The president visited the American Village this month.

Linda Meader of Concord, N.H., the national president of the Ladies Auxiliary to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, toured the American Village Tuesday, Jan. 16 with the Alabama auxiliary&8217;s president, Josephine Smith.

Smith chose the American Village as the state auxiliary&8217;s project to sponsor this year.

The state president chooses a project every year, and past projects have included fundraising for Lurleen B. Wallace cancer research center and auxiliary programs.

After touring American Village on Tuesday, members of the auxiliary in Bessemer, including Patty Mosier of Helena, took Meader to lunch at Vizzini Farms Winery in Calera, and later honored her at a reception held in Homewood.

Meader is currently taking a tour around the country, with a goal to visit every state.

Meader

spent Jan. 15-17 in Alabama.

The Ladies Auxiliary to the Veteran&8217;s of Foreign Wars are relatives of service men and women who have served on foreign soils.

Mosier said the Bessemer and all auxiliaries support veterans of foreign wars by doing community projects, serving at the veteran&8217;s hospital in downtown Birmingham and promoting the objectives of the auxiliary, which are fraternity, patriotism, history and education.

They also help make sure veterans receive and keep all of their entitlements.

The auxiliary in Bessemer plays host to many Shelby County women, who make up the 5,000 members in the Department of Alabama auxiliary.