SAN ANTONIO – (May 30, 2026) – Legionnaires from South Texas journeyed to Alamo American Legion Post 2 to attend the 3rd Division Convention convened by Department Vice Commander (3rd Division) Jose Lopez (155).
Prior to the convening of the conference, the Legion Family held a memorial service to honor those members who entered Post Everlasting.
After the opening ceremonies, attendees heard remarks from divisional leadership of the Auxiliary and Sons of The American Legion followed by Department Commander Richard Huntley (554), Past Department Vice Commander (3rd Division) Danny Muth (593), Department Vice Commander (4th Division) Chris Holt (425) and Past Department Commander Jeff Perkins (291).
With reporting completed by the district commanders, Lopez called up five posts with the highest goal percentage for the year, rewarding each with crisp $100 bills.
Following the distribution of cash rewards, the division elections were conducted: Commander Eric Mayer (10) and Vice Commander George Doles (439).
According to Lopez, it was an amazing experience leading the largest division within the Department of Texas with over 16,000 members in 434 posts covering 56 counties.
“Traveling to some of our remote towns and posts gave me a feeling of satisfaction, especially after hearing that it has been a long time since someone from division or department had visited their post,” said Lopez. “With just the mere size of the division, email, text and calls were essential to maintain communication with post leadership.”
Lopez said that the highlight of his tenure was getting out to as many posts as he could and visiting with Legionnaires and participating in their activities and events, whether it was breaking bread, beverage and conversation, administering the oath of office, or just being down to earth and enjoying some good ole song and dancing or participating in karaoke.
“Within the district and post leadership, it is evident that there is a sense of excitement,” Lopez continued. “Leadership continues to evolve, including becoming more open-minded and receptive to technology, creating opportunities to improve communication, and working with community partners to grow participation and patriotism.”
Special thanks to Post 2 and Auxiliary Unit 2 for hosting the 3rd Division Convention.
