https://www.facebook.com/413140521877630/

American Legion 6th District Women Veterans, 1157 Highway 49, Erin, TN (2026)

02/06/2026

Sister Veterans;

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women in the United States, responsible for nearly one in three deaths each year—yet it remains widely underestimated. Many women don’t realize they’re at risk, and too often the warning signs are missed, minimized, or misunderstood, even in clinical settings.

Unlike the dramatic chest pain often associated with heart attacks in men, women’s symptoms can be far more subtle. Unexplained fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea, indigestion, or lingering discomfort are frequently brushed off as stress, aging, or something minor. When these symptoms intersect with risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, physical inactivity, pregnancy-related complications, and chronic stress, the danger becomes much more serious.

On February 6 — Wear Red Day, we’re calling special attention to women veterans, whose service-related stress, deployments, and unique health challenges can increase cardiovascular risk. Wearing red is a simple but powerful way to show support, spark conversations, and remind women veterans that their heart health matters.

Wear red. Share this message. Start the conversation. It could save a life.

Thank you!!

Leanne

--
Leanne Braddock
Co-Chair
Department of Tennessee Women Veterans
901-219-0319

01/26/2026

The Remembering Our Fallen Wall for Iraq/Afghanistan Veterans will be exhibited at Erin City Hall from March 12th to 23rd. This year's Irish Week honors veterans in celebration of America's 250th anniversary.

01/26/2026

Sharing on behalf Sixth District Commander

FYSA… Help Requested

Dear Fellow Legionnaires,

I wanted to make everyone aware of a house fire that occurred in Benton County over the weekend. The home belonged to a member of American Legion Post 102 in Camden.

In the coming days, there will be a collection of donation items including food, furniture, appliances, and other household necessities to help this family begin rebuilding.

If your post is able to assist in any way, I know it would be deeply appreciated. In the true spirit of mutual helpfulness, every contribution—large or small—will make a meaningful difference.

Please contact the Camden Post Commander, Mike Entsminger, to let him know if your post plans to help.

Thank you for your continued support and dedication to our Legion family.

Respectfully,

Glen Baggett
Commander, Sixth District
American Legion
615-319-5692

01/26/2026

FYSA … please see the below email from our American Legion Department Chair’s: They have locked in the dates of the Women Veterans Retreat to Dark Horse Lodge.

Darkhorse Lodge operates as a non-profit with 501(c)(3) status, dedicated to providing veterans a place for healing and camaraderie. They are going to open the Lodge to 20 women Legionnaires in Tennessee on 20-24 October 2026. Please email me (Leanne) at this email address if you are interested in attending. There is a one time deposit of $50 per person for food that will be refunded (if you wish) when you arrive. I have to let her know the final count by 1 September 2026.
**************************************************
Happy January, Sister Veterans!

We apologize for taking so long in-between communications, but we have a new email through Google Workspace that will allow us more flexibility in communicating with everyone.

We have a page! Tennessee American Legion Women Veterans. Please like and Follow us and share it with your friends. We will be posting pictures and information on that page.

We want to know why YOU joined the American Legion! If you would just take 3-5 minutes and record yourself (it doesn't have to be fancy) and tell us a little bit about yourself and why you decided to become a Legionnaire, we would like to post that on Facebook (with your permission, of course) or use it to help other women veterans see the value of becoming a member of this great organization. Please help us!

Have you heard of Dark Horse Lodge? Here is your chance to experience it. Kirk and Gretchen Catherwood established Darkhorse Lodge in the wake of their son's tragic loss to combat in Afghanistan. This retreat offers a serene environment where veterans from all military branches can gather to relax, fish on Kentucky Lake, immerse in nature, and connect with others who share similar experiences. Darkhorse Lodge operates as a non-profit with 501(c)(3) status, dedicated to providing veterans a place for healing and camaraderie. They are going to open the Lodge to 20 women Legionnaires in Tennessee on 20-24 October 2026. Please email me (Leanne) at this email address if you are interested in attending. There is a one time deposit of $50 per person for food that will be refunded (if you wish) when you arrive. I have to let her know the final count by 1 September 2026.

