Legion Logo THE AMERICAN LEGION
DEPARTMENT OF TEXAS
22nd DISTRICT

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US Flag          Texas Flag          POW/MIA Flag

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@  DIRECTORY  @  MINUTES  @  PHOTOS  @  BBQ Cook-Off  @

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2010 Dist Oratorical

22nd District Oratorical Contest
Post 490 - January 14, 2010

Click here for more Contest photos

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Superbowl Party  Free Legal Advice  Pepsi Project  Jr. Chili Cook-Off  Chile Cook-Off Rules
Superbowl Party    Free Legal Advice   Pepsi Project      Jr. Chili Cook-Off     Cook-Off Rules

Click on flyer to see full view

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22nd District Post Ranking

NOTICE: Totals are as of Friday, February 5, 2010.
Post # Location Members Goal % of Goal
490 South Houston 1176 1591 73.92
521 Pasadena 415 567 73.19
596 Houston 43 59 72.88
391 Houston 33 49 67.35
164 Katy 179 266 67.29
654 Houston 255 398 64.07
77 Houston 560 877 63.85
594 Houston 358 566 63.25
472 Houston 202 345 58.55
319 Deer Park 53 92 57.61
416 Houston 100 196 51.02
428 La Porte 46 91 50.55
52 Houston 98 196 50.00
125 Pasadena 3 31 9.68
District Totals 3521 5324 66.13

Click here for Membership Turn-In Listing By District

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VA Hospital News

The Houston VA Parking Hassle - What is Being Done

HOUSTON - Parking at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center (MEDVAMC) is a serious problem.  Veterans, visitors, volunteers, and employees know this all too well.  Dramatic growth in the Texas Medical Center and the increased number of Veterans seeking VA health care have aggravated the problem; however, hospital administration is taking action to improve the situation.

In fiscal year 2000, the Houston VA had 474,901 outpatient visits.  Last year, fiscal year 2009, that number almost doubled to 815,695

The MEDVAMC is one of the few hospitals in the Texas Medical Center with free parking.  It is believed individuals who work in the Texas Medical Center, park here, catch buses or ride bikes to their workplace.  The VA Police continuously stop and question people to determine if they have legitimate business here, but this can be difficult.  In the past, VA reimbursed owners who had their cars towed after discovering the person was a long-term inpatient or genuine visitor.

Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is our major hospital affiliate and the majority of our doctors are also on the faculty at BCM.  MEDVAMC operates the largest VA residency program with 259 slots.  Each academic year, more than 1,972 students are trained through 144 affiliation agreements with institutions of higher learning.  Health care students from fields such as nursing, dietetics, social work, physical therapy, and a wide variety of medical specialties receive training here each year.  This responsibility serves to enhance the quality of care provided to our Veterans.

Almost 900 employees participate in the MEDVAMC Mass Transit Program, consisting of 79 vanpools, numerous carpools, and the Metro Bus system.  The MEDVAMC runs the single, largest vanpool program in the city of Houston and has been recognized as a benchmark for not only VA facilities nationwide, but also within the Houston business community.  This employee initiative is an effort to free up parking spaces on the VA complex for Veterans to use.

Last March, a VA motor pool parking area was established on the corner of Cate Terrace and Ringness Avenue, adjacent to the Holcombe Gate.  All vanpool vehicles and government vehicles remotely park there to free up spaces in the regular parking lots.  A shuttle service is provided for drivers parking in this area.

Free valet parking is available at the MEDVAMC main entrance for Veterans.  This service operates Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.  This service is extremely valuable for elderly, wheelchair or scooter-bound, and heat-sensitive Veterans.

The MEDVAMC has an approved and funded project to reconfigure some of the parking lots as well as increase surface parking.  The project is currently in the design award stage with construction scheduled for early summer 2010.  This initiative will generate an additional 400 spaces.  The project will also expand valet parking capacity to resolve daily closure issues.  The parking reconfiguration will not take place until the additional parking lots have been completed.

Looking into the future, the MEDVAMC has requested funding to build a parking structure.  It will be constructed in two phases with a final capacity ranging from 750 to 1,200 parking spaces.

While these projects are being worked, the MEDVAMC Parking Committee is evaluating a recommendation to place gates on all parking lots on the VA complex.  This requires further detailed study to review the impact and implementation of a token/validation system while ensuring Veterans, employees, volunteers, visitors, and medical residents are not charged for parking.  Vendors and other external parties choosing to use the VA complex for parking will be charged just like the other health care facilities in the Texas Medical Center.

Greg Treacy, Post 490 Service Officer

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Membership in The American Legion

Are you a member of The American Legion?   If you served during a wartime era, we extend to you an opportunity to become a member of this growing Organization.   The American Legion is an organization of veterans serving other veterans, their families, and the communities they live in.   We are the voice of the veteran in Washington DC fighting for the benefits and rights of all those who served our Country in the Armed Forces.   The 22nd District Commander Terry Messinger would be pleased to have you as a member of this growing, community based Veterans' Organization.

