Veteran Holidays. Towns decorated with American Flags on light posts. Graves of resting military decorated with American flags. These are just some things the American Legion does for local communities.
Members of the American Legion are seeing interest in the local community decline in recent years. The legion is a nonprofit group run by military veterans. Rodney (Rod) Collins, a 12-year member and financial officer of Legion Post 118 in Mars Hill, said, “I’ll bet 75 percent of our members are 80 or older. But this town has been very supportive.”
Post 118 was chartered in 1922. The original building burned to the ground in the late 1940s. The current building was built in the 1950s. Members of Post 118 use fundraisers to pay for its donations to charities such as Angel Flight. Angel Flight helps cover costs for emergency flights to hospitals. Money also goes into scholarships and funeral honors for families of veterans.
The Legion raises money selling raffle tickets and hosting Saturday night bingo. Most funds raised go to keeping the lights on and the heat running. Other areas of donation come by hosting meals. Bingo is their longest running fundraiser to date.
With few members, keeping things running can be a challenge. Rene Wells, commander of Post 118, knows this. Since all members are military veterans, they tend to butt heads.
“You have to play to everyone’s strengths,” Wells said. The job is hard but rewarding. “The most rewarding thing is to reach out and help so many people,” Wells said.
Post 118 meets on the first Thursday of every month at 7 p.m.
