From the Commander, Terry S. Ward

I am excited to announce that we have four new members of our Post’s Executive Committee, and many others that are continuing to serve in the positions they have held in previous years.   Our new Post leadership is: 

Commander                     Terry Ward (8^th term, 3^rd as Commander)

1^st Vice Commander     Jeff Mattingly (2^nd  term, new   position)

Pictured above, left to right: Mike Adams, Terry Ward, Stephen Iles, David Hale, Bruno Padovani (Not pictured: Jeff Mattingly, Brandon Adderholt, and Patti Whitmore.)

I am reminded of  the phrase “Veterans Strengthening America” that I’ve read and heard other leaders use.  It’s a phrase that strikes my inner being and motivates me to look at the bigger picture of why we gather together, and how fortunate I am to associate with the best citizens our country has.   We are the “6.5 percenters”  of our Nation’s population that are/were willing to sacrifice for a cause bigger than ourselves or own self-interests.  We all have served, and continue to serve, our fellow veterans, our nation, our military, and communities we live in, and especially our youth and children.  I challenge you all to take an active role in the programs and events we are a part of as a post!  Post 281 has a reputation for being active and volunteering to make a difference.  Come and join us and make it happen! 

Continuing to Serve,

Terry Ward

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Randall Hutto is a lifelong resident of Wilson County. Growing up in Watertown, he graduated from Watertown High School and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree from Middle Tennessee State University in 1984. He would continue his education with a master’s plus 30 hours in Education from Trevecca Nazarene College.   He began his career in education at Lebanon High School in 1984, teaching U.S. History, Math and Physical Education. During his tenure at Lebanon High, Randall utilized his passion for both young people and athletics as an assistant varsity football coach for 18 years and led the Blue Devils Boys’ Varsity Basketball team as head coach for 12 years.   After an 18-year career at Lebanon High School, Randall accepted the opportunity to serve as Assistant Director of Schools for the Lebanon Special School District in 2003. He began new and challenging career in September of 2010, when the citizens of Wilson County elected him to serve as Wilson County Mayor. 

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UPCOMING POST CALENDAR OF EVENTS:

10 June, Regular Post meeting, CDP CC @ 5:30 pm. Reports from the guys that attended Boys State and Wilson County Mayor Randal Huttow will speak.      

14 & 15 June, Dept Convention, Murfreesboro, Embassy Suites

1 July, Executive Committee meeting, CDP CC Room B @ 5:30 pm

8 July,  Regular Post meeting, CDP CC @ 5:30 pm.    Reports from the guys attending Boys State

5 Aug, Executive Committee meeting, CDP CC Room B @ 5:30 pm

12 Aug,  Regular Post meeting, CDP CC @ 5:30 pm.    Reports from the guys attending Boys State

14-23 Aug, State/Wilson County Fair, Veterans Booth Coverage

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Meet your new Executive Committee Officers

Completed Basic Training 6/2023. Joined the Honor Guard 7/2023.  Volunteered for website content management (Webmeister) 11/2023.  Joined the Executive Committee as a non-voting member 2023.  Completed Department of Tennessee Legion Collage 8/2024. Accepted the 1st Vice Commander position 5/2025.

Military history:  Missouri Military Academy 1974 – 1978.  Echo Company Commander, 90 cadets.  Fusiliers exhibition drill team member and Individual Drill Regulation Squad Leader. U.S. Army 1979 – 1986.  MP Corps – 95B, Signal Corps – 34H, and Quartermaster Corps – 94B.

Civilian background:  14 years in beverage distribution (beer), 14 years in second-tier retail distribution (Essex/Bargain Hunt), warehousing & online fulfilment.  Local and OTR driving positions that filled in the gaps.

Hobbies:  Travel trailering, rough woodworking/ fix-it shop

I was stationed at Medical Center San Diego (Balboa) until 2016 working in Fleet Liaison (middleman between fleet and hospital organizing medevacs and briefing foreign ships), received orders to USS Frank Cable in Guam in 2016, entered the Planning division, allowing me to organize repair packages for submarines and surface ships throughout Asia and the Pacific theater. Honorable discharge in April 2018. I have been married 8 years and my wife and I have a 5-year-old boy. I currently work as an estimator for public, private, and commercial water and sewer services.

