1. The American Legion Post 176 General Membership Meeting was called to order at 1930 on 8 January 2008, with Commander Lipscomb presiding. Two guests have been invited this evening to make special presentations prior to the regular business items.

a. The Adjutant called roll. All officers were present with the exception of 1^st Vice Commander Stone, 3^rd Vice Commander Bailey, and Finance Officer Cable who were excused. The minutes of the 4 Dec 07 membership meeting will be posted on the Web.

b. Commander Lipscomb introduced LTC Steven Kinnear and Ms. Michelle Ripple from the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs (M&RA). The M&RA Office is sponsoring a program, called Freedom Team Salute, to find and honor all Army veterans and the families who supported them in their service. Those honored will receive an official commendation package which includes a certificate of appreciation, a personalized thank-you letter from the Army Secretary and the Army Chief of Staff, and an Army lapel pin. LTC Kinnear presented commendation packages to Comrades John Bednarek, Theodore Myers, and Grover Payne. Curt Ross, who was absent, also received a package. To submit names to be honored, contact the Freedom Team at 703-602-4303, or on-line at www.freedomteamsalute.com.

2. The Commander welcomed Lee District Supervisor Jeff McKay, elected in Nov 2007. He is a life-long resident of Lee District and a sworn Reserve Deputy Sheriff for Fairfax County. He also worked with Supervisor Dana Kauffman for the last twelve years.

a. Supervisor McKay addressed the membership on the challenges regarding the development and revitalization of Springfield.

1.) The Springfield revitalization efforts are the result of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) decisions affecting Ft. Belvoir and the surrounding area. BRAC moves are expected to increase the local population by 12,000 or more residents. This creates opportunities for housing, business, recreation, and commerce. Accordingly, Springfield is looking at a long term vision for land use to accommodate projected growth. One of the slated projects is redeveloping the Springfield Mall.

2.) Besides overcrowding, the County must deal with zoning enforcement in older neighborhoods. We must look for ways to preserve housing and at the same time plan for jobs, and retail establishments. The Kingstowne Towers project will provide mixed use office space.

3.) Mixed use office buildings are also being projected for the area surrounding the Post. Assessment of these projects will follow a strict land use process. The citizens will decide land use applications, and nothing will happen without land owners’ support.

4.) Improving transportation is another challenge facing County planners. Mass transit is being considered as a way to make people’s commutes shorter. The Route 1 corridor right now uses the most rapid/mass transit.

5.) Mr. McKay concluded by saying that Fairfax County must assess property at 100% value. The current decline in property values will leave the County with a shortfall.

b. A question was asked about whether the County received any land use applications from the Legion. Mr. McKay replied that nothing has been filed with Fairfax County with respect to Post property.

c. A question was asked about how mass transit will be funded. Mr. McKay replied that the State is responsible for providing roads and infrastructure for mass transit. The County is responsible for land use. He also stated that the Park and Ride lot across the street is not being used because the County needs busses going to the Pentagon.

d. A question was asked about proposed legislation for hot lanes in the County. Mr. McKay replied that he is not in favor of any paid roads.

3. Committee Reports were as follows:

a. Commander Lipscomb gave the following report for the 1^st Vice Commander:

1.) Membership Committee: As of tonight, the Post has 1437 members, which is 85.59% of the Legion Year 2008 membership goal (1689 people). Eleven candidates were presented for membership this evening (8 new members and 3 renewals). The names of new members were read and approved in block. The names of transfer members also were read and approved in block. The Post needs 302 additional members to reach 100%.

2.) Legislative: Wednesday, 16 Jan, is the Day on the Hill. Post representatives will report to the Department of VA Headquarters at 0830. Participants will be bussed to Richmond.

3.) Ways and Means Committee: Pat Peterson thanked all the people who contributed to the weekly tailgates. The last tailgate of the year is scheduled for Sunday, 3 Feb 08.

b. 2^nd Vice Commander Tesla reported on the following activities:

1.) Boys State: Boys State activities will be held in Jun. Fifteen boys from five high schools will be participating.

2.) Oratorical: The Post High School Oratorical Contest will be held on 20 Jan 08. Two to three contestants will be competing. The 17^th District competition will be held at the Post on Sat. 9 Feb.

3.) Scouting: The Scout Master reported that the Post 176 Boy Scout Troop has doubled in size since it was started in Dec 2005. The Scout Troop will provide the color guard for the Four Chaplains Memorial Service on 3 Feb 08.

4.) Sons of the American Legion (SAL): Chip Byers reported that over 900 White House ornaments were sold this year.

c. Commander Lipscomb gave the following report for the 3^rd Vice Commander:

1.) Adopt-a-Highway: The next quarterly highway clean-up will be held in Mar 08.

2.) Bingo: The proceeds from the last four bingo sessions were $3294. On the average, about $800 is collected each Mon night.

