By Tiffany Merlo Phelps
mail@floridanewsline.com
At American Legion Post 233 in Ponte Vedra Beach, every day is Veterans Day.
“We are a veteran organization, and our main goal is to support veterans through outreach. This gives them an opportunity for a place to come. We believe just having a place to come and a place to talk saves lives. We continue to be thankful for everybody who served, and that is the message we are always trying to send. We want veterans more involved in the Post and in the community,” said Commander Greg Cressman, who has been a member for 13 years and became commander in July.
There are 400 active members of the Legion, also known as Legionnaires.
Cressman, who served for three years in the United States Army, said the goal now is fundraising to rebuild and modernize the American Legion Post to include a canteen, banquet hall and community center. Cressman said the renovation would happen by the end of 2025 and is known as “Operation Pathfinder” because they will find a way to make it happen.
Adjacent to the Post is the Palm Valley Bunker, which received a major facelift earlier in the year, including the addition of air conditioning to what was an open-air pavilion. The Palm Valley Bunker will serve as a temporary home while the new Post is being built.
The American Legion is the nation’s largest wartime veterans service organization aimed at advocating patriotism through diverse programs and member benefits. It is a nonprofit organization that supports not only veterans, but also current service members and their families and has been doing so since 1919. It was founded by an Act of Congress after World War I. Post 233 opened in 1971 and is located off North Wilderness Trail. American Legion Post 223 Auxiliary District 5 President Julie Kay said she immediately felt welcomed when she joined this post. As an auxiliary member since 2017, Kay said the auxiliary’s goal is to support veterans, active-duty members and all family members. Auxiliary members are not in the military and are the spouses, mothers, daughters and granddaughters of the veterans. The support for active-duty members could happen through baby showers, sending boxes overseas, welcome home parties, helping family members during hurricanes and through partnerships with local schools.
“My ‘why’ is my dad. My dad is a veteran. I did not serve, so this is my way to give back to the veterans who have made that ultimate sacrifice or the ones who still serve today for our freedoms and the things that we get due to their service,” said Kay, who lives in St. Augustine and was a fourth grade teacher for 20 years in North Carolina.
Her goal is to gain new auxiliary members and reach a membership of 170. Kay noted that while they have just started the membership drive, they are currently at 60 percent of the goal.
Post 233 offers 17 programs through the auxiliary such as community service, veteran affairs and rehabilitation and the “Be the One” mental health initiative to destigmatize asking for mental health support just to name a few. The American Legion includes four pillars of service: National Security (supporting the first responders), Mentoring Youth (going into schools and educating children), Veterans Care (veterans affairs and rehabilitation), and Americanism Patriotism (learning proper flag etiquette and respect of the flag and what that flag means and stands for).
As for the best way for the public to honor veterans this Veterans Day and every day, Kay said it is very simple.
“If you see a veteran out in public — and you can often tell because they usually have a hat on indicating their service — just thank them for their service, especially those Vietnam veterans; just welcome them home. Also, donate to your local American Legion whether it is for hurricane relief or back to school supplies, knowing that’s going back into the communities to support the veterans and the military families in the community,” she said.
Also, Kay noted an important distinction between Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
“Memorial Day is to honor the memory of the veterans who have served and gone before us. Veterans Day is to honor those that are still actively serving and those veterans who are still alive and with us here.”
[Author’s note: For more information about American Legion Post 233, call (616) 690-8410 or email district5president@alafl.org. Kay noted there are many opportunities for members of the public to attend events at the Post such as bingo on Sundays and brunch on the first Sunday of every month.]
Photo courtesy Julie Kay
Veterans’ lunch, American Legion 233.
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