Our first ever St. Patrick’s Day dinner has come and gone and by all accounts, it was a great success, thanks to the over 100 who attended! Our American Legion Auxiliary president, Mary Ellison, led the culinary artists in the preparation of the traditional St Pat’s dinner supported by members of the Post and other volunteers. There were many new faces, even from off the peninsula, who joined us and families brought friends and neighbors which made it a great community event. So, mark March 14, 2020 on your calendar (St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2020 is a Tuesday), and join us for our second St. Pat’s dinner!

The American Legion focuses on our youth in the community. For example, we are currently sponsoring our local Boy Scout/Cub Scout troop/pack, and we had one high school junior competing in the National Oratorical contest. The national winner of the Oratorical Contest receives an $18,000 scholarship. Another important program we support in the Boothbay region is the Boys State and Girls State program. This program sends our high school juniors off for a week at Thomas College (boys) and Husson University (girls) for a week to learn and participate in the government process. We can support any high school junior who would like to participate in this program. Another big program nationally and in the state is the Legion baseball program. There is a long history of Legion baseball players who have gone on to play major league baseball — “Sparky” Anderson, Johnny Bench, “Yogi” Berra and Roger Clemens, just to name a few. But, unfortunately, we don’t have a Legion baseball team in our area. And, lastly, the Legion has scholarships available for college bound high school students. Our Post is working with BRHS guidance department to ensure students are made aware of these programs and how to apply.

Honor Flight Maine has four trips planned this year: April 26, 27 and 28; June 28, 29 and 30; September 20, 21 and 22; and a date in October to be determined. Any World War II veteran would be able to get on one of these weekend trips. Korean War veterans will be going on these trips as well and are on a first come, first serve basis. Certainly, if not on one of these, they will be on a trip next year. To get on the list, go online and fill in the simple application. The Post can help with the application process as well. Just contact David Patch at 751-5671 or dapatch@roadrunner.com

Mark the date on your calendar — April 7 starts our breakfast season! Same time, suggested donation as last year, 7 to 9 a.m. with the suggested donation of $8.

The next meeting of the Post is April 8 with dinner at 5:30 and the meeting starts at 6.