3.) Drill Team: The Jr ROTC Drill Team competition will be held on 26 Jan 08 at Liberty High School in Bealeton, VA. Our Edison Eagles Drill Team will participate.

d. Finance: The Post has received the Dec 07 financials from Fiducial Small Business Services. The Commander is looking for disinterested parties for the internal audit team.

e. Chaplain:

1.) The Four Chaplains Memorial Service will be held at the Post on 3 Feb 08. The guest speaker is U.S. Coast Guard Chaplain Dennis Young.

2.) Ray Stone’s stepmother has passed away and his father is very ill. Comrade Herbert Tyson was buried on Veterans’ Day and Ed Lambert, a 17 yr. member of the Post, has been diagnosed with cancer. Please keep them in your prayers.

f. Service Officer:

1.) Ali Nikolai reported that the Department of VA issued a check for $912.90 to Ms. Dorothy Norwood and Melrose Apartments in response to a temporary financial assistance (TFA) request. Ms. Norwood is a veteran and single parent who needed one-time assistance to pay up-front expenses for her apartment lease. She had been in a shelter with her 14 yr. old son who was not adjusting well to the shelter environment.

2.) With the Commander’s concurrence, Ali is submitting Matthew Bradford (Marine injured in Iraq) to receive a Legion grant from the Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes.

3.) Ali also reported that she received a call from Domenico Lee, a former Navy Petty Officer and DAV member who was looking for temporary financial assistance to move into an apartment at the end of the week. Since no dependent children were involved, Ali explained that he didn’t qualify for the Department of VA TFA program. She put him in touch with June Springer from the local DAV Chapter who offered to follow up with him to see if they could provide any help.

4.) Commander Lipscomb commented that he received a call from a female veteran asking for help to find a plumber. Lew reported that he went to her house to check out the problem. It appeared that the drain line to her washer was blocked, and he unclogged it with a plumbing snake.

g. Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation:

1.) Volunteers from the Post packed 800 bags on 10 Dec with donated items for the VA Hospital, the VA Medical Center Nursing Home, the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home and all hospitalized veterans in the local area.

2.) The Post will distribute items for the Winterhaven Homeless Standown on 12 Jan 08. At the 4 Dec 07 GMM meeting, a motion was made and seconded to donate $500 from budgeted funds to Winterhaven.

h. Corporate Board (CB): Rod Carlone reported that 2007 was a good year management wise, and that the 2008 priorities are repair and replacement of property items and reduction of debt (in that order). The CB is preparing a Financial Review Briefing to present to the membership at the 4 Mar 08 meeting.

i. House Rules Committee: Ken Hanson reported that he has not received any signed slips from the bartenders saying they’ve been trained on the House Rules. The Commander replied that he has the signed slips and will maintain them. The Commander and the General Manager conducted the training.

j. Post Scripts:

1.) Several articles submitted for publication were omitted from the Jan issue; the assembly team also experienced a shortage of volunteers. The Commander announced that beginning in March, the Post Scripts will be published on a bi-monthly basis.

2.) A motion was made and seconded that mailing of the Post Scripts would be discontinued unless individuals notified the Post that they wanted to receive a hard copy. Following discussion, an amendment was made and seconded to reverse the motion, i.e. individuals would remain on the mailing list unless they told the Post to remove them. The motion as amended was carried by majority vote.

4. Unfinished Business:

In reference to the 4 Dec 07 GMM minutes, para 3.b. and the 27 Nov 07 EXCOM Meeting minutes, para 4.c., a question was asked about the numbers of people authorized to sign checks. The Commander stated that he double checked on the number of signers, and that four is sufficient. Ken Hanson objected to his being removed from the original list. The Commander replied, as stated previously, that Committeeman Hanson and 3^rd Vice Commander Bailey had been on the list but in the opinion of the Corporate Board President, the General Manager, and the Commander, they were not always available. The Commander is satisfied with the current number of check signers and considers this a closed issue.

5. New Business:

a. A motion was made and seconded to censure CB Director Dennis Stokowski for his outburst during Chaplain Sawyer’s opening prayer. Comrade Stokowski took offense at part of the prayer that appeared to be a lecture to the membership and interrupted the Chaplain while he was speaking. During discussion, the Commander commented that the Chaplain can modify his prayer, but anything resembling a lecture would be out of line. The membership was divided over the issue of censure, but the motion passed by majority vote. There were 15 votes in favor of censure and 13 opposed.

b. The Commander mentioned that Fairfax County will be offering free classes for active duty and deployed military members. Check the County Web site for information.

c. Good of the Legion: Committeeman Hurd made a plea for the membership to get along better during meetings. We are all comrades and we should be considerate of other members in resolving differences. The Commander stated that nothing negative will go out in the Post Scripts.

6. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 2126. Pat Peterson won the 50-50 drawing and donated the amount ($48) to Legion Baseball.

Ali Nikolai Lew Lipscomb

Vice Adjutant Commander