SamKat: American Legion Editorial ... Thx Paul C!

Dear Legion Family Members and Friends,

For some students, summer represents a time to push aside responsibilities and personal growth. Instead, they frequent the pool or beach, stay up late and hang out with friends.

Of course, we all need some R&R in our lives. But, thanks to American Legion programs and the volunteers who guide them, tens of thousands of young people are gaining experiences that will help shape their lives. The Legion’s youth programs are second to none when it comes to mentoring kids and molding them into our future leaders.

The list of prominent alumni from the Legion’s most popular youth programs is impressive. Consider that former President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, NBA player and coach Phil Jackson, astronaut Neil Armstrong and NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw are among those who attended Boys State. Additionally, there are more than 60 former American Legion Baseball players enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, including Yogi Berra, Greg Maddux and Ted Williams. And the Junior Shooting Sports program helped give rise to Olympic gold medalist Jamie Lynn Gray.

It’s not only the leadership qualities that emerge in these Legion programs. Alumni forever remember the bonds they made during their time in our programs.

Jackie Bradley Jr., an emerging star outfielder for the Boston Red Sox, played for American Legion Post 146 in Hopewell, Va., from 2006-2008.

“The experiences and the people that I got to meet – second to none,” Bradley said in an interview at spring training. “A lot of the coaches, I still stay in contact with to this day. The relationships that formed over the years – they’re still intact. (They) still come see me.”

And for today’s generation – for whom it will only be a matter of time until they make an impressionable mark on society – the programs provide energy and enthusiasm.

Take Brett Barrick, for example, who recently was among nearly 100 young men who participated in Oregon Boys State in Salem. He wasn’t sure that one week was enough to make an impact.

“They weren’t exaggerating when they coined the phrase, ‘the week that can shape a lifetime,’” Barrick said. “I am humbled by the people I have encountered, the things I’ve witnessed, the things I’ve been a part of in this week. In five days, I feel like I’ve already made a difference on the rest of my life.”

And, I am humbled when I see Legionnaires give their time to the future leaders of tomorrow. You have my gratitude whether you work the concession stand at a Legion Baseball game, teach a young person gun safety at a Junior Shooting Sports club, serve as a counselor at Boys State or stay involved some other way.

Thanks to the efforts of our American Legion Family, our nation’s youth has a bright future indeed.

Duty. Honor. Country.