Parking Rules Reminder

While American Legion Post 1976 does encourage you to leave you vehicle here in the parking lot when you find it necessary, we do have a 72 hour rule.  Article VI, Section 5 states that, “No member or guest or outside entity shall leave vehicles, boats, trailers, etc on the Post Property for a period of time exceeding 72 hours.  Towing will be enforced at the owner’s expense.”
If for any reason, you need extra time, please come and talk to the Club Manager.
If there is snow in the forecast for a particular day, please make other arrangements to get you vehicle home because the snow plow man has a hard time plowing the parking lot.
If any one of you have any problems with anything or need any help, Club Manager Diane Ramsey’s number is 703-408-9123.

Winter 2018 Newsletter

The Winter 2018 Newsletter is here! Click to download.

Commander’s Corner

Dear fellow Legionnaires, Auxiliary, Sons, and Riders: I highly encourage everyone to attend our General Membership meetings which occur on the second Tuesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. You will learn about upcoming events, as well as old and new business.

The Annandale Cannon is at M&M Auto Shop and is being worked on by the boy scouts. The wheels are being refurbished at Calimer’s Wheel Shop in Waynesboro, PA. They will call when the wheels are complete.

Please welcome our new Second Vice Greg Sarine and our Webmaster Zachary Wood. We are all looking forward to working with you.

The Legion Family Breakfast continues to be a huge success. Thank you Tennessee, Red, and Scott Pratt as they do all of the shopping, food preparation, and most of the cooking. We have outstanding volunteers to set up, serve, and cleanup. Thanks to everyone for your continued support.

We participated in the Taste of Annandale led by our Service Officer, Dorothy Vigano. We gave out free cotton candy and popcorn while we handed out information to the public about the American Legion and what we do. Remember that membership is everyone’s responsibility. I carry membership applications with me.

The American Legion Riders, ALR, took dinner to Leewood Nursing Home. Thank you Red, Tennessee, and Billy Q for cooking the turkeys and ham and Riders for delivering and serving food.

The Veteran’s Day Ceremony was performed in conjunction with the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). It was a pleasure working with Lynn Maines, DAR, in coordinating this major event. We worked with Mike Moser, Cemetery Director, from the Annandale United Methodist Church and we had a larger turnout than usual as this occurred between church services. It was wonderful seeing all the new faces. The color guard was Boy Scout troop 150 and we were honored to have them. It was an honor having Barbara Huff, DAR, as our guest speaker and she spoke about Vietnam POWs whom she interviewed.

Thank you, Patricia and Andy Ness, for your generosity in preparing and serving Thanksgiving meals to our members.

Our Christmas Party will be on 12/15/2018 from 5 p.m.–8 p.m. We are having potluck so please bring a dish. The post will provide meat dishes. There will also be a “White Elephant” gift exchange, not to exceed $20.00. Bring a gift if you would like to participate.

Thank you,
Gretchen Trujillo, Commander

Fall 2018 Newsletter!

The Fall Newsletter has been published! Newsletter Fall 2018 Please click the link to read the entire newsletter, which features updates from the Officers, as well as the Auxiliary, the Riders, the Sons, the Club Manager, and more.

All newsletters can be found at our newsletter page.

Here are a few highlights, but please read the whole thing for all the important news and information!

Commander’s Corner

Dear fellow Legionnaires, Auxiliary, Sons, and Riders:

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer. In my opinion, it flew by way too fast.

First of all, Roy McCracken stepped down from his office as Post Commander, due to unforeseen circumstances. Roy served as Commander at our post for seven years, and dedicated a lot of his time to our Post Home and many functions. While Roy was Commander, he established the Legion Family Breakfast, and its legacy lives on—the third Sunday of each month. He arranged bus trips to Arlington Cemetery for Wreaths Across America; arranged for various bands to perform at legion functions; and arranged bus trips to and from hockey and baseball games, to mention a few things. Thank you, Roy, for your support over the years.

I am in the process of becoming acclimated to the office as Commander. I have a lot to learn and am blessed by having such a fabulous group of people on the Exec Board to keep me straight. I am enjoying working with the Auxiliary, SAL, Riders, and the DAR. I love our legion family and we are a great team. We are in the process of transitioning First Vice membership duties from me to Eugene (Cornbread) Kimbrell. He will do a great job. Once he gets in the swing of things he will give you updates on membership.

