Membership & Recruitment: Be A Voice for Veterans – Encourage Lapsed Members to Pay Their Dues!

Be A Voice for Veterans – Encourage Lapsed Members to Pay Their Dues!

It was so exciting to see so many members at the Family Freedom Festival at the 2019 Mid-Year Conference in Tucson, Arizona. I had an amazing time talking with so many of you about Membership and hearing about all the different ways each state is promoting and working Membership. I hope that those who attended this event will take the information from the Ambassadors back to their own states, do some fine tuning and use the ideas in their own state.

It was my pleasure to announce the winners of the following Awards:

Award #1 Outstanding Training and Promotion of the Membership & Recruitment Program.

• Division 1: Non-Qualified
• Division 2: Department of Oklahoma – Iva Lela Turman – Warren E Drumheller VFW Auxiliary 3085
• Division 3: Non-Qualified
• Division 4: Department of Maryland – Betty Stahm – Charles Evering VFW Auxiliary 6506
• Division 5: Non-Qualified

Award #2 Outstanding Fact Sheet or Brochure

• Division 1: Department of Wyoming – VFW Auxiliary 2673, Cody, Wyoming
• Division 2: Department of Arkansas – VFW Auxiliary 2278, Hot Springs, Arkansas
• Division 3: Department of Kentucky – VFW Auxiliary 10281, Vine Grove, Kentucky
• Division 4: Department of Maryland, VFW Auxiliary 6506, Rosedale, Maryland
• Division 5: Department of Florida, VFW Auxiliary 11367, Mary Esther, Florida

Please click on the links above to see the Fact sheet or Brochure that won in each Division.

Take Steps to Retain Unpaid Members
Together we have brought in over 20,000 new or rejoined members to our Organization and that is mind blowing! This brings us to less than 14,500 members needed to be 100 percent in Membership this Program Year! The sad news is that means with the 20,000 brought in as new or rejoins 20,000 lapsed members have been left behind. The good news is that we still have time to reach out to all those members and get them back!

Time is running out! This is when we MUST work together to get dues PAID. If you have been reading these blogs, promotions or my posts on Facebook, you know that any member who has not paid their 2019 annual dues are longer in good standing. If they do not get their dues paid by June 30, 2019, they will have to rejoin the organization. That means they will have to fill out a membership application, provide proof of eligibility and be accepted by the membership of the Auxiliary they wish to join. They also have to wait one full year to be able to apply for a cancer grant from the National Organization. This is something we do not want any of our members to be faced with. Work for your Auxiliary. Get those members to pay their dues.

National President Sandi Kriebel “Believes We Can Do It!” and has issued a challenge for all VFW Auxiliary Departments from February 15 – March 31, 2019!

National President Sandi is challenging us to show our devotion to our veterans and their families by reaching out in our communities, telling our story, and recruiting and retaining members. Looking back on the first half of the membership year, we are on track to show growth as an organization and surpass 100 percent in membership for the third time in four years! It’s up to all of us to reach that goal for the VFW Auxiliary! At 12:00 AM (midnight) on March 31, 2019, the Department in each Program Division that shows the highest growth in their membership percentage for the time period of February 15 – March 31* will receive a $200 monetary award to be deposited into the Department bank account. It’s time to share the VFW Auxiliary story and recruit and retain members!

* Measured from 12:00 AM (midnight) CST on February 15 through 12:00 AM (midnight) CST on March 31.

Goals
A new quarter has started and each state has a new goal to reach by April 30. Your Department will receive $300.00 once this goal is achieved!

FYI
An updated Local Auxiliary Membership/Member Transfer Application is posted on the National website. Please make sure you are using the correct version!

Make a difference for all Veterans by being a voice on their behalf!