Legion College gives lessons on leadership

Legion College gives lessons on leadership

The American Legion graduated its 2015 National Legion College Class on Oct. 30 and said farewell to a longtime leader.

The class of 55 Legionnaires spent a week at National Headquarters in Indianapolis gaining institutional knowledge and learning how to be an effective leader within the organization. Leadership traits were taught through empowering videos, the PEOPLE (professionalism, empathy, optimism, partnership, loyalty, empowerment) principle, group discussions and best practices.

Richard Brown, a 2011 Legion College graduate and adjutant of Post 186 in Indianapolis, shared with the students that rising as a leader within the Legion and wanting to make positive changes or implementing new ideas at all levels of the organization sometimes has its setbacks, but "the key is to never give up." As a young veteran serving in leadership positons at the post and district levels, Brown said he has encountered opposition but found that "common ground can be found over a cup of coffee."

"There have been years when I was completely shut out, and now I’m the leading candidate for (Indiana) department vice commander," he said. "A lot of the intergenerational strike is, are you in it for the right reasons. We have to show that we are doing this for the right reason: not to promote ourselves, but because we believe in this organization and what we do for our fellow veterans."

One of the many leadership videos the students watched was an interview with Capt. Chesley Sullenberger. Sullenberger safely landed U.S. Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson River on Jan. 15, 2009, after bird strikes caused both jet engines to fail.

The Legion "couldn’t have picked a better example of leadership" with the Sullenberger video, said Matthew Wrobel of Post 113 in Meridian, Idaho. "Sully didn’t overreact; he took control and moved forward, and that’s what you have to do at Legion meetings."

In addition to watching leadership videos, the students rated themselves on how professional they are as a leader in five areas – character, competence, composure, commitment and communication. The questionnaire revealed to Sally Nay of Post 130 in Indian Orchard, Mass., that "you can show leadership without being the leader. You can lead by example but you don’t have to be in charge." And Ernest Martin of Post 88 in Lexington, Okla., learned that "it’s communication that makes professionalism work."

The students also learned how to run a post meeting, establish a post-level Legion College and write a resolution. The students were divided into five groups and each group wrote a resolution and presented it during a mock department convention. Out of the five resolutions delivered only one passed, which called for posts to work with their local cemeteries to allow for a designated area to spread the ashes from unserviceable U.S. flags. "It’s giving the flags an honorable place of rest with the (men and women) who fought and died for it," Wrobel said.

The conclusion of Legion College signified graduation, as well as a farewell to Legion College chancellor and Past National Commander Butch Miller. The program’s chancellor since its inception in 1999, Miller is stepping down. "I will always look back on having something to do with Legion College with pride," he said. "Especially when I see the leadership that’s coming from it and will continue to come from it."

Graduation was also a time to remind students to share the wealth of knowledge that they received from the program when returning home, but also to "return not trying to make changes but being the change that your department needs," said Lowry Finley-Jackson, Legion College facilitator and Department of Missouri adjutant.

The Legion College alumni pin "doesn’t mean anything if you don’t go back to your departments, humbly, pushing to serve," Brown added. "It’s not what you know; it’s how much you care. You have to go back willing to serve, to further the interest of the organization, to serve your fellow veterans, and to not get discouraged."

For Joshua Clement of Post 2 in Helena, Mont., attending Legion College was an opportunity for him to learn how "we as an organization can continue to grow and move forward. It goes back to our foundation, our four pillars, that makes us a strong organization."