The Convention is called for the purpose of electing officers for the ensuing year, hearing and considering resolutions, and for the transaction of such other business as may be deemed necessary to come before the Convention. REPRESENTATION:
The Department Convention shall be comprised of representatives from each Post who shall be members in good standing of the Post by which they are elected, and all Past Department Commanders while in good standing in their respective Posts. Each Post having 15 members in good standing shall be entitled to two Delegates. Each Post having 26 members in good standing shall be entitled to three Delegates and to an additional Delegate for each additional fifty members after the first twenty-six. Each Post shall be entitled to an Alternate for each Delegate. Membership strength of the Post, for determining Delegate strength, shall be computed as of paid-up membership in Department Headquarters at the close of business on June 11, 2024. All Department and all National Officers listed in ARTICLE VI, Section 1 of the Department Constitution in the year in which they serve (excluding the Department Adjutant if serving as an employee of the Department), and all Past Department Commanders, shall be Delegates-at-large to Department Convention, with right to vote thereat, to be exercised by them with their respective Posts. Every Post shall file the name and number of the Delegates and Alternates to the Department Convention at least twenty days prior to the convening of the Convention, (no later than June 26th this year), and at the same time pay the registration fee of $20.00* for each and every Delegate, in the case of an Alternate taking the place of a Delegate such Alternate shall be required to pay the registration fee of $20.00* which shall be done when the substitution takes place or sooner; unless and until such registration fees of the Delegates have been paid, the Delegation is disqualified to act for any purpose, and no individual Delegate will be allowed to vote, provided, however, that the mere non-payment of registration shall not deprive a Delegate otherwise duly qualified, of the right to vote in any Region or District Caucus, on any matter (including election of officers) which thereafter is subject to ratification by the Department Convention. Post Commanders are urgently requested to have at least one member of their Delegation on the Convention floor at all times. *Cost of Delegates will be $30.00 on or after June 27th. VOTING: Department Constitution, ARTICLE V, Section 3: (a): On all matters of business except the election of Department Officers, members: of the DEC and Delegates and Alternates to the National Convention, and except amendments to this Constitution or the By-Laws, voting shall be by voice. The decision of the chair thereon shall be final unless a vote by roll call be demanded; and upon demand of any person having proper voice, such other manner of voting shall be
employed. (b): The election of all Department Officers, and National Officers, shall be by roll call except where, in the case of individual offices, the necessity of a roll call is dispensed with by unanimous consent. (c): The election of members of the DEC, and Delegates and Alternates to the National Convention, shall be in accordance with such rule as adopted by the Caucus in and for the Region from which such members, delegates and alternates are elected, but in no case, shall any such rule prevent the nomination of any member from the floor of such Caucus by any person having proper voice thereat. Voting at Caucuses shall conform to the provisions of Subsection (d) hereof. (d): In all voting, the vote of each Post shall be equal to the total number of delegates to which such post may be entitled. Each delegate shall be entitled to one vote. The vote of any delegate who may be absent shall be cast by the delegate’s alternate, and the vote of any delegate absent and not represented by an alternate shall be cast by the majority of the present delegates from the member’s post. An alternate whose delegate is present may nevertheless move into the place of an absent alternate whose delegate also is absent, and thereby acquire the right to vote, provided said alternate delegate is the senior alternate present at the time. Alternates shall have all the privileges of delegates but may only vote as herein set forth; provided the alternate’s registration fee is paid. At the conclusion of all roll call voting, for each individual election required to be conducted by the Department Convention, the Department Officer conducting such elections shall ask if any Post desires to amend or change its vote; or ask does any Post, which has not cast its vote during the roll call vote, now wish to cast its vote. No Post shall be allowed to pass more than one time. After the Department Officer conducting the election has made the aforesaid announcement and taken due note of any changes in voting and has recorded the vote of any Post which originally passed, then the conducting officer shall announce
