GOOD MORNING Post 2001 Legionnaires,

We are now 3 weeks out from our Post’s 2015 Memorial Day Poppy Distribution: Friday, 22 May & Saturday, 23 May.

Ideally, we need nine (9) volunteers for each day. That’s 3 Legionnaires for each time period, 3 time periods daily: 1000-1300, 1300-1600 & 1600-1900 hours. Please see attached roster & then contact our Poppy Distribution Officer-in-Charge, Larry Rosenberger. Larry will provide a staffing report & update on this key annual Post activity at the next monthly Legion meeting on 14 May. Remember, we never ask for donations, but our neighbors throughout greater Ashburn do contribute very generously to our Poppy Fund which enables us to channel those same funds directly to help Veterans-In-Need individually or through our most deserving nonprofit partners: Boulder Crest Retreat for Military & Veteran Wellness, Operation Homefront, etc.

Larry Rosenberger, Bob O’Such & me will kickoff with the 1st shift on both days from 1000-1300. Please consider volunteering for one of the other shifts on either Friday or Saturday & let Larry know soon. So, checkout the attached roster and select a shift that works for you. If you can only take a morning shift, Bob & I can rearrange to other shifts easily enough.

We will again have handout materials including the beautiful Story Behind the Remembrance Poppy [layout & design by Larry Rosenberger], which includes the poem In Flanders Field written by Lt Col John McCrae in May 1915 &We Shall Keep the Faith written by Moina Michael in November 1918.

Moreover, as usual, we use this opportunity to recruit new members & will have all our recruiting materials onsite.

So, it is time to “gear up” for Memorial Day weekend & distribute poppies & tell the story of why it is important to remember our nation’s fallen.

VERY IMPORTANT: It would be most appreciated if several of you would printout between 15-20 copies [coordinate this with Larry] of the attached Story Behind the Remembrance Poppy [2 pages]. I will commit to printing 50 copies of this handout back-to-back on a single page. I’ll also printed 50 copies of the attached Memorial Day Freedom is Not Free — All Gave Some – Some Gave All.

Or, If you know a “friendly printer” who will print us copies for free, please do so. Please make as many copies as your time and resources permit for we will need at least 500-600 copies of each.

Thank you all for your service to our great nation & we hope to see several of you at Giant Food Store in Ashburn Village at our usual station on either Saturday or Sunday, as noted above. Special thanks in advance to Larry Rosenberger, our Post’s Memorial Day Officer-in-Charge for all his efforts in organizing & executing this mission with precision as usual on behalf of our membership. Have a great Sunday with your families.

Semper Fidelis, Charlie

Charles M. McKinney, III
CMDR, Leonard W. Kidd
Memorial Post 2001
The American Legion
Ashburn, Virginia