American Legion Post 106 in Miami is in danger of closing it’s doors due to issues with membership and funding.
Chester Bursell of Post 106 said if enough members come from Pampa, the possibility of moving it’s location up the road to Pampa would be likely.
“District Commander Louis Fields have been talking to us for about a year or so and thought there might be enough people up here that might be interested,” Bursell said. “Everybody, except for about one or two, around Miami are getting so old. We had a bunch from [Pampa] coming at one time, but they’ve all passed away. Nobody is interested in Miami anymore.”
Bursell said at one point there was significant donation to the Legion and at the time of his commander’s passing, Bursell and the Commander were the only two with access to the funds.
“Now it’s just down to me,” Bursell said. “Our general fund is almost flat by the time I pay insurance on the building. What we’ve done before he passed away was went to the bank and moved the CD up here to Pampa and had a small savings we could get into to help the general fund. Well, that is gone.
“With nobody interested we’ve lost all of our fundraisers. We can’t give awards to the kids like we used to.”
Bursell would like to know if there are enough people interested, they could possibly still use the Post 106 name, even if there is a building in Pampa.
According to the American Legion national website, “The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization. Focusing on service to veterans, service members and communities, the Legion evolved from a group of war-weary veterans of World War I into one of the most influential nonprofit groups in the United States.
“Membership swiftly grew to over 1 million, and local posts sprang up across the country. Today, membership stands at nearly 2 million in more than 13,000 posts worldwide. The posts are organized into 55 departments: one each for the 50 states, along with the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, France, Mexico and the Philippines.”
If you have served at least one day of active military duty since December 7, 1941 and were honorably discharged or you are still serving active military duty honorably, you are eligible for membership with The American Legion.
There are still 12,704 Posts that raise millions of dollars for community outreaches such as emergencies, scholarships, VA hospitals, military support and other charities.
If you are new to town and would like to join or transfer your membership to Post 106, or if you have questions about membership or membership dues, you can speak to Chester Bursell at (806) 662-9519. You will need to provide your 9-digit membership Id and your DD214 to verify your eligibility.
