Commander

Craig Johnson

1st Vice Commander

Dean Zarske

2nd Vice Commander

Doug Heding

2nd Vice Commander

Alen Habermeyer

Adjutant / Finance Officer

Robert Laloggia

Historian

Clark Wangerin

Sergeant at Arms / Immediate Past Commander

Donald Basting

Sergeant at Arms

George Gohde

Chaplain

Peter Schiller

Director of Membership / Chairman

Raymond Grzys

Judge Advocate

Albert Cote

Service Officer

Tom Harstad

Duties of Elected Officers

Post Commander

The Commander is the Chief Executive Officer of the Post and shall supervise, lead and manage the Post and its Officers.

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The Commander shall preside at all Board Meetings, General Meetings, Special General Meetings and Special Board Meetings; nominate Standing Committees and Temporary Committees and their Chair, perform the duties necessary to keep the Post operating in an effective an efficient manner; have such other powers and duties as may be prescribed by the Board, Bylaws or as promulgated by The American Legion; and preserve the integrity of the Post Charter.

1st Vice Commander

First Vice-Commander is the Chair of the Membership Committee and shall assume and discharge the duties of the office of Commander in the absence or disability of the Commander.

2nd Vice Commander

Second Vice-Commander is the Chair of the Ways and Means Committee, assist with Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation, public affairs, and Community Outreach as directed by the Commander, and shall assume and discharge the duties of the office of First Vice-Commander or Commander in the absence of disability of such officers.

Finance Officer

The Finance Officer shall be the Chair of the Finance Committee, and responsible for overseeing the Post's financial records.

Historian

The Post Historian shall compile and preserve a pictorial post-history for print and electronic distribution.

Sergeant at Arms

The Sergeant-at-Arms shall preserve order at all meetings and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the Commander from time to time.

Chaplain

The duties of the Chaplain are to pronounce the invocation and the benediction at Legion meetings, as well as perform such other acts as would fall within the realm of his/her office as the spiritual leader. They should conduct the memorial service when such is needed.

Director of Membership / Chairman

Recruits, retains, and engages members to give the Post the volunteers to create success for the American Legion in the local community.

Duties of Appointed Officers

Adjutant

The Adjutant is the Secretary of the Board.  Under the direction of the Commander, the Adjutant shall receive and answer all correspondence of the Post; have charge of and keep a complete and correct record of the proceedings of all Official Meetings; and prepare summarized meeting minutes and reports for publication.

Judge Advocate

The Judge Advocate’s duties shall be to advise the Post Commander of the interpretation or modification of the Post’s Constitution, Bylaws, and Rules and Regulations, and be responsible for an annual financial audit and the Post Responsibility Audit as described in the American Legion Officer’s Guide.

Service Officer

The Service Officer duties are generally the coordination of all Post 296 veterans assistance programs; assist in processing veterans claims; and protecting the rights and privileges of all veterans, their dependents and survivors.

Color/Honor Guard

Post 296 Color/Honor Guard is organized to assist our regular uniformed military men and women in rendering military honor at memorial services for our fellow veterans.  The squad also performs at various functions such as Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Flag Day, and special occasions.  Anyone interested in joining the ranks should be willing to give a small amount of their time to training and taking part in the various ceremonies. 

 If you would like to become a part of this group don’t hesitate to email the post and they will direct you in the right direction.