Be on the lookout for another email soon where I tell you about our workshop at the Mid-Winter Conference.

Thanks for all you do!!

Cheers!
Leanne Braddock

11/26/2025

You are cordially invited to join us for the annual Veterans Christmas Breakfast, hosted by Sykes Funeral Home.

Date: December 5, 2025
Time: 8:30 AM (Doors open at 8:15 AM)
Location: 424 Franklin Street, Clarksville, TN 37043

Spouses are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Please you MUST RSVP no later than December 1, 2025 by calling (931) 647-1562.

This is a FREE event but In support of Operation Toy Soldier, we will also be collecting new, unwrapped toys for children in our community this holiday season. Any donations are greatly appreciated.

We look forward to seeing you there and sharing a wonderful morning together.

09/01/2025

Update from Department of Tennessee Women’s Veterans Co-Chair: If you are not receiving their emails please reach out to Leanne to be added.

Dear Sister Veterans,

Please allow us to introduce ourselves! We, Leanne Braddock and Mary Engelman, are honored to serve as Co-Chairs for the American Legion, Department of Tennessee Women Veterans. We are excited to connect with you and share information, resources, and opportunities for women veterans across the state.

About Us

Leanne Braddock is a retired Navy Human Resource Officer who served 24 years at duty stations from Pearl Harbor, HI, to Keflavik, Iceland, as well as Washington, DC; Jacksonville, FL; Newport, RI; and Memphis, TN. A Navy kid, Navy wife, and now Navy mom, Leanne’s son Sam is a Surface Warfare Officer stationed at Pearl Harbor. Today, she works as a Marriage and Family Therapist, is a member of Post 12 in Jackson, TN, and serves as the Women Veterans Chair for District 8.

Mary Engelman proudly served in the U.S. Air Force with the Strategic Air Command, spending nine years at Grand Forks AFB. Coming from a long line of military service, Mary grew up traveling the world as an Army daughter and was born in Frankfurt, Germany. She is the current Commander at Kings Mountain Post 24 in Johnson City, TN, and also serves as the Americanism Chair for the American Legion Department of Tennessee.

Our Mission

Many of you have asked about the purpose of this organization. The mission of the American Legion, Department of Tennessee Women Veterans is to support, communicate, recognize, and advocate for women veterans across Tennessee. This program provides an outreach for members to share information, connect, and strengthen our community.

We are grateful for the foundation laid by Carla Bell and look forward to building on her work. But we also want to hear from you: What would you like from this organization?

Moving Forward

Some of the initiatives we are exploring include:

Hosting Zoom discussions on specific topics

Sharing updates on Facebook and LinkedIn

Creating short videos of women veterans sharing why they belong to the American Legion

Why This Matters

We would like to grow the number of women veteran members in Tennessee. This is the time for women veterans to join the Legion family. We need you.

Women veterans are already leading across Tennessee, with four women post commanders in East Tennessee and a woman district commander—just a snapshot of the incredible leadership among us. Let’s continue to reach out to our sister veterans and encourage them to get involved.

Together, we can do this.

Thank you for all you do!

In service,
Mary Engelman & Leanne Braddock
Co-Chairs, American Legion Department of Tennessee Women Veterans

Note: If you would like to opt out of these emails, please notify [email protected]. If you are receiving duplicate emails, please let us know.

PLEASE SEND LEANNE ANY CHANGES TO YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS. We do not have automatic updates from Headquarters. You must supply that information if you wish to keep receiving our updates. THANK YOU!

08/30/2025

🥾 Hike with Us. Sponsor Miles. Fuel Healing.

You can walk alongside us—on the trail or in spirit.
Hike, sponsor, or invite others to join our Hiking for Healing fundraiser. Every dollar fuels hope, every mile fuels restoration.

