Department of Montana conducts first large-scale membership revitalization.
The American Legion Department of Montana has been putting a recent focus on getting into its communities. According to department adjutant Duane Cunningham, it recently changed the presentation of its Law Enforcement Officer and Firefighter of the Year awards: instead of having recipients travel sometimes hours to the department convention, the awards are presented locally with the help of posts, and donations are made to the recipients’ chosen nonprofits.
In that vein, on the weekend of May 16 the department embarked on its first large-scale membership revitalization campaign. Michele Steinmetz, a national membership engagement coordinator from National Headquarters, and National Vice Commander Gary Leach of California – neither new to revitalizations – came to the department headquarters in Helena to assist.
The base of the visitors’ activities was local Lewis & Clark Post 2, from which teams both sat down to cover member phone lists and set out to knock on doors. Crisscrossing the area, sometimes through breathtaking scenery, the latter teams carried a list of names with service demographics and membership status. If no one was home, the team left a “Why You Should Belong” brochure at a door or on a gate. If someone other than the veteran was home, conversations with loved ones provided opportunities to follow up later.
The focus, before membership status ever comes into it, on member checks is always on what support or assistance the veteran might need – as Leach put it, “What can we do for you?” That was especially apparent when a team got to speak directly with the veteran on the list. In Helena, good conversations were had with members who were sometimes isolated due to health or other issues. One older gentleman, a member for nearly 20 years, working his farm in the morning explained that cancer treatments had affected his immune system and travel – but “as soon as I get a thumbs-up from the doctors, I’ll be back at the meetings.”
These efforts were going on across the state; by 1:50 p.m. on Friday, the department had gained an estimated 40 new members. In Fort Belknap, the local Post 110 was tabling at Little River Learning Center for its very survival – and it worked, as the post gained enough new members to maintain its charter and honor guard with its ceremonial rifles. But even better, the presence of a service officer helped a now-member start a benefits claim and try to retrieve his lost DD 214. Brian Carpenter is the department’s Riders director; he saw the addition of 11 new members and called it a “great turnout … we put a good effort out.” For most, he added, “they didn’t even know the post existed.” Carpenter, who does a lot of Buddy Checks over the phone, traveled down to Helena on Saturday to observe some door-knocking.
At Post 2, the post assistance station was set up with a table, phone, member data forms and lists, and lots of Kirkland and homemade cookies. Volunteers came in for a little while or a long time, as their days dictated. On Saturday, the lists had been completed at 2:10 p.m. Incoming post commander Joe Wagner found the revitalization effort an excellent opportunity for younger new leadership – such as himself – “to get out there, for the community to get familiar with us.”
On Saturday in White Sulphur Springs, more than an hour from Helena, Meagher Post 25 held a membership open house at the local 2 Basset Brewery to which other posts (such as Bozeman and Townsend) districts and local veterans were invited. The brewery is “more family-oriented than a bar,” said post commander Bill Cummins, who heads “a fairly active small post” founded in 1919 with membership in the low 70s. Although meeting attendance is sometimes spotty, “the community really supports us” in the post’s Memorial Day and other events; “you feel grateful for (it).”
And the event netted Post 25 a new member.
- Membership