CANDIDATES FOR DEPARTMENT OFFICE
JANUARY - JUNE 2025

The members believe are running for various positions at the Department Special Convention.  As more members submit their information they will be posted here.  These candidate are list in no particular order.

Department of Colorado Special Convention
January 23-25, 2025
Hilton Hotel, Fort Collins, Co
(Registration information coming soon)

ENDORSEMENTS FOR
DEPARTMENT OF COLORADO
OFFICERS 
​JANUARY 2025 - JUNE 2025

Message from PNC Rehbein - December 1, 2024

You may have seen conversation on social media regarding the coming election for The American Legion in Colorado and requirements to vote in that election. Let me be very clear, there is only one requirement, current membership in a Colorado American Legion Post. That means a 2025 membership card in the person’s name. Why not a 2024 card? Because membership becomes delinquent on January 1. Current membership and delinquent membership are two entirely different things.
What then was the talk about endorsements and resumes in regards to that election? Well, there is a difference between being eligible for election and good campaign practices for election. Would you cast your vote for someone in all you knew was that they were a member? I would not, I would want to know more about them and hope you would also.
The coming American Legion election in Colorado may be the most important since the original elections for leadership in Colorado in 1919. The leadership that you will elect will work with the National reorganization team to oversee the restoration of the Department charter. I think you would want as much knowledge as you can get obtain the Legionnaires vying for those positions.
One way and maybe the best way for candidates to make themselves known to the voters in this election is to publish both a list of American Legion positions that the candidate has held as well as a description of the candidate’s work history and professional experience. Add to that endorsements from the candidate’s Post and if possible from their District and a complete picture of the candidate is available for the voters to read.
It is the belief of the reorganization committee that candidates owe it to the voters to help them make an intelligent decision in any election but particularly in this one. This election will go a long way to determining the future of The American Legion in Colorado. If you are a candidate, help the voters make the best choice, tell them who you are and why they should give you their vote.
Time is getting short. Get your endorsement and become a candidate. Then decide how you want to run your campaign. Remember it is the voter’s decision. We trust the Legionnaires of Colorado to make good decisions.
Message from PNC Rehbein - June 2024
If all goes as we hope it will, The American Legion meeting in Ft Collins on January 23-25 will see some real positive steps being taken to restore The American Legion in Colorado to Department status. If this were a horse race, right now we would be rounding the far turn headed for home.
Of course, the first big step in Ft Collins will be consideration and hopefully approval of a Constitution and Bylaws to govern the Department. But there is a second step that is maybe more important, selection of the officers that will help guide the Department back into being. We think of the founding officers that guided our organization into being in 1919 and 1920. This set of officers will play just as important a role.  Before we can have those officers, we need candidates, Legionnaires that want to step forward and help bring The Colorado American Legion back into being. Will it be easy? Most likely not, but most good things aren’t easy.  Most good things require hard work from dedicated people to make it happen. This is one of those things.  Will you be a candidate? I hope so. Consider it. We need candidates for Commander, Vice Commanders and National Executive Committee and Alternate. We know those will be elected. Others may be appointed, Chaplain, Historian, Sergeant-at-Arms.
Regardless of how they are chosen that dedication and willingness to work will be required. How do we know who these candidates may be? Only if they step forward and tell us their name, that they are interested and who they are, not just who they are as a Legionnaire but who they are as a person. How can they do that, be gaining an endorsement from their post.That endorsement would tell us about their Legion career but also tell us the things they have done in their personal lives that will make them a good officer as Colorado comes back.
Are you one of those people. First, we need dedication and willingness to work. Second, we need the ability to make good decisions and lead. If you want to be one of those people talk to your post about that endorsement. Contact some of Colorado’s past leaders. They can help you put an endorsement together. Your post needs to approve your endorsement for it to become official.
Make sure that approval is in the minutes of a post meeting.
Send your endorsement and a copy of the meeting minutes when the endorsement was considered to HQ. Those endorsements will be posted on the Colorado website at Endorsements Dept. Officers  We originally intended to publish both post and district endorsements. At this date, though, it may not be possible for a candidate to obtain a district endorsement. If that is you, don’t let that stop you.
​Send us your post endorsement and we will publish it.
Colorado needs its good Legionnaires to step forward. Are you one of those? Then take that step. Do you know someone that is one of those good Legionnaires? Then encourage them to step forward and get that endorsement. Colorado needs good Legionnaires who can lead.

Department of Colorado American Legion