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100 Miles for Hope
THE 2020 AMERICAN LEGION LEGACY RUN FUNDRAISER
With the coronavirus forcing social distancing and stay-at-home orders, all American Legion national events have been canceled throughout the summer. This includes what was going to be the 15th annual American Legion Legacy Run – the primary fundraiser for The American Legion Legacy Scholarship Fund. Through the efforts of the American Legion Family, spearheaded by the Legion Riders – five of the previous six Legacy Runs have raised more than $1 million for a fund that since 2004 has awarded $3.6 million in aid to 401 military children of the fallen and disabled.
Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to riding with all of you next year.
Chip Kossow elected Department Commander
I am honored to be your Department Commander. I serve for you, our members, and our Posts who are doing the Legion’s mission. I believe to be successful; we need to get our Post programs running at full speed. I’m here to assist you to that end.
The design of my pin reflects the honor of the Post’s mission – serving through our Programs! The pin is the shape of a medal to recognize your achievements in serving our veterans. The Colorado flag shows our pride in serving our communities in Colorado. The American Legion symbol is our badge of honor and service. The words “Veterans, Families, and Communities” are the focus of our programs within the parameters of the 4 pillars.
The additional benefit of the pin is that I ask for a donation to the Veteran’s Assistance Fund to receive one. This fund provides needed assistance to those struggling now.
Another small task for you to help out the Legion in a big way is to renew your membership now. Annually, we spend a lot of effort and money reminding our members to renew. This effort and money will be better spent on our programs. I further believe our membership will grow naturally when other veterans see our devotion and want to be part of our mutual helpfulness.
The shut downs are in our rearview mirror. It is time to get back to the vital mission of serving our veterans, their families, and our communities. Respect the precautions of others while reengaging your programs.
Reignite your Post! 
Chip Kossow
Commander
Department Convention delegates elect new leaders
Last month we elected our 102nd American Legion Department Commander for Colorado. That distinction goes to Commander Chip Kossow of Fountain. He replaced Greg Jackson who was selected by our DEC to replace our COVID Commander Dean Noechel, who moved to another state.
Chip is eligible for his membership in the American Legion from his honorable service in the United States Army as a Green Beret.
Chip previously served as Department Jr Vice Commander and Sr Vice Commander
Chip will now lead 21,000 Colorado Legionnaires as we enter the 2nd century of service to America’s veterans, their families and our communities.
Elected to serve with Chip as his Sr Vice Commander is Dean Casey. Dean is from Lakewood Colorado. Dean is our current Department Service Officer and he will take over the duties as the membership director.
The convention delegates elected 6 Jr Vice Commanders to serve with Chip. Michael Crow from Simla Post 77 served in the U S Army during the Lebanon/Grenada conflict. He served last year as a Jr Vice Commander. Annette Johnson is from Aurora Post 1976 and served last year as a Jr Vice Commander. Shane Hasert is from Johnson Post 70 and served last year as a Jr Vice Commander. Cornell Penn from Fountain Post 38 was appointed to the position of Jr Vice Commander last year during the pandemic and was elected in his own right this year. New to the ranks of Jr Vice Commanders are Richard Devlin from Lamar Post 6 and Willard Leight from Cortez Post 75.
Rounding out the list of elected officers is Deb Davis Historian, Stan Hamamoto Chaplain and Joe Schmidt as Sgt-at-Arms. This year was also the election for our National Executive Committeeman and Alternate National Executive Committeeman. The NEC is Tom Florez and the ALNEC is PDC Terri Clinton. Charles Pat Smith remains as Adjutant and Tom Bock as Deputy Adjutant. Marvin Weaver Jr remains as the Finance office for another year. Dean Casey remains as your Department Service Officer and will serve double duty as your Sr Vice Commander.
The delegates considered 22 resolutions at the convention. Of those, 4 will be sent to our national organization for consideration at our National Convention in August in Indianapolis. Those 4 resolutions will be posted on our web page at coloradolegion.org/department-convention/ under the About tab, Department Convention. If you want the complete text of all the resolutions just email us and we will be glad to forward them to you.
We know that our leaders will face many challenges this coming year. We need to keep the organization strong so that we can continue our excellent history of taking care of veterans. Be sure to pay your dues early and sign up a new member as often as you can.
National Membership Workshop
All times listed are EDT
Click on image to download agenda
Paige Kastens Wins Colorado Legion High School Oratorical Program contest!
Oratorical Contest report by Chairman Tom Florez
On Saturday March 6th at Denver Post # 1, four High School Oratorical Program contestants entered the in-person Department finals contest to compete for over 10 thousand dollars in Scholarships.
Each of the four contestants had advanced from a field of preliminary oratorical contestants after having submitted a virtual Constitutional oration.
With the current environment and conditions, The Department Oratorical Program Committee were determined to host a contest for Colorado youth while using new ideas and resources, while maintaining rule compliance with our National organization.
Each of the final four contestant speeches delivered were unique and contained individual and contemporary views and aspects of our American Constitution. Contestant knowledge, preparation and practice were quite evident, which made for an exceptional contest.
With the poise and confidence of a professional public speaker, Paige Kastens captivated the hearts of the audience and received high marks from the Oratorical judges with her Constitutional oration.
Paige will receive a 3-thousand-dollar Department of Colorado Oratorical Program Scholarship and a 5-thousand-dollar scholarship from our National American Legion organization.
The Department High School Oratorical Program Committee attributes the success of the finals contest to all contestants, Legion members, Posts and Legion Family for their participation and support of the Oratorical Program. Thank You.
Commander Greg Jackson, ALA President Tracy Trujillo and SAL Commander Nick Arceo presented Oratorical Program Awards to the following contestants.
Paige Kastens 1st place – Sponsor Castle Rock Post # 1187, Wayne Turner, Cmdr.
Nathan Tamkin 2nd place – Sponsor Denver Post #1, Jeff Pitchford, Cmdr.
Jessica Eyeson 3rd place – Sponsor Broomfield Post #58 John Peticolas, Cmdr.
Stuart Gillman 4th place – Sponsor Denver Post # 1 Jeff Pitchford, Cmdr.
Many thanks to your 2020-21 Oratorical Committee: Gary Force, Deb Davis, Terri Clinton, Scott Neff, Janelle Mendelson, Laurie Kuntz, Nick Arceo, Tracy Trujillo, Chairman Thomas Florez. Support staff: Chip & Bettina Kossow, Annette Johnson, Dean Casey. Complete list of Judges, Sponsors and Donations will be announced at Department Convention in June 2021.
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Know Your benefits
Filing for VA Benefits Prior to filing for any VA benefit, it is highly recommended the claimant consult with an accredited American Legion service officer. The American Legion has approximately 3,000 accredited service officers to assist you. To locate a service officer, please go to www.legion.org/serviceofficers. Submitting all of the required information with the proper claim form to VA may reduce processing time by as many as 120 days. American Legion service officers are able to explain the claim process, help with the proper forms and required documentation for veterans and their dependents at no charge.
