The Trumpeteer - Summer 2025
- Post 550
- Jun 30
- 3 min read
Vol. 68 Issue 3 - July, August, September 2025
Read the Highlights or Download the PDF for full version and minutes below
The main speaker at Bloomington Cemetery for the Memorial Day Program was Lt. Cmdr. Sean Ahrar, a Naval Reserve officer from Burnsville and a former St. Olaf wrestling coach who fled from Iran at age 16.
Bloomington Mayor Tim Busse also spoke at the Memorial Day gathering. He is a communications consultant who was elected in 2019 and re-elected in 2023. He previously served on the City Council from 2011 to 2019.
The Bloomington Honor Guard, representing American Legion Posts 550 & 435 and VFW Post 1296, advances the colors at the front of the annual Memorial Day Parade. The parade is the city’s only one, and it is organized by the veterans.
The Memorial Day Parade this year features sailors and Marines who drill at the Reserve Center on the north side of MSP Airport. These young men and women stand in Bloomington Cemetery in front of an Oshkosh MK23 cargo truck. (It weighs 62,200 lbs.)
Bloomington’s own community choir, the Bloomington Chorale, sang dulcet patriotic songs at the Bloomington Cemetery, which is the destination at the end of the Memorial Day Parade. The choir is a non-audition choir, and anyone may join.
Crowds lined Lyndale Avenue on a beautiful Memorial Day morning to watch the parade. The event had more entries than ever before, according to some longtime members of Post 550. Coordination and planning has improved the parade.
Bloomington Post 550 defeated New Brighton Post 513 Tri-City Red by a score of 6-3 on June 22 to win the 2025 Senior Legion Red Haddox Wood Bat Tournament. The team this year has a strong record and is in the state rankings.
Craig Servin, Gabby Servin, Caroline Mead, Joan Boerner, Bonnie Proctor, Jim Mead prepared poppy letters for Poppy Day on May 20. The letters asked for donations to Auxiliary Unit 550.
Marland Ronning of 40&8 Voiture 1281 swears in officers of Post and Unit 550 at the meeting on June 9. Unit 550 kept the same officers, but Post 550 changed commander and finance officer. See the officer list on the back page.
The post and unit went back to their traditional installation, with formal dress, honor guard and a special dinner on June 9. Here are Commander Blaine Beste and President Jody Hassing walking down the center of the banquet space.
Oh, by the way, Post 550 purchased a 2024 Ford Transit XL that holds 15 people. The post traded in its old Ford E450 shuttle bus (seen in background). The new vehicle will be used mainly by the baseball and honor guard programs.
VFW Post 1296 Quartermaster Tim Schryver and Post 550 Gambling Manager Tim Engstrom attended the first Huey Exhaust on April 17. Huey Exhaust is a cigar-smoking society for veterans and their supporters at 4 p.m. Thursdays through mid-October.
Fourteen members of our honor guard came to pay respects at the burial for Air Force veteran Bill Aul, who was in the honor guard for 35 years and Post 550 for 40. This is why we serve in the Legion, a place for our strong bond among veterans. Aul’s funeral service was June 27 at the Washburn-McReavy Chapel on Old Shakopee Road.
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