I am pleased that as we are just starting the new year, the 2024 Hall rental schedule has started with seven dates already booked! The 3,000-foot open Hall has a built-in sound system, hard wired and wireless microphones, WiFi, four large screen TVs with HTMI connections, an industrial kitchen with all new equipment, large yard for outside events with outside speakers and picnic tables, all with plenty of parking. In 2023, we held weddings, receptions, showers, birthday parties, anniversaries, celebrations of life, reunions, clam bakes, barbecues and church services. The Hall is available for $75 per hour and caps at $400. Not only is the Hall a great venue for any event, rentals support the Post and our mission of serving our community, veterans, and youth.

The Maine Veteran Coordinating Committee (MVCC) has been discussed several times in the past. This is a meeting where veterans can meet with the leadership of the VA once a month, typically via Zoom. The meetings are the first Monday of the month alternating between 3 and 6 p.m. Each meeting has a guest speaker and the February meeting (Feb. 5) the speaker will be Senator Angus King. For those attending, we are asking to send me any questions you might have for the senator in advance. We have limited time for the senator so we want to be sure if you have a question, the senator will be able to respond. If you can’t attend but still want to ask him a question, send that to me and I’ll forward it on. The questions and the answers will be in the minutes of the meeting which will be distributed to all Post members and to anyone who sends me a question and will be posted on the Legion website. My email is dapatch@roadrunner.com.

There are still many veterans out there that are eligible for the VA but haven’t registered. One reason I hear is that “I have good insurance so don’t need it,” or “I don’t want to take the spot of a veteran who needs it more than I do.” For many, that “good insurance” is an insurance policy you are paying for. Even good insurance typically has co-pays. If you have supplemental insurance so you don’t have co-pays, you are probably paying for that supplemental policy. The VA has different Priority Groups that determine what your co-pay might be. For a service-connected disability, even just hearing loss, the co-pays are minimal. While the VA is not for all veterans, the VA wants all eligible veterans to enroll because the number of veterans enrolled affects the funding VA Togus gets. All Vietnam veterans are eligible, those with service-connected disabilities and those with incomes below a certain threshold are eligible as well as others who served in specific areas and other situations. Bottom line, see Ed Harmon or Dave Patch to start the process of finding out. Once enrolled, it is the best healthcare at the lowest cost out there.