COMMANDER'S CORNER February 2026

Hello, Post 108 Family,

Welcome to February. We are halfway to Spring! I saw where renowned Pennsylvania weather forecaster, Punxsutawney Phil, emerged from his burrow on Groundhog Day (2 Feb) to make his highly anticipated annual weather prediction, this year calling for 6 more weeks of winter! According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, 

Punxsutawney Phil’s predictions are wrong nearly 60% of the time! Did you know Arizona has its own version of Phi, known as Aqua Fria Freddie, a rattlesnake? See the attached article for more information on Freddie. How do you trust more, Freddie or Phil?

We are doing extremely well with 2026 membership renewals. Our 2026 goal for the post is 98 members. As of today, we are at 112.2% of our goal with 110 members renewed or joined thus far and one PUFL who transferred in recently to put us at 111 members. The Post’s annual dues are still only $45.00, of which we retain only $11.00. The balance goes to National and Department. We still have just a handful of members who have not renewed yet for 2026. If you are one of the handful of members who have not yet renewed for 2026 and have signed up for the Legion Insurance program, you will need to re-enroll for that after you pay your 2026 dues.

To renew on-line, go to www.legion.org, then click on the red renew button on the top right of the screen. Besides annual dues, there is also the 3-year option, or PUFL (Paid Up for Live) option, if interested. Select the option you want and follow the prompts to pay. You can also send a check to our Post Office Box (PV Post 108, POB 26239, Prescott Valley, AZ 86312) or save that expensive postage stamp and bring it to our next meeting. We would love to see you at a meeting!

Elton Anderson is recovering at home from his fall and surgery last month. Kathy Keller had back surgery this week and last report is she is recovering at home. Let’s keep them both in your prayers for a speedy recovery.

Don’t forget, the Post has adopted the American Legion Park on Bob Drive. Members are at the park on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays each month at around 1145 to tidy things up. Please head over and give them a hand.

February is a busy month with Boys State and Oratorical registrations going on. Nick Purdin, Roger Rodriquez and I will be interviewing several boys from Bradshaw Mountain High School for Boys State this coming week. I also did several presentations at the AZ Agribusiness and Equine Center (AAEC) High School late last month for both Boys and Girls State last month. I haven’t heard back for AAEC if there are students there interested this year. It looks like our last year’s Oratorical candidate from AAEC has registered to

compete again this year. I am trying to get her to the February meeting to present her prepared speech for the post family.

At Bingo last month, we had a first, as far as I can remember, when doing the blackout game, we had 3 veterans who all called Bingo on the same call and they were all correct!

We have flags coming up on President’s Day, 16 February. I will attach announcement along with this Commander’s Corner. After that, our next flag day will be on Sunday, 29 March for Vietnam War Veterans Day.

Peggy has some items that we were going to use at the cancelled horseshoe tournament. We are going to do an auction at the meeting for some of these items so bring some cash with you.. You might just go home with something. Below is what we will be auctioning off at the meeting and a photo of each item.

1. Target Gift Certificate. Valued at $50. 2. Red-X Armory Gift Certificate. Valued at $50

We now have member/guest sign-in sheets at the Post meetings, so we know who is at each meeting. Please take a moment to sign in when you arrive.

Don’t forget to record your Post and Community/Veterans hours for the month. And, the riders are now being asked for their mileage as well. (You can put them in the logbook at each meeting or email them to Ron at: ronarrigoni@gmail.com

Attached to this newsletter will be the latest finance report, the minutes of the January meeting, and the article about Agua Fria Freddie.

I hope to see you at our meeting on 10th. Until then, stay warm, healthy, and safe!

Gary Taylor,

Your Humbled Post Commander