The Otho Morgan American Legion post located in Greenville, Texas, supported many local programs in 2016. The support the post provided resulted in over 9,100 volunteer hours and over $44,000 in donations to various programs. Recently at the department convention in El Paso, Post 17 was recognized for their hard work.
In 2016 the post met its membership goal and reached 331 members, which also put the post around the top 30 or 40 posts in the state of Texas. For meeting 100 percent of their goal the post received a Certificate of Achievement and a flag streamer for the Post Colors. The post also retained over 90 percent of their members from the previous year. The post received a Post Retention Award for retaining their members from 2015 to 2016. But arguably the most prestigious award received from the convention is the James P. Holley Award. This award is given to the post for their volunteerism. It is calculated based on both volunteer hours and dollars donated. The Holley is awarded to the post who has the second-most hours and dollars donated.
In addition to the post awards, Otho Morgan Post 17 had a few members recognized for their hard work. Post Adjutant Wayne New was recognized with an Adjutants pin for completing the post CPR reports on time. Jason Castleberry was recognized with an American Legion State Historian Pin for completing and submitting to competition the post scrapbook. Only 13 scrapbooks were turned in this year in the entire state. The post Fireman and Policeman of the Year candidates also won the state competition and will now compete in the national competition. The Policeman of the Year for Texas is Brandon West and the Fireman of the Year for Texas is Wes Parson. Karl Caplinger won the Volunteer of the Year Award. Karl is the judge advocate for Post 17 who volunteers his time at the Bonham Hospital and Home. Karl also volunteers at the post in many of its programs. This is an extremely prestigious award and shows just how dedicated Karl is to helping his fellow veterans.