AUGUST
We used our August meeting for our officer installation.
The presiding officer was District 12 Commander Martha Avery.
The following are our officers for FY-2027
Dave Beckley Commander 314-488-8760
Rodney Smith First Vice Commander 336-449-7550
Tommy Harris Service Officer 336-260-1375
Chuck Gantos Adjutant 336-516-0766
Gene Yax Finance Officer 336-534-7455
Donnie Williams Sgt. at Arms 336-260-5365
Ron Allred Chaplain 336-901-8159
Kathleen Yax Parliamentarian 336-421-9593
Lou Popowsky Historian 336-524-6127
Bill Ford Director 1 36-214-6099
Ronnie Sapp Director 2 336-675-2162
Bob Gerstenmaier Director 3 210-341-4374
Rodney was not able to be at the meeting so Tony (next to Dave) stood in for him.
After the Post officer installation, the installation for the new SAL Commander (Howard [aka Andy] Webb was performed by the District 12 Vice Commander Paul Williams.
The SAL was also awarded a ribbon for 100% member retention in FY 2026.
JULY
On the first of July Rodney and Tom Arnold (from Home Depot) installed a new ramp for Mike Rogers (a Post 63 member). His old ramp was no longer serviceable and desperately needed replacing. Rodney had put in the paperwork for Home Depot to sponsor the project and provide the materials. Then when the materials were all available Rodney with the help of Tom took apart the old ramp and built the new ramp.Here are a couple pictures.
On the 4th of July we held a picnic. It was way too hot to be outside, so we held it inside. Of course, anyone could go outside and play horse shoes, or just talk to our two chefs, but I didn’t see anyone outside except for Kyle and Phil.
Phil and Kyle came in early and spent the morning cooking ribs, hotdogs, and hamburgers. What a great job they did.
A big big thank you to US Foods for donating 30 racks of ribs and to Ford’s Produce Co. Inc for donating many ears of fresh corn for the 4th of July picnic celebration of our veterans and their families. Also, a big thank you to Kyle Potter for arranging those donations.
And, another big thank you to Tom Leamey for donating the hamburgers and hot dogs
Kyle and Phil doing their thing
What a great display of desserts. Diana baked most of them, but we also had contributions from 2 or 3 other people.
Walt performed for us until it was time for him to have something to eat. What a great entertainer he is.
Dave thanked everyone for coming, and then thanked Kyle and Tom for providing all the meat, Phil and Kyle for cooking the meat and the corn, Diana for making so many deserts, and everybody else for bringing so much food. This picture only has half of the group that was there for the picnic.
On Monday the 6th of July we had a work party to place some trees at the end of our parking lot. The area looked unfinished, with the lot just ending and nothing but grass, and we have had too many cars pull off the lot and park in the grass, so this should stop that practice.
Home Depot provided the trees, the big auger, some shovels and some man power to help us with this project as well.
Here are some pictures of that project.
JUNE
On 27 June we held a Flag Retirement Ceremony. Scout troop 13012 assisted in the ceremony by folding the flags that were to be retired and presenting the flags to the Firemen.
The officers for the ceremony were
Acting Commander – Ron Allred
First Vice Commander – Rodney Smith
Sgt. at Arms – Donnie Williams
Chaplain – Tim Little
Fireman 1 – Frank Inman
Fireman 2 – Larry Gray
Bugler – Dave VanWormer
The poem “Your Flag and My Flag” was read by Don Delfavero before the ceremony started.
Your Flag and My Flag
1 Your flag and my flag, And how it flies today,
In your land and my land, And half the world away;
Rose-red and blood-red Its stripes forever gleam,
Snow-white and soul-white, The good forefather’s dream.
Sky-blue and true-blue, With stars to shine aright;
The gloried guidon of the day, A shelter in the night.
2 Your flag and my flag, O, how much it holds
Your land and my land Secure within its folds!
Your heart and my heart Beat quicker at the sight,
Sun-kissed and wind-tossed, Red and blue and white,–
The one flag, the great flag, The flag for me and you,
Glorified all else besides, The red, white and blue.
3 Your flag and my flag, To every star and stripe
The drums beat as hearts beat, And fifers shrilly pipe.
