Commander's Corner

Commander Daly with #11 IndyCar Driver Marcus Armstrong who drove The American Legion/Be The One car for the Chip Ganassi Racing team.

43ers,

It was a big Post 43 weekend with TCM Film Festival happening. It was also a big American Legion weekend with the IndyCar Series running at the Acura Grand Prix Long Beach. We didn’t have a booth this year, but that didn’t stop people from stopping by the car to express their gratitude for “taking care of the troops”.

I’ve witnessed this relationship grow over three years. The American Legion and “Be The One” branding is all over the place. This is because in addition to our sponsor relationship with Chip Ganassi Racing, The American Legion is also an “Official Charity Partner” and it shows. There are also blurbs on broadcast of the races, referencing the battle with veteran suicide.

This also happens to be a pretty good team. Cars with our branding on them have been at the podium regularly, giving us even greater exposure. Even when our sponsored team doesn’t win, our charity partnership allows things like pictures to be taken at the winner’s.

This branding and exposure should help Post 43 and our mission, as well. We are the most visible Post in the most populous county in the country for veterans. I met one Marine Corps veteran who has just kept the membership he has in Texas, but is now going to transfer.

These efforts should also raise awareness of “Be The One” and give the phrase an identity. Perhaps, Post 43 can lead this effort. We did mental health first aid training and certification a few years ago, and maybe we can do that again. Do you consider yourself to be “The One” that someone can confide in? Are you “The One” that notices when someone seems to be struggling or acting in a way that should spark concern? Be The One.

Let’s also have a mindset of promoting. We can all help with promoting events (& membership) on our social media. We can all promote things like TCM, to put people in the room and make the venue, which is our business model, and more powerful and relevant.

We can all help in these simple ways. We can all also run for office and I’d love to see some motivated fresh faces leap into the opportunity to serve those who have served.

Maybe you don’t have time to go to TCM or out to the races. Maybe you have no desire to jump into leadership. Maybe your contribution right now is that you pay dues and are part our national organization’s overall membership number that is leveraged to lobby for laws that benefit veterans and those still serving. No matter how you serve, I thank you.

Jeff Daly, Commander