What comes to mind when you think of an American Legion post? Many of us imagine an old-fashioned basement bar, smelling of cigarettes and filled with aging men. However, this stereotype does not entirely apply to Lloyd Williams Post 41 in Berryville, Va. While we do meet in a basement room and our membership is predominately aging men, we do not operate a bar or smoke in our meeting room.

In contrast to many American Legion posts, we are an active and growing organization. We have achieved an all-time high in membership each of the past 10 years — a rare feat in the Legion. We now have 175 paid members — a 180 percent increase in 10 years. About 80 percent of our members actively participate in our post’s programs each year and almost 40 percent attend our monthly Legion meetings — a strong indication of the involvement and commitment of our members.

Since its chartering in 1919, Lloyd Williams Post 41 has continued The American Legion’s commitment to community, state and nation through programs dedicated to veterans, veterans’ families and our community. Our success depends entirely on active membership, participation and volunteerism. For over nine decades, we have been arguably the best service organization in our community.