, a Boy Scout from Troop 20 to help paint the basement floor. June 29th, we hosted the 3rd District Service Officer training, led by Dept. Service Officer K. Robert Lewis.
July 2nd, the wheelchair we received from the Knights of Columbus was donated to Anthony Salce, a 98 year old Coast Guard veteran, who served at Normandy and is an 80 Year Continuous Member of the American Legion! July 7th, the three Legion teams from Wilton were guests of the Post 86 cookout, with hot dogs, hamburgers, bratwurst and sausage, peppers & onions. About 45 showed up and we had a blast!
4th, we were at the fireworks at Wilton High School. It was a beautiful day, thanks to Bud and Toni Boucher and their canopy that kept the sun off of us! We had a few people stop by, we handed out quite a few flags and stickers for the kids, and received a few donations.
Memorial Day was a beautiful day to remember our fallen comrades. Thank you to Connie von Zwehl for once again hosting a fabulous picnic. It was delicious! Also a special thanks to the Color Guard: Commander Bill, Sr. Vice Commander Ken Shewitz, Historian Bo Lotocky, Chaplain Frank Dunn and Service Officer Paul Niche, great job folks! And thanks to those veterans who marched to remember. God Bless.
May 11th saw a great day, we collected items from the Homes for the Brave "Wish List" and received a truck load. Thanks to Commander Bill Glass and Judge Advocate Bud Boucher for helping man the tables. We also had several Boy & Girl Scouts helping out as well.
Monday, April 8th, we hosted 30 Brownies from Troops 50734, 50161 and 50211 for a Flag etiquette class. They were great students and were very well versed on the basics of Flag etiquette. These girls were very well behaved and all of them participated with great enthusiasm.
Monday, April 15th, Post 86 posted an Honor Guard for Vinnie von Zwehl's funeral in Westport. Thank you to Sean McNeill, Paul Niche, Don Hazzard, Alex Ruskewich, Frank Dunn and Tom Moore.
Click HERE for details on nominating a veteran for a cash grant.
Future Wayback Burger Fundraisers:
June 19, July 17, August 21 - Female Soldiers, Forgotten Heroes
June 20, July 18, August 15 - Post 86
Raw Video of National Commander's Visit
October 2, 2018 is an historic date for Post 86. National Commander Brett Reistad, 100th Legion National Commander, visited the Post for about two hours, and it was great to host him. We had approximately 50 visitors, including members of Legion Posts 12, 78, 202 and 204. In addition, Department officers including Commander Tom Flowers, Sr. Vice-Commander Dennis Beauregard, Adjutant Butch Hansen and Sgt-at-Arms Bruce Carlson accompanied Brett. The food was delicious, Post 86 Commander Bill Glass presented the Commander with a Christmas ornament commemorating the visit, as well as a book about Connecticut's Yankee Division who served overseas in WWI. A special thank you must be given to Sgt.-at-Arms Sean McNeill for ensuring the visiting party had everything they needed, Service Officer Paul Niche for making sure the food was warm and ready, Finance Officer Don Hazzard for the ice (as usual) and clean-up afterwards, Alex Ruskewich for keeping our video playing, Frank Dunn for the prayer before our meal and Commander Bill Glass for hosting the day. An especially big thank you goes out to Bill Madaras, who ALWAYS stays until the fat lady sings, and helped to clean-up after everyone left. Post 86 members should be proud of the commitment your officers made to provide an enjoyable day to all who attended.
If you wish to find out whether a Veteran's charity is not a scam, Check out these two websites, from the Federal Trade Commission:
FTC's fight against veteran's charity fraud
Check out the video of Nick Madaras being inducted into the Wilton High School Hall of Fame here.
Please check out our Links Page, we have some new additions for military families, including spouses and children.
Watch Here - Post 86 Video
Watch this video of a Kick for Nick soccer tournament from the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa.
Watch this video from NBCs Nightly News about Kick for Nick.
Thank you Bill Glass: Click to download an app for easy filing of Veteran's Benefits through the VA!
Unemployed Veterans:
Register for 12 months of free retraining assistance from the VA!