that the voting is closed and direct that the tally be taken, and the results announced. (e): All Past Department Commanders, while in good standing in their respective Post, shall be delegates for life to all Department Conventions with voice and vote, to be exercised by them with their respective Post and all Region or District Caucuses at which any election provided for in this Constitution shall be held, and at which their respective Post may be entitled to vote. The failure of such Post to properly register its delegation shall not deprive such Past Department Commander of their right to vote, provided the Past Department Commander is properly registered as a delegate. (f): All Department Officers as set forth in Article VI of this Constitution, with the exception of Department Officers concurrently serving as a paid employee of the Department, and National Officers of this Department shall be Delegates-at-large to Department Conventions, with the right to vote thereat, in the year in which they serve, to be exercised by them with their respective Post; provided, however, that nothing contained herein shall give any person the right to more than one vote. ELECTION:
The following Officers are to be elected. A majority of the authorized vote of the
Convention shall elect: (Per ARTICLE V, Department Convention Section 4) Section 4 (a): The Department Convention shall elect a Department Commander, a Department Senior Vice-Commander, a Department Judge Advocate, and a Department Treasurer, a National Executive Committee member and an Alternate National Executive Committee member for the respective terms for each office as specified in Section 4b hereof. The Department Convention shall elect such other offices as may be authorized by the Department Convention for such terms appointed by the Department Convention. Section 4 (b): The Officers positions listed in Section 4 (a), elected by the Department Convention shall be nominated and elected for office in the following sequence and for the term of office, as listed:
Department Treasurer – 1 Year.
Department Judge Advocate - 1 Year.
Department Senior Vice-Commander – 1 Year.
Department Commander – 1 Year REGION CAUCUSES: (ARTICLE V, Sections 6-7-8-9):
A caucus shall be held by each Region during, or not more than twenty days prior to, the convening of each Department Convention, at which caucus the election of the Region Commander, (serves concurrently as Department Vice-Commander for said Region), Region Vice-Commander, District Commanders, District Vice-Commanders such Department Executive Committee members, and Delegates and Alternates to the National Convention of The American Legion to which such Region may be entitled by this Constitution shall be held. It shall be the responsibility of the Region Commander in and for each Region to see that at least fifteen days prior notice of any Region Caucus convened for the above purposes shall be given by mail to the Commander of each Post in the Region, and no such Caucus shall be deemed legally convened in the absence of such notice; provided, however, that any Region may caucus at any Department Convention upon three hours notice by announcement from the Rostrum, and all the purposes of this section may thereafter be fulfilled just as though prior written notice had been given. The action of such Region Caucus as to the election of any of the officials named in this section shall not be final until ratified by the Department Convention. Section 7: A quorum shall exist at a Department Convention or at a Region Caucus when one third of the Posts in the Department or Region, as the case may be, are represented by duly elected Delegates or Alternates.
Section 8: Delegates to National Convention. Each Region in Caucus not more than twenty days prior to the convening of the Department Convention shall elect one delegate and one alternate delegate to the National Convention, this delegate and alternate delegate is to represent the first thousand members of their respective Region; there shall also be elected a delegate and alternate delegate for each succeeding thousand members. The five Department Delegates shall consist of the Department Commander, the Department Commander for the immediate prior year, the Department Adjutant, the Alternate National Executive Committeeman and the Department Senior Vice-Commander who hold office at the convening of the next succeeding National Convention. The alternates for these delegates shall be appointed by the Department Commander.
Any additional delegates and alternate delegates are to be elected by the Region with
Spring 2024 FREE STATE WARRIOR 5 AMERICAN LEGION, DEPARTMENT OF MARYLAND, INC. the highest percentage of their previous year’s membership as of the day that determines the Department Convention membership strength
for the Region. Section 9: Region Election of DEC Members.