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Post 281’s Honor Guard is one of the few Honor Guards in our Region.  Our honor guard is typically called multiple times a month to provide honors at funerals all across our region.  If an Honor Guard is needed to “Present the Colors” , they call our post first.   The team is typically asked to offer a rifle volley as well.   Our team is often called upon to be an Honor Guard for fellow veterans that have passed on to the “Post Everlasting” , as is the Legion-approved manner of recognizing the death of a member.   OUR HONOR GUARD NEEDS ADDITIONAL MEMBERS.  The post provides the uniforms and reimburses the travel expenses to and from any organized call on the part of the Honor Guard.  If you are interested in finding out more, talk with any of the members of the team or contact HG Captain Steve Wren at 615-957-3489.  

The Honor Guard’s current and past members are ( not in alphabetical order) :   Cary Cundall and Steve Wren are the only active HG members who are left from the original 2011 HG.  Jim Atwood, Bill Houston and Robert Fields were also original members and are no longer active. Current members include:

Mike Adams, Jim Cheramie, Pat Costanza, Mike Faoro, David Hale, Jeff Mattingly, Don Moody, Bruno Padovani, Arnold Painter, Dan Rhame, Jim Simpson, Wayne Smith, Shawn Taylor, Brenda Thompson, Fred Thompson, Grady Thompson and Bud Werner.  Rolus Smith, Roland Forand and Mickey Clark were former active members for many years.  Cleo Todd, George Cooper and Mike Scoville are deceased.

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American Legion Riders, Run for the Wall 2025

A group of our Post 281 members welcomed The Run For The Wall riders at the Beckwith Road overpass on May 18th. I would guesstimate there were around 200 riders in the main body and then several different smaller groups that passed before they came through. It was a great day to be out there and to be welcomed by so many motorists and truckers that were going under the bridge and were thrilled to see American flags waving. Our post always offers financial support to this event in the way of funding some of the fuel cost for riders on their journey across the country, from Oxnard, CA to The Wall in Washington, D.C.

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American Legion of Tennessee, Boys State 25 -30 May, Tennessee Technical University, Cookville, Tennessee

Chris Davis, the News Channel 5, Emmy / AP Award-winning reporter at NewsChannel 5 Nashville, and former reporter at WHNT-Huntsville and KSDK- St. Louis (the red-haired young man pictured above on the right, when he was a junior in high school) shared his memories of being a Boys State selectee.

Governor Bill Lee (pictured above on the left) spoke at Tennessee’s Boys State today, “which got me reminiscing about my own American Legion Boys State experience,” stated Chris Davis.

Boys State is a nationwide program, run by the American Legion, which takes delegates from each high school and brings them together to learn about public service and leadership.

Over the course of a week, the boys (and girls at Girls State) elect a governor, mayors, aldermen and the like.

“I had a friend at Boys State that decided to run for governor, and I helped him run his campaign. The first picture there is me giving his nominating speech at the assembly. He won the nomination but fell short of the office. That experience probably served me well now that I cover the legislature for us.

“I recently found out that my grandfather and father also attended Boys State, which is pretty amazing. I’m glad the program still thrives.”

Our post sponsored the following young high school juniors. They have all committed to come and speak at one of our post meetings (reference below) and tell our members about their experience over the next three months, before school goes back into session.          

• From Mt Juliet High School:
• Bangera, Tanish (July)
• Brown, Oliver (Aug)
• Constantin, David (Aug)
• Lewis, Dyson (Aug)
• Scoby, Ethan (June)

• From Green Hill High School:
• Bearup, Riley (Aug)
• Gatlin, James (Jul)
• Loftis, Adam (Jul)
• Marshall, John (July, but presenting to the members of the Dell Webb Veteran’s Club )
• Hailu, Nikodemos (Jul)
• York, Nicholas (Aug)

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Boy Scout Troop 150 gets a new flag.

For those members who are unaware, American Legion Post 281 is the sponsor of Boy Scout Troop 150 of Mt Juliet. This has been an ongoing relationship that started shortly after the post was chartered. In a recent conversation with a few troop leaders, we were made aware that they needed a new Troop flag. They wondered if we could help them with financing. The answer was an emphatic “of course. We’d be glad to step in and help out.” This is what the flag looks like.

