John Soltis of Lansford, active in veterans circles for many years, was elected State Commander of the AMVETS when some 500 delegates met in Harrisburg this weekend for the organization’s annual state convention.

Soltis, 53, is the first member of the Lansford AMVETS to be named to the top post in Pennsylvania.

A four-year Navy veteran who served as an aviation machinist during the Korean War, he is a past commander of the local post, where he has been a member for the past 32 years.

Soltis previously held the positions of first vice commander and second vice commander of the statewide organization.

The Lansford High School graduate has worked as an equipment operator for the Parish Division of the Dana Corporation, Reading, for the past 31 years.