State Commander’s Column

TEXAS VFW

NORMAN MACEY

1

Belong

AS I CAMPAIGNED ACROSS THIS GREAT STATE I TALKED ABOUT A LOT OF DIFFERENT TOPICS.

We must run our Post like a business, we must have a vision for the future, we are not elected to rule — we are elected to serve. Try to incorporate the following into Post operations to help grow membership and to promote inclusion: the three R’s, Recruit – Retain – Reinstate and the three B’s, Build – Bridge – Belong. They are all important — but the “Belong” is the most personal to me. I almost didn’t stay in the VFW because in the beginning I wasn’t treated like I belonged.

The year was 2006. One of my PTSD doctors at the Houston VA recommended that I join a veteran organization. He said it would be good for me to be around other veterans. I had heard of the VFW but had never been in a Post. I found one close by my home on the internet and stopped by during the week. I walked in to a dimly light, smoky canteen with beer signs all over the walls. The Commander and Adjutant were there and I signed up. No one told me anything about the VFW.

I missed my first meeting but I’m guessing I was voted in. I did attend my second meeting and this is where it all fell apart for me. A grumpy old man checked my card. Not one introduction. No “how are you?” No “who did you serve with and where?” We have a dinner after each meeting and I ate alone. At the next meeting I stood up during Good of the Order and told the group that if this is how the VFW treats new members, it’s not what I signed up for. I felt as isolated at their meeting as I did when I got home from Vietnam. That same grumpy old man came up to me after the meeting and apologized to me. He said the Post had lost its way. They were more concerned with the canteen and bingo than the VFW. He asked me to stay and help get them back on track.

Four months later I was elected Post Jr. Vice and the next year Post Commander. In 2019, I was honored to be elected State Jr. Vice Commander. And to think I almost quit the VFW because I didn’t feel like I “Belonged.” Let’s make everyone feel included. We are family.