Vice Commanders' Messages | May 2017
Fernando Rivero
1st Vice Commander
Sincere and humble thanks to you for trusting me to be your 1st Vice this past year. I've learned so much about our post, the American Legion and the impact we have on the lives of veterans here at our post and everywhere in California through the programs we support. I am proud to see our membership embracing a vision for a vibrant future that ensures the Hollywood Post will be alive and kicking for decades to come! The primary responsibility of the 1st Vice is membership and meeting the goals that the Department of California sets for us. I'm proud to report that once again Post 43 will close out the fiscal year more than 115% above goal for paid-up membership! And 2018 is looking amazing. Right now on our roster, we are reporting a record 851 assigned members. We are well on our way to exceeding our goal of 1,000 members by our centennial in 2019.
I want to thank our commander, Tim Shaner, our officers, Executive Committee, staff, and all the dedicated members for your support and hard work this past year. It's been a blast. I'm privileged and honored to be your comrade and look forward to serving you as your commander for 2017-2018.
Michael Hjelmstad
2nd Vice Commander
My work in the archives has lead me to this paraphrased information:
In 1920 Hollywood Post was a struggling group of war-weary service men with plans to start a business that would return sufficient income to allow for assisting veterans of the World War without soliciting the public. They also dreamed of someday building a clubhouse where the stirring days of 1917 and 1918 could be relived in the comfort and humor they originally lacked. If they could see us now …
Those concepts eventually lead to the Legion Boxing Stadium, an asset of incalculable value with self-sustaining activities to support veterans and the entire community. The stadium building remains a less lucrative asset without the connection to the community, but we’re working on that.
This heritage has inspired the current vision of the post and our efforts to return our building to the level of civic pride it once assumed. As we begin work on the new cinema adventure we can take pride in our efforts to carry forward the legacy of Hollywood Post 43 of The American Legion and the visionaries who went before us.