Commander's Time - Renewal

43ers

It’s now late April and spring has sprung upon us. The themes of spring usually revolve around renewal and hope. At Hollywood Post 43 and posts across The American Legion, it is also a time for elections. Though this is the first election that I’ve been a member which I’m not running, I was thrilled to see robust activity for nominations.

We have contested races for all of the chairs. We have 11 candidates for 4 Executive Committee seats. The only disappointment is that we only have 2 candidates for 3 positions on the Board of Trustees.

I hope the membership will show up on May 1st for the candidates’ forum and then return two weeks later on May 15th for the election. These Legionnaires have stepped up to volunteer their time to serve in capacities that can be thankless, stressful, and a focus of critique. I think they deserve a good turnout to show support, not just for your candidates of choice, but for all who are willing to help lead this Post.

Voting has always been important to The American Legion, not only did the organization lobby for the right of women and minorities to vote, but we’ve allowed women and minorities to be voting members in The American Legion since the beginning.

Recognizing that we live in a representative democracy, it’s important that we also let our elected officials know what our priorities are. We do this with the legislative team in Washington, DC lobbying on our behalf with guidance from our resolutions. In addition, we can leverage the power of our numbers by joining and using The American Legion’s VoterVoice account. Check out www.legion.org/action to easily add your voice to the chorus of Legion Family, making sure that our perspective is heard by those who can make things happen.

So, we have an election coming up and to me, these elections represent even more than our selection of individuals to lead the Post through the next chapter. We are honoring the inclusiveness of voting in The American Legion. We are recognizing and celebrating voting rights in our country. We are building habits of proactive engagement that we can use to leverage our voice to our representatives.

“For the good of the Legion”, as we serve “community, state and nation”.

Jeff Daly, Commander
Hollywood Post 43