Legion Welcomes New Leaders

WAITSBURG - After nearly 70 years of dedicated ser­vice, Ivan Keve and Dorne Hall have transferred leadership in American Legion Post #35 to husband and wife duo, Ron and Cindy Standring. Keve and Hall joined the Legion after returning from World War II in 1946 and have held various offices since. Both are pleased to see a younger generation take the helm.

Ron Standring replaced Hall, who has held office as Legion Commander since 2013. Cindy Standring has taken over duties as Adjutant/Finance Officer -- a position held by Keve for the last 56 years. "Ron and Cindy are to be com­mended for taking on this important, time-consuming job," said Legion Auxiliary member B.A. Keve. "The 'old guard' needed them!"

The military has played a big part in the lives of the Stan­drings. In fact, the two met, and eventually married, through their military work in power production. Their current in­volvement extends to their young granddaughter, 7-year old Bailey, who is a Junior Auxiliary member.

Ron Standring spent four years in the Coast Guard, where he was initially stationed in New York as a Buoy Tender, checking the buoys in the harbor around the Statue of Liberty. He then volunteered for an assignment on an ice breaker - an electronically powered ship that traveled from California to Antartica, breaking ice for researchers. The trip took a full year, and upon return he volunteered for a second go.

Next, Standring went to Kodiak Island, Alaska where he was captain of a Search and Rescue boat. After discharge, he took a civil service job with the Air Force as a power plant mechanic. He was stationed at Shemya, (aka The Rock) Alaska - a two-mile by four-mile island located at the end of the Aleutian chain, roughly 1,500 miles from Anchorage and 200 miles from Russia. The silver lining to spending three years on The Rock - a location often described as "godforsaken" - is that he would meet his wife, Cindy, there.

Cindy Standring spent ten years in the Air Force and Air National Guard where "nearly every assignment was on a beach". She transferred from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to Camp New Amsterdam, Holland to Eglin AFB in Florida. She was trained in power production and also worked the emergency desk for civil engineering at Eglin AFB, where she would field up to 150 emergency calls a week.

Cindy thought her luck had run out when she re­ceived news of her one-year remote assignment - pulling her from the sunny Florida beaches to Shemya, Alaska. "When I returned to Florida after my assignment every­one laughed because I'd said I didn't want to go. But then I met Ron there and I kept ask­ing to go back!" said Cindy.

The couple eventually married and moved to An­chorage where Cindy trans­ferred from active duty to Air National Guard and Ron continued to work in civil service. In 1998 the couple moved to Waitsburg. Ron now works at Lower Monu­mental Dam and Cindy works for the Postal Service. Ron will retire from 36 years of civil service in May.

Cindy said she felt a strong pull to support the Legion and was pleased that her husband was willing to join her in that endeavor. "I thought about how important it is that we respect our coun­try and military families and realized that there aren't that many people involved now who can physically do the job," she said. "It would be so sad if no one put the flags out on Memorial or Veterans Day. We can help military members and their families in the community by of­fering assistance through a strong club and support group. Someone has to do it. I feel like it's us."

The Standrings are look­ing toward a "fresh start" for the Legion and are hop­ing more locals will get in­volved. "We just really want it to work," said Cindy.

The club is hosting a piz­za night on January 21 at 6 p.m., at Laht Neppur Brew­ery. All area veterans are encouraged to attend and get to know one another better, whether they are members of the Legion or not.

To learn more about the Legion or Auxiliary call Cindy Standring at (509) 520-9350.