We have the following positions available on the
Executive Board:
• Second Vice
• Chaplain
• Historian
Prerequisites are that you must he a Legionnaire, be a member of Post 1976, and a member in good standing. Please see me or any member on the Exec Board if you are interested.

I highly encourage everyone to attend our General Membership meetings, which occur on the second Tuesday of every month at 7:00 p.m.

At our next General Membership meeting, we are having a guest speaker. I don’t want to rain on Karen McDaniel’s parade so please read on.

Thank you,
Gretchen Trujillo, Commander

1st Vice’s Report

Well I’m learning the system, thanks to Gretchen! Membership is going well—I don’t have the numbers in front of me right now, but I think we are at like 85 to 90%. You have until September 30th to get in on the early bird. This year’s early bird party —on Oct. 20— is going to be BIG with live music, food, and drinks so get those dues in.

Eugene Kimbrell (aka Cornbread), 1st Vice Commander

3rd Vice’s Report

Nothing exciting happening at the legion lately, which is good news from the third vice. Many repairs have been done to the building over the past month, and our falcon machines and pull tabs are continuing to exceed expectations. Bartenders and the Club Manager continue to do a great job. A heartfelt thank you to our regulars who support the post daily; reminder to drop in Wednesdays for free lunch—normally 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Tom Ritchie, 3rd Vice Commander

Post Constitution

CONSTITUTION of Bicentennial Post
No. 1976, Inc.
The American Legion
Department of Virginia

PREAMBLE

For God and Country, we associate ourselves together for the following purposes: To uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America; to maintain law and order; to foster and perpetuate a one hundred percent Americanism; to preserve the memories and incidents of our associations in the Great Wars; to inculcate a sense of individual obligation to the community, state, and nation; to combat the autocracy of both the classes and the masses; to make right the master of might; to promote peace and good will on earth; to safeguard and transmit to prosperity the principles of justice, freedom and democracy; to consecrate and sanctify our comradeship by our devotion to mutual helpfulness.

ARTICLE I – NAME

Section 1: The name of this organization shall be Bicentennial Post No. 1976, Inc., The American Legion, Department of Virginia.

ARTICLE II – OBJECTIVES AND GOALS

Section 1: The objectives and goals of this Post shall be to promote the principles and policies as set forth in the forgoing preamble and the National and Departmental Constitutions of The American Legion.

ARTICLE III – NATURE

Section 1: This Post is a civilian organization and membership therein does not affect or increase liability for military or police service.

Section 2: This organization shall be absolutely non-political and shall not be used for the dissemination of partisan principles or for the promotion of the candidacy of any person seeking public office or preferment. Membership in any of the Post standing committees shall not be affected.

Section 3: Rank does not exist in The American Legion; no member shall be addressed by a military or naval title in any meeting of this Post.

ARTICLE IV – MEMBERSHIP

Section 1: Eligibility for membership in this Post shall be as prescribed by the National Constitution of the American Legion.

Section 2: No eligible person shall be denied membership in this Post because of sex, sexual persuasion, race, color, religion or national origin.

Section 3: Application for membership shall be made IAW National and Department Constitution By Laws.

Section 4: Any member of this Post may be expelled for cause in accordance with provisions outlined in the By-Laws of the Department of Virginia.

Section 5: A member who has been expelled or suspended from this Post for any cause may be reinstated to membership by two-thirds vote of the membership present and voting in a General Membership meeting, and the payment of current dues for the year in which the reinstatement occurs.

Section 6: No person who has been expelled by a Post shall be admitted to membership of this Post, without the consent of the expelling Post, except that where such consent has been asked for and denied by such Post, applicant may then appeal to the State Executive Committee of the Department of the expelling Post for permission to apply for membership in this Post, and shall be ineligible for membership until permission is granted.

ARTICLE V – OFFICERS

Section 1: The corporate functions and administrative affairs of this Post of The American Legion shall, except as may be otherwise provided by the By-Laws, be under the supervision of an Executive Committee, which shall consist of the elected officers of the Post and the Adjutant/Administrator. The term of office of members of the Executive Committee shall be for one year. The Post by its By-Laws may provide for such other standing committees as the business of the organization may require.