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Wilson County Memorial Day Events

Post 281 Commander Ward, center, Post 17 Commander Chris Beetles, left, Vietnam Veterans of American Commander Mike Myers, left and second row, and Linda Yates {President of the Auxiliary) Vietnam Veterans of America place a floral wreath in memory of Wilson County veterans that have given the ultimate sacrifice at the Wilson County Memorial Service held at the Veterans Center in Lebanon on Memorial Day.

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Random shots worth seeing. More information about the Honoring America’s Flag event in the future.

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Recent Quilts of Valor Recipients

Don Moody

Don Moody served in the U.S. Navy during Vietnam from 1963 to 1969 as a Construction Mechanic, specializing in the maintenance and repair of the Navy’s heavy construction equipment.

For the rest of Don’s meritorious service narrative please Click Here and take a moment to read about some of our other recipients as well.

Arnold (Arnie) Painter

Arnie, Jr., comes from a long family tradition of military service. His great-grandfather served in the Confederacy in the Civil War. His grandfather served under General Pershing during the Mexican Expedition from 1916-1917. His father, Arnie, Sr., served in WWII and the Korean War. Both Senior and Junior Arnie’s served at the same time in the 2d Infantry Division during the Korean War.

For the rest of Arnie’s lengthy and colorful service narrative, please Click Here and scroll down to find his story.

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Wilson County Fair

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Post Challenge Coin Sales and availablity

If you would like to purchase a Post Challenge Coin, contact FO Steve Iles though this website, or drop any post officer a note and we can “square you away”. Cost is $7.00 each. We have experienced very positive comments and greater-than-expected sales and it seems we will be placing a second order in the near future.

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Each year at the end of the school year, our post recognizes cadets from the local JROTC programs that excel in military excellence and in scholastic excellence. The cadets are selected by the program’s senior military instructors based on a variety of factors.

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For those of you whom have made it this far into the current newsletter, how about sharing a few comments or perhaps some recommendations for other “content” items that might be informative and entertaining. Although producing a document in the form of an online newsletter may seem simple, it represents hours of work and can be very frustrating too. Thanks……!

Come join us for our next meeting, February 11th

FROM THE COMMANDER:

 Recently, I had the distinct honor of attending Veteran’s Day on Capitol Hill, that was sponsored by the Tennessee veterans organization known as TNVET, with a few members of our post.  In that meeting there were representatives from 12 different nonprofit veterans organizations within the state that all have a common goal of offering services to our state’s veteran population, which is just south of 500,000 veterans in total.   Our purpose for the meeting was to visit our legislators that represent our districts  and counties and to ask them to support the four proposed pieces of legislation to take before the General Assembly.  

(See brief of proposed legislation in this newsletter)  The day was just a little bit chaotic with getting shuffled to the Cordell Hull building in a van from Titan Stadium and  then being shuffled through security checks and then upstairs to a narrow and long conference room, followed by becoming familiarized with the four pieces of legislation we had to know well enough to introduce and talk with each representative we had the opportunity to meet with.  Then we were off to different floors and different senate and representative members’ offices, in the hopes of finding them in and available to talk with.  Surprisingly every representative was there and seemed more than happy to talk with us and listen to what we had to say.  My biggest takeaway from the whole experience was that our senators and representatives listen to us when we voice an opinion and want to address a foreseen problem.  Collectively, we as veterans in our communities do have influence and our mission is to stand up and be heard.  I look forward to next year’s Veteran’s 

Day on the Hill.   Who will stand up and go with me?      

Local Public Servants get recognized by the post during January’s regular post meeting

Post recognition of Mt J Police Officer Justin Angle and MT J Firefighter Matthias Beatty , with distinguished leadership from the City of Mt. Juliet as guests along with city manager Kenny Martin sharing his appreciation of our city’s veterans and our post presence in the community.

We are proud to announce that we now have a post challenge coin. It was decided by the executive committee and voted on and approved by the general membership to purchase challenge coins to be able to give away to those people and organizations that promote our post and support us. They are also for members of our post that go above and beyond in their community service and to  nonmember veterans that provide service to our community of veterans in our state. If you would like to purchase a few coins to give away, they are $7.00 apiece. We have a good supply and we’re happy to have them and to be able to award them as well. For more information about purchasing a coin, talk to one of your executive committee leaders.

