Commander – Al Norton
Another year has gone by and we have managed to stay afloat. The yearend financial figures are not available yet. They will by the middle of July. I am hoping we will be able to stay operating on the positive side. We have had major setbacks in the last two months mainly due to lack of customers for the Wednesday night dinner and dance. Summer is usually a slow period but this year is proving to be the worst year I’ve seen in years.

Music volume problems are a continuous concern. The Juke box is controlled by the bartenders & management. Each side can be adjusted separately. The bartenders have been retrained in the operation of the remote. The bands and karaoke have a problem not being able to adjust volume for each side of the building to keep us all happy. We are working on this problem, please bear with us.

A request to bring Coors lite on tap back has been made. I would like to help but here is the issue: Coors has been unable to keep us supplied with small kegs needed to fit in the cooler. A larger cooler would be nice but there is no room for one behind the bar. We will continue monitoring our sales of different beers to see if the changes can be made.

Congratulations to all of the officers elected for the 2017-2018 year!

Membership and participation in our club is the lifeblood of our organization.
God Bless everyone who make this the greatest country on earth!

Charity & Education:
Charity income was $2727.10 and of that, $2340.88 was distributed to American Legion Department $490.88, SCCA Cancer Patient Transport $250, Auxiliary Care Packages $150, T or C Veteran’s Museum $250, Scholarships $1000, and Elephant Butte Fire Department Equipment Purchase $200.

Finance Officer – Bob Nellis
The end of June was also the end of our 2016-2017 fiscal year. We ended the month of June in the black and ended the year almost $11,000 in the black. Considering the number of necessary repairs and approved improvements that were accomplished the year was successful. With our new slate of officers we will strive to make the 2017-2018 year even better.

Activities Committee – Kathy Norton and Linda Amdal
Boy howdy the air conditioning sure has been feeling good!!

First and foremost, many THANKS!! are in order to: Rose Ann Smith for donating a boat load of limes for the bar!! To Patty Kenney for donating the two new smoke eaters!! To Donnie, Deone, Bill & Bob A. for installing them!! To Gene Barton for the putting green and running the first ever US Open Putting Contest!! That was a blast!! To Barb A., Ginny L., Linda N., Linda R., Martha T. and Richard K. for the Father’s Day Dinner! To all you ladies that wash all the towels and aprons!! To all that have volunteered to help in the kitchen!! To all that have donated and volunteered, please know we are grateful & appreciate you!!

Donnie Polstin, stand up & take a bow for being selected as volunteer of the month!! You are always willing to jump in and help in a moment’s notice! Thank you for all you do!!

Tuesday Jams are back!! Yahoo!! Welcome back Sue & Pal’s! Sue will also entertain us for the Saturday Dance July 15th, starting at 6:00 with a pot luck at 5:00.

The Lucero Challenge Pool Tourney is being moved to the 4TH Sunday of the month at 3:00. Don’t forget Bunco on Thursday July 13th & 27th at 1:00. They sure have a lot of fun!!

Also, the 6th annual golf scramble will be Labor Day Weekend. If you want to play, sponsor a hole or donate a raffle prize, contact Bob Acre or pick up player & donation forms at the bar.

Thanks to all of you that support our Post!! We look forward to seeing you there!!

Golf News by Bob Acre
We are still looking for hole sponsors for our golf tournament. If you sponsored a hole last year, but do not plan to this year please let me know so we can reuse the sign from last year. We still need teams to sign up to fill our roster.

Commander – Al Norton
Memorial Day services this year were awesome! All of the area Veterans organizations and the Moose lodge 2050 were represented very well at all four ceremonies, new cemetery, Hot Spring cemetery, Vietnam wall and the River ceremony at Ralph Edwards Park. It was heartwarming to see everyone there.\

Special thanks to Sgt. Haro and the JROTC, your performance was outstanding, as usual. Also your participation in placing flags at the graves of the veterans on Saturday and retrieving them on Tuesday is greatly appreciated.

