Petersburg’s chapter of the American Legion has grown a lot over the last year. Its leaders are reflecting on the organization’s long history in town — but they’re also planning for its future.
As KFSK’s Shelby Herbert reports, one of their plans is to host a blowout ball for the community.
When American Legion Post 14 met to discuss fundraising events for 2024, the idea of interrupting the long winter was top-of-mind. So, they set to work on planning a party for the community. They’re flying vocalist Mark Aston up from Las Vegas to sing at the event. He’s a childhood friend of Tony Vinson, the Vice Commander of Petersburg’s post.
“He grew up around my family and then he moved on and started singing in Vegas,” said Tony. “He’s booked pretty solid and he’s hard to get. But for some reason, he was willing to fly up here. He said, ‘You know, everybody has Alaska on their bucket list!'”
In addition to giving folks some respite from the darkness and cold, Vinson says he hopes the event might help draw the community together.
“I mean, there’s a lot of stuff in the world that’s split right now — very extreme to one side or the other,” said Tony. “But this is kind of a happy little town, and we’re all on this island together.”
Tracy Vinson — Tony’s wife — is Post 14’s events chairman. She says she’s grateful that the community has embraced the local chapter of the American Legion. And, she says, they wouldn’t have been able to put the ball together without the support of businesses around town.
“I mean, everybody’s just been so supportive and nice,” said Tracy. “It just speaks volumes on what Petersburg is about. We just want to keep going forward and doing stuff for the community.”
Tracy and Tony have only been involved with the organization for a year, and they say they feel like they’ve found a home there. They’re both veterans, and they say the American Legion has helped them uplift and connect with other vets. They’re both part of a very new resurgence in American Legion activity in town.
It wasn’t that long ago that membership had almost completely fallen off. Garrett Kravitz is the adjutant for Post 14. He led a rejuvenation meeting last year, in an attempt to get more local veterans involved — and he says it was a success. Their numbers are way up from last year, and many new members — like Tracy and Tony — have stepped up into previously unfilled leadership roles.
“It’s neat to be able to get that dynamic group of individuals,” said Kravitz. “Usually, less than one percent would have raised their hand. And now we get to get to join together and serve the community. So, it’s pretty incredible.”
The post has existed for at least a century. Some of its founding members were veterans of World War I. Kravitz recently put together a scrapbook of Post 14 memorabilia. Its laminated pages hold decades of legion membership cards, some ragged at the edges and faded with age.
“Yeah, there’s just tons of stuff in here articles, pictures…” said Kravitz, as he leafed through the pages. “There’s just tons and tons of irreplaceable history.”
But as he curates the organization’s past, Kravitz is also planning out its future. He says the proceeds from the ball will fund the post’s community service projects in the coming year.
“There’s two things that we’re going to announce at the ball,” said Kravitz. “So, if you come you’ll kind of hear what those are. It’s gonna go right back into the community.”
He says they’ll use what they make from the ticket sales to mark and restore memorials at the local cemetery. The proceeds will help them buy the markers, medallions, and flags that they arrange on the graves of veterans on Memorial Day.
The American Legion’s Community Ball will take place at the Elks Lodge on Saturday, February 3rd, starting at 7:30 p.m.
