A membership call to action!

As you may be aware, I have three challenges that are designed to grow and strengthen our organization:
- Recruit 100,000 new members.
- Attain 90 percent renewal rate.
- Achieve 100 percent Consolidated Post Reporting.

When we meet these challenges, we will be poised to provide the most influential voice for veteran advocacy and serve as an example of a truly unified body of selfless Americans during a critical time in our nation.

Many American Legion posts experienced periods of closure because of the ongoing global pandemic and were unable to provide face-to-face services for potential new members. With these varying degrees of COVID-19 restrictions and the personal precautionary measures of all Americans, it may be a challenge to meet the 100,000 new member goal. But by working together, we can be successful.

We have over 615,000 expired members for 2019 and 2020 – we have failed our veterans by not keeping their memberships active. Now is the perfect time to engage them, let them know we want them back in our ranks. Use the expired lists located in

MyLegion.org to help supplement the traditional new recruit shortfall.

I also have a membership Call to Action between now and March 15 for 90 percent retention:
- Contact and renew expired members.
- Contact expired rosters.

The latest renewal notice is in our members’ mailboxes. We need to be there for our members during this challenging period that our nation is facing.

American Legion posts also need to work the DMS lists. There are many members who join The American Legion through this program with the expectation of someone contacting them and welcoming them into the organization. Remember, there is a $5 incentive for the department when someone contacts a 2020 DMS member and gets them to transfer and renew at the local post for 2021.

We need to make working renewals our main priority. If recruiting is about having an organization worth belonging to, retention is about leadership. It is time to roll up our sleeves and put a personal touch on renewals by calling or visiting our members who have not yet renewed.

This is our way of building a Foundation for the Future for The American Legion.