‘The American Legion is alive’

Mary Jane Fisher of Carlsbad, Calif., earned The American Legion’s Silver Brigade award last year for recruiting 28 new members. For the 2016-2017 membership year she stepped up her recruiting efforts and earned the Gold Brigade award for recruiting 136 new members; she also was named the Department of California’s Recruiter of the Year.

Fisher, a member of Post 416 in Encinitas, credits her success to having mentors, attending membership revitalizations and going to where the veterans are, such as college veteran community centers and VA hospitals. At each location she wears her Legion cap, asks the basic Legion eligibility questions to veterans, and delivers District 22 Legion newspapers.

“You can do this in any community. You just have to be visible and approachable; that has been most of my success,” Fisher said. “(With a new potential member) you have to ask, ‘What is it that The American Legion can do to help you?’ You have to identify why they want to become a member. And let them know we are here.”

Fisher said her mentors (past Department Commander Gary Leach, Membership Director Mike Cooper, District 22 First Vice Commander Chris Yates and National Internal Affairs Division Assistant Director Paul Brown) taught her what it means to be a Legion member, what to look for when recruiting, and they gave her the “confidence and courage to invite people in,” she said. “Without them I wouldn’t probably be energized to feel like The American Legion is alive.

“Everywhere I go I have a purpose. I’m planting (The American Legion) seed; planting seeds everywhere I go.”