REPORT OF DEPARTMENT ASSISTANT ADJUTANT
Troy T. Michaels
Wow, where has time gone, as seems like it was only yesterday we were gearing up for the 104th Convention and now we are attending the 105th Department Convention. Wishing all attendees a great and rewarding Convention for all. Please take back what you learn at Convention to your Post and encourage others to attend next year’s convention, which is scheduled for July 17th - July 20th of 2025 at the Harrisburg Hilton. As we look head to 2026, the Department Convention will be held in Gettysburg!
Congratulations to all Posts within this Department who reached 100% or more in Membership. If your Post did not reach 100%, consider reaching out to a Post in your District who did and find out what they did to reach 100% or more. We are all in this together and to increase our membership. I would like to encourage all Posts within the Department to schedule Membership Drives in your community and help educate the people who live in your community about The American Legion. This is a great way to show that your Post is active and will help recruit new and hopefully younger members for your Post. Thank You to John Fritz Membership Chair and his entire membership committee for an outstanding job this year.
The Department spends a great amount of time and money mailing out various forms throughout the year especially when it comes to the awards for various programs that Posts within this Department work tirelessly on year after year. Please submit your Post or members of your Post for these awards. There are many Posts and members of your Post that are deserving of the recognition for their hard work. It’s disheartening to only receive 1 submission for a particular award, for the respective membership class. There are approximately 670 Posts within this Department and we should be receiving a lot more submissions. We as Department need to do a better job getting the Post Data reports, Post Officer Cards, and Post Consolidated Reports turned in on time. As of this writing we are only 31% turn in rate for the Post Consolidated Report, with two weeks to go until the cutoff. Approximately 110 Posts did not submit their Post Data Report, which is the form to be filled out annually indicating what the Post charges for dues. This means that those Posts who did not fill out the form, their first renewal notice will be wrong if the Post elected to change their dues. As a reminder to all Posts, effective July 1, 2024 the cost of all membership cards regardless of the membership year will be $34.00.
As I look back on this past year, I want to Thank Commander Lavelle for his guidance and leadership. It is has been an honor and privilege to work with not only Commander Lavelle but all of the Department Officers and every member of the DEC. Best wishes to all outgoing Department Officers and District Commanders, but please don’t disappear and I encourage each of you to assist the newly elected officers of your District. Lastly, a big Thank You goes to each and every Department Employee for your hard work and dedication to our American Legion and for members of this Department!
