22nd District
“The Nation that forgets its Defenders, will itself be forgotten.” San Diego County American Legion www.ALD22.org
Wednesday, November 11, 2020 VETERANS DAY 1
“Serving San Diego County Communities”
C OM MA N DE R 2 0 2 0 - 2 0 2 1 :
AU X I L IA RY PRESIDE NT 2020- 2021:
CHUCK CAMARATO
DONNA L. SMITH
I wish to express my profound gratitude for the opportunity to be your District Commander. Likewise, I am grateful to my wife, Lauree, for all the support she gives me. Lastly, to the excellent leadership, both current and former, who have kept D22 in the Department of California's top rankings and helped me hone my skills to lead our fantastic 29 Posts.
Reflecting on the past few months, my hope is that you are safe and have found innovative ways to be most effective in a virtual environment. Although this year has proven to be extremely challenging, it has also provided us the opportunity to be both adaptable and resilient as we continue to learn and evolve.
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The pandemic, whatever name you wish to refer to it as, has taken a significant toll on our operations. I want to advise you that both of us, I and your Department Commander Ed Grimsley, have had countless meetings and communications with officials from all levels to put forth our dire needs. We understand your adversities, and we are here to push as hard as we can to keep our Posts viable. I attended our Baseball Golf Tournament. What an outstanding first-time event. My hats off to the committee and team that put together this fantastic event. Our Baseball program is truly one of the top success stories we have. We’ve also started a NEW Junior Shooting Sports team. Look to the future to see how this takes off. Once again, D22 is taking giant strides in working the programs of the American Legion. On May 30th, our La Mesa Post 282 took a significant beating by protesters protesting the La Mesa PD across the street. Many buildings in La Mesa were set on fire. They had the audacity to lower the Posts American Flag, put it on fire, and then run it back up the mast. On August 2nd, I had been warned that there was another intended protest at the same place. This time I put out a call to action and was extremely grateful to the members
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PLUS INSIDE...
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Eagle Scout of the Year....Page 10
I want to share a few highlights on how the Units are working programs in District 22. Pacific Beach Unit 552 and Oceanside Unit 146 donated hygiene kits to STEP for the Sailors on the USS Bonhomme Richard, as 1,000.00 + sailors were affected by the USS Bonhomme Richard shipboard fire. When the families in the community were counting on the school to supply meals to their children, Dennis T. Williams Unit 310 along with Post 310 and San Diego Hip Hop 5 K and San Diego Strike Force distributed meals to the children in the community. The Children and Youth chairman along with the members from Unit 310 also provided backpacks filled with school supplies to the children in the community, all while practicing appropriate California state recommended physical distancing. Because the Legion Act ushered in an opportunity to grow our membership, it wasn’t the only recent significant change to eligibility in the American Legion Family. During the 101st National Convention, a change to the American Legion’s National Constitution and Bylaws was approved to welcome “spouses” rather than just “wives” as members of any American Legion Auxiliary Unit. Very many Auxiliary Units in our District 22 are still working our programs, and EVERYONE is working membership. (Continued on Page 3)
A PROUD CALIFORNIA AMERICAN LEGION PRESS ASSOCIATION AWARD WINNING PUBLICATION
Youth Shooting Sports....Page 17
Veterans Stand Down............Page 22
Golf Tournament........... Page 26
Vulnerable Veterans....... Page 28