STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
The Ketchum American Legion Post 115 is celebrating its 85th anniversary this year. And it’ll do so by holding its first-ever fundraising gala.
The community is invited to the free gala, which will start at 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, at the Legion Hall at 220 Cottonwood St.
The event will include a signature cocktail known as the “Battle Cry” concocted by Warfield Distillery and Brewery, as well as wine and beer donated by S&C Importers and TEC Distributing of Twin Falls. And it will include hors d’oeuvres.
Alan Pennay will provide background piano music while John “Gucci” Foley will talk about his time as a Top Gun pilot in the Navy and his work with the cast on the set of the original “Top Gun” movie.
Larry Flynn will auction off a variety of auction items, including a 15-day season ski pass donated by Sun Valley Resort and gift certificates donated by the Pioneer Saloon.
Those wishing to attend are encouraged to email Ed Simon at edsimon@sunvalley.net or call him at 208-726-2200.
“We’re a nonprofit and all donations are tax-deductible,” said Simon, who joined the Legion in 2000. “We don’t get any public or governmental funding so we need to begin doing an annual fundraiser to sustain ourselves.
“Refurbishing the Legion Hall will benefit veterans, their families and the community, as well, because we make the Legion Hall available to many nonprofits—yesterday, the Girl Scouts met there,” Simon added. “It’s provided accommodations for the Jewish community. The City of Ketchum has used it in the past for meetings. And we also make it available for weddings and funerals.”
The David Ketchum Post was incorporated in 1937 by a group of veterans that included some who had fought in the Spanish-American War.
Its mission is to act for the benefit of veterans, their families and community. It has long sponsored an American Legion baseball team in the valley and annually sends local youth to Boise for Boys and Girls State, where they get civic experience taking part in model governments.
It hosts an annual Veterans Day dinner with prime rib donated by Duffy Witmer of the Pioneer Saloon. And it brings in military officers to speak at monthly dinners.
A retired Navy admiral discussed how important it is to keep a presence in the waterways of Southeast Asia at the July picnic. And in June former Gov. Dirk Kempthorne introduced the captain and crew members of the USS Idaho submarine, which will be commissioned in a few months.
“The crew members explained how the submarine is going to be the newest submarine in the U.S. Navy with all the latest technology and how it can stay underwater for months at a time,” said Simon.
The American Legion Hall is in need of repairs and improvements, said Jeanne Cassell. Legion members want to put in an ADA-approved restroom. And they want to revamp the basement, currently being used for storage, so that children attending functions at the Legion Hall with their parents can retreat there to play games and study.
The American Legion has sold off land around the hall in the past whenever it needed to make improvements, Simon said. But it has nothing left to sell so now it has to rely on fundraising and donations from members and the community, he added.
Simon and Cassell said they hope Friday’s gala will also raise awareness about the American Legion and what it does.
“We’re specifically reaching out to younger vets who served in Iraq and Afghanistan to let them know there’s an organization for them,” said Simon. “We welcome them and would love to have them join.”