NALPA news and reminders

I had a wonderful time in Reno, Nev., during The American Legion’s 99th national convention. I traveled to and from by Amtrak. If you haven’t done such a trip you are missing out on America, the home of the brave and land of the free.

Our media awards luncheon was a great success. We awarded 45 print and digital publications, however, every entry into the media awards program was a winner. I encourage every media producer in The American Legion to enter the contest next year. Remember, the entry fee is waived thanks to NALPA’s recurrent national sponsorship. While mentioning sponsors, I would be greatly remiss not to recognize the super folks at the Reno-Sparks Convention Authority for their outstanding support of the 2017 award year and taking that initial step to be the first sponsor of our awards program.

You’ll notice in this issue that there are two NALPA leadership positions open for those who might be interested. NALPA is running well at this time so the learning curve should not be too difficult for either position. Both the executive director and finance officer positions are an integral part to the operation of NALPA. Although the bylaws indicate these resumes can be received up to 30 days prior to national convention in August, we would like to receive resumes by this Dec. 31. This will provide time for the NALPA Executive Committee to make a decision and to help ensure a smoother transition at convention.

We have been able to obtain some very nice NALPA embroidered shirts that are available for purchase. I will say they are nice enough that someone bought the shirt off my back at convention.

Finally, I must continue to mention membership. Growth of NALPA will improve our health and productivity. I recently saw the notes for our reorganization and rebranding meeting from 2015. When I reviewed those notes and remembered we spoke of over 1,500 newsletters and like numbers of digital products now, we should easily have between 2,500 and 3,000 members. We still have a way to go folks. Talk to your friends, post members and acquaintances in social media that produce The American Legion post media products.

And lastly, a small reminder.

As you know, NALPA has a nice membership card that features your name, American Legion membership number, city and state. This year I have had to make quite a few new cards due to address changes.

When you move, please let us know. It’s much easier to make the change before the cards are printed.