Each Region in Caucus not more than twenty days prior to the convening of the Department Convention shall elect one representative to the Department Executive Committee for each unit of 500 members or major fraction thereof in the said Region. The membership strength of said Region for this purpose shall be computed as paid up membership in the Department Headquarters at the close of business on the 35th day prior to the convening of the Department Convention or as of July 1st, in each year, which ever date shall first occur. In the event any Region shall have less than its first and only unit of 500 members, it shall nevertheless be entitled to elect one representative to the Department Executive Committee. The distribution of the Regions’ representatives to the DEC shall be divided in an equitable manner between the Districts of the Region utilizing the membership strength of each District. The Region shall submit the names of all elected as above for ratification to the Department Convention such ratification constituting election. At such Caucus each Post shall be entitled to the same number of votes as for the Department Convention. No Region Caucus for the purpose of such election shall be convened sooner than June 26th, 2024. MEETINGS:
The opening Joint Session will begin at 8:00 PM, Tuesday July 16, 2024. All business sessions of The American Legion, Department of Maryland, will be held in the Convention Hall (Location to be determined) and will start promptly at 8:00 AM on Wednesday, July 17th, Thursday, July 18th and Friday, July 19th, unless changed by the Convention or Department Executive Committee. A quorum shall exist at the Department Convention when one-third of the Posts in the Department are represented by a duly elected Delegate or Alternate. CREDENTIALS CERTIFICATES:
For Credentials Certificates for Delegates and Alternates. A check made out to The American Legion, Department of Maryland, at $20.00* per Delegate, and MUST accompany the Credentials Certificate. All Constitutional Delegates (ART. VI) and Past Department Commanders must also pay the $20.00* Delegate Fee or they can not vote. It is extremely important that the certificates be forwarded to Department Headquarters as soon as possible after June 11, 2024 (35th Day before the Department Convention). District Commanders should personally check each Post under their supervision to see that the above is complied with. All Post Adjutants are charged with the responsibility of returning the Credentials Certificates to us at the earliest possible moment. The delegate fee shall be *$30.00 per delegate on or after June 27th. AMENDMENTS:
Amendments to the Department Constitution and By Laws must be submitted in typewritten form to Department Headquarters by June 7th, 2024 in time for the Department Adjutant to forward copies to each Post in the Department at least 30 days prior to the convening of the Convention. These amendments require a two-thirds majority of votes of the representation casting votes on the amendment at the Convention. However, the Constitution may be amended without notice by unanimous vote at any Department Convention. (ARTICLE XV, Section 1).
RESOLUTIONS:
Resolutions shall be submitted typewritten, in triplicate, to the Resolutions Committee at the Convention, or prior to June 7th to Department Headquarters. By order of the Department Executive Committee, each resolution MUST have supporting documents and authority attached to each copy. Resolutions submitted to Department Headquarters prior to June 7th will receive preferred attention. Those submitted after that date will be considered only if the Convention Resolution Committee considers them to be of paramount importance to the Legion. SPECIAL NOTICE:
The thirty-fourth Annual Department Convention, 1952, unanimously resolved no one should be allowed on the main portion of the Convention floor on election day except Officers, Delegates, Alternates and working press. (Ref: Resolution #13) POST OFFICERS:
ARTICLE VIII, Sec. 6 of the Department Constitution states, “All Post Officers for the ensuing year shall be elected, or appointed as prescribed in the Post Constitution and Post Standing Rules, at least twenty days prior to the opening of the Department Convention and they shall assume their duties as such within twenty days after the closing date of the Department Convention.” YOU MAY HOLD YOUR INSTALLATION PARTY ANY TIME YOU WISH; YOUR POST OFFICERS MUST TAKE OFFICE DURING THE TIME ABOVE STATED. THE DEPARTMENT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE HAS REQUESTED THAT EACH POST FILE A COPY OF MEMBERSHIP ELIGIBILITY DOCUMENTS FOR EACH POST COMMANDER AND ADJUTANT WITH DEPARTMENT HEADQUARTERS. THE DOCUMENTS WILL NOT BE RETURNED BUT RETAINED IN DEPARTMENT FILES. REPORTS:
1. You are urged to promptly file your Certificate of Elections of Post Officers which MUST be signed by both the Post Commander and Adjutant. The Certificate on the bottom of this form means exactly what it says. You MUST EXAMINE the service record of each of your Post Officers to certify their eligibility.