Section 2: The elected officers of this Post shall be a Commander, First, Second and Third Vice Commanders, a Finance Officer, a Historian, a Chaplain, a Service Officer and a Sergeant-at-Arms and such other officers as may be deemed necessary by this organization. The Adjutant/Administrator shall be selected by the incoming Commander and approved by the incoming Executive Committee.

Section 3: All officers, except the Adjutant/Administrator, shall be elected annually and they shall hold office until their successors are duly installed or as otherwise provided. Any officer or member of the Executive Committee may be removed for inefficiency by the Executive Committee, a two-thirds vote of said Committee being necessary to effect such removal, as well as 2/3 majority of the membership attending the General Membership meeting.

Section 4: Every member of this Post in good standing shall be eligible to hold office in the Post, except as otherwise provided in Article III, Section 2 hereof.

Section 5: The duties of officers and the members of the Executive Committee shall be those usually appertaining to such officers or positions and as further provided in the By-Laws.

ARTICLE VI – FINANCE

Section 1: The revenue of this Post shall be derived from membership or initiation fees, from annual membership dues and from such other sources as may be approved by the Executive Committee.

Section 2: The amount of such membership or initiation fees and the amount of such annual Post dues shall be fixed and determined by this Executive Committee.

Section 3: The Post shall pay to Department Headquarters, the National and Departmental annual membership dues for every member of the Post.

ARTICLE VII – CHARTER MEMBERS

Section 1: Members who joined this Post prior to the issuance of the charter shall be known as charter members.

ARTICLE VIII – AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY

Section 1: This Post recognizes an auxiliary organization to be known as The Auxiliary Unit of Bicentennial Post No. 1976, Inc., The American Legion.

Section 2: Membership in the Auxiliary shall be as prescribed by the National Constitution of The American Legion Auxiliary.

ARTICLE IX – SONS OF THE AMERICAN LEGION

Section 1: The Post recognizes a sub-committee and organization to be known as The Sons of the American Legion, Bicentennial Squadron Post 1976, Inc., The American Legion.

Section 2: Membership in the Sons of The American Legion shall be as prescribed in the National Constitution of the Sons of the American Legion.

ARTICLE X – AMERICAN LEGION RIDERS

Section 1: The Post recognizes a sub-committee and organization to be known as The American Legion Riders, Chapter 1976, Department of Virginia.

Section 2: Membership in the American Legion Riders shall be as prescribed in their Charter and regulations as issued by National Executive Committee of the American Legion IAW Department of Virginia, ALR sub-committee Constitution and By-Laws, and direction of the Internal Affairs Committee.

ARTICLE XI – AMENDMENTS

Section 1: This Constitution is adopted subject to the provisions of the National Constitution of The American Legion and of the Department Constitution of the Department of Virginia, The American Legion. Any amendment to said National Constitution or Department Constitution, which is in conflict with any provisions hereof, shall be regarded as automatically repealing or modifying the provision of this Constitution to the extent of such conflict.

Section 2: This Constitution may be amended at any regular Post Meeting by vote of two-thirds of the members of said Post attending and voting such regular meeting provided that the proposed amendment shall have been submitted in writing and read at the next preceding regular meeting of said Post, and provided, further, that written notice shall have been given to all members at least ten days in advance of the date when such amendment is to be voted upon, notifying said members that at such meeting a proposal to amend the Constitution is to be voted upon.

EFFECTIVE DATE

This Constitution, having been duly agreed to in open meeting dated 14 February 2012 by two-thirds of the members present, shall become effective at 00:01 (AM) Eastern Standard Time, on the 15th day of February 2012, in the year of our Lord.

s/Roy McCracken                                                               s/Mike Strickler
Roy McCracken                                                                  Mike Strickler
Post Commander                                                              Post Adjutant

Local Post Locations

Bicentennial, VA Post 1976

~ 0  mi.

4206 DANIELS AVE
ANNANDALE, VA 22003
Phone: 703-941-9608
Email:  rpcomm6759@aol.com Visit Our Website
View Map More Info

Greenspring, VA Post 123

~ 4  mi.

GREENSPRING RETIREMENT COMM
7440 SPRING VILLAGE DR
SPRINGFIELD, VA 22150
Phone: 703-923-4600
Email:  edhaynes@aeitv.net
View Map More Info

Falls Church, VA Post 130

~ 4  mi.

