Embedded Files
President – Brenda Ogden
1st Vice – Frances Cousins
2nd Vice – Vacancy
Secretaries – Jennifer Cousins
Treasurer – Lucy Vennen
June 2026
June 2026
Historian – Emma Busby
Chaplain – Vacancy
Sgt-at-Arms – Vacancy
Color Bearer – Emma Busby
Color Bearer – Vacancy
Publicity – Janice Charlesworth
Executive Committee:
Vacancy (3 years)
Vacancy (2 years)
Vacancy (1 year)
The next General Membership Meeting of the Auxiliary will be held at 7 pm, June 2, 2026 at the hall. Dinner is served at 6 PM.
We are collecting membership dues for the year 2026. Please bring a check or cash. If you have not yet paid your dues for the year 2025, please pay as soon as possible! Your dues have to be up to date for the previous year prior to paying for the next year. If you would like to pay your dues for 2026 and are not concerned about continuous membership, you may just pay for 2026. Dues for the Auxiliary are $36.00 and $9.00 for junior members. For those of you who are paid members, please come to our meetings. Membership helps support us financially, but we need your help. We need ideas and help implementing those ideas. To encourage greater participation and community spirit, we invite members to bring a friend or family member to our upcoming meetings. Sharing our mission with others helps strengthen our organization and allows us to serve even more effectively. If you know someone who may be interested in joining or learning more about the Auxiliary, please extend an invitation to them to attend.
As no one was willing to fill any officer positions for 2027, all meetings from this point forward will accept volunteers from the floor to fill positions. A motion was made for all current officers to continue in their positions for another year and seconded. Even though this was voted upon, we are looking for people to fill positions. The slate is open for all positions for the Officers of the Auxiliary. We are going to break down the jobs and please consider doing one of the following:
Girls State
Scholarships
Newsletter
Minutes
Membership
Special needs Party coordination
Veteran Home Christmas Present Coordination
It has come to our attention that members working for BINGO must be paid as of January 1st to work the BINGO. Please be sure your 2026 dues are paid!
On MAY 13, 2026, Operation We Care (OWC) packed for our active-duty deployed military troops. We want to extend our appreciation to the volunteers. We have recently been notified that many APO Zip Codes are not able to receive care packages due to recent conflicts, it isn’t safe to receive our boxes for our out of country deployed military outside of the U.S.
STAY TUNED FOR THE UPDATES AS WE AWAIT THE WORD THAT WE MAY CONTINUE OUR WORK.
In the meantime, we need donations of items to put into our packages. Please reach out within your communities and collect items that we pack every month. Suggestions that may help us are to make contact at churches, local schools, and any other clubs you may be involved in. HELP us get some much-needed donations!!!!!
Without donations of snack size items, Operation We Care is in danger of missing shipments.
If you can donate items or wish to donate funds to purchase items, please call Brenda Ogden (985-705-1235). If you know a deployed service member, please add their information on the website www.operationwecare.com Fort Knox Storage 2649 N. Causeway Blvd. Mandeville, LA. at 8:00 am sharp!
National Poppy Day
National Poppy Day
May 22, 2026
The red poppy is a nationally recognized symbol of sacrifice worn by Americans since World War I to honor those who served and died for our country in all wars. It reminds Americans of the sacrifices made by our veterans while protecting our freedoms. Led by the American Legion Auxiliary, each year members of The American Legion Family distribute poppies with a request that the person receiving the flower donate to support the future of veterans, active-duty military.
On March 26,2026 Brenda Ogden and Pam Herty went to Lake Castle School to give the awards out to the winners of the Poppy Poster Contest Artist. The winners each received $25.00 by class and a big thank you to our Post 16 membership for helping in judging the winners. This is an annual event the students really enjoy and get excited about every year.
The Auxiliary continues to support cash prizes to the Forest Manor Nursing Home’s BINGO for residents.
The May 20th game was played and 7 residents were WINNERS.
A reminder to all of us, if you are not feeling well, please stay home and take care of yourself, don’t expose others.
Saturday, June 13 • 9:00am - 11:00am
Saturday, June 13 • 9:00am - 11:00am
Breakfast is scheduled for JUNE !#, 2026 from 9am-11am. If you can help cook, the kitchen will open at 7:00am to begin preparing. We need kitchen help cooking, serving and clean up.