If you are interested in becoming a member or would like more information please email us at tmessinger@ev1.net or our Webmaster.   To find a specific American Legion Post in your area, please go to our DIRECTORY which lists the specifics of each American Legion Post in the 22nd District.   Or you may use this application and mail proof of service (copy of DD214, etc) and a check for (see Specific Post Annual Dues) payable to "___Specific American Legion Post___."   Please Print (right click on the application and click on Print Picture) and include your phone number.   Your membership card will be mailed to you and you'll be contacted when the next post meeting is held.

Membership Application

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Copyright © 2002-2010 by The American Legion.   All rights reserved.


Last Updated:   February 6, 2010.


Send comments or questions to the Webmaster Smiley
or to the District Commander.    Mail Box


Under Construction  Like a busy freeway, this website is always under construction.




DISTRICT OFFICERS

TERRY MESSINGER (472)
Commander

JERRY BLAYLOCK (490)
Vice Commander

JUAN TORRES (472)
Adjutant

TOM LARSEN (490)
Finance Officer

RALPH MORRIS (594)
Judge Advocate

CAL GRUETZMACKER (521)
Chaplain

LEO VILLAFRANCO (416)
Sgt-at-Arms

GEORGE HUDSON
Asst. Sgt.-at-Arms

FELIX WHITE (654)
Historian

BEN SANEZ
Service Officer

LYNN E. SPARKS (490)
Past District Commander


DISTRICT COMMITTEES

EDWARD RUHNKE (52)
Americanism

ROBERT ROCHA (472)
Baseball

DANNY L. KING (521)
Boy Scouts/S.A.L.

WILLIAM MANBECK (77)
Boys State

PAUL V. DUDKOWSKI (164)
Children and Youth

JOHN D. MORRIS (594)
Constitution and Bylaws

TOM LARSEN (490)
Finance

CALVIN GRETZMACHER (521)
Graves Registrations

MANUEL GAITAN (472)
Legistative/Bingo

JERRY BLAYLOCK (490)
Membership

BUDDY McFARLAND (52)
National Security

TOM LARSEN (490)
Oratorical/School Awards

BILL HUTSON (319)
POW/MIA

JOE LESLEY (77)
VA&R

MARY ANN PATTERSON
Women Veterans


DISTRICT EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE

EDWARD V. RUHNKE, JR.
Commander Post 52

JOHN R. OSBORNE, JR.
Commander Post 77

WILLIAM R. MILLER
Commander Post 164

BILL HUTSON
Commander Post 319

CHARLES E. AMOS
Commander Post 391

ALBERT H. DAUMANN
Commander Post 416

FERDANDO DIAZ
Commander Post 428

JUAN TORRES
Commander Post 472

C. W. SPARKS
Commander Post 490

MARCOS CARLEY
Commander Post 521

LARRY D. ALLEN
Commander Post 594

H. JACK JOE, JR.
Commander Post 596

LYNDON B. HOWELL
Commander Post 654


DISTRICT AUXILIARY OFFICERS


BERTHA TORRES
President

LETICIA VILLAFRANCO
Vice President

NATASHA HUDSON
Secretary

LOU LARSEN
Treasurer

JUNE MORRIS
Chaplain

VICKI HAFNER
Historian

KATHERINE MORRIS
Parliamentarian

ANNA GONZALAS
Sgt.-at-Arms

LINDA RODRIGUEZ
Asst. Sgt.-at-Arms

PRENESS THOMAS-EHITE
Immediate Past President


AUXILIARY COMMITTEES

RUBY CARPENTER
Cancer Research

PAULENE COOLEY
Legistrative

JEAN PRUIETT
Nurses Scholarship

DIANA KING
VA&R

LINDA NAVARRO
Ways & Means

JANET RUHNKE


AUXILIARY UNIT PRESIDENTS

LINDA NAVARRO
President Unit 52

JANET WARNER
President Unit 77

JENNIFER HALE
President Unit 325

LETICIA VILLAFRANCO
President Unit 416

ARGENTINA RODRIGUEZ
President Unit 472

KAY GUERRERO
President Unit 490

RUBY CARPENTER
President Unit 492

CARLENE ASHWORTH
President Unit 521

GLADYS WINE
President Unit 594

KIMBRO DOTT
President Unit 596

JUDITH A. BOYD
President Unit 654


DISTRICT S.A.L.
OFFICERS

JUAN RAUL TORRES
Commander


S.A.L. SQUADRON COMMANDERS

JUAN RAUL TORRES
Commander Squadron 472

TOM ALEXANDER
Commander Squadron 490

DANNY KING
Commander Squadron 521

DAVID PATSCHKE
Commander Squadron 654


DISTRICT 22 POSTS
WEB SITES:

POST 164

POST 319

POST 490


LINKS TO OTHER
WEB SITES:

NATIONAL AMERICAN LEGION

SONS OF THE AMERICAN LEGION

AMERICAN LEGION AUXILIARY

DEPARTMENT OF TEXAS

2nd DIVISION