Your flag and my flag, A blessing in the sky;
Your hope and my hope, It never hid a lie.
Home land and far land, And half the world around,
Old Glory hears the glad salute, And flutters to the sound.
Here are some pictures from the ceremony.
MAY,
The Auxiliary’s first Friday dinner was in celebration of Cinco de Mayo. Dinner consisted of Mexican chicken casserole, yellow rice, pinto beans, chips and dip, dessert, and Margaritas were available (on request).
We had a very nice turnout and everyone enjoyed the food and the Margaritas.
During our May Membership meeting the Officer Nominating Committee, consisting of Chuck Gantos (Chairman), Bill Ford and Donnie Williams, nominated the following officers for FY2027(which starts 1 July 2026).
Dave Beckley Commander 314-488-8760
Rodney Smith First Vice Commander 336-449-7550
Tommy Harris Service Officer 336-260-1375
Chuck Gantos Adjutant 336-516-0766
Gene Yax Finance Officer 336-534-7455
Donnie Williams Sgt. at Arms 336-260-5365
Ron Allred Chaplain 336-901-8159
Kathleen Yax Parliamentarian 336-421-9593
Lou Popowsky Historian 336-524-6127
Bill Ford Director 1 36-214-6099
Ronnie Sapp Director 2 336-675-2162
Bob Gerstenmaier Director 3 210-341-4374
There were no other members that were nominated from the floor, so the nominations of the Committee were accepted by acclamation.
Installation will probably be in June.
Memorial Day is in May and we always have a very busy weekend. On Friday and Saturday we put flags at the graves of veterans. Friday we place flags at the Northlawn Cemetery and Saturday we place flags at the Pine Hill Cemetery.
On Memorial Day we place a wreath at the Memorial Wall in Graham during the Memorial Day ceremony to honor the fallen of Alamance County.
Then on Tuesday we have to take up all the flags, dry them out and put them in storage for next year.
This year things changed a bit. We were having bad rain storms predicted for Saturday, so when we were finished at North Lawn Cemetery Dave suggested we go to Pine Hill Cemetery and place the flags there as well.
The following pictures at both cemeteries look like they were taken on the same overcast day because they were. It was overcast, but not raining, so we were able to finish both cemeteries.
The ground is so hard that we use a drill to make the hole before placing the flags.
The group at North Lawn Cemetery. There are two veteran’s sections at North Lawn. This is the older section.
Pine Hill only has one veteran’s section. The same problem of the extra hard dirt, so we use a drill here too.
This is the entire veteran’s section in Pine Hill Cemetery.
We were able to add another helper here, so this one was a little easier. We were still pretty tired when we finished. The Obelisk was placed here by Post 63 many years ago. We haven’t been able to find a record of when it was placed here.
Walter B. Ellis and his family plot is also in Pine Hill Cemetery
Then on Saturday, the Post provided breakfast for all that participated in the flag placements. Lee and his wife cooked breakfast for us.
The Memorial Day Ceremony was held inside the courthouse again this year.
Here’s Dave presenting the wreath for Post 63
Janet and Karen presented the wreath for the Auxiliary
Rodney presented the wreath for the 40 & 8
Landon Crockford playing Taps
On Tuesday we picked up the flags and it had just rained at the Pine Hill Cemetery, so we hung up the wet flags and let them dry out in our shed.
Our next scheduled event is the First Friday dinner. That will be grilled chicken.
Then, we would normally have a U.S. flag retirement ceremony on Flag Day, but the Post main hall was busy so we will have our Flag Retirement Ceremony on Saturday 27 June. Girl Scout troop 13012 will be helping by folding the flags that are slated for retirement and presenting the flags to the approving officials in the ceremony.
MARCH
Our First Friday dinner was a very nice celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. Our special St. Patrick’s Day chef Kyle did a great job of cooking up the two nice entrees (mentioned above) and Diana made 2 kinds of traditional Irish bread and a couple different deserts. The Auxiliary put out some great decorations. Everyone said their meals were great.
Photo by Lisa Hall
Chef Kyle (his usual smiley self)
FEBRUARY
We spent most of February recovering from the two snow storms in January. We did manage to have a small Super Bowl party, so I have a couple pictures from that.