The post hosts this event every second Saturday of the month. Spouses are welcome.
The Wreaths Across America Date for 2026 is DECEMBER 19, at 11 a.m. at the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Cemetery, 34888 Grantham College Dr. Slidell, LA. The National American Legion Auxiliary has adopted this worthwhile program as well as Unit 16 at our post. Let’s get a good start for 2026! Any amount you can donate is appreciated and welcomed. As you come into Post 16 near the door, we have a donation box and Sponsorship Forms for your convenience. Look for the Wreaths Across America CHRISTMAS TREE! Watch the newsletter for a push to sponsor a WREATH FOR 2026!
www.wreathsacrossamerica.org or you can call 877-385-9504
The Auxiliary’s Location Code is: LASLVC
Group Fundraising Number: LA0072P
Please use the above information when placing your sponsorship order online to ensure the wreaths go to our local veteran’s cemetery. If you have any questions, please call Pam Herty at 985-264-9980.
Check out our Facebook Page!
Just click on the image to the left to get to us and see all of the activities available for members.
Thank you, Emma Busby, for setting up and maintaining this site!
SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS FOR 2026 AUXILIARY WINNERS SELECTED to receive $1,000
Ava Elizabeth Dean - Northlake Christian School
Faith Alexis Ogden - Teurlings Catholic High School
Kayla Vitale - Christ Episcopal School
Marlene Clare Bessetti - Covington High School
Claire Vidrine - St. Mary’s Dominican
Skyleigh Boyd - Archbishop Hannan High School
Gabrielle Ogden - Archbishop Hannan High School
AWARDS DINNER on Thursday July 23,2026 at ROBERT H. BURNS American Legion Hall
Doors open at 5 pm, dinner will begin at 6 pm and the awards ceremony will start at 7 pm.
PLEASE RSVP to Fran Cousins at 985-892-0677 or E-Mail secretary@amlegion16.org with the number attending from your family by JULY 8th.
To claim your scholarship, please mail a copy of the following:
1 - Letter of acceptance to university
2 - Fall 2026 schedule showing full course load (minimum of 12 hours)
3 - University ID card
MAIL TO: American Legion Hall
2031 Ronald Reagan Hwy. 190
Covington, LA. 70433
E-MAIL: lvennen@gmail.com
Your award will be issued once we have the required documents in our office!
CONGRATULATIONS!
The Auxiliary is looking for volunteers to make baked goods to raffle during BINGO GAMES. This is our major fund-raising activity. If you can bake something to raffle, please contact Brenda (985-705-1235) or if you would like to drop off a purchased or a baked item feel free to leave at the office with the Post Secretary, Ms. Fran, during business hours at the Post from 9AM to 3PM, Monday through Friday.
With these funds, the Auxiliary:
provides Christmas gifts for the 130 Veterans in the Southeast Veterans’ War Home in Reserve, LA
sponsors wreaths for veteran graves at the Southeast Veteran Cemetery in Slidell through Wreaths Across America
sponsors three holiday Special Needs Parties for STARC residents during the year
sponsors local Poppy Poster Contest for schools, awards $300 in prizes and forwards local winners to state
pays for two girls from each local high school (~10) to attend Louisiana Girls State
awards up to five $1,000 scholarships to high school graduating seniors
If you can help us with donated baked goods or purchased baked goods, please contact Brenda Ogden (985-705-1235).
Auxiliary Juniors
In the photo to the left, Auxiliary Juniors are decorating bags to wrap Christmas presents for veterans living in the Southeast Louisiana Veterans’ Home.
Brenda Odgen requests that all Junior Members call her to participate in our programs.
(985) 705-1235
We now have a “Give Butter” account allowing us to accept donations electronically through Paypal, Venmo, Credit Cards and Apple Pay. Hopefully this will boost our donations allowing us to be more generous in our veteran endeavors.
If you are attending a charitable event, to raise funds for the Auxiliary, please contact Lucy Vennen at lvennen@gmail.com. She will email you a printable QR code to tape to your table for people to use to donate funds.
Check out the QR code on the right. Give Butter is quite easy to use!
Scan this with you phone's camera
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