Legion leadership challenged to educate department wide

When members of The American Legion National Executive Committee arrived to the NEC Room at National Headquarters Thursday morning in preparation for Spring Meetings to resume, a homework assignment was waiting for them from National Commander Dale Barnett.

“The teacher came out in me this morning,” Barnett said in response to the homework, which listed key topics that were discussed during the meetings that he wants the NECman to share when they return to their respective departments.

First on the list was the passing of Resolution No. 1, which allows children of post-9/11 veterans with a VA disability rating of 50 percent or higher to apply for The American Legion Legacy Scholarship, which will also now award up to $20,000 in aid. As it currently stands, the scholarship is available for children whose parents died while on active-duty military service on or after Sept. 11, 2001. The changes to the scholarship will go into effect in 2017.

The passing of this resolution “fills a void (for military children) that currently exists,” Barnett said. “I want you to be my deputies and go out and educate on what happened here this morning with Resolution 1.”

Next was a validation for the $5 membership dues increase. “We can’t continue to lose members and balance a budget,” Barnett said. “If we don’t meet our membership goals we are going to be sitting here five years from now, and we are going to have the same discussion (on increasing dues).”

Barnett reiterated the need for educating members, and potential new members, on what membership dues pay for – “it goes to our (youth and veterans) programs and all of these great things that the commission chairman have shared that we’ve done; and it goes to the operating expenses of running the national organization.”

Lastly, Barnett called for the NECman to take an assessment on the success of their department’s strategic plan for membership growth.

“We have to inculcate a culture of growth in this organization,” he said. “Everyone can make a difference in this room. You’re my varsity; you’re my A team. You need to leave here and take this homework back and give your department a grade. Then you need to educate your department about what we’re going to do as an organization of The American Legion. And you need to implement an aggressive and forward looking plan that inculcates a culture of growth.”

Before the close of the NEC meetings, Past National Commander Jim Koutz delivered donation checks worth more than $66,000 for the Operation Comfort Warriors program from Indiana Legion posts, Auxiliary units, Sons of The American Legion squadrons and Legion Riders. Donations of nearly $4,000 for the Child Welfare Foundation were also delivered from several departments, as well as a check for $101,613 from the SAL.