Applying what she’s learned

Our annual National Legion College is an investment in the future. It was created to help identify and then nurture the future leaders of The American Legion. Younger Legionnaires spend a week in intensive training designed to prepare them to take on future leadership roles. But as the college comes to an end each year, Past National Commander Butch Miller, chancellor of the NLC, always reminds students that attending the college is only half the battle; applying what they've learned is the other half. It's the college's job to teach; it's the students' job to practice what they've learned within their own departments.

Lisa Groves, a 2007 Legion College graduate, didn't take long to put her newfound knowledge to practical use. Since her week at the NLC, Groves has chartered a Legion post and set up several programs helping veterans in the Institute, W. Va., area. Her passion for helping her fellow veterans also has earned her a prestigious Jefferson Award for community service. She was one of just five recipients in the state and was presented the award by West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin III earlier this month.

But the unassuming Groves shrugs off her award.

"It made me proud that veterans are being recognized, but when I received the award, I dedicated it to all veterans," Groves said. "This award should be an inspiration. If I can make it, other veterans can make it."

Groves knows what it's like to struggle after leaving the service, as an Army veteran who battled post-traumatic stress disorder after serving from 1984 to 1992.

"I know what it's like to deal with PTSD, and I try to share what I went through with others," Groves said. "I'm not a doctor or a lawyer. I just listen to people, and I just talk to people."

Groves chartered Post 11 in Institute on May 23, 2008 - a little more than six months after graduating from Legion College. The post, which meets on the campus of West Virginia State University, is now up to 70 members. Groves said she and several fellow Post 11 Legionnaires will be attending the National Convention in Louisville, Ky., in August.

"I try to recruit just about anyone I run into," she said. "Some people don't even know they can join. I met one person who didn't even know that he was considered a veteran. I tell all of them that if they're not in The American Legion, they're really missing out on something."

Groves and the post have stayed busy. She began selling hot dogs, first outside, and then at a local convenience store, to raise money to fund the post's programs for area veterans. When state regulations forced her to shut down the operation inside the convenience store, she bought a mobile home that had been turned into hot dog cart. She and fellow Post 11 Legionnaires have been working hard to get the cart up and running again, and plan on getting back to selling hot dogs in the next few weeks.

Groves said 30 percent of Post 11's members are homeless veterans. Working with homeless veterans is one of Groves' passions. The funds from her hot dog sales go toward programs like the Red Cross, which provides meals for homeless and impoverished veterans in the area. "One disabled veteran had a baby and was really struggling," Groves said. "We worked with the Red Cross to get food and diapers for the baby."

The money raised also goes toward putting on breakfast every Saturday and Sunday for area veterans. It also helps another program that Groves feels is very important: getting veterans in contact with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Post 11 drives veterans to and from the Huntington VA Medical Center in West Virginia.

"We do a lot of work with homeless veterans, and a lot of them don't know about the VA," Groves said. "Because the vans that VA uses to transport patients to and from get full pretty easily, we began taking patients to Huntington and back. We also take the veterans to the local Vet Center. They need to know what programs and services are out there for them."

If it seems like Groves is staying busy, it's because she is. She said that Legion College helped get her on the road to being a leader.

"Legion College helped me in a lot of ways," she said. "First of all, I was around a lot of people. I got comfortable being in that setting. I learned a lot about the history of the Legion and what we're doing, and how wonderful of an organization it really is. And I learned that anyone can be a leader if they work at it."

Groves is an inspiration to those who have battled through adversity and feel they now want to make a difference in the lives of others. Legion College nurtured her leadership abilities, but before that, Groves had the heart and desire to want to help her fellow veterans. In less than two years, she and her Post 11 Legionnaires have impacted the lives of many needy veterans in her area.

This is why Legion College exists, and this is why we ask every department to send at least one member to it. Some of our future leaders will come looking for us; others need a little help getting started. Every class has a chance at producing the next Lisa Groves.

Isn't that alone worth the investment?

The American Legion Dispatch