�鶹��ƵAV

For five years, Post 46 in Ann Arbor, Mich., has provided the food for the Washtenaw County Vet Fest, while also promoting the Legion to area veterans. 

For five years, the Wadhams Veterans Center at Washtenaw Community College (WCC) in Ann Arbor, Mich., has hosted Washtenaw County Vet Fest. The event both honors veterans and provides multiple resources for veterans and their families.

And since the event’s inception, Erwin Prieskorn American Legion Post 46 has been a major part of it. In addition to sharing information about the Legion at its tent, the post also provides both the food and the cooks for all attendees. This year the event fell on Aug. 1 and saw Post 46 feed just under 700 people with grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, as well as chips, fruit, drinks and dessert.

And while taking part in an event that offered more than 30 resources for veterans is worth the time and financial investment already, Post 46 Commander John Nichols said it’s also an opportunity to grow membership in his post, which has seen a yearly 15-percent increase in that effort.

“When people are waiting in line (for food), I’ll walk up and talk to them: ‘Hey, it’s 13 cents a day, 14 cents a day for American Legion membership,’” he said. “And we do a half-off sale on membership that day. And we have a nice challenge coin made up for our post, so we give them a challenge coin and a $25 discount if they join up that day.”

Growing the post – and the organization as a whole – is a priority for Nichols. “I’m real aggressive about membership and getting out in the community,” he said. “Our biggest problem is veterans no longer understand the connection between the veteran service organizations and their benefits. They walk into a (military) recruiter, and right away the recruiter talks about the GI Bill. They don’t know that that took marches and protests, and that we wrote the legislation for that. They just assume the Army’s like, ‘Hey, lets give these guys a free education.’

“They assume it’s just natural. And that’s the hardest thing: trying to connect them back to the organizations that got them those rights. That it’s important to be part of those organizations.”

Multiple VSOs take part in Vet Fest, which has allowed the festival to grow. “We’re a conduit to reach out to others,” Nichols said. “I retired from the state police, so I have contact with the K-9 program. I bring in a K-9 officer who does a static display, as well as two demonstrations there.

“We know several people who have historic military vehicles, so they’ll bring in static displays. So it’s grown really well. It’s been very natural, very organic, but it’s growing very nicely.”

In addition to the K-9 demonstration, this year’s festival also included:

·         Veteran service officers to help file claims.

·         Veteran-owned businesses.

·         Carnival games.

·         Balloon art, face painting and temporary tattoos.

·         A blood drive.

As what has become a tradition, the Department of American Legion commander attends the festival. This year, Department Commander Jim Austin was on hand to speak about the Legion and serve another purpose: calling out numbers for Post 46’s hourly raffles. The post raffles off items that local vendors have donated, as well as items the post itself has purchased.

It’s an opportunity for Post 46 to be visible in the community – and to promote what the organization has accomplished.

“I always tell people, ‘What came first: the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier or �鶹��ƵAV?’ �鶹��ƵAV,” Nichols said. “‘What came first: the GI Bill or �鶹��ƵAV?’ �鶹��ƵAV. ‘What came first: the VA or �鶹��ƵAV?’ �鶹��ƵAV.

“None of that would be around if it wasn’t for, in my opinion, the Legion.”