Elmhurst American Legion Commander Narrowly Wins

ELMHURST, IL – In front of a standing room only crowd, incumbent Elmhurst American Legion Post Commander Eric Pulia was re-elected to a second term this past Tuesday.

In a very close election, Pulia won re-election by a 3-vote margin with the final tally being 40-37.

"It was a packed house, I have never seen that many members come out to a meeting, it would be great if we could always get that many people out to every meeting," Pulia said.

His opponent was the longtime past Post Commander John Scudder, who served before Pulia took the Post Commander Position last September. In the previous year’s election, a total of 57 members voted; this year it was 77.

“For nothing else, it is nice to see people getting engaged with the organization again based on the increased turnout,” Pulia said. "I pledge to work with anyone who wants to better this organization, including those who didn’t support me in this election."

The Post also re-elected longtime Finance Officer Al Bertolani and Junior Vice Commander Matt Aldinger to their respective Post Officer positions, and welcomed longtime volunteer Tom Augustyn to the Senior Vice Commander Position.

At the conclusion of the vote, Zachery DeRose was appointed to serve as the new Sergeant at Arms, and retired Navy Commander Mike Kerley of Elmhurst was appointed to be the new Post Adjutant. The new terms begin in September of this year.

Elmhurst American Legion Commander Eric Pulia appears with Junior Vice Commander Matthew Aldinger. (Courtesy of Eric Pulia)