Commanders Message

Legion Family All --- As your new Post 3 Commander, I have been asked to introduce myself to the entire membership in this issue of the Lincoln Legionnaire. So, here goes..... I was born in Atlantic, Iowa; and my father was a manager for J.C. Penneys. We moved around the Midwest about every 2 years and ended up in Havelock where he opened his own small retail store. I attended elementary school in Havelock and University Place and then went on to Northeast High School. The University of Nebraska was next on my educational journey (1958). I was drafted into the Army in 1962 and sent to Fort Leonard Wood for Basic Training --- and then on to Fort Sill for AIT where I trained on how to fire 105mm howitzers. After graduation, I was assigned to a Nike Missile Battery about 60 miles out of Fairbanks, Alaska. There, I was a missile crewman-launch control operator and warhead team member. I was discharged in Fort Lewis in 1964 after driving the Alcan Highway from Fairbanks to Fort Lewis in Washington. I spent most of my civilian working career in sales and marketing, the last 33 years of which I worked in wholesale paper distribution (Western Paper Co. and SCA Tissue --- a Swedish paper manufacturing company located in Stockholm, Sweden). I am married to Mary Graft (my much better half) and together we have 5 children and 6 grandchildren. I have been blessed way more than I deserve. I have been a proud member of Post 3 here in Lincoln for 31 continuous years. I have also served the Nebraska American Legion as District 15 Vice Commander, District 15 Commander, and Area C Vice Commander --- and I am very happy to say recently elected as your Post 3 Commander. Post 3 is fortunate to have a number of very experienced Legionnaires on our membership rolls, and they are open to offering advice and leadership to me. My1st Vice Commander is Gerry Wolf, and my 2nd Vice Commander is Bruce Gubser. They are experienced and knowledgeable leaders who will do us all proud. Well, we remain in the midst of the pandemic and keep looking for good news. But, Post 3 has been very active during this Covid 19 issue with weekly Leadership Zoom meetings to make sure we keep on track to be the best we can be. There’s plenty of bad news --- like wearing our masks to make a run to Walmart, the grocery store, and church (if it’s open). I’m just not getting used to wearing that blasted mask. I do it to protect others, but I don’t like it (sorry). We’ve all heard recently that the Big Ten has cancelled all fall sports for this year. Hard to imagine fall in Nebraska without Cornhusker Football. We hear so much conflicting information concerning the virus that it’s difficult to know for sure if we are gaining or losing ground. At this point, about all we can do is mask up and keep six feet of separation while awaiting the “all clear.” On the plus side of things, The American Legion remains focused on doing what we do best --- helping veterans and their families. No changes or slowdown there. The Post 3 Leadership Team is working hard to keep the positive momentum from last year (2019 -2020) rolling into the new year. We are currently working on processing membership renewals and applications. If you have a couple of hours on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays, we could use some help in the office (call me if interested). We expect (at this time) to have an in-person Post 3 meeting at the Elks Lodge on September 8th at 7:00PM with the Elks’ hamburger buffet starting at 6:00 P.M. Hopefully, this meeting will get us back on track of in-person fellowship and conducting our business face-to-face. Let’s make this meeting the best attended meeting we have had so far this year. 

Sure will be good to see you all!

Respectfully, Wade Graft Post 3 Commander