by Karen Weld, Contributing Writer
On Monday, August 18, Clarion American Legion Auxiliary members, family, and friends surprised JoAnn Kramer to help her celebrate 78 years as an Auxiliary member. “My aunt carried me into a Legion meeting when I was two days old,” Kramer shared with Contributing Writer Karen Weld.
Her family purchased a youth membership for her at that time. And she has been a member since. In her early years, she was a member of the Belmond Legion Auxiliary. Her father, Harold Svendsen, served in the European Theater during World War II.
“When I was married,” said Kramer, “I joined Clarion American Legion Auxiliary Post #246.” Kramer serves the Clarion group as its president, a position she has held for 48 years.
“For a number of years in the past, our group was pretty inactive,” she said. “We dropped down to 8 members and were told by the state organization to add to our membership or disband.”
She took the admonition seriously and began to recruit numbers, adding about 5 members annually. The Clarion group now boasts 32 members, who carries on programming supporting current and past military members.
“May Poppy Distribution, our veterans day potluck, and a Pizza Ranch fundraising evening raising funds to support a girl at Girls’ State annually are part of our programming,” Kramer said. “I am very happy with the way our members help with projects we tackle together.”
