The service side of membership

One goal of district revitalizations is getting current headquarters post members, as well as former and prospective members, into local American Legion posts. But another is to provide service to any veteran in the area.

That service was provided during a recent revitalization effort in Connecticut’s First District. Legionnaire Art Strolle saw a notice that a Legion service officer would be available during the effort and came to McKinney-King Post 142 in Hartford seeking help with a pending claim.

Strolle left Post 142 a satisfied customer. “It was terrific,” he said of his meeting with American Legion service officer Richard Linnon. “He was confident something positive will happen. This is awesome. I’d be lost without something like this: how to approach this (claim), how to go about it. These guys are so great, so accommodating and so knowledgeable.”

Linnon, who also serves as department vice commander and the First District commander, said having a service officer presence at revitalization efforts is critical.

“Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation – to me, that’s what the Legion is all about,” Linnon said. “I’ve done this at several other district revitalizations. We’re here to help the veterans that are in need of services and do what we can.”

During the three-day revitalization effort at Post 142, national staff worked with department Legionnaires to connect headquarters post members with one of the more than 30 posts within the district. In addition to signing up a new member, 69 headquarters post members were transferred into local posts.

National Vice Commander John Hargreaves of Maine took time out of his schedule to help with the revitalization effort, making phone call after phone call to headquarters post members. He took part in a similar effort in Rhode Island a few months earlier.

“We need to keep our membership active,” Hargreaves said. “What we’re trying to do is transfer people out of (the headquarters post) to an active post. It is very important for our Legionnaires to be in the local post, to see what we do. A lot of members don’t really realize the breadth of what we do.”

Moving from a “holding” post to a local post can have a positive effect on a Legionnaire and his or her new post, said Department of Connecticut Commander Paul Spedaliere. “Sometimes the people in the holding post have the energy to revitalize the post itself that might be starting to go dormant,” said Spedaliere, who spent two days assisting the revitalization. “And it gives them a sense of belonging. It gives them a contribution – ‘This is what I can do to the post.’ They can bring something to the post. “(And) to see (Legion) programs actually happening gives you that sense of community.”

Department Senior Vice Commander Louie Robinson spent all three days at the revitalization. A member of Post 142, the effort was personal for him.

“We have a lot of veterans in the city of Hartford … that need direction,” Robinson said. “We’ve got too many veterans here who are wandering around aimlessly. They need some avenue to channel all their energy. I think The American Legion is a perfect avenue. To continue serving … gives them some kind of direction. We’ve got all kinds of programs in The American Legion. One of these programs will fit (them).”

Robinson said the recent effort will carry over into the district’s future membership efforts. “We had three guys from (Post 142) come in here and try to learn something (about membership efforts),” he said. “They learned. They have a feel now for what they can do.”