National Commander Daniel J. Seehafer speaks at the American Legion 104th National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. Seehafer will be in La Grande for a meet and greet on Sept. 23 from 3-4:30 p.m. at the American Legion Hall, 301 Fir St. 

LA GRANDE — Daniel Seehafer is finishing his first week as the new national commander of the American Legion but he already has plans to soon appear in Union County.

Seehafer, of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, is set to speak with the public in La Grande at 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, at the American Legion Hall, 301 Fir St. This will mark the first time in at least four years the national commander of the American Legion has come to La Grande.

“It is kind of a rarity for a national commander of the American Legion to come here,” Kathi Karnowski, president of the auxiliary for the La Grande American Legion Unit 43, said.

Seehafer, an ordained minister, was elected to the position on Aug. 31 in Charlottesville, North Carolina, during the 104th American Legion Convention.

“He is very moving when he talks and stirs something within you that makes you want to do more. He is captivating to listen to and gets you pumped up,” said Karnowski, who heard Seehafer speak in La Pine.

The session in La Grande, a meet and greet, will run from 3-4:30 p.m. Seehafer will go to Ontario on the following day for an appearance.

The national commander of the American Legion normally comes to Oregon annually and it is the American Legion Department of Oregon that determines where he will visit, Karnowski said. This year his focus will include District 6 in Oregon, which covers much of Eastern Oregon.

During his visit to Oregon, Seehafer will also appear in Hermiston at American Legion Post No. 37’s annual veterans picnic on Sept. 23 at McKenzie Park from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Topics Seehafer may talk about during his visit to La Grande could include the American Legion’s “Be the One’’ suicide prevention initiative. It encourages people to take steps so they know how to help prevent a veteran from taking his or her life.

“He is a big supporter of the program,” Karnowski said.

Seehafer, in a story by Steven Brooks on the American Legion website, said the focus of the “Be the One” campaign is to encourage veterans with suicidal thoughts to get help.

He said we need to “continue to invest our time and resources to destigmatize the act of getting help. It’s ok to ask for help. It’s OK not to be OK.”

Seehafer added: “That’s why with all this talk about numbers on this very subject, the only number I want us to push is ‘one,’ as in Be the One to save one, yes, one veteran, or even their spouse, from taking his or her own life.”

The American Legion national commander grew up in Merrill, Wisconsin, and later received a bachelor’s degree in pastoral ministry from Concordia University and a Master of Divinity at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Seehafer was installed as assistant pastor of St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Horicon, Wisconsin, in 1997 and continues to serve as administrative pastor of the church and its school.