Post 233 in Virginia was on the brink of closing until Kennith and Dr. Vee Harvey helped grow membership from 22 to nearly 150.
In 2016, American Legion Varina Post 233 in Richmond, Va., was on the verge of closing its doors due to declining membership. Now, thanks to the efforts of husband-and-wife Kennith and Dr. Vee Harvey, the post has grown from 22 members to 148 and has achieved 100% membership for the past three years.
Their success began in 2021 when Kennith was elected post commander. Dr. Vee, a 25-year retired combat U.S. Army colonel with a Purple Heart who originally joined Auxiliary Unit 233 in 2018 as there wasn’t another woman veteran as a post member, asked Kennith how she could best help.
“I have very strong administrative skills. I have very strong organizational skills. And that’s when I learned what it took to be an adjutant,” said Dr. Vee, who has been the Post 233 adjutant since 2022. “I started looking in the Officer’s Guide, learning what the adjutant’s job was, seeing what we needed to do to get the post organized.”
Kennith says the post refers to Dr. Vee as the “super glue” to membership.
The two followed a slogan they read at a local car dealership: “Don’t tell me what you can’t do. Tell me what you can do.” And with that, “our efforts are a team telling me what they can do,” Kennith said.
One of the first things he did as commander was making Buddy Checks to post members to hear what their concerns and needs were. Kennith heard over and over how no one from the post had ever called before. Now, even as post membership grows, “I call every member myself. Folks need to feel heard and needed. Feel like someone is not just taking their money.”
In 2021, post membership grew from 22 to 80 members. That growth has continued by way of Kennith and Dr. Vee thinking outside of what the post had always done in the past for membership growth and renewals. This has included creating local partnerships, engaging with schools, hosting family-friendly activities, and meeting the needs of members by conducting post meetings in person and by Zoom, and having a veteran service officer onsite for VA benefits claims.
“I love helping veterans with their claims,” said Dr. Vee, a veteran service officer at the post. “Doing VA benefits for them has really gotten us a lot of veterans to join because people become very, very grateful. A lot of them don't understand what their benefits are with the toxic exposures and the burn pits, or how to access their VA.gov accounts or what ID.me is. So, it's about arming yourself with knowledge so that you can have people gravitate toward the post.”
For family-friendly events, Post 233 has hosted a local wrestling group, provided spoken word and poetry to veterans, and hosts a Sneakers Ball where attendees, including Scout troops and their parents, dress in ball gowns and tuxedos while wearing comfy shoes. Dr. Vee said people decorate their shoes, including her where she puts rhinestones and glitter on them. The post is also looking to bring in comedy groups, line dancing and speakers to provide historical education about Richmond during the Civil War.
“We're trying our hands at different things that were never done before,” Dr. Vee said. “It's just we think outside of the box, and we don't limit it by age or anything. We want to be inclusive to everybody. We’re always looking for a different way to bring any groups of people to the post.”
And for the first time in 20 years, Post 233 is sponsoring a rising high school senior to American Legion Virginia Boys State. The success is due to getting back into the schools and engaging with students. This opportunity has also led to the post giving $1,500 in scholarships to three high school students for college or a trade school; and an essay contest for elementary students on whey they like living in America. Winners of the contest receive a GameStop gift card.
Dr. Vee is thankful Post 233 is a home to veterans, community members and youth. It’s a place for members to socialize, meet with a service officer, eat and laugh, among many other things, and a safe place for youth to do homework.
“Our post gives the community a place to come and say, ‘Hey, let's just hang out and say hi and check on each other,’” Dr. Vee said. “We need a place where they know that somebody is checking on them. It's a place where you know that the community is looking out for each other.”
The need to have a safe, welcoming place for the community is why Dr. Vee didn’t want to see Post 233 close its doors.
“Where I grew up, there was no Legion post to help,” she said. “I watched every single one of my brothers and all but my sister and me meet certain ends, either jail or death. Had it not been for my volleyball coach, I would have ended up in jail or dead as well. It just takes one person or one organization to change the life of somebody that knows no different. And the military saved my life.
“The Legion is the biggest veterans service organization out there. It serves the community. It serves the children. It serves the veterans. That’s my passion … veterans, children and the community. If I can give something from my heart and it helps one person, then I say that I've done good. We can do things that's going to help somebody. And if we can help veterans and the community and children all at one time, that's a big deal for me.”
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