WRAPPING UP 4 YEARS AND A CHALLENGE FOR THE FUTURE

Looking back at the past four years while I was Commander, we can take great pride in what our team has achieved. But while a beautiful building, engaging events and camaraderie with awesome members are a great level to achieve, we can do more. In fact, its our duty as Legionnaires to do more and improve our program while spreading our blueprint for success across the rest of the Legion.

We could have stopped after the remodel, and just brought the old programs into a new setting, but we didn't. Our leadership team put in the hard work of nearly re-inventing the calendar of events with fun and engaging activities designed to satisfy member needs and attract new members. Jay McCann's Membership Survey was key to this effort and led to our success. Keeping the successful events from the past like the dances and Parade, we embarked on a collection of new events that focused on bringing the Veteran family together, supporting veteran career enhancement, and providing opportunities for veterans to continue to serve their community and country. 

From comedy night and Medal of Honor presentations to the Veteran family event on Catalina Island, I felt the vibe of Post 283 transform. And my challenge to Joe Ramirez and our incoming leadership is to keep that energy going. Part of achieving that was leadership within the team. We excised the drama that hindered our Post for years by instituting standardized practices and transparency. We started by cutting out the money arguments and replacing them with a standardized grant making process overseen by committees. From there we expanded into regulating all of our request processes and now managing our Post is less contentious and even enjoyable. We couldn't have achieved all of this without open minds and hard work by all of our leadership. The list of people we all owe a debt of gratitude to is long - the adjutants, office staff, executive committee members, committee members, SALS leadership, Auxiliary leadership, and volunteers. I want to thank all of you, your hard work has made Ronald Reagan Palisades Post 283 a family experience we all enjoy.

WHATS NEXT FOR COMMANDER JIM?

Now that we've established Post 283 as a pillar of the Pacific Palisades, providing a fulsome image of the successful veteran family in the community, we've identified an opportunity change the way society perceives and treats its veterans. Jay McCann and I crafted a resolution with Jason Mayo to "Restore Respect for the Military and Veterans" which has been approved by the Post and District and is on its way to Department and hopefully National. 

This is a resolution to compel Legionnaires to go out to schools and all those who influence opinions and provide a positive role model to change the way young people are being influenced to regard veterans. And locally, we intend to approach the media to discuss improving the way veterans and active duty are portrayed to diminish the stigma Hollywood has put on those who have worn the uniform. This initiative has been positively received across the spectrum and frankly it's astonishing no one has approached this issue yet. 

I've spoken with people at Legion National and in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines at the highest levels and everyone sees a benefit to pushing this forward. This 4th of July, you will see Post 283 making great efforts to show the community and media the strength of our military and veterans - we will have the West Point Superintendent, a Medal of Honor Recipient, a team of Green Berets, and Groups of active military and Team RWB taking part in the events of the day. We will make an impression. I will be speaking on the subject in the Pentagon in July to provide awareness of the efforts we at the Legion are taking to change the way our American society has stigmatized our military and veterans. I will give regular reports on our efforts, and on how you can get involved.