Legion Family members urged to raise ‘Be The One’ awareness at the start of each month

During Day 1 of The American Legion National Executive Committee’s Spring Meetings, the organization’s governing body approved a new method for raising awareness of the Legion’s “Be the One” veteran suicide-prevention initiative. The NEC passed Resolution 13: Be the One Days. The resolution urges American Legion Family members and American Legion posts to – on the first of each month, starting this June – set aside that day as an opportunity to reduce the stigma around mental health issues. Legion Family members are urged to wear a “Be the One” item to signal their commitment to the initiative.

“We believe it will take a little bit of time to get this off the ground,” said American Legion Marketing Commission Chairman Paul Evenson. “But once it spreads widely across the Legion Family, it will be a great way to keep the awareness high about this important issue all year long.”

During Evenson’s remarks, Kim Meesters – Brand Strategy and Innovation Director in the Legion’s Marketing Division – shared the story of a servicemember who approached national staff during an event earlier this year and said he had contemplated suicide, at one time having a weapon in his hand to do so. He was immediately connected with an American Legion service officer.

“Not only did they quickly get him some companionship and some compassion and tell him they would help, but within 24 hours the gentleman had the appointments he needed, the right caretakers to help him (and) he had been connected with a (Legion) post,” Meesters said. “How do we measure success with (‘Be the One’)? We measure it if we save one life. It means all of this is worth it.”

In other NEC happenings:

·         After delivering opening remarks on a variety of topics, American Legion National Commander Vincent Troiola reflected on what had been accomplished during the week, including passage of Resolution 1: Purchase of Multiple Years of Membership. “For someone new to the Legion, a three-year membership gives them time to assess whether they want to make such a commitment to our organization,” Troiola said. “I believe three years is enough time for us to win them over and keep them in our family.  

·         National Security Commission Chairman Matthew Shuman updated the NEC on the progress made in the creation of the Military Quality of Life’s Base Assessment and Servicemembers Experience (BASE) Program. A program pamphlet is being printed for distribution, while a guidebook is being drafted. A visit to Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia is being considered as the first visit for the program. “The intent of this program is quite simple: to ensure our troops and their families are properly taken care of as they continue to serve our great nation,” said Shuman.

·         Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation Commission Chairman Autrey James said the VA&R Division was in the process of completing a survey by a neutral third party on questions such as whether veterans prefer to receive their care via VA or a community provider and whether they prefer to use a doctor or nurse practitioner. James said The American Legion will conduct a press conference in June “to announce the findings and impact of those findings.”      

·         National Americanism Commission Chairman Mark Avis announced that national staff has received a letter of intent from Hillsdale College in Michigan to host the 2024 Oratorical finals. The event will be moved to May 17-19 in order to use Hillsdale’s campus; the college will provide free room and board, and transportation, to contestants, chaperones and volunteers. “The Americanism Commission has been looking for a venue worthy of the prestige of our Oratorical finals. Hillsdale College exceeds any expectations,” Avis said. “We share a commitment for teaching constitutional scholarship and developing great citizens of this nation.”

·         Other resolutions of note passed by the NEC included No. 6: Correction of Military Records, which calls for the secretary of the Navy and Congress to update to honorable the discharges of the “Port Chicago Fifty” and the “Philadelphia Fifteen”; No. 8: Home Loan Guaranty Program Eligibility, which urges VA to include VA home loan eligibility to a veteran’s dependent child or spouse, or the surviving spouse or child; No. 12: Afghanistan War Commission, which endorses the creation and implementation of the Afghanistan War Commission; and No. 19: Protection of Veterans’ Disability & Compensation, which opposes the taxation of VA disability compensation benefits and requiring a veteran to be means tested to quality for disability compensation. All resolutions passed during the Spring Meetings will soon be available online.

·         More than $150,000 was donated during the meetings to various American Legion programs, including $100,000 from Kenneth N Dowden Wayne Post 64 in Indianapolis for Operation Comfort Warriors, and $10,000 each for the Veterans & Children Foundation from the American Legion Auxiliary and leading candidate for 2023-2024 national commander Daniel Seehafer and his wife, respectively.