How to improve your post meetings
The Feb. 26 virtual Training Tuesday was presented by retired Army Sgt. Maj. Gina Owens, commander of American Legion Post 230 in Trafalgar, Ind. The information presented by Owens was taken from the Officers Guide where she shared best practices to running an effective post meeting, and provided tips to enhance your post meeting procedures. Listen to the recording.
A few meeting courtesies discussed during the training include:
- Immediately come to order when post commander opens meeting
- Pay attention to all discussions
- Rise to address the chair and wait to speak until recognized by the chair
- Sit down as soon as chair recognizes another speaker
- Vote on every question (motion)
- Do not speak (side conversations) during meeting unless recognized by chair
- Rise to make a report, remain seated during discussion of the report
- Limit remarks to the topic of discussion
"One of my big concerns is during a meeting, everybody likes to have a side conversation or talk to each other and you're not paying attention and sometimes you're talking louder than the chair, so it's very hard to hear when other conversations are going on," Owens said. "When it's time for you to give a report, if you have to do so, you need to rise, make that report, remain seated when it's being discussed."
Prior to the post meeting, Owens suggested that the post commander and adjutant create an agenda.
"I highly recommend that the commander and the adjutant get together and create an agenda. What I mean by this is they sit down and they come up with the topics that they know they need to bring forth to the membership and then they make sure that all of those are accomplished normally."
She also makes note that the sergeant-at-arms:
1. Sets up meeting room (see Officers Guide)
2. Make sure each member present is current in their dues (has card)
3. Write down names of each guest in attendance Download the PowerPoint that walks you through a post meeting opening ceremony, the post meeting and closing ceremony.
March Training Tuesday
American Legion members are invited to a detailed briefing on Medicare Advantage Plans for the Training Tuesday on March 26 at 7 p.m. The session will discuss the advantages of enrolling in these plans alongside existing VA healthcare benefits, covering key aspects such as eligibility, The American Legion partnership with WellCare, and an overview of Medicare Parts A, B, C and D. Special emphasis will be on coordinating healthcare benefits for veterans, maximizing advantages and understanding enrollment periods.