Leona McDermott
2016-2017 National Membership & Leadership Ambassador
Our Organization Continues to Grow Because of YOU!
What an amazing and historic year this has been! We not only achieved 100% in membership – we exceeded that goal and exceeded last year’s percentage, leaving our organization better than where we started. What more could anyone ask for? We have 39 Departments who achieved 100% Plus in Membership, and while we did not quite reach our goal of 500,000 members, we now have more than 491,000 male and female members, a testament to what true teamwork can achieve.
At the National Convention, just a few weeks away, we will induct the first members of the Circle of Excellence. We will honor those Departments who not only excelled in Membership but also exemplified true leadership. Thirty-five (35) Departments will be honored at this very first celebration.
To National President Colette Bishop, thank you for the confidence you placed in me by allowing me to serve as the first National Ambassador for Membership & Leadership. It certainly was a challenging but rewarding experience. In order to succeed, you must have a great team and I certainly had that. Thank you to Lois Callahan, Libby DallaTezza, Kim Harney and Debbie Tweet, the awesome Conference Coaches, who worked tirelessly to assist me in encouraging, motivating and supporting the Departments within their Conferences. What was accomplished this year could not have been done without each of you.
To every Department, District and Auxiliary Membership Chairman, thank you for promoting our Membership program so effectively. You played a key role in our success. Thank you for taking information that was provided to you and sharing it with the members of our organization. While I did not have personal contact with the District and Auxiliary Membership Chairmen, I can tell you firsthand that the Department Chairmen did a great job in sharing information with our members in new and innovative ways.
To the Treasurers, what an incredible job you did in keeping up with processing all of those new and continuous members. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the many hours, nights and weekends you worked to accomplish our goal. What a vital role you played in our success this year!
Thank you to the National Certified Recruiter Trainers who worked hand-in-hand with the Membership Chairmen and provided the education and training needed for our members to recruit new members and retain existing ones.
To every Department, District and Auxiliary President, thank you for the leadership you provided to our members as you continued to move our organization and our members forward. As we all know, Membership and Leadership go hand-in-hand.
To everyone at National Headquarters who assisted me in so many ways, thank you does not begin to express my gratitude for the support and assistance you gave to me throughout the year. Your commitment to our organization, to our veterans and to their families shows through in everything that you do on a daily basis. The guidance, support, encouragement and motivation you provided to me will never be forgotten.
To each and every member of our organization, from the bottom of my heart I thank you for all that you do for our veterans and their families. Membership is truly the “heartbeat” of our organization; the more members we have, the more support and assistance we can provide to our veterans and their families. You make a difference in the lives of our veterans – you keep our organization moving forward – you give “Unwavering Support to our Uncommon Heroes®”. Without you, none of this could have been accomplished. You got the job done one member at a time because: One More Member Does Matter!
Thank you and God Bless!