Next up is March and we are planning to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day during our first Friday dinner. The main courses will be a choice of Beef Stew or Corned Beef and Cabbage.
JANUARY
At our January meeting Rodney presented certificates of appreciation from the 40 & 8, to the volunteers that helped with last year’s Flags for First Grader’s Program. There were 18 volunteers last year, but not all 18 were in attendance at the meeting.
Also, during the meeting, the Auxiliary announced that they will begin having a birthday party every month for those Post, Auxiliary and SAL members that are having a birthday that month.
The following is a picture of the presentation.
Picture by Kyle Potter
L – R: Rodney Smith, Ron Allred, Lou Popowsky, Chuck Gantos, Lisa Hall, Ron Sapp, Tim Little, Carl Sichi, Dave Beckley, Janet McFarland, Connie, Bob Gerstenmaier, Tom Byrne
Note the 250th Anniversary pin on the bottom of the certificate.
The end of January was very eventful. We had 2 big snows and you can imagine a heck of a time clearing our parking lot and drive way. But as luck would have it, while Dave and I were putting in our 4th hour on the parking lot we noticed a large pick-up (with a plow on the front) sitting in the street watching us. When we paused for a short break, he pulled in and offered to push the rest of it out of the way. Seems that he comes from a long lineage of military service members and just wanted to help us out for his good deed for the day. His 15 minutes saved us several hours of work and enabled us to hold Bingo the next night. We probably would not have been able to clear enough of the parking lot to hold Bingo.
So, I’m giving a shout out to Mr. Steve Waltman, who runs the Natural Gardens of Elon, commercial and residential landscaping and maintenance services. 336-584-7210. Thank you, Sir.
DECEMBER
For the year 2025 we believe the following Post 63 members passed to Post Everlasting.
1. John Ralph Bennick Jr., passed on 27 January 2025, 81 years old, Navy, Vietnam era, 1 year of Legion membership.
2. Glen W. Anderson, passed on 4 February 2025, 89 Years old, Vietnam War era, 19 years of Legion membership.
3. Robert Ockenhouse, passed on 24 February 2025, 97 years old, Marines, WW2, 7 years of Legion membership.
4. James Bean, passed on 17 March, 2025, 87 years old, USAF, Vietnam, 18 years of Legion membership.
5. Thomas Edward Ragan, passed on 7 April 2025, 90 years old, Air Force, Korea, 12 years of Legion membership.
6. Richard Arnold Dickerson, passed on 3 April 2025, 91 years old, Army, Korean War, 41 years of Legion membership.
7. Darrell Braxton Holmes, passed on 15 April 2025, 90 years old, Army, Korean War, 23 years of Legion membership.
8. Charles Maye, passed on 2 May 2025, 84 years old, Amy, Vietnam Era, 10 years of Legion membership.
9. Tyrone C. Edgerston, passed on 24 August 2025, 65 years old, Army, Lebanon/Grenada, 7 years of Legion membership.
10. Bobby Ray Jones, Passed on 31 December 2025, 92 years old, Air Force, 15 years of Legion membership.
We decided to have our Christmas party in conjunction with the first Friday dinner. The Auxiliary donated the ham and everybody brought a dish. The Auxiliary did a very nice job of decorating the main hall and took full advantage of all the shelves that the sound absorbers provided. We had much better participation for this event and lots and lots of great food. We were even surprised when we got there and realized that Walt had decided to play and sing some Christmas songs for us while we ate. Thanks Walt that was a real treat.
Diana outdid herself baking deserts again
We did a pretty nice job of filling up the main hall and had some people eating in the Lounge as well.
There’s Walt playing the guitar and harmonica at the same time.
The Forty & Eight Veterans Honor Society, Voiture 1237, of Burlington with the help of American Legion Post 63 and American Legion Auxiliary 63 have completed the Flags for First Graders presentations for the 2025-2026 School Year. We had a total of 18 volunteers participate in our presentations this year. The 40 & 8 and Post 63 have been making these presentations at elementary schools in Alamance County since 1997.
The 31 schools visited consisted of 20 public schools, 8 private schools, and 3 charter schools with First Grade class sizes ranging from a low of 12 to a high of 139.