2. Consolidated Post Report Form should be filed promptly, but NLT June 1, 2024.
3. All other Report Forms. If you have lost or misplaced any of these report forms, send an e-mail or call Department Headquarters and
ask for a duplicate. REGISTRATION:
For Tuesday the Registration Desk will be open at the Convention Hall beginning at 7:30 AM, July 16th. DO NOT SHOW UP BEFORE THEN AND EXPECT US TO ACCOMMODATE YOU. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR US TO OPEN EARLIER THAN 7:30AM ON TUESDAY. NO CREDENTIALS ARE REQUIRED FOR ATTENDANCE AT DEPARTMENT LEGION COLLEGE. EVERYONE WILL BE GRANTED ACCESS TO THESE COURSES WITHOUT CREDENTIALS. On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the registration office will open at 7:30 AM. Youare urged to pick up your Delegate’s Credentials and badges as soon as possible in order to facilitate the business of the Convention.
A POST COMMANDER OR ADJUTANT MAY PICK UP THEIR POST DELEGATION
REGISTRATION PACKET. ANY OTHER DELEGATE PICKING UP THE POST DELEGATION PACKET MUST PRESENT A WRITTEN AUTHORIZATION FROM
THE POST COMMANDER OR ADJUTANT LISTING THEM AS THE AUTHORIZED
DELEGATE TO SIGN FOR THE PACKET.
ARTICLE IX, Section 2 of the Department Constitution provides that the amount of annual Department dues shall be determined by the Department Convention. Consequently, we hereby notify you that dues will be set and voted upon as usual by the Department Convention. Russell W. Myers Jr.
Department Adjutant
Ruth A. Higgins
Department Commander
NOTE: DEPARTMENT OFFICERS, COMMISSION, COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN AND DISTRICT COMMANDERS MUST HAVE THEIR WRITTEN REPORTS IN DEPARTMENT HEADQUARTERS ON OR BEFORE JUNE 1ST OR THEY WILL NOT BE DUPLICATED FOR THE CONVENTION. REPORTS SHOULD BE TYPED ANDDOUBLE SPACED. BE SURE TO HAVE AT LEAST ONE MEMBER OF YOUR POST DELEGATION ON THE CONVENTION FLOOR AT ALL TIMES. PLEASE WEAR YOUR LEGION CAP AT ALL TIMES IN OCEAN CITY SO EVERYONE KNOWS WE ARE THERE. REMEMBER TO TREAT OTHERS AS YOU WANT TO BE TREATED YOURSELF. WE WANT TO MAKE A GOOD IMPRESSION ON THE PERMANENT RESIDENTS AND THE THOUSANDS OF VISITORS. EACH POST DELEGATION CHAIRMAN SHOULD LIST HIS OCEAN CITY ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE NUMBER AT THE DEPARTMENT REGISTRATION DESK IN THE OCEAN CITY CONVENTION HALL. PLEASE DO THIS AS SOON AS YOU ARRIVE IN OCEAN CITY, BUT NOT BEFORE 7:30AM ON TUESDAY, JULY 16TH. A POST COMMANDER OR ADJUTANT MAY PICK UP THEIR POST DELEGATION REGISTRATION PACKET. ANY OTHER DELEGATE PICKING UP THE POST DELEGATION PACKET MUST PRESENT A WRITTEN AUTHORIZATION FROM THE POST COMMANDER OR ADJUTANT LISTING THEM AS THE AUTHORIZED DELEGATE TO SIGN FOR THE PACKET. ALL DELEGATES MUST BE PAID. THERE WILL BE A MEETING OF THE 2024-2025 DEPARTMENT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. THIS IS TO BE HELD IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE CLOSE OF THE DEPARTMENT CONVENTION.
THERE WILL BE NO FEE FOR LEGION COLLEGE THIS YEAR. PLANNING IS UNDERWAY TO OFFER COURSES, THE EXACT FORMAT IS STILL UNDER DISCUSSION. (But note there will be no pins or Certificates given out this year.) There is a link to the registration website for the Department Legion College on the Department website at www.mdlegion.org in the left-hand column under Web Letters/Mailings