🔗 https://www.fullrangefoundation.com/general-7

07/18/2025

Sharing on behalf of Carla Bell, Dept of TN, Women’s Veteran’s Chair

Hello veteran,

How are you today? I hope that you are doing well. If not, please know that there are resources available to you no matter what your struggle may be.
It was great to see everyone that was able to make it to the convention last month. Another productive outing. Thank you all for being patient with me through the challenges that I am going through. It has been a struggle indeed.
Quick update from the convention. Since I was not able to stand for long, our dearest friend Tonya Launsby was able to coordinate some guest speakers to come in and speak about various issues related to women veterans. Speakers included a health care plan coordinator, a transition assistance coordinator, and a women's health coordinator and others.
There was also a speaker from Military Women's Memorial, encouraging all women veterans to tell their story of military service.
There was also an interest in another women's retreat at the Darkhorse Lodge. So far, Sherry Lada has volunteered to coordinate those efforts. Please contact Sherry to get added to the "the list" at [email protected]. 708-308-5003
There is a flyer enclosed that has free veterinarian services at RHEA COUNTY Fairgrounds July 11 - 21. Please see the enclosed flyer for more information.
The FREE Mobile Clinic will be available in Rhea County as well July 11 - 21, 2025, please see enclosed flyer.
Apologies that the flyers were not resent sooner, but they were sent out last email.

♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Thank you all for the opportunity to be your Women Veteran Chair for the Department of Tennessee. It has been a great experience and I feel so honored to be able to keep you informed over these years. Thank you all for your patience, compassion, understanding, and advice. Hugs
♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

THIS EMAIL CONTAINS A LOT OF INFORMATION. PLEASE SCROLL THROUGH IT, TO SEE IF ANY IS RELEVANT TO YOU!!!

VSO Zoom Mondays
Meeting ID: 9595508866
Passcode: 946659
Call ID: 312-626-6799
Monday's at 7:00p CST

Warmest regards

Carla Bell
American Legion
Department of Tennessee

07/10/2025

Sharing on behalf of Department of Tennessee Women’s Veteran Chair

Hello veteran,
It was great seeing you at the 2025 American Legion Department of Tennessee Convention in Murfreesboro last month. I wanted to take the time to thank you for attending the Women's Coalition meeting at the convention. As always, I wish that we had more time to chat as a group, but I am extremely glad that we do get the time that we have.
I want to apologize for not getting to all the topics that everyone might have wanted to cover. BIG Thank you to Tonya Launsby for coordinating the speakers. I was not sure how I would feel and I didn't want you to leave having received no information from the Women Veteran meeting. I hope you enjoyed the material that was disseminated.
One topic that keeps popping up is the issues that some women are having in their posts. I was hoping that we could work on resolving those issues in the past year, but I did not receive any feedback. If you have a problem in your post and you want it addressed, you have to speak up. I cannot stress that enough. Contact the Women Veteran Representative in your post, district, division, as well as I, with your concerns.

Coming Up:
American Legion National Convention in Tampa, FL on August 21 - 28,2025
American Legion Department of Tennessee Mid-Winter Conference 2026

Once again, THANK YOU for attending the 2025 American Legion Department of Tennessee Convention Women Veterans Coalition meeting.

Warmest Regards,

Carla Bell
American Legion
Women Veteran Chair

06/26/2025

Houston County Hearld Paper

04/10/2025

Claim your FREE Tickets

Wellcare in partnership with The American Legion is offering our members from Tennessee FREE Food City 500 NASCAR Cup Series race Tickets on April 13, 2025, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee, in appreciation for your service to our country. Quantities are limited so don’t miss out on this opportunity as these are distributed on first come, first serve basis.

Offer expires when all tickets are claimed. Tickets will be sent by email once confirmed.
Don’t miss out on this thrilling race—grab your tickets today!

Tickets will be sent by email once confirmed.

04/04/2025

We are asking each of you to tell 10 or more Sister Veterans about the VA Center for Women Veterans and their earned VA benefits and services.

Follow us here and on X and on Pinterest , sign up for our newsletter at www.va.gov/womenvet.

We share VA resources, benefits and services, news, research, events and more related to women Veterans. Stay in the know.

American Legion 6th District Women Veterans

02/06/2026

01/26/2026

01/26/2026

01/26/2026

11/26/2025

09/01/2025

08/30/2025

07/18/2025

07/10/2025

06/26/2025

04/10/2025

04/04/2025

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