Do any of you, like me, occasionally ponder, “Why do we do what we do?” The pictures in this message reminds us of the answer to that question.
The pictures are of Freddie Kratz, a graduate of Frisco High School and one of Post 178's 7 Boys States delegates in 2014, our first year as a post. Those who were at our first post meeting will remember that we voted to send 7 young men to Boys State, a $3,000 investment, and we didn’t even have a checking account. Freddie not only attended Boys State but was also selected to go on to Boys Nation. The pictures were sent to me by Freddie’s dad, Fred Kratz, one of our post members, and we have permission to publish.
Freddie entered the Military Academy at West Point in 2015 and will graduate this spring. He is going to be an Armor Officer; to guarantee his first choice of career path he “re-uped” on the front end for an additional 3 years, bringing his total service obligation to 8 years.
Just like his parents, we could not be more proud of Freddie and his accomplishments.
And yes, this is another reason why we do what we do. But it’s not just Boys State - it’s Oratorical, School Awards, American Legion Riders, Scouting Pack 178, Troop 178 & Venture Crew 178, serving the community, helping Children & Youth, veterans and their families in need, Law & Order, Legislative, Voter Registration Drives, and the list goes on, none of which could be accomplished without a dedicated membership!
It is a proven fact that once you get involved with American Legion programs, like Boys State, and start to see the results - the programs become addicting, not only to the membership but to the sponsors who so graciously support us. We now have a least one past Boys State delegate in each of the military academies. While this is exceptional, we don’t just consider military academy applicants for Boys State delegates, they are actually under 4 percent of our past delegates. Our driving consideration is to help develop deserving young men to become contributing citizens in their communities.
Thank you for being a part of Post 178 leadership; we have a lot of reasons to feel proud of our achievements, and each of you are gratefully appreciated for your dedication and support!