Thank you everybody at the American Legion Post 44, VFW 1389, VFW 3317, Moose Lodge 2050 and the auxiliary units from all organizations.

Please note the General membership meeting change for June. It will be held on Friday June 16th also at this meeting the officers for 2017-2018 will be sworn into office by the District Commander Bill Conklin.

Due to poor attendance at Wednesday dinner and dance the last two months we are making changes. Summer months are usually slow but not this slow. This past month the club operated in the red over $1800.00. Please note the changes on the calendar.

This past month our cook has been out sick. I want to thank a few dedicated members, the ones who usually step up to help, for doing so again. We do need volunteers to help in the kitchen, please sign up or talk to Charlene.

Linde Polstin you are doing a great job in your shift change to learn more about the overall responsibilities in the office. I am aware some of the duties are more demanding, especially dealing with the officers and the meetings. Hang in there lady, you are very valuable to Post 44, especially to me and your counterpart Kat.
God bless our Post, the community, the United States of America and especially the Veterans who have helped to keep us free!

Charity & Education
May Gaming Revenues were $2245.84. Recipients were: American Legion Department $404.25; SCCA, Cancer Patient Transport $250; Auxiliary Care Packages $150; Auxiliary Veteran’s Meals $100; Down Under Sports (Logan Green) $250; Friends of EB State Park, Fireworks $500; EB Volunteer Fire Department $200; T or C Veteran Memorial & Museum $250.

Finance Officer – Bob Nellis
May was another slow month financially but ended better than April. Through eleven months of our fiscal year we are still showing positive income. The next few summer months are typically the slowest for the year. The Executive Committee is looking at ways to offset this slowdown. If anyone has a suggestion for raising funds please pass them on to the Activities Committee or place them in the suggestion box.
The vending machine for scratchers and the Power Ball and Roadrunner machine are up and running. Remember that the vending machine takes only bills and does not give change. The bartender on duty can take care of the lottery tickets.
.

Activities Committee – Kathy Norton and Linda Amdal
A HUGE THANK YOU!! to David Thibeau, Bill Conklin, Bob Nellis and Al Norton for preparing such a wonderful Mother’s Day Dinner and to the SAL’s for the beautiful red roses! Thank you all so very much!

We are pleased to announce the arrival of New Mexico Lottery at the Post!! You can purchase & redeem scratch and lottery tickets while you are here, rather than making a special stop somewhere else! We do ask, however, for your patience while we are learning this new system…Good Luck To You All!!

For June, July and August the dinner/dances will be on the first and third Wednesday of the month. Due to the drop in Wednesday dinner sales there has not been enough revenue to cover the cost of the music. All other Wednesday meals will be a lighter fare. With the reduction in numbers of diners, it has been difficult to calculate how much to prepare. So, in light of that, to prevent so much waste, we suggest you come early to ensure a meal.

Also, Sue Barr will be gone for the month of June, therefore the Tuesday Jams are not scheduled. However, other members of the jam have indicated they may just show up. We look forward to Sue returning on Wednesday, July 5th!

Dry Creek will play for the dinner/dance on Saturday, June 17th. Dinner, Taco Salads, is at 5pm, music at 6.

During the week of June 12th – 18th, we will be holding our very own U.S. Open Putting Contest!! (Thank you Gene Barton!) It will be a 50/50 and those that get a hole-in-one get to enter the drawing for the prize! $1.00 for one putt, 6 putts for $5.00. Proceeds go to the Post. The final day & drawing will be on Father’s Day, the last day of the Real U.S. Open.

Speaking of Father’s Day, Member Dads will be honored with a complimentary Pork Rib Dinner with all the fixins from 5 to 6pm Sunday June 18th. All other guests: $8.00 donation.

Congrats to Bill Laswell for being selected as Volunteer of the Month!! Bill is our resident plumber that has volunteered his help with numerous issues! Thank you, Bill for all you do!!

Once again, we do appreciate your support of the Post and we look forward to seeing you here!