Volunteers drove a total of 4,161 miles, expended 405 man hours and distributed 2,342 flags to first grade students and teachers.
Our presentation consists of a short history of our flag, the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance, proper flag etiquette, how to correctly fold the flag and the meaning of each fold. A poem “Our Flag” is read at the end of the presentation. We give each teacher a condensed copy of the program and a DAV Pamphlet on how to care for the flag, then we present each teacher and student with a small flag to keep. The program is supported by the following organizations; Voiture 1237 of the Forty & Eight Veterans Honor Society; American Legion Post 63; American Legion Post 63 Bingo Committee; and Office Depot.
We appreciate the cooperation of the administration, principals and teachers at all the schools we visited in Alamance County and we look forward to continuing these presentations in the years to come.
The following are just a few of the many pictures taken during the presentations.
AO Elementary
Presenters: Ron Allred, Rodney Smith, Chuck Gantos, Linda Woody
EM Holt Elementary
Presenters: Ron Allred, Katherine Yax, Rodney Smith
Faith Christian Academy
Presenters: Lou Popowsky, Rodney Smith, Tim Little, Ron Allred
Smith Elementary School
Presenters: Lou Popowsky, Ron Allred, Rodney Smith
NOVEMBER
Ron Namest thought we needed a bigger TV in the Lounge, so he donated a very nice Samsung. We were able to install it just before the Chili Cook-Off, so we had big TVs going in the Lounge and the Main Hall during the Chili eating festivities.
But before the Chili cook-off was Veteran’s Day and the Graham Veteran’s Parade the Saturday before. We had 4 trucks in the parade and a pretty good representation of members to ride in the trucks.
And since we were really near the front of the parade this year, the Alamance County Sheriff was right behind us and we all got to meet him and got a picture with him that was later included on the Sheriff’s Facebook page.
You will see with the first picture that Ron availed himself of the county run special bus for the parade participants from the middle school to the beginning of the parade.
Here’s Ron being helped off the bus by Bill.
Donnie’s Truck
That’s Ed and Donnie leaning against the truck. Dave is looking at his truck.
Dave’s Truck
There’s Donnie, Dave and Ron.
Rodney’s Truck
The two Rons and Bobby are in the front and Rodney is getting something out of the back seat.
Bill’s Truck
You can see the Sheriff’s lead car directly behind Bill’s truck.
Bill imbibes in a cup of coffee while we wait for the parade to get started.
I guess he didn’t get the memo that everyone is supposed to look away while I’m taking pictures.
We are still waiting for the parade to start.
It was a really long wait for the parade to start.
This is the only picture anyone got with our whole group. No the Sheriff is not a member of Post 63, but he’s already campaigning for next year’s election.
The Chili cook-off was the next day. A little subdued compared to last year, but still a very nice time with lots of good food and good member participation. We had 2 TVs going with games on, and 6 chili entries. We also had several different corn breads and several different deserts. I think everybody got plenty to eat.
The winners from the cook-off.
L – R: Toni first place, Kyle second place, Kathleen third place.
Kyle’s place of employment, “Merritts Grill” in Chapel Hill donated a $30 and a $15 gift card for the first and second place winners, so that was a nice addition to the prize money chips that were given to the winners (3 chips for first place, 2 chips for second place, and 1 chip for third place). Since Kyle won second place, he gave his gift card to Kathleen
OCTOBER
The furniture committee purchased a new sofa, chair, desk, and 2 end tables for the foyer.
Here are some pictures.
We held a Trunk or Treat on the last weekend of October for the local families. The Trunk or Treat was a real success. Our members donated candy all through the month so there was plenty to give out to the kids that came out, and this year we had 6 cars that were decorated for the event.
Here are some pictures.
Of course we had a Best Trunk Decorations judging.
#1 – Lorie
#2 – Christina
#3 – Tom Leamey
SEPTEMBER
During the September board meeting Dave announced that we should change the furniture in the Foyer and set up a committee to purchase the new furniture.
The old furniture will be donated to someone who needs it.
The whole renovation included new light fixtures, new HVAC diffusers, new receptacles and switches, and removal of the smoke eaters.
Here are a couple pictures of the completed Main Hall project.
Walter B. Ellis - American Legion Post 63, Burlington, NC 