Commander – David Thibeau
I hope everyone had a fun filled and safe holiday season. December was very busy for Post 44. Along with all our regular monthly activities, we again manned our booth at the State Park Luminaria Walk, then on the 21st, Santa and his Elves were at the Post to distribute gifts to the Angel Tree kids and Christmas dinner boxes to a number of families. That afternoon, Santa returned for our annual White Elephant Christmas party. On Christmas Eve, we held an Open House and potluck. To close out 2019, I hope everyone enjoyed the New Year’s Eve celebration. Many thanks to Kathy and Al Norton, Ginny Lucero, Liz Nellis, the Activities Committee, and all the volunteers for everything they did to make December so much fun.

Now here it is 2020 and time to start planning this year’s FUN. All of our activities, especially any Special Events, require a great deal of planning and effort by your officers, Post staff, and activity volunteers. I ask you please thank them whenever you can. Their dedication to Post 44 keeps us so successful.
Best wishes to the American Legion Post 44 Family for a great New Year.

Finance Officer – Ellen Penington
Well another year has passed and I hope it was a good one for you and yours and that the coming year is an even better one. The Post had some ups and downs this year but all in all a bright year. We are still working on the return of pull tabs to the Post and hope the process goes quickly and smoothly and we have them back soon.

Hopefully this will contribute to a positive turn and get us back on track. A Happy New Year to all!

Activities – Linda Ross, 505-550-6366
Happy New Year!!!! Wow, 2020 is here. We are having our famous Soup Cookoff on Sunday the 19th at 2:00 p.m. Come enter your favorite soup and qualify for one of our great prizes. Don’t want to cook? Come taste, judge and vote for your favorites for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places.

Other Sundays see pool on the 5th and 19th at 3:00 p.m. Mondays are free pool and $.25 discount on drinks.
On Wednesday the 1st, New Year’s Day, the sale of the Footballs begins. They will be 6 for $5 or $1 each. Come purchase some and qualify to win a prize and help your favorite bartender win one also. We will draw the winners during Super Bowl.

$2.00 Tuesdays continue with tacos included. Wednesdays continue our great dinners with live music. Sue Barr Barr and Jim Corrons are playing for our enjoyment and Double Trouble will be playing twice this month on the 1st and 15th.

Thursdays are still game days plus Bunco on the 9th and 23rd at 1:00 p.m. Those delicious $2 margaritas continue.

The Friday grill special offering this month is Chicken Wings with all those special dipping sauces. Bill will provide Karaoke on the 3rd and 17th.

Saturdays are busy with the Swap Meet on the 4th at 8:00 a.m., then the 11th is that delicious all-you- can-eat breakfast at 8:00 a.m. along with the bake/book sale.

Events to look forward to in February are the Super Bowl party on the 2nd and Mardi Gras on the 22nd.

Our Activities committee meeting is on the 13th at 1:30 p.m. All new ideas and suggestions are welcome.

Commander – David Thibeau
Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. November was a busy month for Post 44. We welcomed John Wheeler as our new Chaplain. Thank you, John, for becoming a Post 44 Officer.

We participated in several Veterans Day weekend events including the ceremony at the Memorial Wall, displaying our Post colors at the NM Veterans Home, and attending the elementary school assembly spearheaded by our own Becky Boucher. We also co-hosted the Auxiliary Unit 44 100 Year Anniversary dinner and dance. We held our annual Fish Fry. We painted the inside of the Post . A big thanks to everyone who helped with these events and projects.

This month we have another fun-filled calendar. Along with the regular monthly events, the Post will again have a site at the State Park Luminaria Beach Walk December 14. Our Christmas Party is December 21 and we celebrate the New Year early on December 31 at 1:00 pm.

Remember the Post is closed Christmas Day. There is no General Membership meeting in December. Our next meeting is January 18, 2020.

To all members of the Post 44 American Legion Family, have a safe and joyous Holiday Season.

Finance Officer – Ellen Penington
Financials for the Month of October were lower than anticipated. The bar is running about $1500 a month lower than it was last year at the same time.

The kitchen is still in the black but sales have been down the past couple months. Gaming has also been down the past two months to the point some gaming charity requests had to be deferred until after Christmas. This was due to some large wins that limited funds available for charity requests.

Hopefully this evens out in the next couple months…

Activities Linda Ross 505-550-6366
Santa Clause is coming to town. Yes, the holidays are upon us and the Post is here for your celebrations on top of our usual activities.

Sundays are for pool at 3:00 with Guys vs Gals on the 1st and 8 ball on the 8th. Mondays are free pool and $.25 discount on drinks.

$2.00 Tuesdays continue with tacos included. On Tuesday the 24th we celebrate Christmas Eve with an Open House and a finger foods pot luck at 4:00p.m.

Wednesdays continue our great dinners with live music except for the 25th when we are closed.

Thursdays are still game days with Bunco on the 12th at 1:00 p.m. Those delicious $2 margaritas continue.

The Friday grill special offering this month is Taquitos. Bill will provide Karaoke on the 6th and 20th.

Saturdays are busy with the Swap Meet on the 7th at 8:00 a.m., then the 14th is that all-you-can-eat breakfast at 8:00 a.m. and come by our bonfire at the Luminaria Walk that evening.

The annual Post Employee Christmas party is December 21st at 3:00 p.m. There will be a pot luck and a White Elephant exchange. All members and guests are invited to join in the fun.

New Years Eve celebration will start at 1:00 p.m. with snacks and games. We even have our own run for the roses. Come join us and have a very enjoyable afternoon/evening.

Our Activities committee meeting is on the 16th at 1:00 p.m. All new ideas are welcome. May you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, safe New Year.