What makes a great American Legion Post?

Simple, its members.  Members engage in their post and in their community.  Former 1^st Vice Commander John Herko leads a buddy call campaign every year.  He and about 8-12 Legionnaires call members to check on them to see how they are doing and if they need help.  This process is called Buddy Check and involves members who we haven’t seen or heard from recently.  It takes some time to accomplish, but if we don’t do it, who will?

How do you make your post known in the community?  Simple, get involved. One of the initiatives that the post has undertaken in the last year is an expansion of doing just that.  Sure, we have our Honor the Flag event, and we will participate in the Christmas parade.  We even sponsor our post oratorical contest and support Scouting, Boys’ State, and junior ROTC at two high schools.  But we need to do more.  This year we engaged with Mt. Juliet Police and Firefighters to sponsor and recognize the top recommendations from each agency.  While this was our first year, we will continue this every year and hope to expand it to include employer of the year for Mt. Juliet.  We will continue to seek ideas on how to be engaged and contribute to our community. When you are out in the community shopping or just milling around, wear with pride your American Legion hat.  It will engage you with people who may also be veterans and look for fellow veterans.  Again, people interaction and involvement.

We have 243 members on the roster.  173 are up to date for 2025 or beyond.  Call your friends and ask them to check their card and see if it says 2025.  If not, see the adjutant or renew online.  You can renew online with no more problems for the post.  You can renew it for 1 or 3 years. 2026 will be 250 years of AMERICA!  Start preparing now. 2025 will be 250 years of THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS.  It started on November 10^th, 1776 in a little bar in Pennsylvania called Tun Tavern.  

The Post Data Report is due May 15^th, 2026.  If you’ve done any type of community service, please fill out an After-Action Report and forward it to the adjutant.  These PDR’s are the report used by National to justify our existence and require support by the Federal government. American Legion Riders – Officer elections were held in November 2024.  Rosters are due immediately along with $3 per rider.  To be a rider you must be a member of the post in good standing (dues current) or a family member of a post 281 member.

The Eagle Scout of the Year nomination is due March 1^st, 2025.  SAL of the Year nominations are due by May 15^th, 2025, per National.

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP: Dues shall be paid by October 20 of each year prior to the start of the next calendar year. Legion membership is annual, the Legion year being from January 1 to December 31. Department and National dues shall be paid for the full year, irrespective of the month in which the member shall join the local Post. Membership dues are three-fold, Post, Department and National. Membership is not considered current until paid and transmitted to all three levels. If membership dues have not been paid by January 1 of each calendar year, the member becomes delinquent. If dues have not been paid by February 1, the member is suspended, but nevertheless as a member with no privilege to vote, or hold office except that of reinstatement by vote of the Post and payment of dues; and dues not being paid, such membership continues without privileges for a period of five months, to June 30, at which time the member is dropped from the roll by Constitutional mandate and the membership forfeited.

As always, if you need anything or just want to talk, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me by phone, text, email or snail mail.  We all need to “Be the One” to be there for our brothers and sisters of Combat in Arms.  WE know what it’s like; WE know how the mind wanders and thinks.  NEVER think you are alone or the only one to be in a position of conflict by body or mind.  

Congratulations DON MOODY, one of our new Post members, for his 57 years of American Legion  Membership. 

From our Post 281 Finance Officer, 

The finances of Post 281 continue to be healthy and enable our Post to be active in community & other veterans-focused events.

For example, our Post has recently donated $500 to the American Legion Emergency Fund, donated over $600 toward Wreaths Across America, purchased over $600 of items for Hurricane relief in East TN, and purchased and gave out candy for both Halloween In The Park and the MJ Christmas parade.  So, I am grateful for the generosity of our Post that enables us to help  support many functions in the local community as well as the State of TN.

