Cancellation of the 2020 Department Convention enabled the carryover of all elected and appointed Department officers and committees. The incumbents in those positions, however, retained the right to resign if they wished. That happened in two cases requiring action by the Department Executive Committee to fill the vacancies.
Department Vice-Commander Stan Merrell resigned as he is moving out of state. Darrin Alderson was appointed to fill that vacancy for 2020-2021. Stan Elliott resigned as Department Historian to accept an appointment to Department Sergeant-at-Arms. The Department Executive Committee accepted his appointment to that position. Department Historian remains vacant. Interested Legionnaires can contact Department Adjutant John Derner for more information.
Several Districts have also selected new District Commanders. They are 3rd District – Laverne “Dave” Travis, 6th District – Bob Colin, 7th District – Gary Whipple and 9th District – David Honse. A complete listing of the Department Executive committee can be found here. It will be updated to reflect the recent changes.
Ad-Hoc Committees
The Department Executive Committee approved Commander Kessler’s recommendation for three special ad-hoc committees.
They are:
Constitution and By-Laws – Chaired by PNC Dave Rehbein,
Iowa Veterans Home Staff Recognition – Chaired by Department Vice-Commander Richard Hogan, and
USS Iowa (SSN-797) Recognition – Chaired by PDC Jim Demarest.
The IVH committee has been instructed to examine ways to recognize the staff of the home for their outstanding work during the COVID-19 pandemic. The home has had no deaths and a very low number of illnesses. The USS Iowa committee will be developing ways to recognize the fourth US Navy vessel to carry the name Iowa. The Constitution and By-Laws committee will recommend updates for those documents as well as developing changes to better prepare the Department of Iowa for the next 10 years. Ideas or suggestions for any of the committees can be submitted directly to the chairman. Contact information for them can be obtained through Department Headquarters.