400 N OAK ST
FALLS CHURCH, VA 22046
Phone: 703-533-1945
Email:  post130@gmail.com Visit Our Website
View Map More Info

Springfield, VA Post 176

~ 4  mi.

6520 AMHERST AVE
SPRINGFIELD, VA 22150
Phone: 703-440-0335
Email:  vapost176@cox.net Visit Our Website
View Map More Info

Blue And Gray, VA Post 225

~ 4  mi.

PO BOX 225
FALLS CHURCH, VA 22046
Phone: 703-533-0288
More Info

Unknown Soldier, VA Post 44

~ 5  mi.

9075 GILTINAN CT
SPRINGFIELD, VA 22153
Phone: 703-644-1221
Email:  dhogden@peoplepc.com
View Map More Info

Mcgroarty-Stambaugh, VA Post 124

~ 5  mi.

7118 SHREVE RD
FALLS CHURCH, VA 22043
Phone: 571-251-1453
Email:  bobsmithsmail@gmail.com
View Map More Info

Dyer-Gunnell, VA Post 180

~ 5  mi.

330 N CENTER ST
VIENNA, VA 22180
Phone: 703-938-9535
Email:  post180@starpower.net Visit Our Website
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Fairfax, VA Post 177

~ 6  mi.

3939 OAK ST
FAIRFAX, VA 22030
Phone: 703-273-2250
Email:  rparli@cox.net Visit Our Website
View Map Newsletter More Info

Dorie Miller, VA Post 194

~ 6  mi.

PO BOX 41526
ARLINGTON, VA 22204
Phone: 703-685-1057
More Info

General Billy Mitchell, VA Post 85

~ 7  mi.

919 N KANSAS ST
ARLINGTON, VA 22201
Phone: 703-527-8178
View Map More Info

William Thomas, VA Post 129

~ 7  mi.

2607 B MT VERNON AVE
ALEXANDRIA, VA 22301
Phone: 703-549-7860
View Map More Info

Arlington, VA Post 139

~ 7  mi.

3445 N WASHINGTON BLVD
ARLINGTON, VA 22201
Phone: 703-524-1396
Email:  ronski139@aol.com Visit Our Website
View Map More Info

Mc Lean, VA Post 270

~ 7  mi.

1355 BALLS HILL RD
MCLEAN, VA 22101
Phone: 703-356-8259
Email:  mcleanpost270@aol.com Visit Our Website
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Alexandria, VA Post 24

~ 8  mi.

400 CAMERON ST
ALEXANDRIA, VA 22314
Phone: 703-683-5564
Email:  adjutant@valegionpost24.org
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M john Fazlollah Belvoir, VA Post 1775

~ 8  mi.

1450 WILKES ST
ALEXANDRIA, VA 22314
Phone: Unavailable
Email:  alpost1775@verizon.net
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Lorton, VA Post 162

~ 9  mi.

8210 LEGION DR
LORTON, VA 22079
Phone: 703-690-1107
Email:  commander@valegion162.org Visit Our Website
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Resolution

POST 1976 RESOLUTION OF ORDERS FOR THE OBSERVANCE OF PATRIOTIC HOLIDAYS

THE AMERICAN LEGION PROVIDES GUIDANCE FOR AND PROMOTES THE OBSERVANCE OF PATRIOTIC HOLIDAYS TO RENDER RESPECT AND THANKS TO ALL WHO STRIVE TO FULFILL OUR DREAMS AND SUPPORT OUR DEMOCRACY AND OUR AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE. THESE OBSERVANCES ARE CONDUCTED WITH AND SUPPORT THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE AMERICAN LEGION AT LARGE. CONSISTENT WITH THOSE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES, THE AMERICAN LEGION ANNANDALE BICENTENNIAL POST 1976 WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF VIRGINIA HEREBY DECREES THAT IT WILL ENSURE THAT ALL PATRIOTIC HOLIDAYS WILL BE OBSERVED WITH AN APPROPRIATE PATRIOTIC HOLIDAY CEREMONY EFFECTIVE THIS DATE. THUS, THIS INDEPENDENCE DAY OBSERVANCE THIS MORNING.

SIGNED: MARV RODNEY, POST 1976 COMMANDER POSTED THIS 4TH DAY OF JULY 2006