Honored to serve you and Post 281,

Steve ILes 

5^th District 2025 Oratorical Contest 

Congratulations to the winner of the American Legion 5th District Oratorical contest that was held in Old Hickory, TN at Saint Stephen’s Catholic Church on Saturday the 8^th of February, 2025. Three contestants, all from Mount Juliet, came and gave it their best. Congratulations go to Katelynn A. from Mt. Juliet Greenhill High School who came in first place (pictured above), with Alex C., also from Greenhill High School, coming in second, and Savannah S. from Mt. Juliet High School coming in third. Each student walked away with a little cash in their pocket and a challenge coin from our post. This is my fifth year of being involved in the local/division/and state levels of the oratorical contest and it’s always so rewarding and most certainly one of the strengths of the American Legion in our local communities. A special thanks to the organizer, Post member Bruno Padovani, for his organizational efforts to make the contest happen and to American Legion Auxiliary Unit 281 for their snacks they provided to those who attend. Katelynn now advances to Central Tennessee competition where she will compete with the 1st place winners from five districts. Job well done, students. It’s always refreshing to hear the patriotic expressions of our youth, while knowing they are our future as well.  

Greetings Everyone,

It is that time of year again for the Auxiliary Tree Sale in Mt. Juliet.  I have attached the order form for your convenience in ordering your trees.  Click Here for your Order Form

Please note:  There are a few changes to be mindful of.  First of all, we had to schedule the pickup earlier than usual this year, so it is imperative that you get your order in quickly.  The pickup date is Saturday, March 29, 2025.  We are now taking orders through March 19, 2025 with payment due by March 22, 2025.  Please, no exceptions.

Secondly, we had to increase our cost this year to $30.00 per tree.  However, the good news is if you pay by credit card or Venmo, you will not be charged a fee.  Of course, checks are also acceptable.

Third, the only refunds we will be issuing this year will be for trees ordered and paid for but not available from our supplier.  We ask that you make sure when the trees are loaded into your vehicle that the count is correct.  Our helpers will make every effort to load the correct number, but it is also your responsibility to verify the count.  You will not be issued a refund if you get home and find your order was short.

All of that being said, we look forward to supplying you with some great shrubs and trees again this year and hope that you will once again support our Auxiliary fundraiser.  As in the past, some of the funds will be used to send local 11th grade girls to Tennessee Volunteer Girls State (an Auxiliary program designed to empower young women to become great leaders and responsible citizens and to learn about our government and how laws are enacted). Remaining funds will be used to support our Veterans and to promote patriotism in our community in any way we can.

I will look forward to hearing from you soon.  

Sincerely, Kathy Leedy  Unit 281 Fund  Raising Chairman

Buddy Check callers with appreciation certificates, from left to right:  Terry Ward, Jackie Price, Bridget Passatore, Jeff Mattingly, Roger Brugger, John Ogle, Wayne Smith, John Herko and Delmar Smith.   Not pictured: Pat Costanzo, Katie (Sarazine) Gallimore, Eric Rodiguez, Joshua Sims, Chaz Spampinato, Pat Unger and Max Wix.

We consider it our most sacred responsibility to look out for each other and our fellow veterans. Since May 2019, by way of an organization-wide resolution, Legionnaires conduct Buddy Checks during the weeks of The American Legion’s birthday, March 15, and Veterans Day. Legion posts also perform this vital function whenever it makes the most sense in their communities. 

Post 281 Honor Guard members at Veterans Day in Lebanon.  Our Honor Guard has rendered a total of497 military honors since inception in 2010.

Tennessee Veterans (TNVET) Veterans Day on the Hill

TNVET is a 501(C) (3) Veteran Organization composed of 12 different Veterans Support organizations from across the state with over 50,000 veterans, as members, when combined.  

On January 29th, 2025. Members from of TNVET met at the Cordell Hill Building at the state’s Capital for the annual Veteran’s day on the Hill. Members met with their legislators to brief and gain support for four pieces of TN VET legislation. 

They were as follows: 

1. Change of the Disabled Veterans Property Tax Exemption and reimbursement. 
2. Establishment of the state, dedicated  method or program that raises money dedicated to veteran’s needs and programs through the Tennessee Lottery. 
3. Changing the eligibility terms of the state of Tennessee Sponsored Helping heroes’ grants. 
4. Exploring the state support of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for PTSD and brain injury, for veterans, where it can benefit.

Come and join the discussion on Tuesday, February the 11 at our regular meeting.  

Pictures from our day on Capitol Hill. 

District 17’s, (Wilson and Davidson County)  Representative Mark Pody, was more than gracious and eager to meet Jeff Mattingly, Mike Faoro, and me.    

Seems we have a good variety of Veterans, from all time periods of American’s conflicts and wars.