American Legion Post 6 and Post 343 will host an open house on Saturday, Sept. 17 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Post 6, 355 Enterprise Road, in Clanton.

Various Legion leaders and representatives will speak about programs the American Legion sponsors throughout the community.

Programs include the Oratorical Youth Scholarship Contest, Legion baseball, youth shooting sports, Boy Scouts of America, Legion Riders, and American Legion Boys and Girls State.

The open house is free and open to the public.

“We try to educate the American public about what the American Legion does,” said 23rd District Commander Phil Burnette. “We’re trying to get everybody active again.”

Program representatives will be available to answer questions and will have pamphlets and brochures with more information for open house guests.

Burnette said the American Legion hopes to gain more memberships and help more people become involved in the community.

“Whether it’s with the Legion or not, I encourage everyone to find a way to be of service to their community,” Burnette said.

Burnette traveled to high schools in Chilton County on Sept. 12 to tell students about the American Legion High School Oratorical Scholarship Program.

“It’s a good source of scholarship funds for students who really need it,” Burnette said. “Most of the county high schools didn’t know about (the program).”

The program consists of a “Constitutional Speech Contest” in which students compete for college scholarships at the local, district, state and national level.

“We’re in the process of setting dates for the different levels of competition,” Burnette said.

The 23rd District Oratorical Contest Kickoff will be on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 2 p.m. at the American Village in Montevallo.

For more information on the American Legion High School Oratorical Scholarship Program, look on the Legion web site at Legion.org.