At this point in a horse race, the track announcer would be calling the race midway through the fourth turn and approaching the head of the stretch.. That is the stage that our campaign for election of Dave Rehbein as National Commander has reached.

      Over the last 20 months, the campaign has sent Dave on visits to 34 Departments. There should have been 34 but weather in New England prevented completion of a trip to Vermont. There have been hospitality receptions at two Washington Legislative conferences. Iowa has hosted hospitality rooms at two Fall and one Spring NEC meeting.

      Visits are currently planned to Rhode Island, Alabama, Nevada, Oregon, Montana, Illinois, Delaware, Maryland, Wisconsin and Florida. A fourth hospitality room will be hosted in Indianapolis during the Spring Commission and NEC meetings on May 4-6. Plans are well underway for that session.

      Plans are also being made for the Department caucus visits at the convention in Phoenix. It is necessary that we visit each of the Department caucuses to make a final presentation for Dave’s candidacy. This year the Departments are much more widely spread than in Reno in 2007. Names are being collected of Legion family members able to spend time as a part of one of the caucus teams. If you will be in Phoenix for the convention and are willing to help with that process, please call Department Headquarters and give them your name.

      On the subject of Phoenix and the election, there will be a celebration on Thursday, August 28 after the close of the convention. The celebration will be at the Iowa hotel from 4-6 PM. There will be no cost for the celebration. We hope everyone that attends the convention will be able to stay.

      Plans are also being put in place for a homecoming here in Iowa following the election. That celebration will take place on Saturday, September 13 in Ames at the ISU Memorial Union. Further details will be available at a later date but please circle September 13 and help celebrate an event that the Iowa Legion family has worked hard for two years to achieve.

      At this point with the very successful fundraising here in Iowa and generous donations from other Departments and Legionnaires outside Iowa and with the commitments that are currently in place, we are not planning a fundraising event at the Department convention, at least not for the campaign. Those type of events may well continue since the Iowa Legion family seemed to enjoy those events except that the proceeds will be dedicated for other projects. That is a decision to be made at the Department and Detachment level.

      In any event, the end of the campaign is in sight. Iowa and her Legion family have done an outstanding job. Dave’s visits to other Departments have gone very well. We are anticipating Dave’s election and look forward to him joining the ranks of Iowa’s four previous outstanding National Commanders as the fifth of that group.