Here we are, after Day 2, and just getting to update again! With all the moving around, meetings, and lack of consistent internet access, getting updates out is a bit more of a challenge than I anticipated. I think, however, once the actual convention gets underway, and I'm planted in more or less one location, these will come far sooner. Louisville, for those that have never been here, is turning out to be a GREAT place to have a convention. We're in the Galt House, overlooking the Ohio River on the edge of the city. With a history dating back to 1835 (Dr Galt, for whom it's named) this facility has some history. Downtown Louisville is pretty active; the Fourth Street LIVE area always has something going; in fact, we watched a concert by Switchfoot the other night. GREAT pubs nearby (Matt, yer missing a good Irish one). Most of the activity will take place in the Convention Center and is closed to the general public. The main activity we saw yesterday was the arrival of the American Legion Riders, which is the motorcycle-riding arm of the Legion. Similar to Rolling Thunder and Patriot Guard Riders, the Legion Riders is an outreach and fund-raising group that conducts many rides to raise funds for various Legion activities. In this case, they were on what's called the Legacy Run, which this year is raising funds for scholarships of the children of service members killed on duty since 9/11/01. So far, the ride has brought in over 180,000 dollars, and is expected to go up substantially throughout the week of the convention. Whoa. We traveled to Highland Post 201 of the Legion here in Louisville to see them arrive from back east. Over 250 bikes, with over 300 riders, arrived from the ride that originated in Indianapolis. The ride then took them thru Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, then back thru to Louisville. All have said it was a great ride with only a little rain. Take it from me- covering a ride of that distance with little rain is a rarity. This morning, Saturday, I had a chance to sit in on some meetings that occur prior to the convention kick-off. Legislative and Magazine committee meetings were on the agenda, and I had a chance to see what the Legion is doing. Of note in the Legislative area are veterans programs, and a Flag Amendment; this one has some importance to me, as I, for one, DO NOT like witnessing desecration of our flag, for any reason. The Legion is adamantly supportive of an amendment outlawing using the flag as 'free speech'. Next up- the Magazine committee. For me, this is interesting mostly because of the contrast the Legion magazine provides over the rest of the publishing industry. Yeah, we read about how NYT, WaPo, Time, Newsweek, USN&WR are all suffering due to the downturn. Not so much the Legion's magazine. With a circulation near 4 million, they are showing growth. And not in the red the way most other publications are. The publishers of the world notice this- and should be taking a BIG lesson in this: publish what people WANT to read, not what they SHOULD be reading- you MIGHT end up in better light (but don't get me started). Legion magazine readers read nearly EVERY word in each issue, and advertisers reach a key demographic. Geez, TIME, how about a lesson here? Oh, and I don't believe there are any writers with degress from Columbia University. Of note, and a bit of a 'sneak peek' is the overview of the Legion's new blog- which I won't leak here (yet) but is getting prepared to be launched. Suffice it to say the Legion is REALLY jumping on this, and the leadership of the Legion (from Commander Rehbein on down) totally get what Web 2.0 can do for them. TOTALLY. And its hugely refreshing. These just aren't old guys and vets in funny hats. Not.any.more. More coming up. This has been a very interesting trip so far. Mr Wolf
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Aug 22 2009, 06:13 AM
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