February 02, 2025

Michigan, New Mexico continue working 2024 membership to hit 100%

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Michigan, New Mexico continue working 2024 membership to hit 100%

Even after the 100% deadline in May 2024 and start of 2025 membership year, the departments focused on headquarters post members to hit goal by end of last December.

The American Legion Departments of Michigan and New Mexico didn’t stop working 2024 membership after the 100% target date last May or when the 2025 membership year began July 1, 2024. As a result, both departments achieved 100% membership last December and have been recognized by National Commander James LaCoursiere Jr. with a special plaque.

“The easy route is once July 1 hits, people start taking renewals for the next year and new members and just kind of put the previous year behind you. But that's doing a disservice to the members, to the veterans,” said Brian Mohlman, 2024 Department of Michigan commander. “We need to do everything we can to get those DMS members and those unrenewed members back on the rolls and get them involved in their local posts.”

At the end of June 2024, the Department of Michigan was about 1,200 members shy of its 100% membership goal. Mohlman knew hitting 100% was possible. With about 10% of its membership residing in its DMS post, department leadership created an email campaign targeting DMS members to encourage transferring to a local post.

“The best retention tool that we have in the in the Legion is getting members involved in their local post,” he said. “So consequently, getting DMS members involved in their local post increases retention as well.”

The monthly emails notified DMS members that they were in a temporary holding post and if they knew of a local post they would like to belong to, or they didn’t have a preference but wanted to be in a local post, to reply to the email. A single email would often result in 200 replies wanting to be affiliated with a local post.

From there, the department began the transfer process.

The department created a contract with posts a few years ago that allows the department to automatically transfer a DMS member into a post. Of the more than 370 posts in the Department of Michigan, about two-thirds have signed the contract. When a DMS member responded to the email saying they wanted to be assigned to a local post, the department then sent an email to the identified post adjutant and copied the district and zone commanders. If the post has signed the contract, a completed member data form is attached in the email, and they are asked to follow up with the transferred DMS member and welcome them into the Legion Family. 

If the post does not have a contract, the department sends an email to the post adjutant to let them know that a DMS member has requested to transfer to their post. A member data form is attached for them to fill out, verify eligibility and then forward to the department membership coordinator for processing.

The final email was sent Dec. 17, with about 31 members away to reach 100% for 2024. Within a few days, Department of Michigan hit its membership goal.

“We just never gave up,” Mohlman said. “We were that close, why quit? We actually hit 100% probably about two to three days before Christmas this year. So, what a nice Christmas present to give to our department.”

In the email, the department used the word “assigned” to a local post instead of transfer, and credits those word changes to hitting 100% membership. Mohlman said the word transfer can bring up bad memories of moving during the military. “It’s amazing what a change of wording does because transferring in the military can bring back nightmares of having to pack up your stuff, move your family, move from one location to another,” he said. “It’s a lot of work. We seemed to have very good results using the word assign.”

“Bottom line of this whole thing is it took a whole team effort to do this.”

For the Department of New Mexico, the focus was to continue pushing 2024 membership as well. Not only did the department achieve 100%, so did the Sons of The American Legion Detachment of New Mexico. 

“After I was elected (department commander in June 2024), I realized that every year in July we would receive the following year’s membership cards and would then turn our focus on those memberships,” said Department of New Mexico Commander Bill Jennings. Then, he and Robert Rodriguez, immediate past department commander and current membership chairman, “decided to keep our focus on 2024 until the end of December. At all our fall district meetings we handed out our list of 2024 headquarters post members and delinquent list for each area to push for year end.”

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

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