Membership drives our efforts

It's been a busy 2009 in The American Legion. We stood up against a proposal for VA to start billing the insurance companies of service-disabled veterans for care they're supposed to receive at no personal cost. Within days, as national media cast a spotlight on our opposition, the White House withdrew its idea.

Soon afterward, a baseless Department of Homeland Security report appeared, associating the homecomings of U.S. war veterans with a risk for domestic terrorism and right-wing extremism. Again, our reaction was swift, clear and well reported in the national media. The result was an apology from DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and a better understanding by DHS about the nation's largest veterans organization and its commitment to homeland security and fair treatment of veterans alike.

In April, more than 250,000 veterans in Priority Group 8 - those who are slightly above the poverty line - were allowed to re-enter VA's health-care system; since 2003, their enrollment had been suspended. While we're happy with that change, we still are lobbying for the government to honor the original intent of the Veterans Health Care Eligibility Reform Act of 1996, which opened VA health care to all veterans.

In May, VA began accepting applications for the new Post-9/11 GI Bill, which takes effect in August, one year after former VA Secretary James B. Peake argued the education benefit could not be handled without the services of an outside contractor. The American Legion disagreed and fought off the plan to outsource it. Our lobbying efforts also have helped bring to the table a record-high $113 billion VA budget and pending legislation that mandates on-time budgets for VA health-care facilities.

Bills to protect the U.S. flag from physical desecration have been introduced both in the House and Senate. U.S. courts are considering the removal of religious symbols, including those that honor veterans who gave their lives for our country, from public sight. Again, look to the forefront of each issue and you'll see The American Legion.

While our efforts may gain attention nationally, they start on the grass-roots level. And a successful grass-roots effort starts with a healthy membership. On this issue, we can never rest. We can throw out numbers like 3 million, but the truth is, we should never stop our membership efforts no matter what our current rolls measure.

Nothing works better than personal contact when it comes to membership. Direct Mail Solicitation and recruiters at the local post bring members into the fold, but it's what we do with those members once we get them that matters. Once they get into the organization, they need to know what we're doing for America's servicemembers and their families, and our country's veterans and its youth. And our new members need to know what we can do for them. They need a reason to be a member five, 10, 15 and 20 years down the road - not just this year or next year.

My tenure as national commander will end in two months, but my job as an American Legion recruiter is permanent. I'll still carry my membership applications with me wherever I go. I'll still use a tried and true sales pitch: simply tell the story of what we do. Our successes sell membership if we just put our voices behind them.

The American Legion Dispatch